Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-03-08

as well as some instances where more
serious consequences resulted. Take,
for illustration, headache. 1t may
come from a dozen different causes
from hunger, from Indigestion, from
over-excitement OF the brain, from eat
ing too much, from inhaling foul air.
The remedy for a headache varies with
its cause. Yet you will find women who
have a universal panacea for headache,
regardless of its cause. Beware of such
women
"Wlth what medicines is the most
harm done?n
''Opiates and aperients. The heed
lessness with which morphine in various
forms is now administered in families is
alarming. The doctor comes to attend
patient who is in pain. Heprescribes
morphia and directs its use, and the
patient is relieved. This is enough to
start the average matron on a course of
fell destruction with morphla. The next
patient may be of a different tempera-
ment. or sex, or age, requiring either
different kind or quantity of the opiate,
but the old prescription will be used,
or, worse than all, will be revived from
memory. Some drug stores watch care
fully and refuse to dispense such drugs
without prescription in each case, but
there are many too eager to make money
to care much whether the patient is being
treated by a doctor. The same is true
of the use of bromide, of chloroform and
of ether. The bottle that is left partly
filled in a family after one patient has
been treated is pretty sure to be used
for another without the doctors knowl-
edge. AS for paregoric and laudanum,
the amount of stupefaction that is prac-
ticed upon children by their use is so
common as almost to cease to attract
attention. Perhaps the child is -natu-
rally peevish, or is cutting teeth, Or has
some infantile ailment; out comes the
paregoric or soothing strip bottle, and
before long the small dose ceases to have
effect. Then larger doses are given,
until the unfortunate youngsters system
is saturated with the drug and totally
deranged. Sometimes the lazy and dis
honest nurse, to relieve herself from
trouble, administers the anodyne on her
own Responsibility, land the hapless child
shows dizziness and stupidity for which
nobody can account.
81 met man once who was doctor.
ing himself for dyspepsia and indiges-,
ton. He told me he wondered why he
had not cured himself. Hewas appar-
emily of muscular development and
good constitution, but he had somehow
got the idea into his head that he must
exercise vigorously after every meal in
order to promote digestion. He took
long and rapid walks after his meals.
Of course his indigestion got worse. He
was apparently a man of ordinary in
telligence, yet he was ignorant of the
simplest law of health. l told him that
if cow could talk she would teach him
more sense than to take any vigorous
exercise, either physical or mental, i'm
mediateiy after a hearty meal Most
horses are treated more intelligently
than this man was treating himself.
"What puzzles me is the fact that
people are not afraid to NEEDLE with
such a delicate organism as the human
body. Few persons who have watches
would attempt to repair them if they
should get out of order; yet they tackle
the delicate mechanism of their own
bodies with the recklessness of black
smith attempting to adjust a chronome-
ter. The evil is widespread, and reaches
not only the cases have alluded 20, but
many others more difficult and danger
Gus than these. I have known of women
experimenting with drugs in cases
where a simple surgical operation Of
minutes duration was all that was nee
essary. The evil is insidious and one
that it would be difficult to reach by leg
islation. 1t is especially common among
those who have that little learning which
is q very dangerous thing. 1t is a ques-
ton which are most to be pitied, those
who know nothing whatever of their
own bodies, or those who, having the
presumption to act on very slight and
insufficient knowledge, are perpetually
dosing themselves with nostrums, and,
with a blind faith equal to the most alb
ject superstition, putting confidence in
panaceas. IN. Y. San. -