Medical Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 247, 17 March 1888, Page 9

Medical Notes.

Simile, But Valuable Medicinp;s. — A pound or so of coarsely-cruehed linseed should always be kept in the house in an air-tighb tin, also a tin of mustard and camomile flowers and poppy heads for poultices aud fomentations. A bottle of disinfectinng fluid is an excellent adjunct to the medicine chest. So is a small, wide-mouthed bottle, filled with the petals of the large white lily, soaked in brandy. A little of the brandy applied at once to a bruise will prevent unsightly blackness, whilst a leaf laid on the place draws out inflammation. A very necessary assistant in measuring dry medicines is a pair of grain scales, with weights from naif a grain to two drachms ; and for liquids, a glass drop measure, and a glass tea and tablespoon measure.

Hot water drinkinc— The healthfulness or unhealthfnlness of hot water drinking is the cause of much discussion. One insists that it has saved her life, another that it was the cause of much suffering ; while a third insists that it is harmless and useless. Physicians differ as widely as the patients. One thing cannot be disputed, aud that is, the feeling of cleanliness that follows the drinking of hot water. Mrs Henderson, in "Diet for the Sick," says:— "The drinking of simple hot water as a cure for rheumatism, , gout, dyspepsia, catarrh, &c, is very efficacious. In these diseases there is a sporouß condition, or an animal or vegetable growth on the coatings of the stomach or respiratory tubes. The tendency of hot water is to produce an irritation and excite an action of the mucous membranes of the tubes and stomach, which throws off or detaches diseased matter. The tendency of water is to wash off these impurities and carry off through the kidneys any effete matter. The water should be token as hot as possible. It is often taken in a wooden goblet. It should be taken on an empty stomach, either half an hour before a meal or two hours after. Hot water as a remedial agent is a fcomparatively new discovery. It was found that rheumatism, gout, &c, were cured at the Hot Springs of Arkansas by the patients drinking quantities of>the hot water of the springs. Experiments showed that any pure hot water was as good as that from these famous springs, the diuretic effect being what was lequired."

Salt in Food. — If we eafc the grains, vegetables, fruits, and other foods as nature supplies them we should have no occasion for salt on our tables, as that substance exists in natural food in the quantity and organised state adapted' to our purposes. ?ut the common processes of cooking destroy a good proportion of the saline cldments, J and hence <the craving o£ the system that is sought jto , benieb'by the inorganic product of ohenais try. quantity. Jieededis'very small eoinpared'Avith what; people got into theiwayjof, taking* with' their <i odd. One leading «db : ' jectionto theUmmdderate use of salt is.tpe fact thitt'.itiimpairs"the taste for simple, foods and delibate flavours. ' ) , - TO RJK^OVE fjANDRIFF ]FROM THE SCALP.^—"? Beat up the yojk of an'egg in a 1 pint of ''rain WAtjei*,' make \i warm/'ahd'rub it well into : the fd'ots of the' haif/ after which theh|ur : should be rinsed in warm water. . "*'* |

Burns.— Dr. Brame recommends oil of peppermint as an external application in cases of burns. The burned surface is moistened with water, «nd then painted over with oil, the effect being to relieve the pain quickly.

JLuii CosMr/riquK.— To prepare sticks of cofcmetique for the hair, melt together four parts of hrd and two parts of white wax. Perfume the mixture with a few drops of otto of rose or lavender, and cast ib into suitable sticks while hot. Rolled paper moulds may be need for this purpose. They may be tinted brown by adding a little finely ground amber, or black by using ivory black in the same way.