San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-08-24
Cure for Neuralgia.

most severe attack of facial neuralgia
which it has not been our lot to witness
in more than eighteen years OF practice
for two weeks we had to confine our
selves to a darkened chamber, and the
highest football on the floor caused us
the most excruciating agony. All the
remedies, local, general, regular and IT.
regular, were tried without any abate-
ment of the trouble. One side OF
our face was terribly swollen. so much
SO that it was impossible to extract the
decayed molar, to which We charged all
the suffering, and it seemed as if we
were destined to shuttle eff this mortal
coil bv exhaustion from pain and want
of sleep. We finally concluded to In
else the swollen jaw, thinking. there
was an abscess about the root OF the
Gecayed tooth, and as the parts were SO
extremely sensitive, and, moreover,
having avague dread of chloroform,
we thought we would try local an@sthe-
sia by evaporating ether on the surface
until the part was frozen. Our at
tendant complied with our instruc'
tions, and the spray was turned on.
The first sensation was one OF cutting
pain, gradually subsiding until when
congelation took place we felt perfect
ly easy, and ordered the cutting opera
ton deferred. Then for fifteen hours
we slept the sleep of the righteous,
and when we awoke found the rubor,
ct tumor, colore, cum .dolore entirely
vanished, and we arose and went about
our business, and to this good day,
although we carry perfect cabinet OF
curious teeth in our mouth, have never
had neuralgia twinge or touch OF that
"hell disease" and toothache. Well,
to be honest about it, we did not at
the time give the freezing process any
credit for the cure; we thought the at
tack had about spent it's force and was
going to act we'll anyway, and we
paid but little attention to the matter
for year or more,. when relative
Capt. Harris, was visiting us, and took
spell sof neuralgia, which ne had
for over year been periodically affilct-
ed with, rarely passing month with
out an attack. To give him present
ease, for we did not think of any per-
manent benefit, we tried the spray all
along the track of the afflicted nerve
until it turned the skin white. The
relief was immediate, and, he has since
informed me, permanent.
Since then we have used it in fifteen
or twenty cases with uniform success
never having to make more than two
applications, and it came to be stock
remedy, and we thought that in all
probability it was so with most physl-
clans, for we remember that when
Richardson first introduced it dixie all
new things in medicine, it was Wanted
for everything), and would probably
have still thought so if gentleman
hadn't called on us some time ago to
know if we hadn't a new treatment for
neuralgia, and stated couple of years
ago he was on a steamboat and was SUI
fering with that disease, when Capt.
Harris informed him that he was cured
by some sort of freezing process, and
advised him to try it. When the boat
reached Louisville, be called on two or
three dentists and three of the most dis
tinguished surgeons of the city, and
they told him they knew of no such
remedy for neuralgia, and advised him
not to have anything of the kind done.
On hearing this story we looked over
our old volumns of medical journals
ADD found not single allusion to local
anasthesia as a remedy for neuralgia.
Now we Lust confess that all this
sounds very much like the story of the
superannuatedc clergyman who &C ,ident-
ally, while in the West Indies, discov-
cred a cure for consumption, ETC., only
we don't want any one to send stamp
for particulars. Any physician can
purchase a hand-ball atomizer for 81 so
and try it for themselves. They may
use either rhigoleDe or ether, and it
will only be necessary to let the spray
play upon the part until the skin turns