a child of six
years just recovering from that fever.

It is my custom to allow cold drinks of water in all cases of measles
whenever patients desire it, and I am satisfied that it aids the early
appearance of the rash, and certainly is cooling and grateful to the
patient. Hot drinks or vile and nauseous teas are unnecessary in this
disease, and should be discarded as useless, odious, and disgusting.
If congestion of the lungs or any intercurrent inflammation occurs, or
the rash is much delayed, a hot water bath or the old reliable corn
sweat will break up the complication with amazing rapidity, and if the
head is kept cool, will not generally be unacceptable to the patient.

Hot baths reduce temperature by causing free perspiration afterward,
and cold packs reduce it by cooling the surface sufficiently long to
reduce the heat of the blood, and, if used judiciously, seldom fail of
success. I have reduced the temperature four degrees in two hours by
wrapping around a child a sheet wet with tepid water, and no other
covering. Cold packs are sometimes objectionable, because of their
depressing effects, and should only be used to reduce high temperature
and when there is no congestion or inflammation of any of the vital
organs of the body.

Cold water poured in a small stream from a pitcher upon the head for
five or ten minutes will often relieve headache, and is a benefit in
all inflammatory brain diseases, if, at the same time, you can put the
feet into hot water containing mustard or pepper.

Large enemas of warm water will care for spasmodic colic, and I have,
in one instance, relieved strangulated hernia by the same method, and
at another time the same result was accomplished by a large injection
of warm linseed oil. I have often applied a cloth wet with cold water
upon the throats of children suffering with spasmodic croup, with
satisfactory results.

I have seen infants suffering with diarrhea or summer complaint,
sleepless, worrying, fretting, or crying from thirst, begging for
water, and the mother or nurse afraid to give it more than a
teaspoonful or two at a time, saying that it vomited everything it
drank as soon as taken. I have often, when visiting such cases, called
for a glass of cold water, and, to the surprise of the mother, would
allow it to take all it could drink, which usually would be retained,
and the child would soon be wrapped in a refreshing sleep. Without
medicine, a proper regulation of t