Part 2

“It fulfils many indications according to the various phases of disease; if you revert to what I have said of the specific actions and effects of the packing process, you will see sufficient ground for our using the invaluable aid of the wet sheet in chronic disease. We often want heat to be abstracted in these diseases, we want the nerves soothed, the circulation equalized, muscles rested, fatigue removed, a movement of the fluids to be determined to the surface, interior congestions to be disgorged, the equilibrium of the fluids established, secretions and exhalations to be promoted, ill-conditioned solids to be broken up and eliminated, the tissues of the skin to be soaked, its capillaries to be emptied and cleansed, its sentient extremities to be soothed, and through them the brain to be quieted on the one hand, and the ganglionic [3] system to be roused on the other.”

How many lives have been sacrificed by the practice of bleeding in feverish and inflammatory cases, from the non-adoption of wet-sheet packing, which causes no loss of strength, and leaves behind none of the debility and consequent long convalesence, which bleeding and strong medicines necessarily occasion. It is to us, indeed, inexplicable how so insane a process as bleeding can still be resorted to in this enlightened 19th century, a process which deprives nature of her vital fluid, and lets flow the stream on which our very existence depends. [4] How can this tapping of the springs of life be defended when an expedient for lowering inflammation without reducing the strength, presents itself for adoption by the physician, one which by its action purifies the blood, reducing fever by the abstraction of heat, and by the removal of the serum or watery constituent of the blood, which contains all its impurities. Will the public, then, place confidence in the physician who, when invited to cure them, would weaken them by bleeding, and assist the operations of nature by depriving her of that vital fluid, on the existence of which her powers of self-restoration depend? Will they prefer a system which ensures a long convalesence to the patient, to that in which he recovers from his disease without any sensible diminution of his strength, or injury to his constitution? In short, the operation of wet-sheet packing is so extraordinary and satisfactory in its results, that he who refuses to make use of it must lag behind, whilst success will attend the efforts of him who judiciously applies it in the cases to which it is suited.

The compress and hot stupe, next demand our attention; both are usually applied to the stomach; the latter consisting of a vulcanized India-rubber bag filled with hot water, which is laid over a towel, the under folds of which are moistened and placed next the body, a most efficient and convenient form of fomentation; these remedies are applied in the treatment of nearly all chronic diseases, where there is morbid action of the stomach, liver, or kidneys; this form of stupe, Dr. Wilson calls the

“Ne plus ultra of poulticing, soothing and derivation being by it most perfectly obtained, and in the greatest degree. Each operation has on deep seated chronic irritation, as one of its qualities, the advantageous effect of a mild blister or mustard plaister, without any of its drawbacks, and in acute inflammations, in all nervous or neuralgic pains, in the sufferings of colic, biliousness, or sickness of the stomach, or other digestive derangements from dietetic errors, and in the malaise ushering in fevers and inflammations, in sore throat, &c., or affections of the lungs and air tubes, it is then found to be the most agreeable and potent anodyne and equalizer of the circulation.”

It, in effect, accomplishes the most salutary operations of opiates, without any risk of congesting the liver, or producing that sickness and atony of the stomach, and all but paralysis of the lower bowels which result from the use of narcotic drugs.

“No nervous irritations,” says Dr. Wilson, “no visceral congestions, especially if of recent formation, but are soon relieved by this powerful revulsive rubefacient and anodyne. With the dissipation of those interior congestions comes the solution of pains and spasms, or flatulence which may have risen to a severe state of suffering, the release of bilious and nervous headaches, neuralgic pains, asthmatic fits, &c. These have all their origin near or remote in visceral obstructions, congestions, &c. In most cases where for a longer or a shorter time any organic action has been embarrassed, sleep banished or disquieted, and the patient irritated and exhausted to the last degree; by aid of the fomentations, in a brief time organic calm takes the place of organic tumult, ease succeeds to agitation, and the whole apparatus feels to work normally and with renewed alacrity. What I have just described, you may frequently hear repeated and descanted upon in the same strain by my patients.”

The effect of the hot-stupe in the removal of irritation from the viscera, the immediate cause of dysentery, &c., is very remarkable, and from our knowledge of its effects, we have often regretted that so simple and rational an expedient was not resorted to, in the treatment of those diseases by which our noble army was more than decimated in the late Crimean Campaign. On this subject Dr. Wilson remarks—

“So strong was my conviction, that I wrote to my good friend Lord Rokeby, requesting him to offer my service through Mr. Sidney Herbert. I offered to go and remain there (at Scutari) entirely at my own expense, not as a ‘water doctor,’ but as an ordinary medical practitioner, willing to lend a hand, and make himself generally useful. I stated that I had almost lived in hospitals for seven years, had afterwards witnessed the practice of nearly every great hospital in Europe, and could undertake simple operations, and any amputations with little preparation: had been twenty-five years in practice. After some weeks I received a polite letter thanking me, but fearing it could not be done, not being quite the custom. About this time there was an outcry for medical men, those at the hospitals were too few for the work, they were worn out with fatigue.”

Further on he adds—

“I have had a great many patients suffering under Chronic diseases from climate, exposure, and want of care, &c., patients from India, Ceylon, and the Antipodes, with long continued diarrhœa, dysentery, and intractable fever of an intermittent character. From the success of this simple treatment in those cases, I have not ceased to regret that I did not go to Scutari on my own account without permit or introduction. I might have introduced the practice gradually, being sure that it only required a trial to have been adopted by the medical staff with great satisfaction.”

We join Dr. Wilson heartily in this regret, as it would have led to the introduction of this remedy if proved efficient, and silenced its advocates if it proved a failure. Nowhere could the two systems have been more severely and satisfactorily tested, and we should all have benefited by the result; the relative merits of the two systems would have been decided, and the public no longer left to hang in doubt between them.

The sitz bath and foot bath come next in point of importance. The former acts with marked effect in cases of congestion of the liver and other internal organs; by abstracting heat from the surface of the body submitted to its influence, it causes a transference of fluids from the centre to the exterior, and the congested organs are relieved from their excess of blood by its being thus determined to the surface; this effect, at first temporary, becomes permanent when the use of the bath has been persevered in for some time. Let us now compare the effects of this bath, in the cases of congestion of the liver, with the treatment usually pursued by the orthodox physicians. Their remedies consist in dosing with Calomel, or Taraxacum, or in the application of leeches to the affected region. The two former stimulate the action of the liver, in spite of the congested blood which oppresses it, but they do not attempt to deal with the causes of this congestion, the result of which is that the liver being weakened by its unnatural exertions consequent on the unnatural stimulants which have been administered to it, sinks—after the effect of the unnatural stimulus has worn away—into a more enfeebled and exhausted state, and the original cause of the congestion remaining unremoved, matters become worse than at first. In the case of leeching, the topical bleeding relieves the affection for a time, but this is a remedy which cannot be REPEATED in consequence of the weakness which it engenders, and when the bleeding is given up, how do matters stand? The disease remains in statu quo; not so, however, the constitution, for this has been weakened by the bleeding, and nature being consequently less able to cure herself, chronic disease of the liver results. On the other hand, the hydropathic treatment necessary to determine the blood from the congested organ to the surface, and so remove the disease, can be repeated as often as desirable, with constantly increasing effect, until permanent relief is afforded by a perseverance in the treatment, and the patient improves in general health, pari passu, with the cure of his particular disease. The effects of the sitz bath, are, it appears, either tonic or relaxing according to the length of time during which it is administered; if a tonic effect is desired, a period varying from ten to fifteen minutes is prescribed—if a relaxing or derivative effect is to be produced, the period is extended to half-an-hour or forty-five minutes.

We should have thought it superfluous to make any observations on the evil effects of mercury, which we thought were acknowledged by everybody, were it not that we recently heard it designated by a much respected physician as “a most wholesome substance,” the chief objection to it being “that persons got too fat upon it.” This opinion astonished us not a little, and we felt that when habit [5] and prejudice could so pervert the mind of a physician as to make him look upon a poisonous substance as a positive good, we could easily account for the difficulty which has been always experienced in converting a medical man—for the unsatisfactory state of the medical art, and its having so long pertinaciously followed the routine practice of our ancestors. When a mind cannot perceive the difference between black and white, it is in vain to place less obvious differences before it. We now quote the opinion of Dietrich as to the effects of this “wholesome” ingredient, mercury, for the benefit of the physician in question, and such of our readers as may hitherto have agreed with him. He tells us that—

“Soon after salivation has been established, the blood exhibits an inflammatory crust; at a later period its colour deepens, and its coagulability is diminished; the proportion of clot, and, therefore, of fibrin, to serum (or watery part) becomes smaller; the formation of albumen and mucus sinks to that of serum; the whole organic formation of the patient is less consistent and cohesive.”

Which opinion is right, let the public judge. We will not prejudice their verdict by any further observations of ours, but will merely ask them, if mercury be proved unnecessary, how can its continued use be defended?

Dr. Farre writes sportively as follows:—

“A full, plethoric woman, of a purple-red complexion, consulted me * * * I gave her mercury, and in six weeks blanched her as white as a lily.”

If this be what the Allopathist boasts of, and one of the effects he aims at producing, we congratulate him on the melancholy success which usually attends his efforts.

As regards the use of the foot bath, we may observe that the theory of its administration subverts all our preconceived notions respecting the proper mode of treating those affections for which it is usually prescribed. For instance, the old mode of proceeding in affections of blood to the head, or in cases of cold feet, was to apply cold to the head and warmth to the feet, in the shape of hot flannels, hot bricks, and hot stupes. Now the Hydropathic mode of treatment is the very reverse of this, viz., to bathe the head in tepid, and place the feet in cold water to about the depth of three inches, up to the ankles—friction of the feet accompanying their immersion; the whole being continued for about ten minutes. Let any person suffering from cold feet try this remedy, and he will satisfy himself of the truth of the principles which enjoin it. Its rationale is as follows:—The application of warm water to the head, of the same temperature as the body, does not increase the flow of blood to it, whilst the subsequent evaporation from the moist and warm surface of the head cools it gradually, and so diminishes the flow of blood to it, whilst the cold application to the feet, has, “for a secondary result, the attraction and retention in those parts of great quantity of blood, and consequently of increased temperature there. In fact,” continues Dr. Gully, “a cold foot bath of twelve or fifteen minutes, followed by a walk of half-an-hour, is the most certain way to warm the feet that can be devised; just as, per contra, the most certain way to insure cold feet, is to soak them in hot water. The same applies to the hands. When the patient is in a condition to take it, a walk is necessary to obtain the circulating reaction alluded to:” he adds, “the warmth remains for several hours. Very frequently I have heard persons say that they have not known cold feet since they began to take cold foot baths.”

With respect to bathing generally, very erroneous opinions appear to prevail, two of which only we will notice:—First, that for delicate constitutions bathing is dangerous, because no reaction takes place in the system;—secondly, that it is dangerous to bathe in cold water when the body is heated. To the first we answer, that no matter how delicate the constitution may be, reaction can always be obtained, if water of a proper temperature be used; this temperature will vary with the vitality of the individual—the more delicate the individual the warmer the water must be. A delicate person will often receive the same shock and benefit to his system from water at a temperature of 80°, as a strong man may, perhaps, receive from water at a temperature of 42°. To the second we reply, that a more erroneous opinion could not by possibility prevail, and that the idea in question is exactly the opposite of the truth; the fact being, that the body cannot be too warm for cold bathing, always provided, that such warmth has not been produced at the cost of bodily languor and fatigue, as in such cases the system will be too much weakened to react after the bath with effect; but with this exception, the warmer the body the greater will be the reaction and benefit received, and the longer may the bather continue with impunity to luxuriate in the bath. The body is never so well calculated to withstand the effects of cold as when it is heated; and the only danger to be apprehended from cold bathing is that arising from entering the water in a chilled condition, when, from the low vitality of the body, the subsequent reaction becomes imperfect. Let these maxims be remembered:—that without subsequent reaction, no bath is beneficial—therefore, water should be always used of a proper temperature to secure reaction, and exercise to warmth, taken immediately before and after a cold bath, when practicable; that the colder the bath (provided reaction follows) the greater its benefit, the reaction being always a mean proportional between the temperature of the bather and the water in which he bathes. Whenever bathing is found to disagree with any person, it will be always found that some of the preceding conditions have been neglected, a very common fault being that of entering the water in a chilled state, and remaining there for twenty minutes, when five would have proved, perhaps, more than sufficient; then headache, languor, and chilliness succeed, and we are told that bathing disagrees. With such bathing, the wonder would be that it did not.

We would next make some observations on the different modes of treating pulmonary consumption, that fatal and mysterious disease, which has so long baffled the curative efforts of the most eminent physicians of their day, and it is gratifying to find that a great step towards a rational and successful mode of treatment, based on sound physiological principles, has lately obtained in its case, which mode we hope soon to see generally adopted by the medical profession. [6] The unsuccessful treatment of this disease has hitherto cast a slur on medical science, and it is not to be wondered at that little success should have attended on the orthodox mode of treatment, since recent observation, and matured experience have shown, on physiological principles, that no worse mode could have been devised for curing, nor a surer one adopted for aggravating the disease. This new view of the matter is very ably set forth in Dr. Lane’s work, which we heartily recommend to the perusal of our readers, as a sensible and modest statement of the benefits resulting from Hydropathic treatment in cases of that nature. Dr. Lane looks upon consumption as essentially a blood disease, in which opinion he is confirmed by the first physiologists of the day, and by those physicians who have had most experience in the treatment of that particular disease, Sir James Clarke, Professor Bennet, Dr. Balbyrnie, and others. These physicians concur in confirming the observation of others, to the effect that indigestion or derangement of the stomach and digestive organs, is a universal forerunner of pulmonary consumption, and that without such derangement consumption cannot exist. Consequent on this diseased state of the digestive organs, imperfect blood is assimilated, deficient in its oleaginous elements, and containing an undue amount of albuminous materials; that in consequence of this deficiency of oleaginous elements, the blood is incapable of being converted into true cellular tissue to replace the effete material of the lungs, and the superabundant quantity of albumen has a tendency to exude upon the lungs on their exposure to cold in the form of tubercles, which process is unaccompanied by inflammatory action. These facts are based on long observation and direct chemical analysis of the substance composing the tubercles, which consist of almost pure albumen; and on this theory the wonderful effects of cod liver oil in consumptive cases, and the great emaciation of body which results from the disease are satisfactorily explained. In the one case, the cod liver oil supplies, in a light and digestible form, the oleaginous element in which the blood is deficient; in the other, the system has recourse to the fatty or adipose matter of the body to supply the oleaginous principle. But now the question arises, supposing that indigestion is the universal precursor of consumption, from what does this indigestion and consequent imperfect assimilation of the blood proceed? This question Dr. Lane does not touch upon, but we believe that Dr. Barter, the well-known Hydropathic physician of Blarney, considers that it arises from defective vitality [7] in the blood, caused by deficiency of oxygen in the system, more immediately proceeding from defective capacity of the lungs, and imperfect action of the skin. The skin and lungs, it must be remembered, are supplementary organs; stop the action of either, and death inevitably ensues, and on their perfect or imperfect action, perfect or imperfect health depends. This view of the disease is illustrated by the history of the monkey: in its wild state, the best authorities state, it never gets consumption, but domesticate the animal, so inducing bad action of the lungs, from want of sufficient exercise and wholesome air, and imperfect action of the skin, arising from the same cause, and it usually dies of this disease. These observations equally apply to all cases of scrofulous degeneration, which physicians estimate as carrying off prematurely one-sixth of the whole human family. [8] Of this terrible disease, the scourge of the human race, it is sufficient to observe, that consumption is merely a form of it, and that it is, moreover, hereditary, a fact which would corroborate the opinion of its being a true blood disease.

Having referred to the fact of the lungs and skin being supplementary organs—the principal duty of both being to aerate the blood—it may be interesting to lay before our readers the following extracts from the results of Monsieur Fourcault’s experiments bearing on the subject. These experiments were made with the view of ascertaining the effect of the suppression of transpiration by the skin, in animals, on coating their bodies with an impermeable varnish. The committee of the French Institute thus describes these experiments:—

“The substances which he used were givet-glue, dextrine, pitch, and tar, and several plastic compounds; sometimes the varnish was made to cover the whole of the animal’s body, at other times only a more or less extensive part of it. The accidents which follow this proceeding are more or less complete or incomplete, general or partial. In every case the health of the animals is soon much impaired and their life in danger. Those which have been submitted to those experiments, under our observation, have died in one or two days, and in some cases in a few hours only.

“In the opinion of the committee these experiments are full of interest for the future, * * * * the experiments of M. Fourcault cannot fail to throw a new light upon the physiological and pathological phenomena, depending upon the double function of inhalation and exhalation of the cutaneous system.”

Monsieur Fourcault himself thus writes:—

“The mucous membranes were not the only parts affected by the artificial suppression of the insensible perspiration. We also observed the production of serous effusions in the pericardium, and even in the pleuræ. These effusions thus demonstrate that dropsies are found in the same body as mucous discharges. Several dogs died with paraplegia, and could only drag themselves along on their fore paws; some died atrophied, and their lungs contained miliary tubercules, which appeared to me, from their whiteness and softness, to be of recent formation. It was, therefore, now impossible to doubt the influence of the suppression of the insensible perspiration of the skin upon the changes in the blood, the mucous and serous exudations, and finally, upon the development of local lesions.

“But the results of these experiments differ in toto according as the plastering is partial or general, or as it suspends the action of the skin incompletely or completely. In the first case, the alteration of the blood is not carried so far as to cause the dissolution of its organic elements; it can coagulate, and present, in some few cases, a buffy coat of little consistency, bearing some resemblance to that which is found in inflammatory blood. As to the tissues affected, they, however, appear to me to present the anatomical characteristics of the consequences of local inflammation.