[296 Mothers’ remedies]

Treatment for passive congestion.—­Remove the cause if possible.  Give a light nutritious diet; prohibit alcohol in any form; keep the bowels regular.

Cerebral anemia. (Too little blood in the brain).  Causes.—­Heart disease, general anemia, and mental excitement.

Symptoms.—­“Fainting spells,” dizziness, the ears ring and there are spots before the eyes; nausea and vomiting may go ahead of the fainting spells.  The face is pale, the pupils are dilated, the pulse is small and feeble, and there may be cold sweating on the body.  If you can remove the cause the result is favorable.

Treatment.—­For the fainting fits:—­Place the patient in the “lying down” position and this frequently restores consciousness; loosen any tight clothes, corset, waist, collar, etc.  Give plenty of fresh air and do not crowd.  Keep quiet yourself; do not get excited.  In mild cases, mild stimulants may be necessary.  Let the patient smell of camphor, put a cloth with camphor or ammonia near the nose.  In other cases amylnitrite and strychnine may be necessary.  Small doses of whisky or brandy frequently help.  Remove the cause.  Give tonics for general anemia.

Tumors of the brain and inflammation, Abscess, etc.  Abscess.

Causes.—­This is always secondary and comes from some other part of the body.  It comes often in young and middle life and is more common in males than in females.  The most frequent cause is inflammation of the ear and the next is from fracture of the skull bones.  It may be large or small.

Symptoms.—­May come slowly or quickly.  After an injury to the head the symptoms may come on suddenly such as intense headache, delirium, vomiting, chills, high fever, and sometimes convulsions, and a very deep seeming sleep (coma).  In chronic cases the symptoms are not so severe.

Treatment.—­An operation if the abscess can be reached.  If not, an ice bag should be applied to the head; quiet the distress with narcotics.

Tumors of the brain.—­Varieties in order of their frequency.  Gumma, tuberculous tumors, glioma, sarcoma, cancer, etc.

Causes.  Predisposing.—­Men are about twice as often affected as women until fifty and then it is about equal.  It is more frequent in early adult life.  The exciting causes are blows and severe emotional shock.

Gumma (in third stage of Syphilis) appear as a round, yellow, cheesy mass, usually beginning in the membranes and are usually seen between thirty and fifty.  They come from syphilis.

[Nervous system 297]

Tuberculous tumors.  These appear as hard masses and vary in size.  They may be single or many, and are situated in any part of the brain.  More than half of the tumors appearing in children are of this variety.