Important: Safety Warning
This page presents medical treatment from an era before modern medicine. The remedies described are ineffective against the conditions named, and some of the ingredients or doses are harmful. Do not use them to treat any illness; consult a qualified medical professional.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Throat
DISEASES OF THE. The ally from the diseases of other parts of the body. The most frequent form of sore throat is that of a simple erythematous inflammation. The mucous membrane of the pharynx, palate, and tonsils is congested and swollen, and the sub-muof the pharynx, palate, and tonsils is cous connective tissue may be greatly resore throat is very simple. The patient も THROAT should be confined to bed in order to secure rest and an equable temperature. A gentle but efficient laxative should be given, and if the pain is severe and the pulse accelerated, a small quantity of morphia and aconite may be added to the aperient. The diet should be light and easily digestible, and the free use of demulcent drinks may be encouraged.
The inhalation of steam will be of service in the acute stage, and if the membrane be very much relaxed, astringent solutions of alum, nitrate of silver, carbolic acid, or chlorate of potash, may be topically applied in the form of a spray.
In phlegmonous sore throat there is a higher grade of inflammatory action, the disease being designated amygdalitis, quinsy, or tonsilitis. Ulcerated sore throat is often described under the name of angina maligna, or tonsilitis maligna, and is usually attended with typhoid symptoms. It is occasionally attendant on diphtheria, and sometimes follows scarlatina, measles, smallpox, dysentery, and enteric fever. The pain is not so severe as in ordinary sore throat, but soon after the commencement of the affection the tonsils and the surrounding structures are seen to be studded with dark ash-colored ulcers. The disease is apt to extend to the upper part of the pharynx and to the nasal passages, but the larynx is seldom involved. In severe cases death may occur from syncope, coma, or from gradual exhaustion of the vital forces. Membranous sore throat is characterized by the exudation of a fibrinous material, which coagulates into a false membrane. This form of sore throat is often met with during the prevalence of diphtheria and is by many physicians considered a mild form of that disease.