The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-26 00:00:00

CHOLERA MORBUS.

SUCCESSFUL. TREATNItNT or THE

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—As I have resided several years in India, in
the vicinity of Juggernaut's temple, where the
ravages of the cholera morbui are frequently very
appalling, I shall be happy to give you inforrria-
ion respecting the treatment of this disease which
has fallen under my observation. Permit me first
to extract a very interesting article from the Asiatic
Journal, June, 1831.
" Mr. S. Hope, surgeon of his Majesty's hos-
pital-ship Canada, states the following mode of cure
for the cholera morbus, which he has employed for
more than thirty years with uniform success."
He thus describes the complaint :
" The disease is induced by causes too well
known, and shows itself at first by violent pains
from the stricture of the gall duct, and is afterwards
kept up by the irritability of the bowels, brought
on by the excoriation of the internal coat, from
the acrid or scalding nature of the bile when
first expelled the gall-bag. This irritation keeps
op the disease till nature recovers or sinks.
I never use calomel, because I have a more certain,
safe, and speedy remedy, that produces an almost
instantaneous relief. Calomel relieves by inducing
I more copious secretion of mucus to defend the
membrane from excessive irritation, where it suc-
ceeds; whilst theremedy I recommend affords a tone
of firmness to the membrane, a smoothness of sur-
face that defends it from the action of the bile, and
removes excessive irritation. By this means the
disease goes off as soon as the gall-bladder is emp-
tied of its excessive irritative contents, which is very
soon accomplished, as from three to five or six doses
complete the cure." The following proof is ad-
,lneed

" I was surgeon of the Dolphin in the year 1825;
from July 17 to 26 I had 264 cases of cholera, from
which, with the exception of 16 being kept under
treatment for three days, four patients demanding
attention for four days, and three for five days
(except one who had been previously ill), every
p ttient was restored within the space of 50 hours.
1 persuaded the chief mate to take a dose of the
remedy before the healthy part of the ship's corn-
p my, to induce them to follow his example; they
all complied, and, to the best of my recollection,
not one of them had occasion to trouble me from
illness.

" The remedy I gave was one drachm of nitrous
acid (not nitric), one ounce of peppermint water or
camphor mixture, and 40 drops of tincture of opium.
A. fourth part every three or four hours in a cup-
ful of gruel. The belly should be covered with a
succession of hot cloths, dry; bottles of hot water
to the feet, if they can be obtained; constant and
small sippings of finely strained gruel, or sago, or
tapioca;—no spirit, no wine, no fermented liquors
till quite restored."

Another method of treating this alarming disease
is the following, communicated to me while at Se-
rampore from a missionary in Calcutta, in Septem-
ber, 1825. He states, "Not one has died out of
60 to whom I have administered medicine for the
cholera, except one individual, who had previously
received some native medicine very injurious to
her." The medicine is, "80 drops of laudanum,
a wine glass of brandy, and two table spoonsful of
c tstor oil, mixed ; and, if possible, given at once;
if not, one dessert spoonful after another, until all is
taken. This is the dose for a man; for women,
girls, or boys, 60 drops of laudanum, the brandy and
oil in the same quantities as before. Should this be
ineffectual, give a second dose of 40 drops of lauda-
num, a wine-glass of brandy, but no more. In case of
this failing, a wine-glass of drogue-a-mere may be ef-
fectual. 'I his medicine may be administered in al-
most all stages of the disease. After vomiting
ceases, give warm rice-waterand boiled sago or flour."
A recent letter from Calcutta contains the follow-
ing method of treatment, " which," says the writer,
" I have found most efficacious, not having lost a
patient by cholera since I used it :"—" Mixture :—.
Take spirits of sal-volatile, laudanum (of each an
ounce), essence of peppermint, 30 drops; mix. Give
one tea-spoonful in brandy and water, and repeat the
dose as required. The liniment : strong water of
ammonia, laudanum, and salad oil, of each one ounce;
mix. Apply well to the part affected with cramps
or spasms, as the legs, hands, abdomen, &c. Bot-
tles of hot water, where required. The thirst is al-
layed by applying vinegar to the palms of the hands.
Acids are used here (Calcutta) with great success,
but it was the sulphuric, and not the nitrous, as used
in England."

In Orissa, where I resided, the usual remedy for
this complaint was pills, each containing six or seven
grains of calomel and one grain of opium. One pill
was sometimes sufficient ; at other times a second.
third, or fourth, at intervals of half an hour, were
requisite to arrest the progress of the disease; an
aperient was afterwards recommended. In this pro-
vince, a few years since, the Government humanely
despatched 3,000 cholera pills for the relief of the
salt manufacturers on the bay of Bengal, by which
means several hundred lives were saved. The utility
of these humane efforts in India is very great.
" When the cholera," says a friend in Bengal, " first
began its ravages, one gentleman obtained from Go-
vernment 40 or .50 native doctors to supply his dis-
trict, and medical stores to what extent he chose.
The result was, that medicine was administered to
upwards of 20,000 persons, of whom more than
17,000 recovered !"

I have been much interested in observing that
Dr. Ayre, of Hull, has adopted the mode of treat-
ment used in Orissa. He says—" I have had 76
cases, of which 60 have been returned cured; 5
of them are under treatment (4 of them out of
danger), and 10 of them have died). The exclu-
sive object sought for in the system pursued has
been to restore the secretion of the liver, and the
means employed have been no less exclusive, and
have wholly consisted of calomel and laudanum,
given in small quantities, and frequently repeated.
The dose of calomel was one or two grains, and
of laudanum one or two drops, given every 5, 10,
or 15 minutes, according to the urgency of the
symptoms and duration of treatment. The calo-
mel was given alone, as soon as 70 or 80 drops
of the laudanum had been taken, or the purging
and cramps were abated. The calomel was con-
tinued uninterruptedly until a substantial abatement
of the disease was produced, and the only limit
set to its use was in giving it at progressively
wider intervals. In several late cases I have trusted
to grain doses, with a drop of laudanum given with
each, and renewed every five minutes for two or
three hours, and then every ten minutes, until a de-
cided impression was made upon the complaint, when
they were repeated every 20 minutes, and after-
wards every hour, until at length they were discon-
tinued. The average duration of the disease, in those
who recovered under this treatment, has not }nen
more than four or five days ; for by the prr.,-mpt and
very liberal use of calomel in small and frequent
doses, anti it is indispensable tb their efficacy that
they be small, the secreti':,n of the liver becomes
early restored, and 'tat inflammatory re-action in the
hepatic circle is
prevented, which would otherwise
ensue as a consequence of its congested state.
Hence, in many instances, I have found the most
rapid recoveries to occur in patients in whom the
disease was most intense."—See Lancet, June 2,
and July 14, 1832, pp. 271-158.—Evangelical
Magazine, April, 1828.
For more information on these and other Indian
subjects, permit me to refer you to India's Cries to
British Humanity (Wightman, London), PP. 498
.512. The profits of this volume are devoted to a
benevolent object in this city. Many pre cautions
may be adopted respecting
this disease, relative to
diet, cleanliness, tranquillity of mind,a
_Sze. I w;11
mention only one : the wearing of annel dre,
and girdle appear to
be very beneficial.fi
Praying
hat God, in his Providence, may render tits dread
scourge conducive to the revival of pure End un-
defiledled religion," and the display of the graces Ow
adorn the Christian character, I am yours traly,l
Covrnuy, Oct. 14. PHILAN CHROP