The Red Cloud chief., 1889-02-01
POPULAR REMEDIES.
Their Properties and Wherei,
They are Dangerous.
6ome Excellent Advice Mistaken ideas
About Arnirs-Arsenic and Its Man.
fold Preparations and Uses-
Limits Of Its Value.

About ArnIrs-Arsenic and Its NAM
fold Preparations and Uses
Limits Of Its Value.
'|The man who doctors himself has
fool for a patient" is especially true II
any cas- where man trifies with drug.
other than those OF the simplest char
acter. and what pass under the head O
domestic remedies" The only SUR
way OF impressing this fact upon poo.
pleis to give them some insight into
the nature of medicines which they are
likely to attempt to use. explain thei,
properties and wherein lies their dan.
ger.
The tincture Of arnica is something
almost every n Is familiar with. for
IL 10 . time-honored application for
sprains and bruises. As with an infin-
tte number OF other popular drugs.
arnica is much Overrated. and has not
anywhere noar the medicinal virtues
which are attributed to it. Years ago
physicians occasionally gave it inter-
nally in certain classes Of diseases; prob
ably the Germans used it the most. At
the present time. however. in this
country Mt least 1t il scarcely over 90
administered by any Of the profession.
Nor have they much faith in it even as
IN external application. The form so
used, the tincture of arnica. is a very
gentle irritation. but rs for the extra
ordinary healing power which people
believcit possesses. il has none OF them.
Hot water is = Ear better application in
any case. and that fact can not be dis
puted. Ono Of the many dclusiOns
relative to medicines. handed down
with countless others. still exists con-
corning the tincture OF arnica. 1t Is
that the person who applies it t.
his skin must take a certain
quantity internally to prevent the
''striking in" Of what was put on the
outside. If a sane person who believes
in this notion has even u fair amount of
intelligence. he can reason out for him.
self the utter absurdity of it. But here
IS the trouble-the majority Ofthe peo-
pie who exhibit marked intelligence in
business and their usual interests show
as little as n possibly Il on all mat
ters relating tO health. disease and
medicines. They seldom stop and
think for themselves. but are quite
content to take every thing told them
for granted. believing every body and
every thing. All that will be changed.
but the ripe period will be a long time
coming. Arnica is a poison. and cases
where it has acted SO are occasionally
reported. Generally. where such an
accident happens. the drug is taken by
mistake for some other. As for its
poisoning = person where he uses it -
IN external application. shat is not at
all likely. Still. from what has been
said in the foregoing; it is safe to con-
clude that arnica in any form is prac-
ideally useless for any purpose for
khich the non professional could apply
It,
In arsenic We have an ancient and
poison. which il said to
have been the only poisonous COM
pound OF tho famous aqua TofYana.
Considering the fact that arsenic IL
used in many arts. and manufactured
everywhere. It Il easily obtained; and.
a natural consequence. it has openly
or secretly been the death Of q number
Of people beyond computation. What
called rats-bane il the white oxide
Of arsenic. Paris green. the enemy Of
potato bugs. Is an arsenical prepara-
tion with copper. There are many
other ''exserminators' on the market
Of which the principal ingredient is
arsenic. The form Of this agent which
has heen in times past generally pre-
scribed by physiciAns is Eowler's sOlu-
ton. Arsenic has. u~ndeniably. medici-
nal value. and Il Is curative in certain
Of the system. The recog-
nized limits OF its usefulness are much
narrower than they were even a score
Of Yeas ago. for in many Of the
diseases in which Il was formerly con. !
sidered the one remedy. other agents
have been proved to b much more eff
Aud. beside that physicians
know moro Of the action Of arsenic |
under all conditions Of the system. and
ouch advance in knowledge has drawn
from its importance rs . medicine and
Ddded much 70 its dignity - . poison. |
They have learned that in certain dis
caseA While doing good. it was yet
doing harm: the former effect being
and the latter remote. o.. ast
for . time remaining concealed.
By experineats the fact wasdevelopsd
hat animals 70 which arsenic had been
Kivcu in very small doses grew heavier
nd fatter, but It the same time there
res also fasty dsgeserstioa Of tAs
heart liver and kidneya
No other conclusioas can Be drawn
hon . physiological ssudy a arsenic
IN thsre are so0e diseases IN which
s eaa % aaaA god visAsss dstagl