The century cook book

Piles. The plethoric constitution is the most liable to them, especially with sedentary habits. Long standing or sitting upon hard seats, over-stimulating diet, misuse of purgatives, and the constipation of the bowels, always predispose to piles. The bowels must be regulated, neither over purged nor allowed to be costive; a soluble state is the most desirable. Magnesia is irritant to piles, and so are the saline cathartics. Rhubarb, sulphur and senna are the laxatives most approved for hemorrhoidal cases. A teaspoonful of compound licorice powder at bedtime will gently open the bowels. On retiring to bed at night, inject the following into the rectum: Take of fluid extract of hamamelis, three drachms, fluid extract of golden seal, two drachms, sweet oil, two ounces; mix. The following will also be found useful: Powder of galls, two drachms, opium, ten grains, lard, one ounce; mix, and apply. Or, take of extract of belladonna, one drachm, spermaceti ointment, one 3^4 The Family Doctor ounce; mix, use as ointment for painful piles. Or, take of extract of belladonna, one drachm, iodoform, one-half drachm, sugar of lead, one scruple, vaseline, one ounce; mix, and apply to piles three or four times a day. The piles should be bathed in cold water just before each application, and the bowels kept freely open with a gentle purgative, in painful hemorrhoids. For bleeding piles, use the following: Take of tannic acid, twenty grains, water, six ounces; dissolve, and inject (cooled with ice) into the rectum. After each morning stool, the rectum should be injected with warm water, or if great debility exists, with beef tea, and permitted to remain half an hour longer. As a palliation and often curative remedy for local and internal piles, hamamelis is very superior to all other remedies. Rheumatism. There are two forms; first, the acute articular rheumatism, or rheumatic fever; second, chronic rheumatism. The acute rheumatism is characterized by high fever with severe inflammation of several of the larger and smaller joints, which mostly, one after another, become swollen, red, hot, tender and painful. The shoulders, wrists, knees and ankles are most frequently so affected. Absolute rest in bed is necessary, and the joints gently rubbed with a liniment containing one ounce of laudanum and three ounces of camphorated oil, then covered with cotton batting. For internal use, five grain doses of salicine every three hours is a most valuable remedy. Salicylic acid is also a very effective remedy in ten grain doses every two hours until five or six doses are taken, and afterward the same amount three or four times a day. Salicylate of sodium is probably better suited in every case for its being less disagreeable and more soluble. Its doses must be about twothirds larger than the salicylic acid. A ten grain Dover powder at night will help to give great relief. Either of the following prescriptions will be found very useful in all acute The Family Doctor 325