According to Ditmar Finkler, of Bonn. • quinine occupies a front rank. In the German collective investigation reports some praised quinine as giving brilliant results, while others were greatly disap pointed in its effects.
Whenever vomiting is severe, tempo rary abstinence and afterward rectal ali mentation find their indication. Alcohol greatly diluted, peptones, mild salt solu tions, and liquid albumins are readily absorbed in the colon, which, even in the smallest infant, is made accessible by elevating the hip and moderating the current by not raising the irrigator more than a foot above the anus. Peptonized milk, egg, and broths are absorbed in part. In severe vomiting best relief is given by morphine, rarely by ice, either internally or externally. A tablet of 1 milligramme may be thrown into the mouth of a child of two or four years, there to be absorbed, or or 1 drop of Magendie's solution may be administered in the same manner without dilution.
There is hardly a disease which has great a tendency to cause numerous other nervous symptoms, from languor to heart-failure, as influenza.
One of the best stimulants, useful in the gravest of all cases which are at tended with collapse and heart-failure, is Siberian musk. A child of two years should take of the 10-per-cent. tincture 5 to 10 minims every half-hour until half a dozen or a dozen doses have been taken. Musk. together with large. hot enemata, will lead over many a difficult pass. A. Jacobi (Med. News, Dec. 15, 1900).
Quinine in small doses is a sure proph ylactic against influenza. Personally very subject to it, having had five at tacks in four years. When the next epi demic occurred, the writer began to take 2 grains (0.13 gramme) of quinine every morning with his breakfast, and has done so each succeeding period when the disease was prevalent. As a result, he has never had another attack. He ob tained the same favorable results in his patients who had on previous occasions suffered with influenza. The quinine acted as an effectual prophylactic. W. Habgood (Brit. Med. Jour., June S, 1901).
In the more severe cases, instead of one powder at bed-time, the same should be given every four hours until four have been taken, then move the bowels with the laxative and follow with moderate doses of quinine, alternated with 5-grain doses of sodium salicylate, until all the active symptoms have disappeared.
When the bronchial symptoms have been persistent, with soreness in the chest, instead of the sodium salicylate I have given, with very good results, a teaspoon ful of the following mixture every four or six hours until the chest symptoms were relieved:— Ij Hydrochlorate of ammonia, drachms.
Ant. et potass. tart., 2 grains. Mercuric bichloride, 2 grains. Morph. sulph., 3 grains.
Syr. of licorice, 5 ounces.—M.
When the influenza has induced at the beginning so much irritation of the gas tric and intestinal mucous membrane that the powders of Dover's powder and camphor cannot be retained, I have given instead .1 doses of salol aided by or 3 grains of calomel at night for the first two days with entirely satisfactory results. Then smaller doses of the salol, alternated with very moder ate doses of quinine, has been all the medication necessary to complete the re covery of the patient. In all cases, dur ing the active stage the patient has been kept at rest, and, as far as practicable, in a well-ventilated, warm, but not over heated room.
Salicin, 20 to 40 grains prescribed every hour, for three or six hours; then, every two hours, for a day; after that, at long intervals. Convalescence coin _ menced in twenty-four hours in all cases, and, in most, in twelve hours. There were no serious complications. Maclagen (Lancet, Jan. 11, '90).
In the exudative form of aural com plications, when the pain is severe, local blood-letting in the temporal region, ice bags behind or about the ear, and, in some cases, iodine locally to the mastoid, forms the treatment. Subsequently, if paracentesis cannot be performed, warm instillations into the external auditory canal to be made hourly. If the pain increases and the temperature rises while exudation is detected in the middle ear, with pain and sensitiveness in the mas toid region, paracentesis affords the greatest relief. Inflation to be practiced, the canal syringed with an antiseptic solution and packed with gauze. Haug (Munch. med. Woch., Feb. 25, '90).