The Marshall republican., 1906-05-25
Home Health
| Club
D, DAVID 7; lEED.s; p. D.. ~.
PERsIsTINa IN CURE

II Is often found important as our
readers know. to urge general ideas
concerning curing diseased conditions,
illustrating these by special cases Of
illness that have been relieved. This
Is what Is desired at present. The irst
things for consideration are those 10
be regarded not as desirable persist
ence. following these by some things
which are. Well, then. suppose you
have a cas- Ia q large joint. such ~
the knee. You have to think there
Is something like infammatory action
In this knee joint. or at least. In the
fieshy parts that surround II.
You put on a cold. wet cloth. and
press II gently around the limb. This
Ia very comforting. and somewhat
eases the pain or restlessness that has
been experienced. Up 10 a certain
point this cooling process In felt To be
right and pleasant. but beyond that Il
begins to lose Its pleasant character.
and 10 persist beyond this point IL not
desirable. II IL evident that from that
time you have a call for something
else than cooling. That has been good
up to this period. but II Is not 70 be-
yond Il: therefore you stop the cooling
process for a time. And Il will now
be well 10 adopt Just the opposite. You
accordingly get a tub or bath with hot
water. and pour this upon the knees.
or II this cannot be done. you soak a
large flannel In hot water aud wrap
that around the knee. packing all up
In n dry sheet TO keep the heat In IAN
we'll as possible. This IL felt to be
agreeable and comforting. but II you
continue this beyond a certain point
II ceases To be so alternating. Further
persistence In this treatment, there
fore. Is not desirable.
Nothing can be clearer than such a
truth as m to us here. but the
same truth appears In a great many
cases, and In a great many ways. With
this knee. you have two opposite
modes OF dealing. and both will fail at
a certain stage; therefore. TO persist
with either beyond that stage will do
harm rather than good.
But you are not TO conclude that you
must give up both Al hopeless merely
because both fail at a certain point.
You cease cooling when II IL indicated
you shall do so: you cease fomenting
with hot applications when Il Is indi-
Gated you shall discontinue that. But
you return To the cooling when the
heat falls and you ind this has become
delightful now. You go on with II IN
Ill II ceases TO be so; then, change to
the hot lamentations thus alternating
as the conditions indicate.
But Il 10 not desirable persistence to
keep going on beyond a certain time
with either the hot or the cold treat
ment and that time is shown by both
ceasing to give comfort. Then entire
rest is indicated; but abandonment of
the poor knee Is not rest. Rest will
be relieving TO a certain point. beyond
which It produces uneasiness. and II,
therefore. undesirable after that point
is reached.
The cooling. probably. will be the
right thing now. and SO, II you are to
succeed In Affecting a complete cure.
change treatments as above advised.
But now for real and desirable per-
s~istence. You have q al of severe
neuralgia pain. and you apply cold to
the root Of the nerve or nerves az
fected. The feeling is one Of slight re-
lief. but Il is 70 little Il scanned 10 do
no good. Stili Il is rather comfortable
than otherwise.
TO follow this slender thread IL de-
sirablc persistence. It may be that the
pain not only returns e soon a. you
stop cooling the roots OF the nerves.
but that It comes hack porse. Yet Il
this cooling does the slightszt good II
ilts application. Il Il desiFahls % per-