Perversions In The Guidance Of The Body
Categories: UncategorizedSources: Power Through Repose
SO evident are the various, the numberless perversions of our powers
in the misuse of the machine, that it seems almost unnecessary to
write of them. And yet, from another point of view, it is very
necessary; for superabundant as they are, thrusting their evil
results upon us every day in painful ways, still we have eyes and
see not, ears and hear not, and for want of a fuller realization of
these most grievous mistake
more deeply into the snarls to which they bring us. From nervous
prostration to melancholia, or other forms of insanity, is not so
long a step.
It is of course a natural sequence that the decadence of an entire
country must follow the waning powers of the individual citizens.
Although that seems very much to hint, it cannot be too much when we
consider even briefly the results that have already come to us
through this very misuse of our own voluntary powers. The
advertisements of nerve medicines alone speak loudly to one who
studies in the least degree the physical tendencies of the nation.
Nothing proves better the artificial state of man, than the
artificial means he uses to try to adjust himself to Nature's
laws,--means which, in most cases, serve to assist him to keep up a
little longer the appearance of natural life. For any simulation of
that which is natural must sooner or later lead to nothing, or worse
than nothing. Even the rest-cures, the most simple and harmless of
the nerve restorers, serve a mistaken end. Patients go with nerves
tired and worn out with misuse,--commonly called over-work. Through
rest, Nature, with the warm, motherly help she is ever ready to
bring us, restores the worn body to a normal state; but its owner
has not learned to work the machine any better,--to drive his horses
more naturally, or with a gentler hand. He knows he must take life
more easily, but even with a passably good realization of that
necessity, he can practise it only to a certain extent; and most
occupants of rest-cures find themselves driven back more than once
for another "rest."
Nervous disorders, resulting from overwork are all about us. Extreme
nervous prostration is most prevalent. A thoughtful study of the
faces around us, and a better understanding of their lives, brings
to light many who are living, one might almost say, in a chronic
state of nervous prostration, which lasts for years before the break
comes. And because of the want of thought, the want of study for a
better, more natural use of the machine, few of us appreciate our
own possible powers. When with study the appreciation grows, it is a
daily surprise, a constantly increasing delight.
Extreme nervous tension seems to be so peculiarly American, that a
German physician coming to this country to practise became puzzled
by the variety of nervous disorders he was called upon to help, and
finally announced his discovery of a new disease which he chose to
call "Americanitis." And now we suffer from "Americanitis" in all
its unlimited varieties. Doctors study it; nerve medicines arise on
every side; nervine hospitals establish themselves; and rest-cures
innumerable spring up in all directions,--but the root of the matter
is so comparatively simple that in general it is overlooked
entirely.
When illnesses are caused by disobedience to the perfect laws of
Nature, a steady, careful obedience to these laws will bring us to a
healthful state again.
Nature is so wonderfully kind that if we go one-tenth of the way,
she will help us the other nine-tenths. Indeed she seems to be
watching and hoping for a place to get in, so quickly does she take
possession of us, if we do but turn toward her ever so little. But
instead of adopting her simple laws and following quietly her
perfect way, we try by every artificial means to gain a rapid
transit back to her dominion, and succeed only in getting farther
away from her. Where is the use of taking medicines to give us new
strength, while at the same time we are steadily disobeying the very
laws from the observance of which alone the strength can come? No
medicine can work in a man's-body while the man's habits are
constantly counteracting it. More harm than good is done in the end.
Where is the use of all the quieting medicines, if we only quiet our
nerves in order that we may continue to misuse them without their
crying out? They will cry out sooner or later; for Nature, who is so
quick to help us to the true way of living, loses patience at last,
and her punishments are justly severe. Or, we might better say, a
law is fixed and immovable, and if we disobey and continue to
disobey it, we suffer the consequences.
More
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Other Forms Of Rest
DO you hold yourself on the chair, or does the chair hold you? When you are subject to the laws of gravitation give up to them, and feel their strength. Do not resist these laws, as a thousand and one of us do when instead of yielding gently... Other Kinds Of Cancer
There seem to be many other kinds of cancer, at least if you believe the medical doctors. They divide up cancers and their treatments by their location in the body and by the type of cancer cells present. I do not see it that way. To me, a cancer is... Other Lesions
Tricuspid insufficiency, except as rarely found in the fetus, is generally due to a relative insufficiency rather than to an actual disease of the tricuspid valve. In other words, if the right ventricle dilates the valve may be insufficient. Tricusp... Other People_
HOWEVER disagreeable other people may be,--however unjust they may be, however true it may be that the wrong is all on their side and not at all on ours,--whatever we may suffer at their hands,--we can only remedy the difficulty by looking f... Other Sequels Dropsy &c
Beside the ulceration of glands and deafness, some of the sequels of scarlatina are white swelling of one or more of the joints, usually the knee, chronic inflammation of the eyes and eyelids, and partial paralysis. These chiefly occur in scrofulous... Others
HOW to live at peace with others is a problem which, if practically solved, would relieve the nervous system of a great weight, and give to living a lightness and ease that might for a time seem weirdly unnatural. It would certainly decrease the inc... Our Feet
The Living Arches of the Foot. One of the most important things to look after, if we wish to have an erect carriage and a swift, graceful gait, is the shape and vigor of the feet. Each foot consists of two springy, living arches of bone and sinew, w... Our Relations With Others
EVERY one will admit that our relations to others should be quiet and clear, in order to give us freedom for our work. Indeed, to make these relations quiet and happy is the special work that some of us have to do. There are laws for health,... Our Spirit-levels
The Sixth Sense. Though we usually speak of having five senses,--sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste,--we really have also a sixth--the sense of direction, or of balance. The machine of this sense is comparatively simple, being made up of three ... Our Telephone Exchange And Its Cables
The Brain. We are exceedingly proud of our brain and inclined to regard it as the most important part of our body. So it is, in a sense; for it is the part which, through its connecting wires, called the nerves, ties together all the widely separate... Our Wonderful Coat
What the Skin Is. The skin is the most wonderful and one of the most important structures in the body. We are prone to think lightly of it because it lies on the surface, and to speak of it as a mere coating, or covering--a sort of body husk; but it... Oxygen Tank And Tracheotomy Instruments
Respiratory arrest may occur from shifting of a foreign body, pressure of the esophagoscope, tumor, or diverticulum full of food. Rare as these contingencies are, it is essential that means for resuscitation be at hand. No endoscopic procedure shoul... Painful Menstruation
Elsie was twenty. She came to see me because I had helped Elsie's mother overcome breast cancer many years earlier. Elsie began to have very painful periods with profuse bleeding and abdominal pain. Her nutrition had been generally good because her ... Painful Urination Incontinence Of Urine
_Involuntary Urination._ Where the discharge of urine produces smarting and burning of the urethra, _Cantharis_ is the remedy. Where there seems to be an over secretion of acrid urine, producing inflammation of the neck of the bladder, known by p... Palpitation Of The Heart
This is commonly a symptomatic or sympathetic affection--rarely idiopathic--and disappears on cure of the disease from which it proceeds. It usually denotes nervous weakness, and often general debility. General tonic treatment is indicated, as far a... Papilloma Forceps
Papillomata do not infiltrate; but superficial repullulations in many cases require repeated removals. If the basal tissues are traumatized, an impaired or ruined voice will result. The author designed these forceps (Fig. 29) to scalp off the growth... Papillomata
Decannulation after tracheotomy done for papillomata should be deferred at least 6 months after the discontinuance of recurrence. Not uncommonly the operative treatment of the growths has been so mistakenly radical as to result in cicatricial or ank... Papillomata Of The Larynx In Children
Of all benign growths in the larynx papilloma is the most frequent. It may occur at any age of childhood and may even be congenital. The outstanding fact which necessarily influences our treatment is the tendency to recurrences, followed eventually ... Paracelsus
THEOPHRASTUS BOMBASTUS VON HOHENHEIM, commonly known as Paracelsus, was born in 1493 at Maria Einsiedeln, near Zurich, Switzerland. When he was nine years old, his father, who was a reputable physician, removed his residence to Carinthia. Paracelsus... Paralysis
Bilateral abductor laryngeal paralysis causes severe stenosis, and usually tracheotomy is urgently required. In cadaveric paralysis both cords are in a position midway between abduction and adduction, and their margins are crescentic, so that suffic... Paralysis
Take the B D current, medium force. If the paralysis be in a lower limb, place P. P., long cord, upon the lower lumbar vertebrae, so as to reach the hypogastric plexus, and treat with the metallic brush, N. P., five to eight minutes, over all the af... Paralysis Of The Esophagus
The passage of liquids and solids through the esophagus is a purely muscular act, controlled, after the propulsive usually voluntary start given to the bolus by the inferior constrictor, by a reflex arc having connection with the central nervous sys... Paroxysm Drugs
The part the nervous system plays in this paroxysm is shown by the good result obtained from injections of morphin, even when there is no pain; hence the action of morphin is directly in line with the natural resolution of the symptoms: it quiets th... Paroxysm Management
The immediate conditions to meet are the rapid fluttering heart, the nervous excitation and cardiac anxiety, and perhaps the most important of all, the vasomotor spasm that is often so pronounced. Physically we have, then, a heart with leaking or co... Paroxysmal Tachycardia
This condition is generally termed by the patient a "palpitation," and palpitation of the heart is recognized by most physicians as meaning a too rapidly acting heart, the term "tachycardia" being reserved for an excessive rapidity of the heart. Man... Paroxysmal Tachycardia Management
There is no specific treatment for paroxysmal tachycardia. What is of value in one patient may be of no value in another; in fact, drugs are rarely successful in ameliorating or preventing the condition. Patients who are accustomed to these attacks ... Pathologic Physiology
The development of permanent injury to one or more valves of the heart may have been watched by the physician who cares for a patient with acute endocarditis, or it may have been noted early during the progress of arteriosclerosis or other conditi... Pathology
The part of the heart most affected is the part which has the most work to do--the left side of the heart--and of this side the left ventricle and therefore the mitral and aortic valves; the most frequent valve to be inflamed and to stiffer permanen... Pathology
The pathology of arteriosclerosis is a thickening and diminishing elasticity of the arteries, beginning with the inner coat and gradually spreading and involving all the coats, the larger arteries often developing calcareous deposits or thickened ca... Pathology
If the foreign body completely obstructs a main bronchus, preventing both aeration and drainage, such rapid destruction of lung tissue follows that extensive pathologic changes may result in a few months, or even in a few weeks, in the case of irri... Penetrating Projectiles
Foreign bodies that have penetrated the chest wall and lodged in the lung may be removed by oral bronchoscopy if the intruder is not larger than the lumen of the corresponding main bronchus (see Bibliography, 43) [FIG. 90.--Schematic illustration... Pericarditis Symptoms And Signs
If there is pain or much aching in the cardiac region, it tends to disappear with the exudate, if such is to occur, in the same way as does the pain of pleurisy. If there is much exudate, the pressure on the heart of course increases, the cardiac du... Period Of Desquamation Or Peeling-off
About the sixth or seventh day, the epidermis, or cuticle of the skin begins to peal off, commencing in those places which first became the seat of the rash, and gradually continuing all over the body. In such parts as are covered with a thin delica... Period Of Efflorescence Or Standing Out Of The Rash
During the first day or two of the period of efflorescence, which lasts three or four days, the above symptoms usually continue to increase. Sometimes, however, the patient is alleviated at once on the rash being formed. This alleviation always take... Period Of Eruption Or Appearing Of The Rash
Commonly, on the second day, towards evening, sometimes on the third, and only in very bad cases later, the rash begins to make its appearance, under an increase of the above symptoms, especially of the fever and delirium, and continues to come out ... Period Of Incubation Or Hatching
The time which passes between the reception of the contagious poison into the system and the appearance of the rash, is called the period of incubation; incubation or incubus meaning, properly, the sitting of birds on their nests, and figuratively, ... Perversions In The Guidance Of The Body
SO evident are the various, the numberless perversions of our powers in the misuse of the machine, that it seems almost unnecessary to write of them. And yet, from another point of view, it is very necessary; for superabundant as they are, t... Philosophy Of Disease And Cure
In every part of the animal economy, polar derangements in the electro-vital principle are liable to occur. These derangements are always the real foundation of disease. They may be occasioned by a thousand agencies, which act as the procuring cause... Phylacteries
They ware in their foreheads scrowles of parchment, wherein were written the tenne commaundements given by God to Moses, which they called philaterias. JOHN MARBECK, Book of Notes and Common-Places: 1581. There we... Physical Care
REST, fresh air, exercise, and nourishment, enough of each in proportion to the work done, are the material essentials to a healthy physique. Indeed, so simple is the whole process of physical care, it would seem absurd to write about it at all. The... Physical Signs In Esophageal Foreign Body
There are no constant physical signs associated with uncomplicated impaction of a foreign body in the esophagus. Should perforation of the cervical esophagus occur, subcutaneous emphysema, and perhaps cellulitis, may be found; while a perforation of... Physical Signs Of Bronchial Foreign Body
In most cases there will be limitation of expansion on the invaded side, even though the foreign body is of such a shape as to cause no bronchial obstruction. It has been noted frequently in conjunction with the presence of such objects as a common ... Physical Signs Of Tracheal Foreign Body
If fixed in the trachea the only objective sign of foreign body may be a wheezing respiration, the site of which may be localized with the stethoscope, by the intensity of the sound. Movable foreign bodies may produce a palpatory thrill, and the rum... Physics Of Aortic Lesions
Next in frequency to mitral insufficiency is aortic insufficiency, which occurs most frequently in men. The cavity of the heart that is most affected by this lesion is the left ventricle, which receives blood both from the left auricle, and regurgit... Physics Of Mitral Stenosis
Mitral stenosis, though less common than mitral regurgitation, is a frequent form of disease of the valves, especially in women. Often this condition is associated with regurgitation; but in a simple mitral stenosis the greatest hypertrophy is of ne... Piles - Hemorrhoids
One important matter in all cases of habitual piles, is, to keep the bowels regular. Much can be done for this purpose by diet and regimen. On rising from bed in the morning drink freely, from a gill to half a pint of cold water, at least half an ho... Plain Every-day Common Sense
PLAIN common sense! When we come to sift everything down which will enable us to live wholesome, steady, every-day, interesting lives, plain common sense seems to be the first and the simplest need. In the working out of any problem, whether... Plate V Laryngeal And Tracheal Stenoses:
1, Indirect view, sitting position; postdiphtheric cicatricial stenosis permanently cured by endoscopic evisceration. (See Fig. 5.) 2, Indirect view, sitting position; posttyphoid cicatricial stenosis. Mucosa was very cyanotic because cannula was re... Pleurisy
This is inflammation of the Pleura of one or both lungs, generally confined to one side. It is known by sharp pain in the side of the chest, increased by taking a long breath, or coughing, or by pressing between the ribs. The cough is dry and painfu... Pleuroscopes
As mentioned above the anterior commissure laryngoscope and the esophageal specula make very efficient pleuroscopes; but three different forms of pleuroscopes have been devised by the author for pleuroscopy. The retrograde esophagoscope serves very... Pleuroscopy
Foreign bodies in the pleural cavity should be immediately removed. The esophageal speculum inserted through a small intercostal incision makes an excellent pleuroscope, its spatular tip being of particular value in moving the lung out of the way. T... Pleuroscopy For Disease
Most pleural diseases require a large external opening for drainage, and even here the pleuroscope may be of some use in exploring the cavities. Usually there are many adhesions and careful ray study may reveal one or more the breaking up of which ... Pneumonia
Its Cause and Prevention. The other great disease of the lungs is pneumonia, formerly known as inflammation of the lungs. This is rapid and sudden, instead of slow and chronic like tuberculosis, but kills almost as many people; and unfortunately, un... Pneumonia
Take B D current, forceful as the patient can bear, and treat briefly--say five to seven minutes, several times a day, until relief is experienced. Place N. P., long cord, low on back of neck, and move P. P. over all the upper part of the lungs. ... Polar Antagonism
When the conducting cords are of equal length, as commonly they should be, each of the two poles or electrodes produces a polar effect in the patient directly the opposite of that produced by the other. Also, at any point in either half of the circu... Polarization
It may be proper, in this place, to spend a few words upon electrical polarization in general. Electrical polarity may be defined as a characteristic of the electric or magnetic fluid, by virtue of which its opposite qualities, as those of attrac... Polarization Of The Circuit
I have said, in effect, a little above, that, while the current is running, the entire circuit is one complete magnet, which extends from the inner or positive sides of the zinc plates, where the current commences, all the way around to the outer or... Position For Bronchoscopy And Esophagoscopy
The dorsally recumbent patient is so placed that the head and shoulders extend beyond the table, the edge of which supports the thorax at about the level of the scapulae. During introduction, the head must be maintained in the same relative positio... Positive And Negative Effort
DID you ever have the grip? If you ever have you may know how truly it is named and how it does actually grip you so that it seems as if there were nothing else in the world at the time--it appears to entirely possess you. As the Irishman sa... Positive And Negative Manifestations
Acute diseases are to be regarded as electrically positive, and chronic affections as negative. The exceptions are rare, if any at all. Malignant cholera, which is eminently acute, might by some be considered as an exception. In negative diseases, t... Practice On The Dog
Having mastered the technic of introduction on the cadaver and trained the eye and fingers by practice work on the rubber tube, experience should be had in the living lower air and food passages with their pulsatory, respiratory, bechic and deglutit... Practice On The Rubber-tube Manikin
This must be carried out in two ways. 1. General practice with all sorts of objects for the education of the eye and the fingers. 2. Before undertaking a foreign body case, practice should be had with a duplicate of the foreign body. It is ... Precautions To Be Observed
As long as compensation is complete, there are no medication and physical treatment necessary for the damaged heart. The patient, however, should be told of his disability, and restrictions in his habits and life should be urged on him. The most imp... Prejudice Of Physicians Against The Water-cure
The greatest, and the most serious, difficulty lies in the prejudice of physicians against the Water-Cure. This prejudice, although in the treatment of the diseases before us, it is founded on no other reasons but ignorance, lack of courage and the ... Preliminary Remarks
The author wishes to caution the reader not to rely merely on the forms of treatment here prescribed, but to study thoroughly the principles taught in the preceding pages, until he shall have mastered them, and can judge for himself of the correctne... Preparation Of Medicine
As it often becomes necessary for the practitioner to make more or less of his own dilutions and attenuations, some brief instructions especially to new beginners, may not come amiss. Medicine is prepared by mixing it with distilled water, or puri... Preventative Fasting
During the years it takes for a body to degenerate enough to prompt a fast, the body has been storing up large quantities of unprocessed toxins in the cells, tissues, fat deposits, and organs. The body in its wisdom will always choose to temporarily... Prevention
If the patient is weak, the circulation depressed, the blood pressure low, and the heart rapid, the drug advisable to produce rest and sleep is almost always morphin or some other form of opium. Morphin, with few exceptions, is a cardiac tonic and a... Priessnitz's Method The Wet-sheet-pack
a remedy which, alone, is worth the whole antiphlogistic, diaphoretic, and, indeed, the whole curative apparatus of the profession, in ancient and modern times, for any kind of fevers, and especially for eruptive diseases. Nor did the physicians bef... Problems
THERE are very few persons who have not I had the experience of giving up a problem in mathematics late in the evening, and waking in the morning with the solution clear in their minds. That has been the experience of many, too, in real-life problem... Prognosis
Janeway [Footnote: Janeway, T. C.: A Clinical Study of Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease, Arch. Int. Med., December, 1913, p. 755.] presented statistics of 458 patients with high blood pressure, 67 percent of whom were men. Of these 458 patients 2... Prognosis
A foreign body lodged in the esophagus may prove quickly fatal from hemorrhage due to perforation of a large vessel; from asphyxia by pressure on the trachea; or from perforation and septic mediastinitis. Slower fatalities may result from suppuratio...