Mother's Remedies Part 40

Recovery.--The result in your children when it comes with scarlet fever is not so good. It may run into chronic nephritis. In adults when it is due to exposure the rule is recovery.

Treatment.--The patient must be kept in bed until there is complete recovery. He should be clothed in flannel.

Diet and Nursing.--This must be of milk, water or mineral water in large quant.i.ties; milk or b.u.t.termilk should be the main article of food. You can give gruels made of arrowroot or oatmeal, barley water, beef tea and chicken broth. But it is better to stick strictly to milk. As the patient gets better, bread and b.u.t.ter, lettuce, watercress, grapes, oranges, and other fruits may be given. The return to a meat diet should be gradual.

The patient should drink freely of mineral waters, ordinary water or lemonade, these keep the kidneys flushed and wash out the "debris" from the tubes. One dram of cream of tartar in a pint of boiling water, add the juice of half a lemon and a little sugar; this when taken cold is a pleasant satisfactory diluting drink. Cream of tartar one dram, juice of lemon, sugar sufficient, water one pint, may be given whenever desired.

There should be hot water baths daily or oftener; or you can produce sweating by placing hot water jars around the patient, and watch to see whether it is too weakening. It can also be done by introducing steam underneath the bedding, that is then lifted a little, so that the steam vapor can circulate about the patient. Be careful not to burn the patient with the hot steam. This, of course, is done through a hose attached to a steaming kettle. Also see treatment of dropsy under "scarlet fever."

Bowels, Attention to.--They should be moved every morning by a saline (salt) cathartic, if necessary, especially if the dropsy continues. This produces watery stool. Cream of tartar and epsom salts, equal parts, is good remedy; one-half teaspoonful every three hours for a child one year old until the bowels move freely; one-half to one ounce can be given to an adult.

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CHRONIC BRIGHT'S DISEASE. (Chronic Parenchymatous Nephritis. Chronic Diffuse Desquamative or Tubal Nephritis. Chronic Diffuse Nephritis with Exudation). Causes.--Young adult life and most common in males. It may come from acute inflammation of the kidneys that was due to exposure, pregnancy, or scarlet fever, or follow excessive use of alcohol, etc. In children it usually follows acute inflammation of the kidneys or scarlet fever.

Condition.--The kidneys may be enlarged, with thin capsule, white surface, cortex thickened and yellowish, or whitish (large white kidney). The epithelium of the tubules is granular, or fatty or the tubules are distended and contain casts. Cells of the "Glomeruli" and their capsules are swollen. There is moderate increase of interst.i.tial tissue. In other cases, the "small white kidney," the kidney is small and pale either at first or as a later stage of the large white kidney. The surface is pale, rough and granular; the capsule is thickened and partially adherent; the surface is thin with white and yellowish areas of fatty degenerations. The interst.i.tial tissue is much increased; epithelial degeneration in the tubules extensive. There is also the large red kidney, and with any of these types the left heart may be enlarged and the arteries thickened.

Symptoms.--If it occurs after acute nephritis the symptoms of acute nephritis subside, but anemia and the changes in the urine persist.

Usually there is a gradual onset with paleness and puffiness of the eyelids, ankles or hands in the morning. Later there is difficult breathing, increased watery swelling of the face, extremities and dependent portions of the body; worse in the morning. There is a pasty yellowish pallor, afterwards dropsy of the abdominal and chest cavities.

The urine is diminished, high colored, specific gravity usually 1020 to 1025 with much alb.u.min. Many casts which are named hyaline, granular, epithelial and fatty. The action of the heart is bad. There may be trouble with the stomach and bowels, constipated, etc. The digestion is poor and the patient frequently suffers with much gas. Recovery is rare after it has lasted one year.

Treatment. Diet.--Milk or b.u.t.termilk should be the main article of food.

You can give gruels made of arrowroot or oatmeal, barley water, beef tea, and chicken broth, but it is better to keep strictly to milk. As the patient gets better, bread and b.u.t.ter, lettuce, watercress, grapes, oranges and other fruits may be given. The return to the meat diet should be gradual. The patient should drink freely of mineral water, ordinary water, or lemonade. These keep the kidneys flushed and wash out the "debris" from the tubes. One dram (teaspoonful) of cream of tartar in a pint of boiling water, add the juice of a half a lemon and a little sugar.

This when taken cold is a pleasant, satisfactory drink. Medical treatment is not satisfactory. The only thing to do is to give medicines to meet the indications; fifteen to twenty grain doses of lactate of strontium.

Diuretin also is used. Basham's mixture for anemia is of help in some cases. It can be bought at any drug store.

[KIDNEY AND BLADDER 159]

CHRONIC INTERSt.i.tIAL NEPHRITIS. (Sclerosis or Cirrhosis of the Kidneys.

Granular, Contracted or Gouty Kidney).--This is met with, (a) as a sequence of the large white kidneys forming the so-called pale granular or secondary contracted kidney; (b) as an independent primary affection; as a sequence of arterio-sclerosis.

Causes.--The primary form is chronic from the onset, and is a slow creeping degeneration of the kidney substance, and in many respects an antic.i.p.ation of the gradual changes which take place in the organ in extreme old age. Families in which the arteries tend to degenerate early are more p.r.o.ne to this disease. Doctor Osler says: "Among the better cla.s.ses in this country Bright's disease is very common and is caused more frequently by over-eating than by excesses in alcohol."

Arterio-Sclerotic Form.--This is the most common form in this country, and is secondary to arterio-sclerosis. The kidneys are not much, if at all, contracted; very hard, red and show patches of surface atrophy. It is seen in men over forty who have worked hard, eaten freely, and taken alcohol to excess. They are conspicuous victims of the "strenuous life," the incessant tension of which is felt first in the arteries. After forty, in men of this cla.s.s, nothing is more salutary than to experience the shock brought on by the knowledge of alb.u.min and cast tubes in the urine.

Symptoms.--Perhaps a majority of the cases are latent (hidden) and are not recognized until the occurrence of one of the serious and fatal complications. There may have been no symptoms to suggest to the patient the existence of a dangerous malady. In other cases the general health is disturbed. The patient is tired, sleepless; he must get up two or three times at night to pa.s.s urine; the digestion is disordered, the tongue is coated; the patient complains of a headache, failing sight, and gets out of breath by exercising. There may be vomiting, headache, neuralgia, and increase of the quant.i.ty of urine is common. This is light in color, of low specific gravity, 1005 to 1012; frequently there is a trace of alb.u.min and a few casts of the hyaline and granular kind. In the late stages the alb.u.min may be increased with high specific gravity and a less quant.i.ty of urine. The disease often lasts for a year.

In the arterio-sclerotic variety the urine may be normal or diminished in quant.i.ty, specific gravity normal or increased, the casts are more numerous, and the alb.u.min is usually more abundant. There is an enlargement of the heart; the pulse is increased in tension; the wall of the artery is thickened. The skin is usually dry, with eczema common, but dropsy is rare, except when it is due to heart failure. There may be bronchial and lung troubles; attacks of uraemia, or hard breathing caused by the heart, frequently occurs. There may be hemorrhage of the brain or hemorrhage of the membranes, and these are often fatal.

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Recovery.--Chances are unfavorable, but life may be prolonged for years, especially with care and especially if it is discovered early.

Treatment.--A quiet life without mental worry, with gentle but not excessive exercise, and residence in a climate that is not changeable should be recommended. A business man must give up his worry; his rush; his hurried eating, and rest. The bowels should be kept regular; there should be a tepid water bath daily, and the kidneys should be kept acting freely by drinking daily a definite amount of either distilled water or some pleasant mineral water. Alcohol, tobacco, excessive eating and improper food must not be allowed. Weak tea and coffee may be allowed. The diet should be light and nouris.h.i.+ng. Meat should not be taken more than once a day. If it is possible, the patient should be urged to move to a warm equable climate during the winter months, from November to April, like that of southern California. Medicines must be given to meet the indications. No special directions can be given. The heart, stomach, and bowels must be watched.

DIET as Allowed by a Prominent Hospital.--

May Take:--

Soups.--Broths with rice or barley, vegetable or fish soup.

Fish.--Boiled or broiled fresh fish, raw oysters, raw clams.

Meats.--Chicken, game, fat bacon, fat ham (sparingly).

Farinaceous.--Hominy, oatmeal, wheaten grits, rice, stale bread, whole wheat bread, toast, milk toast, biscuits, maccaroni.

Vegetables.--Cabbage, spinach, celery, water-cresses, lettuce, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, cauliflower, onions.

Desserts.--Rice and milk puddings, stewed fruits, raw ripe fruits.

Must Not Take:--

Fried fish, pork, corned beef, veal, heavy bread, hashes, stews, battercakes, lamb, beef, mutton, gravies, peas, beans, pastry, ice cream, cakes, coffee, tobacco, malt or spirituous liquors.

[KIDNEY AND BLADDER 161]

PYELITIS.--This is an inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney and may be caused by bacteria from the blood, or by ascending pus, infection or tuberculous infection from the lower tracts like the ureter, bladder and urethra.

Symptoms.--There is pain in the back, with tenderness and pressure, cloudy-looking urine, either acid or alkaline, containing pus, mucus, and sometimes red blood cells; chills, high fever, and sweating occur. This may become chronic and then it becomes quite serious. Anemia and emaciation are then marked. Mild cases usually recover; pus cases may end in other diseases or death from exhaustion.

Treatment. Diet.--In mild cases fluids should be taken freely, particularly the alkaline mineral water to which citrate of potash can be added. Tonics should be given when called for, and milk diet and b.u.t.termilk may be taken freely. When a tumor has formed, and even before, it is perceptible, if the symptoms are serious and severe, an operation may be necessary.

KIDNEY STONE. (Renal Calculus. Nephro-Leithiasis).--Forming of a stone or gravel in the kidney or its pelvis may occur in intra uterine, (before the child is born), in the womb, or at any age. A family tendency, sedentary life, excesses in eating and drinking and very acid urine predispose. They vary in size from that of fine sand to that of a bean.

Symptoms.--Patients may pa.s.s gravel for years without having an attack of renal (kidney) colic, and a stone may never lodge in the ureter. A person may pa.s.s an enormous number of calculi. Dr. Osler speaks of having had a patient who had pa.s.sed several hundred kidney stones (calculi) with repeated attacks of kidney colic. His collection filled an ounce bottle. A patient may pa.s.s a single stone and may never be troubled again. A stone remaining in the kidney may cause dull aching pain in the affected kidney, or the pain may be referred to the other side and sometimes there may be blood or pus in the urine, with chill and fever due to pyelitis. Kidney (renal) colic comes on when a stone enters the ureter, if it is at all large. At attack may set in abruptly, without any apparent reason, or it may follow a strain in lifting. The pain may be agonizing in character, which starts in the flank of the affected side, pa.s.ses down along the course of the ureter and is felt in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e and along the inner side of the thighs. The t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e is drawn back. The pain may also go through the abdomen and chest, and be very severe in the back. In severe attacks nausea and vomiting are present and the patient is collapsed; sweating breaks out in his face and the pulse is feeble and weak. The pain lasts from an hour to several days, until the stone reaches the bladder, partial suppression of the urine during the attack occurs, but a large quant.i.ty of urine is usually pa.s.sed after it and a feeling of soreness may, be present for several days. The stone may again cause pain in pa.s.sing through the urethra, or it may remain in the bladder as a nucleus for a bladder calculus (stone). Dr. Osler gives Montaigne's description as follows; "Thou art seen to sweat with pain, to look pale and red, to tremble, to vomit well nigh to blood, to suffer strange contortions and convulsions, by starts to let tears drop from thine eyes, to urine thick, black and frightful water, or to have it suppressed by some sharp and craggy stone that cruelly p.r.i.c.ks and tears thee."

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Treatment.--Great relief is experienced in the attacks by the hot baths or fomentations which sometimes are able to cause the spasm to relax. If the pain is very severe morphine should be given by the hypodermic method and inhalations of chloroform given until morphine has had time to act. Local applications are sometimes grateful,--hot poultices or cloths wrung out of hot water may be helpful. Cloths wrung out of steaming hop, wormwood, or smartweed teas, are of benefit sometimes. Change of position often gives relief; when the stone is large an operation may be needed. The patient should drink freely of hot lemonade, soda water, barley water. When the patient is free from the attack, he should live a quiet life and avoid sudden exertion of all kinds. There should be a free pa.s.sage of urine always. The patient should drink daily a large but definite quant.i.ty of mineral, or distilled water which is just as satisfactory. You may take the citrate or bicarbonate of potash. Mineral springs are good to visit, such as Saratoga, Hot Springs, Arkansas, etc. Abstain from alcohol and eat moderately. Live an open-air life with plenty of exercise and regular hours. The skin should be kept active; a cold friction bath in the morning is good, if one is strong; but if he is weak and debilitated the evening warm bath should be subst.i.tuted. The patient should dress warmly, avoid rapid alterations in temperature, and be careful not to allow the skin to become suddenly chilled.

Diet.--Most persons over forty eat too much. One should take plenty of time to eat, and not too much meat should be eaten.

"Queen of the Meadow."--The Indians used this medicine quite frequently in the treatment of kidney and bladder troubles. A lady, whom I know well, told me that she had a cousin who was affected with the kidney stone colic. At one time, when he was suffering from an attack, an Indian happened in their home and saw him suffering. He went into the meadow and dug some of this remedy and made a tea of it. It seemed to do the work, for while he gave it, the pain was eased and he never had any more attacks. I give this for what it is worth. The remedy will certainly do no harm for it is a good diuretic.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. (Cyst.i.tis). Causes.--It may occur from injury from pa.s.sing a catheter, etc., from the use of drugs like cantharides, from the presence of a stone, from stricture of the urethra and from gonorrhea or cold.

Symptoms.--The urine is pa.s.sed more frequently, sometimes the desire to pa.s.s the urine is almost constant. The distress is relieved for only a few minutes by pa.s.sing the urine; sometimes only a few drops are pa.s.sed, and it gives no relief from the desire for pa.s.sing urine. The straining is extremely severe. Sometimes the patient will lean over the vessel quivering with the muscular effort to pa.s.s urine. The bowels often move at the same time from the straining. The urine becomes thick with much mucus, then scanty, and then tinged with blood.

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BLADDER TROUBLE. Mothers' Remedies. 1. English Oil of Sandal Wood for.--"Get one ounce of the pure English oil of sandal wood, take four drops three times a day in a little water. As you urinate more freely reduce the dose. This is a splendid remedy."

2. Bladder Trouble, Effective Herb Teas for.--"Make a tea of half ounce of buchu leaves, half ounce of uva ursi leaves (barberry leaves), one pint of boiling water. Dose: Two or three tablespoonfuls three times a day, or may drink quite freely." A tea made of cornsilk is a common and standard remedy.