A dictionary of domestic medicine and household surgery / by Spencer Thomson.

  • Thomson, Spencer, 1848-1883.
Date:
1897
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A dictionary of domestic medicine and household surgery / by Spencer Thomson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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373/772 (page 353)
stances to tlie action of water, hot or cold, for the purpose of extracting from them certain portions soluble in the fluid. The most familiar instance of an infusion is common tea. Tor the purpose of infusion, a jug, of the form of fig. 133, is the most useful, with both coyer and spout with strainer, but, of course, a com- mon jug, with a saucer or plate placed on the top of it, or an earthenware teapot, will and generally does make a good substitute. The object of an infusion is to extract volatile and other substances, which would either be dissi- pated or injured by exposure to higher heat, such as decoction or boiling; indeed, some infusions, such as that from senna, &c., as noticed in their articles, are better made with- out heat at all. The commonest method of forming a hot infusion is, to pour the water boiling upon the substance, cover, and allow the whole to stand near the fire for some time before it is permitted to become cold. If the substance to be infused is thick or tenacious, it ought, of course, either to bo cut up, or well bruised before being sub- mitted to the action of water. The chief inconvenience connected with infusions, is their great tendency to spoil; some, such as calumba aud dandelion, becoming unlit for use in twenty-four hours in summer. It is said that if the infusion be poured boiling hot into a bottle, filled up to the top, and the bottle immediately well corked, it will keep good a long time. Concentrated infusions are now made by chemists, but many of them con- tain so much spirit, that they are almost nctur.es, ancl m somo cases, therefore, are in- th.n«SS1 otllcnvise are good prepare- • The most useful infusions are: Infusion of Bark. >i Broom. j» Calumba. >> Chamomile. j> Dandelion. » Hop. si Gentian, ii Linseod. ii Quassia. ii Rhubarb, ii Rose-leaf, ii Senna. INHALATION is the act of inhaling or in- spiring vapour into the throat or lungs as a means of medical treatment. The inhalation of ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide gas for the prevention of pain in surgical operations, is the best-known application of the principle of inspiration, while the inhalation of the vapour of hot water and of medicated sprays, is in- tended mainly for complaints of the surface of the throat and windpipe. The steam from water may often be used as a safe domestic inhalation, in cases which require the local application of heat and mois- ture ; indeed, in sore throat, steaming is very commonly had recourse to. It may also be employed with advantage in cases where the breathing is difficult, with tenacious expectora- tion, especially in old people. In chest affec- tions, such as consumption, with spasmodic cough, the vapour of boiling water, into which has been put a few drops of sulphuric or chloric ether, or ten or a dozen drops of laudanum, will frequently afford much temporary relief. Medicated inhalations, such as those from chlorine, if used at all, must be so under direct medical superintendence. It is probable that the slow, imperceptible, but continual breath- ing of an atmosphere, impregnated with such medicinal agents as chlorine, iodine, &c., is more likely to be of service than their tempor- ary use in more powerful doses. It has been observed in manufactories in which a chlorine atmosphere prevails, in consequenco of the operations, such as bleaching, carried on within them, that men who have entered tlis works with weak chests or consumptive tendencies, have, in the course of timo, become much improved in health. It is, too, not improbable, that part of the benefit, at least, derived from sea-side residence, may be due to the constant imperceptible inhalation of chlorine salts, and other vaporised sub- stances. If, however, the constant inhalation of some agents be beneficial, it is still more certain that the presence of others in the atmosphere breathed is most inimical to health. This subject, however, is sufficiently entered into in other articles, such as Air Atmosphere— Ventilation, dec. Various motliods of inhaling steam aro employed : simply holding the mouth over a jug of hot water will answer, but if the throat bo the part affected, the vapour is most directly conducted to it by means of a tube of some kind, and by such apparatus as aro described in the next article. INHALERS.— J lie method of administer- ™“od«* of, different kinds by means of inhalation, for the cure and, in many cases, for tho relief of disease, is now so general that it seems well to give some idea of tho way in winch this is effected by tho instruments used, called inhalers. Iheso latter aro now so numerous that it would bo quite endless to describe them all.