Mother"s Remedies.
by T. J. Ritter.
PHYSICIAN"S INTRODUCTION [x]
"Of the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy, are the things we call Books."
--CARLYLE.
"A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness."
--S. SMILES.
Of making books there seems no end. Some are good, some bad, and many just an enc.u.mbrance upon the book-shelves, neither of much use nor particularly harmful. Some books are to be read for cheer and amus.e.m.e.nt; some for reproof and correction; others to be studied for useful information and profit.
The Ideal Book.
There is a wide felt need for a worthy book of sound hygienic and medical facts for the non-medical people. The Ideal Book for this mission should be compact in form, but large enough to give the salient facts, and give these in understandable language; it must not be "loaded" with obsolete and useless junk of odds and ends which have long ceased to be even interesting; it must carry with it the stamp of genuine reliability; it should treat all the ordinary and most common forms of ailments and accidents; it must be safe in its teachings; it needs to be free from objectionable language and ill.u.s.trations, so that all of any family may study and use it with profit; it must frequently warn of dangers ahead and urge the summoning of professional skill promptly, for there are many cases requiring the services of experienced physicians and surgeons in their treatment; it should advise remedies readily obtainable, as well as those for which long journeys to a drug store are required; and finally the book should be reasonable in price that those who most need it can afford to own it.
Need of Brevity.
The facts of hygiene and therapeutic measures are widely scattered through medical literature, and extend over hundreds of years of time. Many volumes have been written on diseases of the eye, the heart, liver, and stomach, brain and other organs, to understand which requires special technical education. It would be the height of folly to present these discussions to the laity in their original form, hence the necessity for condensation and presentation of the needful facts in the language of the people in whose interests the book is printed. In a book of fiction there may be need for useless verbiage for the sake of "making pages," but facts of vital importance and usefulness in our daily welfare need to be well boiled down and put into shape for ready reference. This has been done in "Mothers" Remedies" and I think it quite fulfills the ideal I have outlined above.
The t.i.tle is rather odd upon first seeing it, but the most plausible when you become acquainted with its import. It surely becomes the best friend of the whole family. "It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity," but cheerfully answers a thousand and one questions of vital importance to the household. In the hour of distress, when illness or accident befalls the dear ones, you may turn again and again to its pages without meeting disappointment.
Its Value. [x]
There are many books on household medicines, but in my opinion this is the most useful of them all, a very present help in time of need.
You can go to it for helpful information without failing to find it. Is there serious illness in the house? It will tell you about it concisely and plainly, describing its symptoms, nature and course, and advise you to consult the family physician if of a serious nature before it is too late.
In the chapters on accidents, emergencies and poisons, it tells you what to do at once while awaiting the doctor"s arrival. He will be much pleased to see that you have made the proper effort to treat the case. Prompt treatment makes for prompt recovery.
The real value of any book, or what is sometimes called its intrinsic value, or utility, consists in what it avails to gratify some desire or want of our nature. It depends, then, wholly upon its qualities in relation to our desires. That which contributes in ever so small degree to the wellbeing of humanity is of greater value than silver or gold. This book contains hundreds of prescriptions, anyone of which will repay the small cost in money that it requires to possess it. In fact, the financial investment is so small when compared with the benefit derived from its pages that this feature need not be considered.
Examples.
In the stillness and loneliness of the night, away from medical help, there comes the hoa.r.s.e barking cough of the child, perhaps, and a case of croup is upon the responsibility of the parents. The struggles and terror of the little patient throws the household into consternation, and all is excitement in a moment. If the mother ever knew what to do in such a case she is likely not able to recall the exact remedy at this time, the doctor is miles away, and the case is urgent.
A reference to the medical index of "Mothers" Remedies" under croup shows that on pages 27, 28 and 29, is a full description of the attack, and there are fifteen (15) home remedies given, many of which can be found in the house, and the spasm may be stopped by the use of one of them.
This is only one example of the use of this book. There are innumerable times when cases come up in the home, or accidents befall a dear one and a ready remedy is required; the book most likely contains it, and is willing to tell you if you consult it carefully.
Tuberculosis.
The article on tuberculosis is full of valuable rules on diet and hygiene for every person, whether he has the disease or not. A knowledge of the dangers and mode of spreading the disease is the best safeguard against having it. Where one person in every seven (7) dies of consumption it becomes imperative that full knowledge of the disease and its prevention should become widespread.
Accidents and Poisons. [xii]
Another department that ill.u.s.trates the value of the book is that on Accidents and Poisons, where quick action is needed to prevent great suffering and danger and the salvation of life itself. One cannot always get the doctor in time. A quick reference to this part of the book will give the proper course of action to follow. The indicated mother"s remedy or the physician"s treatment as given here applied in the "nick of time"
will save many a life in cases of burns, or accidental poisoning, or hemorrhage. I have been called in such cases where a simple drink of warm mustard water promptly used would have saved a life in carbolic acid poisoning. It is in the emergencies where a ready knowledge of the ways and means necessary to conserve life is most valuable; and it is in just such emergencies that one is most apt to forget what is best to do that a copy of Mothers" Remedies becomes a priceless boon of helpfulness.
All About Baby.
The Woman"s Department, and the chapter on "All About Baby," alone contain priceless information for the guidance of the women of the home. It is like having a good doctor right in the house who is ready and able to answer more than 500 questions of vital interest about Baby. The book is thoroughly reliable, free from exaggerated statements and written in the plainest language possible so as to make it useful to every member of the home. The Herb Department gives a brief description of the more common and most useful plants and roots, with the time for gathering them, and the dose and therapeutic indication for their use. The botanical ill.u.s.trations are correct and worthy of careful study.
THE INDEX.
Mothers" Remedies is unique in arrangement, and full of detail, but so well indexed that any portion of it, or any disease and remedy, can be readily found, and when found you will have a choice of home remedies ready at hand. This is one of the features of the book that distinguishes Mothers" Remedies from the usual home medical books heretofore sold.
This feature of the book cannot be too strongly impressed. Its value becomes apparent as soon as one consults its pages. Long chapters of descriptive reading filled with high sounding, technical terms may look very learned because the average reader does not understand it fully. But it is what one can obtain from a book that is usable that makes it valuable. In Mothers" Remedies this idea has been excellently carried out.
The Home Remedies.
If there was any question regarding the success of the book in this homelike arrangement, the utilization of the home remedies, in addition to the strictly medical and drug-store ingredients; it was promptly dispelled when the book was printed and presented to the people interested. It has proved to be the most wonderful seller on the market--the most usable and useful book ever offered the non-medical reader; because never before has a medical book contained the hundreds of simple home remedies from mothers. Because a physician tells you why the remedies are useful--the reason why the things used are efficacious.
Medical Terms. [xiii]
Frequently one comes across technical terms in the secular papers which, unless understood, obscure the sense of the reading. There is a dictionary of medical terms as a separate department which adds much to the usefulness of the work; the spelling, p.r.o.nunciation and definition being concisely given in English.
Other Departments.
There are other departments, such as chapters on Manners and Social Customs, by an expert. Nursery Hints, Candy Making, Domestic Science, and Miscellaneous departments which interest every member of any average family in health as well as in sickness. The Candy Department provides many an evening"s enjoyment for the young people.
In addition, the book gives under each disease the physician"s remedies, the symptoms, causes, preventives wherever important, the diet, nursing, necessity for operations, and much other needful information for the sick-room. A complete chapter on Nursing and a detailed account of the Baby and its care is perhaps the most useful portion of the book to the mothers who desire to learn all about the baby. Many home medical books are of doubtful value by reason of exaggerated statements or vague and unusable directions regarding treatments. Mothers" Remedies stands squarely upon the foundation of utility and practical every-day usefulness. No matter how many other home medical books one may have, this is also needful because there"s none other on the market like it. One of the missions of Mothers" Remedies in the home is the prevention of disease through its sound sanitary teachings. It was written exclusively for home use, and its instructions can be followed by anyone who can understand plain English, and the home remedies are extensively explained and recommended so that in emergencies one can always find something of value to use while awaiting the surgeon"s arrival. It is a well-spring of usefulness in any home, and it gives me genuine pleasure to call attention to it in these few lines, and to bespeak for it the continued enthusiastic reception with which it has met heretofore.
(Signed) WM. ELLWOOD ZIEGENFUSS, M.D.
Detroit, July 2, 1914.
The National Narcotic law makes it practically impossible for the laity to have prescriptions filled which contain opiates or cocaine.
We therefore have subst.i.tuted other remedies quite as good whenever this was possible and still retain the efficiency of the prescription.
DR. W. E. ZIEGENFUSS.
August, 1918.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT [1]
MOTHERS" DIAGNOSIS
STRIKING, CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS of Many Diseases for Quick Reference and Comparison WHEN IN DOUBT BEFORE CALLING THE DOCTOR.
APPENDICITIS.--Loss of appet.i.te. There may be nausea and vomiting; there is usually a sudden onset of pain, often sharp and severe in the whole or part of the abdomen. Later the pain settles in the right groin. Patient lies on his back with his right knee drawn up. The muscles become rigid on the right side and later a lump appears in the right groin (iliac fossa).
ANEMIA.--This disease is a diminution of the total quant.i.ty of the blood of its red cells, or red corpuscles or of their Haemoglobin, the coloring matter of the red corpuscles. Some difficulty of breathing. Palpitation on least exertion, tendency to faint, headache, tired, irritable, poor or changeable appet.i.te, digestive disturbances, constipation, cold hands and feet, difficult and painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea), irregular menstruation, leucorrhea. And when the skin is pale, yellowish green tinge, with perhaps flushed cheeks, it might properly be called chlorosis or "green sickness."
ADDISON"S DISEASE.--Great weakness, stomach and bowel disorders, weak heart and dark coloring (pigmentation) of the skin.
BRIGHT"S DISEASE.--Alb.u.min and casts in the urine. The onset is usually gradual. There is paleness and puffiness of the eyelids, ankles or hands in the morning. Later increased dropsy of face and the extremities, pasty yellow complexion, dyspepsia, constipation and heart symptom.