Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1863-08-21
A Note for the Doctors---A Remedy
for OipthePia.

A Note for the Doctors---A Remedy
for Diptheria.
This affection, which comprises those
known under the various names of bad
sore throat, angina, Group and the,French
dngine couenneuse, has hitherto been con-
sidered one of the most difficult to cure.
We some time back gave an account Of
DR.. Trideau's method, which consists in
administering storax under the form of
a syrup; but we now find in the Re0uc
Therapeutiqae, paper by DR.. A. De
Grand Boulogne, vice Consul at Ha-
yaha, in which he mentions ice as an in
fallible specific. As this, from its ex-
treme simplicity, would, if effective, be
far superior to any yet tried, we cannot
refrain from quoting the cases mentioned
by the author, who had published this
remedy as far back as February 1860,
and consequently complains (not without
reason, if its efficacy is such as he de-
scribes it) of the inexcusable negligence
of practitioners in not taking notice of
it, thereby allowing many valuable lives
to be lost The following cases came
under his observation after that date. In
March and April, 1861, the disease in
question broke out under an epidemic
form, and chiefly attacked adults with
such virulence that in one week three
young women died in one house. One
Of DR.. De Grand's patients, afflicted
with blephacite, was seized with it, and
as he could not Immediately attend, ow-
ing to the severity Of the case, another
physician was called in, who ordered
emetics and aluminous gargles, which
produced no effect. At length DR.. De
Grand came, and found the tonsils great
ly swollen, and false membrane cover
ing them. He Immediately administered
small pieces of ice, and by the following
morning the tumefaction of the tonsils
had diminished by half, and the false
membrane had nearly disappeared That
very evening she was enabled to take
food. Proftiug by this example, few
days after her brother was seized with
sore throat, presenting the same prelimi-
nary symptoms as those of his sister /;
but he, without waiting for the doctor,
at once took some ice, and was rid of his
sore throat in few hours.
Some days later, DIR. De Grand was
summoned to a young lady who had been
laboring under the disease for some forty
eight hours all remedies had failed, and
the parents, relations and friends of the
family were plunged in the deepest sor-
row When DR.. De Grand ordered ice,
a general cry Of astonishment was utter
ed by all present Ice for o sore threat
Impossible 1t was sheer murder DR..
De Grand maintained his ground, and
after much expostulation, during which
much time was lost, he obtained bis end
Before twenty-four hours were over the
patient was in full conyalescence. Being
at Vera Cruz On mission, he was re-
quested to see young man who was at
tackled with malignant sore throat and
had been treated without effect by eau
terizations with hydrochloric and strin-
gent gargles. Here again be bad to
battle with the preiudices of the family,
but was at length allowed to administer
ice. The young man recovered in the
course of the following day. DR.. De
Grand has now been using this remedy
for the last twelve years, without having
met with single failure. This is what
he says, but even if only half of what
he says were true, the method should be
tried by others. Cold gargles have been
employed with success by DR.. BLANC, of
Strasburg; why not ice ?-Gaiignani.