Treatment of Sprains.

A sprain is not unfrequently more troublesome to both patient and surgeon than a fracture. In the treatment of sprains, especially of the extremities, I have had very marked success by a very simple process. I mention a case as an example. A carpenter fell from a scaffold and severely sprained one ankle, but produced no fracture. He was conveyed home on a stretcher and I was immediately called. I directed that his foot at once be put into water as hot as could be borne and that as the temperature of the water might indicate that some of the water be taken out and this quantity replaced by hot water. His wife put him to bed and kept him upon his back with his foot in the water all night. When taken out next morning and bathed with lobelia he was able to use it quite well. The hot-water process was continued more or less during the day, and by the third day he was again superintending his men. I could add several cases of ankle, knee, and wrist sprain that would be but a restatement of the same successful treatment,

which quickly relieves the tension of the nerves and circulation, soothes the injured muscles and ligaments, and relieves the hyperemic and congested conditions present. Though the parts injured may be weak for a few days, this process is simple, effective and quickly curative. Let the lobelia be freely applied when the part is not in the water.-Sanitary Home.

Ethyl Bromide.

The advantages of this drug as an anesthetic are, briefly:

The short time required to procure unconsciousness.

The small quantity required, and its subsequent rapid elimination.

The simplicity of administration.

The comparative freedom from unpleasant sequelæ, headaches, nausea, vomiting, etc.-Detroit Med. Jour.

No Other Like It.

Dr. J. C. Bucher, Andrews, Ind., finds Papine an anodyne without a parallel. Pronounces it the finest preparation of the kind he ever prescribed.

Catheterizing the Prostate.

In cases of enlarged prostate, where much difficulty exists in passing a catheter, after several futile attempts have been made, desist and tap the bladder. Do not further wear out your already exhausted patient by punching a catheter against his swollen and inflamed prostate. After tapping the bladder, which is a procedure devoid of any danger and attended with but little pain, allow the patient to rest for a half hour, then attempt to pass a Mercier catheter, and you will be surprised how easily it glides in. In several cases I have been able to pass a catheter by inserting it as far as possible, and then injecting through it a few minims of a four per cent solution of cocaine hydrochlor. After waiting a few minutes I generally am able to catheterize this class of patients; however, in this case the cocaine failed to be of any use.-Gaillard's Med. Jour.

Diphtheria.

Dr. C. B. Galetin used chloral hydrate in the treatment of diphtheria, and was, I believe the first to employ it. In 1884 he published a small volume on this treatment, which can be found in the library, and will repay a perusal. His mistake was in claiming the remedy as a specific. Yet I believe it is an invaluable contribution to the treatment. I early began its use and found it of very great value. I recall the case of a little girl of five years who was brought to my office with the hoarse cough of laryngitis. I found the diphtheria membrane loose and dropping off the throat. I hurried the child home and began the use of chloral hydrate. The symptoms were very severe, and many times it seemed as if the child would expire from suffocation. In a few hours she was taking the medicine at the rate of forty-five grains in twenty-four hours, and continued to do so six or seven days before the symptoms subsided. According to the mother's statement the child slept eighteen or twenty hours a day. I repeatedly urged upon her the danger of such large doses and directed smaller ones, but at the next visit she would say that as soon as the effects of the medicine began to go off the child nearly expired

from suffocation, and that she was compelled to resume the full dose. The case made a perfect recovery.

I had a number of similar cases which terminated favorably, though not without failures. The dose given in the case referred to was herc, and not all will bear so free use of the chloral hydrate. But children of three years can usually take fifteen or twenty grains, and often more, in twenty-four hours. Columbus Med. Jour.

Croup.

The preparations of lobelia are very valuable from a therapeutic point of view. A few days ago I treated a bad case of croup, in a child fourteen months old, with acetic emetic tincture five drops every fifteen minutes, and the emetic powder on a larded cloth applied to the throat and chest. The father said he could hear the child's efforts at respiration in the stable, which was fifty feet at the rear of the house, the windows of the house being closed. After a few doses of the acetic emetic tincture the child was relieved, and made a good recovery.-Ec. Review.

Dilated Stomachs.

In dilatation of the stomach strychnin is indicated. I treated one case very suc cessfully with strychnin. I made the diagnosis of dilatation. Of course, that did not make it so, but as I could get no one smarter than myself to confirm or dis prove the diagnosis, I called it dilatation. Had treated the case for nearly every. thing else, and with various and divers prescriptions, to no effect. I commenced with strychnin, one-sixteenth grain, and continued for two months, holding up occasionally, lest toxic symptoms be produced. Patient was entirely relieved, and has remained so ever since.-Gaillard's Med. Jour.

Nervous Disorders.

Dr. George Vaillant, New York, reports excellent results in several cases of neurasthenia, insomnia, and alcoholism treated with Celerina.