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Domestic Medicine, or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases, by Regimen and simple Medicines
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COLIC.

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Colics which proceed from excess and indigestion, generallycure themselves by occasioning vomiting or purging. These dis-charges are by no means to be stopped, but promoted by drinkingplentifully of warm water, or weak posset. When their violenceis over, the patient may take a dose of rhubarb, or any other gen-tle purge, to carry off the dregs of his debauch.

Colics which are occasioned by wet feet, or catching cold, maygenerally be removed at the beginning by bathing the feet and legsin warm water, and drinking such warm diluting liquors as- willpromote the perspiration, as weak wine-whey, or water-gruel witha small quantity of spirits in it.

Those flatulent colics, which prevail so much among country-ipeople, might generally be prevented, were they careful to changetheir clothes when they get wet. They ought likewise to take adram, or to drink some warm liquor after eating any kind of greentrash. We do not mean to recommend the practice of dram-drinking, but in this case ardent spirits prove a real medicine, andindeed the best that can be administered. A glass of good pepper-mint-water will have nearly the same effect as a glass of brandy,and in some cases is rather to be preferred.

The bilious colic is attended with very acute pains about theregion of the navel. The patient complains of great thirst, and isgenerally costive. He vomits a hot, bitter, and yellow-colouredbile, which, being discharged, seems to afford some relief, but isquickly followed by the same violent pain as before. As the dis-temper advances, the propensity to vomit sometimes increases soas to become almost continual, and the proper motion of the intes-tines is so far perverted, that there are all the symptoms of an im-pending iliac passion.

If the patient be young and strong, and the pulse full and fre-quent, it will be proper to bleed, after which clysters may beadministered. Clear whey or gruel, sharpened with the juice oflemon, or cream Vartax , m\»t V>e dïvmlt freely. Small chicken-broth, with a little manna dissolved in it, or a slight trc****t*ian oftamarinds, is likewise very proper, or any other thin, acid, openingliquor.

Besides bleeding and plentiful dilution, it will be necessary tofoment the belly with cloths dipped in warm water, and if thisshould not succeed, the patient must be immersed up to the breastin warm water.

In,the bilious colic, the vomiting is often very difficult to restrain.When this happens, the patient may drink a decoction of toastedbread, or an infusion of garden-mint in boiling water. Shouldthese not have the desired effect, the saline draught, with a few-drops of laudanum in it, may be given, and repeated according tothe urgency of the symptoms. A small quantity of Venice treaclemay be spread in form of a cataplasm, and applied to the pit of thestomach. Clysters, with a proper quantity of Venice treacle orliquid laudanum in them, may likewise be frequently administered.The hysteric colic bears a great resemblance to the bilious. Itis attended with acute pains about the region of the stomach, vom-iting, &c. &c. What the patient vomits in tins case is commonlyof a greenish colour. There is a great sinking of the spirits, with

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