The National tribune., 1892-04-21
HEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young
~ FELIX L. OSWALD. NJ. D.
CHAPTER CXXXVIII.
CHRONIC RHEUMATISM.

One of them is asthma the other chronic rheu-
matism. Rheumatism, in some of its forms, ID
attended by febrile symptoms, and, like other
fevers. can be temporarily relieved by counter
irritants. The feverish condition Of far-ad-
vanced consumption can for time be allevi-
ated in the same manner, and that analogy still
| misleads many rheumatic patients to ascrlbe
their trouble to atmospheric influences.
"No wonder your bones ache. after an ex-
posure to such weather." was the comment OF
| sympathiZing relatives, when friend of mine
| returned from three weeks sojourn at q
| hunting camp, where every raln-storm had
been made a pretext for such indoor. or rather
intent, pastimes as card-playing and immoder-
ate eiuttony. Regular rheumatism weather"
is an Old England term for damp, cold day.
| That delusion has been rather confirmed by
| the circumstance that certain classes of outdoor
laborers, railroad hands especially, are notori-
ously subject TO rheumatic affections. Fisher
men-more than other toiiers Of the sea-fre-
quently suffer in the same way.
Those facts however, can be perfectly recon-
ciled with the theory which attributes rheu-
matism to the after-effects Of indigestion. /
remember the case of Tennessee mountaineer
who had to support his family by cbopping
| cord wood and every now and then had to
| interrupt his work account of rheumatism.
| All remedies failed-ideness eXcepted-and
| the poor fellow found himself more and more
permanently cut off from the only chance of
making living till he tried the plan of eating
| his principal meal at the end of the working
day. His trouble subsidized from that week,
and at last returned only at long intervals in
the form of shooting pains in the joints, day
or two after specially good dinner.
The principle of the case is this: Even q
moderate meal may become indigestible IL
Immediately followed by hard and protracted
work. Wood-cutting being about the hardest
| work man can engage in, efectually inter
rupts the process of digestion unless the in
| dividual owns the stomach Of n Canadian bear)
| and in warm weather may moreover force the
morbidly -decomposed contents of the bowels
into tho current of circulation, the liver be-
comes surcharged with effete matter, and the
| blood with acrid humors, which at last affect
| the joints, prod the torture Of chronic
rheumatism. Railroad laborers, too, fire.
| quently obliged to return to hard work imme-
diately after the only full meal they can hope
to get in day, though the hardships Of their
| existence are perhaps exceeded by the toll of
hauling the drag-nets of an oyster coast where
thirty minutes is about the maximum Of the
time allowed for dinner. Merchantmen sail
ors, though occasionally exposed to rough
weather, get, as rule, ample time for meals
and in consequence suffer much less from
rheumatism.
Cold weather, too, Is digestive stimulant;
hence. perhaps. the otherwise inexplicable fact
are less troubled with rheumatic affections than
those OF the lower latitudes, though it Is true
that some of the largest Canadian pineries are
owned by companies subject to Government
control, with provisos preventing the risk of
their employees being habitually overworke ed.
But oven persons of sedentary habits may con-
! tract rheumatism by observation-disclosures in indi-
gestible viands heterogeneous food" as chem
lists call meat and other animal substances. are
specially apt to cause such mischief; cheese,
hot-spced made dishes, and the custom of TAX
ing coffee after dinner likewise complicate the
work of the stomach; the liver and kidneys
become clOgged with undigested material, and
the accumulation Of vitiated humors soon be-
gins to affect the larger joints. In the knee
joints the fuctuation Of the morbid secretions
can often be plainly felt by pressing the palms
of the hands to both sides Of the knee The
affected parts become swollen, and the slight
est movement aggravates the pain till the
patient at last has to keep his bed and remain
almost immovabe for hours together. To what
degree that sensitiveness to pressure and, in
deed, to motions of any kind may proceed may
be inferred from the fact that once highly
Wanted remedy, calomel mainly, was unpopu
lar chiefly on account of the implied necessity
TO leave the bed ut frequent intervals.
In confirmed cases OF chronic rheumatism
the whole digestive apparatus is in state of
disorder. The tongue is thickly coated. the
stomach performs its functions in sluggish
manner, sick headaches continue even while
the pains in the joints are kept in allegiance by
avoiding the slightest motion.
very serious complication mag arise II tho
action OF the acrid humors should extend to the
| delicate mem branes OF the heart or brain.
| "Pericarditis," as physicians call the affection
of the first-namcd tissue, often results fatally
and to prevent that risk old-time practitioners
used to resort to bleeding, even to the extent
Il; 81
| making him faint, in which case, Of course, the
sense of pain stopped, together with other
| symptoms Of consciousness; but the afcr-aliects
of that remedy were often as serious az tho
disease itself, and a much safer plan is that re-
| commended by 4 prominent modern sauitarian :
"The patient should eat nothing for the first
day or two, and, In fact, the majority of patients
especially those who have been high iyers
will do well to fast for two or three or even
four or FIVE days. at the end OF that time the
diet should consist Of fruit, fruit juices, and
such preparations Of grains as Cruel, boiled RICE
| grts, parched corn, grauula, and similar light
and digestible food.
ain place of food, while fasting the patient
should take large quantities of water. Half a
glassful or glassful every hour is the guam
tity which we habitually recommend. The
! water is better taken hot, but If hot water Ia
| obnoxious to the patient he may take il cold
The purpose of the water-drinl1ng is to aid the
elimination of poisonous matters from the
body. Free water-drnking stimulates the
action OF the skin, liver bowels and lungs.
The work Of all the excretory organs is facili-
tated, and thus all excretions are increased in
quantity.
Next 20 fasting profuse sweating is, perhaps,
the most efficient of all means Of treatment
which be administered in acute rheuina-
tism. This fact was long ago determined at
the Bellevue Hospital, where it was at one time
the fashion to keep patients suffering from
| rheumatism in 3 sweating pack for q hours at
a time, and not unfrequently the patient was
kept in a state Of profuso perspiration almost
constantly for several days in succession. The
water-drinking tends to produce Precipitation :
and, when necessary, this may be stimulated by
the employment Of bags filed with hotwater, hot
bricks dipped in hot water, then wrapped in
iannels. and by such other means as are gem
orally used to produce dry or sweating pack J"
Friction with flesh brush or warm piece OF
WOODEN cloth has remarkable effect in reliev-
ing thu pain of swollen joints, and after the
patient has once regained tho use Of his legs,
lie should be encouraged to complete the cure
by free exercise indoors or out, especially in
warm weather and under circumstances pro-
noting perspiration.
The hope of permanent recovery depends
indeed upon the chance of lt-timed exercise.
Directly after dinner hard work is next to
habitnal gluttony) the most common cause of
rheumatism, but at proper times--i. e., at least
four hours after full meal or two after light