American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-07-26
CARE OF THE HEALTH.

| CHOLERA PREvENTIvE-The follow
ing prescription by an eminent ply
stefan was published in the New York
SIM over 20 years ago, and has since
been republished nearly every year. 1t
is said to be one of the best general
remedies for bowel complaints ever de-
vised, and a sure preventive of cholera !:
Take equal parts of tincture of cayenne
pepper, tincture of opium, tincture of
rhubarb, essence of peppermint and
spirits of camphor. Mix well. Dose,
fifteen to thirty drops in a little cold
water, according to age and violence of
symptoms, repea'ed every fifteen or
twenty minutes until relief is obtained.
GROUP POwDERs.-Three grains of
calomel, one tenth of grain of tartar
emetic. These. In a severe ease, are to
be given every hoiir; when the disease
seems somewhat relieved, every two
hours. In Group the very first symptom
(hard, ringing cough) should be at
tended to. Let the throat be we'll rub
bed with some volatile liniment. Some
times flannel wruDg out of hot water
and applied very warm to the throat, re-
peating the application of fresh flannels
as they become cold, has fine effect
An emetic should be given Immediately,
and the croup-powders administered, if
the disease does not yield. Never
neglect the Group. Taken early, it is
easily managed; neglected, almost al
ways fatal. Remedies should be kept
on hand in some convenient place in
every family whsre the children are at
all constitutionally liable to Group
Alum pounded up very fine forms good
emetic.
REST FOR HEADACHEs.-Dr. Day
says in a late lecture: Whatever be
the plan of treatment decided upon, rest
is the first principle to inculcate in every
severe headache. Rest, which the busy
man and anxious mother can not obtain
so long as they can manage to keep about,
is one of the first remedies for every
headache, and we should never cease to
enforce it. The brain, when excited,
as much needs quiet and repose as a
| fractured limb or an inf1amed eye, and
| it is obvious that the chances of shorten
ing the seizure and arresting the pain
will depend on our power to have this
carried out effectnally: It is Practical
lesson to keep steadily in view, in that
there may lurk behind simple head
ache some lesion of unknown magnitude
which may remain stationary if quietude
can be maintained. There is a point
worth attending to in the treatment of
all headaches. See that the head is
elevated at night, and the pillow hard
for, if it be soft, the head sinks into it
and becomes hot, which with some peo-
pie is enough to provoke an attack in
the morning if sleep has been long and
heavy.
WELL-wATER AND TYPHOID FEVER.
I'm the summer of 1873 some 40 per-
sons in Rochester, N. Y, whose supply
of drinking water was derived from a
certain well, were taken sick with ty-
phoid fever and other zymotic diseases.
The health officer had the well closed,
50 that the people had to get water from
other sources. Their recovery was rap
i'd from that moment. A request was
then addressed to all the physicians in
the city to report the names and resi-
dences of all persons sick with typhoid
fever. About so cases having been re-
ported, health inspectors were sent to
the various localities, who inquired into
their sanitary conditions, the distance.
of cesspools, sewers, and privy-vaults
from the wells; and whether the pa
tients drank well-water either at their
homes or at their places of business
Samples of water were taken from the
wells, and submitted for analysis to DR..
baltimore, Professor of Chemistry in
the Universy of Rochester. The result
of the inquiries was to show that, of the
whole number of cases of typhoid re-
ported, all but two had followed from
the use of well-water; the exceptional
cases arose from ill-ventilated apart
ments in close proximity to foul water
closets. 1t was also ascertained
that very large number Of
the wells in the city were situated
within an average distance of less than
thirteen feet from cesspools and privy-
vaults, while great many were distant
from them not over ten feet! In Pro-
lessor Lattimore's report occurs one
passage which must be quoted in eztenso,
namely, the one in, whic hhe remarks on
the significance of the presence of COM
mon salt in well-water: al would direct
your especial attention to the second
column" [of his table showing the
amount of solid matters in the water1 !,
(which shows the number of grains of
common salt per gallon of water. No
single indication is of SO great sanitary
Importance in judging of the purity or
impurity, and consequently of the safety
or danger, of any water. How a sub
stan &c, which is in itself not only harm
less, but by most persons considered in
dispensable as an article of diet, be.
comes to the sanitarian signal of dan
ger in well water, will be easily rendered
apparent. No mineral substance is per-
haps so universally diffused as common
salt. 1t exists in the air, hence in all
rain-water; in all soils, hence
in all well or spring-water,
though often in quantities too min
ute to be weighed upon the chemists
LII L. l.