CURE FOR DIPHTHERIA.

Kumara Times, Issue 2727, 18 June 1885, Page 3

CURE FOR DIPHTHERIA.

The following cure for diphtheria should prove useful at the present time:—

A French physician has discovered that vapors of liquid tar and turpentine dissolve the fibrinous exudations which choke up the throat in croup and diphtheria. Dr. Del toil's process is thus described :—He pours equal parts of turpentine and liquid tar into a tin pan or cup and sets fire to the mixture. A dense, resinous smoke arises, which obscures.the air of the room.

"The patient," Dr. Delthil says, " immediately seems to experience relief; the choking and rattle stop; the patient falls into a slumber, and seems to inhale the smoke with pleasure. The fibrinous membrane soon becomes detached, and the patient coughs up microbicicjes. These, when caught in a glass, may be seen to dissolve in the smoke. In the course of three days afterward the patient entirely recovers." This treatment was recently tried in New York. The patient a little girl, was lying gasping for breath when the physician visited her. First pouring about two tablespoonfnls of liquefied tar on an iron pan, he poured as much turpentine over it and set it on fire. The rich resinous smoke which rose to the ceiling was by no means unpleasant. As it filled the room the child's breathing became natural, and as the smoke grew dense she fell asleep.