Do doctors, properly speaking, cure the
diseases and injuries of their patients ?
Yes, and no. Cure comes from a Latin
word meaning care ; to take care of some-
thing or somebody. That a good ph^^sician
will always do. Sometimes, also, he may
and must actually interfere with what is
going on ; as when he gives an antidote for
a poison, and so saves life that would other-
wise be lost. But, in many other instances,
he simply takes care of the patient, and
Nature cures ^ in the full sense of that word.
There is, as we are created, a tendency to get
w^ell. i\ bone, for example, is broken.
What does the surgeon do ? He draws it
out straight, gets the pieces into their
proper line, and puts on splints to keep them
there. Then the bone knits, in a few weeks,
of itself. So also with the healing of a
wound. Its edges are placed and kept
close together, if that can be done, till they
unite again ; or, if that be not possible, the
wounded surface is covered with something
which can do no harm, and which protects
the part from outside air and other things,
until it heals, of itself.
Here we see that certain conditions are
wanted in each case, in order that the knit-
ting or healing will take place. So it is
with diseases, as v/ell as with injuries.
Some disorders are naturally self-limited ;
that is, they will, if the patient lives for a
certain time, get well of themselves ; they
run a tolerably regular course, and then
end. Scarlet fever either kills or is passing
off, ' generally, within eight, nine, or ten
days ; small -pox runs its course, living or
dying, within about three weeks ; typhus
fever, in four weeks ; t\'phoid fever, in the
same or a longer time ; and so with other
fevers, all of which are self-limited.
There will always be need of doctors,
and of skilful, well-trained, and well-
informed ones, too, however highly we may
appreciate the powers of nature and the
value of good nursing. It is important to
be sure that by their timely and well-judged
use even of simple measures, death may
often be averted or long postponed ; suffer-
ing may be much lessened, and recovery
may be hastened from diseases which other-
wise would be of very uncertain and far-off
result.
Looking at remedies from our present
standpoint, we may classify their objects as
follows. Whatever their nature, the}^ are
used for one or more of the following pur-
poses -.
To relieve pain ;
To compose nervous disturbance ; '
To promote sleep ;
To open the bowels ;
To check diarrhoea ;
To ease vomiting or sickness of stomach ;
To alla}^ indigestion ;
To improve weak digestion ;
To reduce inflammation ;
To lower fever ;
To ease or quiet cough ;
To stop hemorrhage ;
To regulate menstruation ;
To relieve dropsical swelling ;
To support the system under prostration
or exhaustion ;
To increase strength in prolonged de-
bility ;
To cure certain diseases by special
remedies ;
To expel worms ;
To antidote poisons ;
To obviate the danger and suffering of
accidents or injuries.
A full consideration of all the articles
and procedures that are or may be used
under advice of physicians for these differ-
ent purposes, would make a work on
"Materia Medica and Therapeutics." Our
present aim will be to give a simple general
view of the subject, and to dwell on such
remedies as are safe and available in Home
Medicine.
To Relieve Pain.
Page 142
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
Do doctors, properly speaking, cure the
diseases and injuries of their patients ?
Yes, and no. Cure comes from a Latin
word meaning care ; to take care of some-
thing or somebody. That a good ph^^sician
will always do. Sometimes, also, he may
and must actually interfere with what is
going on ; as when he gives an antidote for
a poison, and so saves life that would other-
wise be lost. But, in many other instances,
he simply takes care of the patient, and
Nature cures ^ in the full sense of that word.
There is, as we are created, a tendency to get
w^ell. i\ bone, for example, is broken.
What does the surgeon do ? He draws it
out straight, gets the pieces into their
proper line, and puts on splints to keep them
there. Then the bone knits, in a few weeks,
of itself. So also with the healing of a
wound. Its edges are placed and kept
close together, if that can be done, till they
unite again ; or, if that be not possible, the
wounded surface is covered with something
which can do no harm, and which protects
the part from outside air and other things,
until it heals, of itself.
Here we see that certain conditions are
wanted in each case, in order that the knit-
ting or healing will take place. So it is
with diseases, as v/ell as with injuries.
Some disorders are naturally self-limited ;
that is, they will, if the patient lives for a
certain time, get well of themselves ; they
run a tolerably regular course, and then
end. Scarlet fever either kills or is passing
off, ' generally, within eight, nine, or ten
days ; small -pox runs its course, living or
dying, within about three weeks ; typhus
fever, in four weeks ; t\'phoid fever, in the
same or a longer time ; and so with other
fevers, all of which are self-limited.
There will always be need of doctors,
and of skilful, well-trained, and well-
informed ones, too, however highly we may
appreciate the powers of nature and the
value of good nursing. It is important to
be sure that by their timely and well-judged
use even of simple measures, death may
often be averted or long postponed ; suffer-
ing may be much lessened, and recovery
may be hastened from diseases which other-
wise would be of very uncertain and far-off
result.
Looking at remedies from our present
standpoint, we may classify their objects as
follows. Whatever their nature, the}^ are
used for one or more of the following pur-
poses -.
To relieve pain ;
To compose nervous disturbance ; '
To promote sleep ;
To open the bowels ;
To check diarrhoea ;
To ease vomiting or sickness of stomach ;
To alla}^ indigestion ;
To improve weak digestion ;
To reduce inflammation ;
To lower fever ;
To ease or quiet cough ;
To stop hemorrhage ;
To regulate menstruation ;
To relieve dropsical swelling ;
To support the system under prostration
or exhaustion ;
To increase strength in prolonged de-
bility ;
To cure certain diseases by special
remedies ;
To expel worms ;
To antidote poisons ;
To obviate the danger and suffering of
accidents or injuries.
A full consideration of all the articles
and procedures that are or may be used
under advice of physicians for these differ-
ent purposes, would make a work on
"Materia Medica and Therapeutics." Our
present aim will be to give a simple general
view of the subject, and to dwell on such
remedies as are safe and available in Home
Medicine.
To Relieve Pain.