Washington telegraph., 1854-08-23
From The Independent Press
A Plain Chapter on Cholera.
BY DIR. J. G.. DUNN


Having been requested by several to give
them receipt for cholera, it may not be
out of place to publish few hints which
can be put in practice by any one having
the least idea of the usual remedies and
common applications kept in every family !;
and in doing so, shall divest my language
of every professional term that is not gener-
ally understood.
1t often the case that person attacked
by cholera makes fatal delay in procuring
physician, or is too far from his abode to
have his attendance in time The disease
is generally so insidious in its approach that
every little d5Grrbed, or uneasiness in the
bowels or stomach should be looked on with
suspicion when cholera is known to be in
the neighborhood. A diarrhea thus occur
ring should be treated ammediateIy! A
good warm bath, as hot as you can bear it,
and plenty Of soap to cleanse the skin-rub
dry with a coarse towel until the surface
grows red. then take 3 pills of blue mass
with s or 10 drops Of laudanum. This will
prevent almost any attack of cholera in its
first stage. When it is about no one can
pay too much attention to his diet or his feel
ings. Avoid unripe fruit, or too much of
that which is ripe. Battle every morning
with cold water, and rub the skin roughly,
for it has more to do with cholera than peo-
pie are aware of.
If you let a slight diarrhea run on for a
day or two, the first you know, you are in
the spasmodic clutch of cholera when. if
YOU had checked it in season, and removed
the cause by slight medication the terrible
grasp may never have been laid upon YOU
1t does not always warn you with diarrhea,
but often comes suddenly. Now | merely
wish to drop few items of treatment to be
used where medical treatment cannot be i'm
medately procured When person is at
tackled by cholera, boil a large pot of water
as soon as possible, strip the patient Naked
put large mustard poultice over the stom-
ach and bowels; then wiring out three
blankets from the boiling water. and wrap
him in them, winding dry blanket on the
. outside TO keep the heat in. Thus you ap-
ply heat all over the body and bring the
blood back to the skin What's the use of
your rubbing? It only creates a little heat
why not apply it all over at once with the
blankets; you may put some mustard or red
pepper with the hot water if you choose
So much for the outside treatment now
the attention must be turned to the bowels
and stomach Intense purging and vomit-
ing are almost always present in cholera,
and from their exhausting influence, demand
prompt treatment. As soon as the skin be-
gins to warm with the blankets the alarm
ing purging and vomiting clases Do not
be afraid to give laudanum-give 60 drops
at a dose-a little dose will do no good
you have giant to deal with-knock him
down with big club, and when he's down
keep him there. # the laudanum is vomit-
ed up repeat the dose Immediately. Mix
together red pepper, warm brandy, or whis-
key, and little camphor, and give it occa-
sionally but the great hope-the great de-
pendence must be on your hot blankets and
you laudanum. will tell you why:
Cholera is disease in which the blood
leaves the vessels of the skin and is thrown
in upon the bowels, stomach, liver, and
other internal organs. Nature, in order
to get rid of this unnatural accumulation of
blood, strives to relieve herself by purging
it out and vomiting it up but any one
who has ever seen a person bled, has noticed
that the blood separates into two parts-wa-
ter and clot Now there are little vessels
opening into the bowels which let out the
water part of the blood, but will not permit
the clotty to pass, and this is the cause Of so
much water being purged and vomited the
blood thus loses the water which rendered
it fluid and becomes useless in the veins !;
and in treating the disease there is one i'm
portant item to be noticed viz when the
purging and vomiting is somewhat checked,
and the skin begins to take on a warm sweat,
then stop giving brandy and resort to warm
teas The water of the tea will be absorb
ed by the little vessels in the bowels and
taken up TO restore to the blood that which
it lost [ talk of warm sweat-there is Of
ten a cold clammy sweat in cholera which is
equally as ezhausting as the diarrhea.-
The hot blankets soon check it.
The great idea in cholera can be told in
few words-bring the blood back to the
skin by applying heat to it externally
check the purging and vomiting with i'm
mense doses of laudanum.
Laudanum not only does this, but it also
relieves the contracted state of the little YES
sells of the skin and thus opens the way for
the blood to flow back to the surface |
have never known a case to die when treat
ed thus.
A surveyor out in Oregon, not liking the
appearance Of some Of the land, breaks out
fo1l