Health and Beauty

1860

Sick Head-Ache, To cure

Sick-head-ache, proper, arises from acidity, or over loading the stomach; when it is not from over eating, all that is necessary, is to soak the feet in hot water about 20 minutes, drinking at the same time some of the herb-teas, such as catnip, pennyroyal or mint, &c., then get into bed, cover up warm and keep up a sweating process for about an hour,
by which time relief will have been obtained.

But when food has been taken which remains in the stomach,
it is much the best way to take an emetic, composed of lobelia,
and ipecaeuanha, equal parts, and blood-root half as much as of
either of the others, each pulverized separately, and mix thoroughly.

Dose —Half of a common teaspoonful every 15 or 20 minutes in some of the warm teas, for instance, camomile-flowers, pennyroyal, or boneset-drinking freely between doses of the same tea in which you take it, continue until you get a free and full evacuation of the contents of the stomach.

After the operation, and when the stomach becomes a little
settled, some nourishment will be desired, when any of the mild broths, or gruel, should be taken, in small quantities, without fear of increasing the difficulty.

There is, probably, no emetic surpassing this, either in efficacy
of action, or efficiency in breaking up morbid, unhealthy conditions of the system generally; and exciting healthy action. It is excellent in croup, chronic affections of the liver or stomach, &c., and in fact, when and wherever an emetic is needed.

There is another kind of sick-head-ache which I wish to speak
of also; and give a remedy for. Some persons have, once in
about 2 or 3 months, the disease, lasting 2 or 3 days, accompanied with nausea, and occasionally with vomiting. In these cases after using the emetic to relieve the present attack: take "Beach's Elixir Salutis," one tablespoonful, once a day, or less often if the bowels become too loose, up to the next period when it might have been expected and it will not be forthcoming; the preparation is made as follows: “Take senna, 1 oz.; jalap, 1-2 oz.; fennel seed 1-2 oz.; proof spirit, or best brandy, 1 qt.”-I say, alcohol, 1 pt.; soft water, 1 pt.,- “let stand a week to 10 days and strain, or pour off as taken.” If it should cause griping in any
case, increase the quantity of fennel seed.

This is a mild purgative, and especially pleasant if a little white sugar is put in as taken. Most persons, after a trial of it, will adopt it for their general cathartic, and particularly for children.

If the disease is purely nervous or sympathetic:
Take castor, agaric, and gentian, 1-4 oz., each; gum camphor,
1-2 oz.; opium, 1 dr.; alcohol, 1 qt.; put all into a bottle and let
stand, about, 10 days and add sulphuric ether, 2 ozs.

Dose-A teaspoonful as often as required, or 2 or 3 times daily.

Females of a hysterical tendency, or very nervous, will use
— laudanum, 1 oz.; sulphuric ether, 1-2 oz.; tincture of valerian,
1-2 oz.; tincture of asafoetida, 1-2 dr.; mix.

Dose-From 1-2 to 1 teaspoonful and repeat once or twice daily, if necessary.

For Head-aches, of very long standing, take blood-root, 1 oz.;
gin, 1 pt.

Dose-A teaspoonful before eating, every morning until remedied.

A Niles' paper gives one which is so easily tried; I give it as
follows:

“CURE FOR SICK HEADACHE. —It is stated that two teaspoonsful of finely powdered charcoal, drank in half a tumbler of water, will, in less than fifteen minutes, give relief to the sick headache, when caused, as in most cases it is, by superabundance of acid on the stomach. We have tried this remedy time and again, and its efficacy in every instance has been signally satisfactory.”