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OF FLATULENCIES, OR WIND.

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pie is, to expose them to the free air, and to use cordial and stimulatingmedicines, as volatile salts, Hungary-water, spirits of lavender, tinctureof castor, and the like.

OF FLATULENCIES, OR WIND.

Ali nervous patients, without exception, are afflicted with wind orflatulencies in the stomach and bowels, which arise chiefly from the wantof tone or vigour in these organs. Crude flatulent aliment, as greer-pease, beans, coleworts, cabbages, and such like, may increase this com-plaint; but strong and healthy people are seldom troubled with wind,unless they either overload their stomachs, or drink liquors that are in afermenting state, and consequently full of elastic air. While thereforethe matter of flatulence proceeds from our aliments, the cause whichmakes air separate from them in such quantity as to occasion complaintsis almost always a fault of the bowels themselves, which are too weakeither to prevent the production of elastic air, or to expel it after it isproduced.

To relieve this complaint, such medicines ought to be used as have atendency to expel wind, and, by strengthening the alimentary canal, toprevent its being produced there.

Many nervous people find great benefit from eating a dry biscuit,especially when the stomach is empty. I look upon this as one of thebest carminative medicines; and would recommend it in all complaintsof the stomach arising from flatulence, indigestion, &c.

The list of medicines for expelling wind is very numerous; they oftenhowever disappoint the expectations of both the physician and his patient.The most celebrated among the class of carminatives are juniper-berries ;the roots of ginger and zedoary; the seeds of anise, caraway, and cori-ander; gum-asafetida and opium; the warm waters, tinctures, and spirits,as the aromatic water, the tincture of asafetida, compound spirit of am-monia, aether, &c.

Dr. Whytt says, he found no medicine more efficacious in expellingwind than aether and laudanum. He generally gave laudanum in a mix-ture with peppermint water and tincture of castor, or spirit of nitrousaether. Sometimes, in place of this, he gave opium in pills with asafetida.He observes that the good effects of opiates are equally conspicuous,whether the flatulence be contained in the stomach or intestines; whereasthose warm medicines, commonly called carminatives; do not often giv..immediate relief, except when the wind is in the stomach.

With regard to asther, the Doctor says, he has often seen very goodeffects from it in flatulent complaints, where other medicines failed. Thedose is a tea-spoonful mixed with two table-spoonfuls of water. In gouty-cases he observes, that aether, a glass of French brandy, or of the aro-matic water, or ginger, either taken in substance or infused in boilingwater, are among the best medicines for expelling wind.

When the case of flatulent patients is such as makes it improper togive them warm medicines inwardly, the Dr. recommends external ap-plications, which are sometimes of advantage. Equal parts of the anti-Iiysteric and stomach plaster may be spread upon a piece of soft leatherof such a size as to cover the greater part of the belly. This should be