The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-10-30
YELLOW FEVER TIRE ArMENr.
YaIuabI" Letter of Advice From
w. ~ Austfn. VI -.
From New Orleans Times

Il > "A FAMILY
residing in the country and distant fron
professional aid The directions giver
are so simple and explicit, and the au
thor stands so emineut in his profession,
and has been SO successful in his prac
tlce, that it has been obtained for the use
of the public, DIR. Austin kindly consent
ing that copy be made for THAI pur-
pose:
My DEAR DAUGHTER:-I send by
your request my treatment of yellow fe-
yer this year
When the patient complains of head
ache, backache and has flushed face and
injected eyes, sometimes one, sometimes
all these symptoms appear.) and has
more or less fever with chilly sensations,
put the patient to bed under cover con
sisting of two blankets, keep arms under
cover, give purge of calomel, say ten
grains, followed by castor oil in eight
hours afterwards The practice of Gallo
mel first, l find best in the country or
even in the city if there is malaria in the
system. In ordinary cases where the
tongue is clean, castor oil is sufficient
If ten grains of bi-carbonate of soda be
combined with the calomel, oil will not
be necessary.
The object is to empty the bowels we'll
and slightly stimulate the oliver" Use
the bed pan. Mover under any circum-
stances allow the patient to sit up or
raise his head from the pillow. 1t ex-
cites restlessness and the nervous system
never RECEIVERS fromit. L have the back,
over the kidneys well rubbed with spirits
/ Of turpentine. and where | had any rea-
son to suspect kidney trouble would add
| one half teaspoonful of spirits turpentine
to the oil, or even one teaspoonful will
not be too much.
Do not change the clothing on bed or
patient for five or six days, and in a bad
case, let them remain longer.
| Give Immediately after the purge is
given, a mustard foot bath, hot as they
can have it, put the bath tub in the foot
of the bed; the patient laying on his back
with his legs drawn up so he may rest
easy for he half hour that the feet re
main in the bath. At the same time he
should drink orange leaf tea hot through
glass tube, or sick cup, that is used to
drink out Of lying down. The drink Of
hot orange leaf tea should be given every
half hour, or as often as the patient calls
for drink, until the first twenty four
hours are past. Then the patient will
have tired of warm drinks and require
cool, and they should by all means be
given.
After the first or second foot bath a hot
brick, wet with vinegar, can be occasion
ally put to the feet wrapped up in piece
of flannel, merely to keep up a gentle
perspiration for at least forty eight
hours. After this, one blanket should be
taken off and sheet and one blanket or
Counterpart should remain.
About this time your patient will be-
come restless. Never give any opiate to
quiet him, but resort to spOnging him
with tepd vinegar and water every half
hour, until the fever entirely subsidies,
which will vary this year from forty to
seventy-two hours.
Nervous heat, which is sometimes taken
for return of fever can be easily quieted
down by giving cold water injections,
sometimes tepid, depending upon the
temp, rlture of the skin. These water
INJECTIONS I would recommend daily
throughout the critical days. | gener-
ally keep them, the bowels, pumped full.
Some Of the water must absorb and pre-
vent to some extent this kidney trouble
that has destroyed so many patients this
year. If brandy and beef tea readily
absorb the enema, why should the cold
water fail to do so ?
Keep your patients from draughts and
close all openings that will let in north
wind, allowing your patient fresh air suf
fcient to keep the room at a proper TEN
perature. Keep the forehead cool while
the head is hot or painful with very cold
water applied with cloth to the fore
head. If you can get it, ice water is
preferable, if not to be had use cold well
water
After the pain leaves, keep the head
cloth on if agreeable to the patient
After the patient has been purged
give one half drop of FIeming's tincture
of aconite every hour until the fever
leaves, unless the aconite disagrees with
the stomach. Should it produce nausea
stop it at once. Apply a blister-Can-
| thariles-over the stomach if the patient
complains of heavy feeling there. This
blister should always be covered, after
spreading the ointment, with pulverized
eamphor to prevent strangury. 1t should
be kept on eight hours to get the specific
effect of the cantharides.
In every case where the patient is tax
en- with a cold, sore throat, or cough, in
variably give chlorate of potassium,
twenty grains dissolved in one ounce Of
water. Dose, teaspoonful every two or
three hours this chlorate protects the mu
cous surfaces and prevents glanduar
swellings about the neck, which SO often
proves fatal to yellow fever. The chlor-
ate of potassium can be given at any
period of the disease when the stomach is
not irritable. 1t never irritates the
stomach.
After the first twenty four hours of
sweating, small quantities of orange leaf
tea or cold water should be given at
time so as not to overload the stomach.
Just as soon as the fever leaves the pa
tient, one teaspoonful of milk and half
teaspoonfnl of lime water should be Civ
en- every hour, so as to feel of the stom-
ach and prepare it to take larger doses Of
nourishment- This must be done gradu-
ally; one, two, three teaspoonsful until
you get up to a tablespoonful, of milk,
beef tea or chicken water, gradually in
creasing until you can give toast and tea,
soft boiled eggs, broIled chicken, etc.
When the fever leaves the patient
find good brandy or whiskey the best
stimulants, in teaspoonful doses, grAdu-
ally increasing as the stomach will bear
it.
During convalesence small quantities
of pale ale may be taken with advan-
tage.
No one should be allowed in the room
of the patient but the nurses-no friends
under any circumstances should ha al
mitted. The motto ''deliver me from
my friends" should be strictly adhered
to during an attack of yellow fever.