Pathological and clinical observations respecting morbid conditions of the stomach / by C. Handfield Jones.

  • Jones, C. Handfield (Charles Handfield), 1819-1890.
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Pathological and clinical observations respecting morbid conditions of the stomach / by C. Handfield Jones. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    298/370 (page 288)
    If the influence of either of these conditions be continued, and there be no sleep for several successive nights, and no solid food be eaten for several successive days, a state bordering on delirium tremens often comes on. The nights are disturbed by spectral illusions, the hands and tongue tremble, the appetite is quite gone, and vomiting is apt to occur in the morning, or at other times of the day if food be taken. The exhaustion from want of food sometimes leads to similar results. This kind of disorder is very common among the poor in London, especially among the women—among those even who do not drink largely. It is brought on by the conditions I have just specified, aided, no doubt, in very many cases, by the use of stimulating drinks. Like delirium tremens, it may also be brought on by excessive depletion, or by the shock of severe injuries or operations. I have known it caused by fright. The most efiicient remedies for this disorder are bitters, opium, and solid food. In all the public-houses for drinking bitter tinctures are kept, and the drunl<:ard takes a glass of these bitters as his morning dram. He finds that it strengthens and settles his stomach and gives some little appetite for the morning meal. Gentian, quassia, and calumba are the bitters most commonly used, and they may be taken, singly or com- bined, two or three times a-day, an hour before the principal meals. They are generally taken, and are most relished, in the form of tincture. Opium is of still greater benefit. It tranquillises the nervous system, procures sleep, and, by so doing, settles and strengthens the stomach.