The Treatment Of Typhoid Fever

Excerpt from book: TREATMENT OF SPECIAL SYMPTOMS AND COMPLICATIONS. Constipation at the outset, and prior to the stage of the disease at which it is believed intestinal ulceration is present, should be met by one or two rather good- sized (two- to five-grain) doses of calomel, as previously indicated. Later, moving the bowels by simple enema on alternate days is preferable to the employment of medicinal laxatives which might lead in turn to diarrhoea difficult of control, and to aggravation of the intestinal ulceration. During late convalescence, if constipation be the rule, an occasional small laxative dose (one to two drachms) of castor oil, or small dose of calomel (one-half to one grain), may be employed, or a non-griping preparation of cascara combined with belladonna may be used. Broadbent calls attention to the importance of removing rectal accumulations by enema before resorting to the use of laxatives by the mouth. Diarrhoea.?Careful, painstaking supervision of the diet of the typhoid case from the start, which necessitates, of course, daily inspection of the stools, will in most cases prevent the occurrence of excessive diarrhoea. It must be remembered that diarrhoea is in a measure conservative, and when moderate in amount, not exceeding three to five stools daily, should not be interfered with. If the number of passages is excessive, and especially if they are very fluid, an effort must be made to diminish their frequency and alter their character. This last can often not be done until some alteration in diet is brought about. Excessive use of both milk and beef-tea is a fruitful source of increased intestinal derangement in typhoid fever. Should curds appear in the stools, milk must either be withdrawn or, if continued, must be more thoroughly diluted, either with plain water o...