Diseases > Domestic medicine

DOMESTrC MK.k JINK. 441
It Is customary, during the hysteric fit or paroxysm,
to bleed the patient. In strong persons of a pletho-
. lie habit, and where the pulse is full, this may be
proper; but in weak and delicate constitutions, or
where the disease has been of long standing, or arises
from inanition, it is not safe. The best course in
such cases is to rouse the patient by strong smells, as
burnt feathers, asafoetida, or spirits of hartshorn,
held to the nose. Hot bricks may also be applied to
the soles of the feet, and the legs, arms, and belly may
be strongly rubbed with a warm cloth. But the best
application is to put the feet and legs into warm
water. This is peculiarly proper when the fits pre¬
cede the flow of the menses. In case of costiveness,
a laxative clyster with asafeetida will be proper: and
as soon as the patient can swallow, two table-spoon¬
fuls of a solution of asafeetida, or of some cordial
julep, may be given. When hysteric fits are occa¬
sioned by sympathy, they may be cured by exciting
an opposite passion. This is said to have been the
case of a whole school of young ladies in Holland,
who were all cured by being told, that the first who
was seized should be burnt to death. But this me¬
thod of cure, to my knowledge, will not always
succeed. I would therefore advise, that young ladies
who are subject to hysteric fits should not be sent to
boarding schools, as the disease may be caught by
imitation. I have known madness itself brought on
by sympathy.
The radical cure of this disorder will be best at¬
tempted at a time when the patient is most free from
the fits. It will be greatly promoted by a proper
attention to diet. A milk and vegetable diet, when
duly persisted in, will often perform a cure. If how¬
ever the patient has been accustomed to a more gen¬
erous diet, it will not be safe to leave it off all at