The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-07-24
stynsTRoHIE.

EtE8TROKE.
WHAT IL rra
ssnstr oEe,@ insofd son, dosip e7e sbfef!s
neat dpoplery. for IL is known by allS These
synonyms. Is the resuig 81 sup pressed pefspi-
ration. For this advance in n5s6icaI science
we are indebted to the American surgeons
OF the last war, and thfs, Che American
theory, has been adopted by sorlsas of tile |
first English authorities (Braithwaits, Janu-
ary, 1871. The symptoms may be divided
Into three stages
{ i. Loss Of appetite. headache, feeling Of
.hDgonr, attended with deficient perspira-
;tons scanty secretion of urine, and an abso-
iuts,rise Of temperature from 9S to3104 de-
grees Fahrenheit, or more. The blood titus
becoming vitiated. induces ;5s Is +
2. The seizure, or tit. This is essentially:
congestion, (of the brain, or lungs, or kid!
neys, attended by corresponding symptoms.
Ii of brain, with coma or delirium, or con-
yulsions; if of tie. lungs, with irregular
breathing, cough, and splitting OF blood; If
of kidneys, with severe pains in the back,
and the suppression Of their secretion.
3. The last stage of the disease is collapse.
which generally proves fatal, and is not
really different from the same condition Of
ptostration in other diseases. 515st
lDsolatlon was formerly confounded with
apoplexy, and within the last two years u
paragraph has gone the rounds OF a. portion
oil the press recommending, on seemingly
high medical authority, that the unfortunate
sufferer should be placed in the upright Do
sition and bled, from both arms, To faiat-
ness. This blunder, easy as it is to make, is
is hardly necessary to say, deprives the uf-
fortunate patient of his last chance for Life.
Ii, as of old, the road to destruction pos
sessed pavement Of good intentions. surely
this is graded and laid with T rail- i5 81
In apoplexy, q vessel is ruptured within
the skull, producing stupor by the pressure
of an etfused clot, and consequently the
stupor is deep and continued. In sunstroke.
| on the contrary, the disposition to sIeep.
when present, is the result of exhaustion, the
| attention being easily aroused, though the
action of the brain may be irregular or even
defective. What if the action of the heart
is hurried and futteriDg? This Is no reason
for opening vein. 1t is only on full,
steady, firm, slow pulse in ordinary infiarn-
| matory diseases that blood-letting IS beueff.
cial. In sunstroke the pulse is quick, feeble,
and fnttering; and the face, instead of being
flushed, may be deadly pale. The essential
element of the disease is the uudepnrated
condition of the blood. The commissions,
Whenpresent, are not the disease, but merely
a symptom. When skin and kidneys again
do duty there will be no :. its"
Remembering that every ounce, of perspf.
ration which passes away from the body ia
the form of vapor, carries with it enough
heat to have raised that ounce, incorporated,
to the temperature of red-hot iron, and then
measuring the amount of perspiration by the
| difference between the fluids imbibed and
eXcreted, we shall come to some appreciation
of the necessity of perspiration, and the
terrific turmoil produced throughout the
whole economy of life by its abrogation
Every nerve and muscle Of the body, when
in action, generates heat; every motion and
every thought increasing the tire-even to
dreams and the throbbing of the heart. Pc,
contra, acting as necessarily night and day
is the bengnant, cooling fluid, aDdter, thai
by law which we may very properly cal
divine, in its conversion into yapor renders
40 egreeS of heat latent, and this at what
ever temperature it may be effected.
| The latest theory of insulation, then, i
| that it is an undue accumulation Of heG
,ritlin the body. Based on this foundation
| but little eXertion OF common sense is needed
| to erect the superstructure of
TREATMENT. sgl1
l. For immediate relief: Remove the per
son to the shade; divest the neck and ches
of clothing; battle the face with cold water
and, if agreeable to the patient, shower TIT
head.
2. For permanent benefit: Restore perspi
ration by any convenient means. To effect
| this, the warm bath is recommended, when
attainable. In its absence, place the patien
| in bed, aud use hot bricks and wet cloths
A teaSpoonfuI of spirits of nitre may be
given every hour. In English practice q
tablespoonful of brandy is given at the same
| intervals. TO these, if tile patient is deli
| rious and moaning, may be added enough
chioral-hydrate to produce sleep-say, {
drachm, divided into three doses, and givef
| at intervals of fifteen minutes, until sleep is
produced. There is no physiological OBJ
lection to the use of opiates, although mar
cotics are not as proper as stimulantS on ac'
count or.the suppressed secretions. Such is
the pound of cure, as represented in curren!
medical literature and now for the ounce Of
PREVENTION.
l. Use no alcoholic liquors for the pur.
poses Of support-that is, as a substitute fol
| food-as this increases the difficulty, which
is the presence of super-abundance Of
carbonaceous matter in the blood, the result
of the disintcgration Of muscle during exer.
| else. The experience of British army sur.
geons in India fully justifies this rule.
| 2. Eat proper amount of nitroGenized
| food, such as beefsteak, bread, milk, cheese.
&C., considering that though the weather be
hot, a Given amount of labor will require
the same amount of food that would be re.
auired were the weather cooler, as only the
| nitrogenzcd constituents can be used for the
production of motion.
il3. Drink freely of water. 1t is only by
| The Transformation of water into Yapor that
| the! natural beat Of the human body IS re-
stricted to its proper modicum.
4. Resort 10 artificial protection from the
rays of the sun. Carry an umbrella; wear
high straw hat with broad brlm
| fill the crown with green leaves or q hand.
kerchief; attach a cape to the back part OF
the brim dip part or the whole OF this
arrangement in water, and use wet; ano
finally, to sum up the whole matter, IL the
thermometer stands above ninety degrees il
the shade, make no attempt to labor in the
sun. X. u. WATERBURY, M. u.
Margaretuihe, ~ Y.
- ~ Country Gentleman.
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