uld stand upon the leg corresponding to the side on which there is
water in his ear, and then, with head leaning to that side, should hop
or kick out with the other leg. The water may be drawn out by means of
suction through a reed. In order to get foreign bodies out of the
external auditory canal, an ear spoon or other small instrument should
be wrapped in wool and dipped in turpentine, or some other sticky
material. Occasionally he has seen sneezing, especially if the mouth and
nose are covered with a cloth, and the head leant toward the affected
side, bring about a dislodgment of the foreign body. If these means do
not succeed, gentle injections of warm oil or washing out of the canal
with honey water should be tried. Foreign bodies may also be removed by
means of suction. Insects or worms that find their way into the ear may
be killed by injections of acid and oil, or other substances.
Gurlt also calls attention to Alexander's careful differentiation of
certain very dangerous forms of inflammation of the throat from others
which are rather readily treated. He says, "Inflammation of the throat
may, under certain circumstances, belong to the severest diseases. The
patients succumb to it as a consequence of suffocation, just as if they
were choked or hanged. For this reason, perhaps, the affection bears the
name synanche, which means constriction." He then points out various
other forms of inflammation of the throat, acute and chronic, suggesting
various names and the differential diagnostic signs.
One of the most surprising chapters of Alexander's knowledge of
pathology and therapeutics is to be found in his treatment of the
subject of intestinal worms, which is contained in a letter sent by him
to his friend, Theodore, whose child was suffering from them. He
describes the _oxyuris vermicularis_ with knowledge manifestly derived
from personal observation. He dwells on the itching in the region of the
anus, caused by the _oxyuris_, and the fact that they probably find
their way into the upper part of the digestive tract because of the
soiling of the hands. He knew that the tapeworms often reached great
length,--he has seen one over sixteen feet long,--and also that they had
a life cycle, so that they existed in two different forms. He describes
the roundworms as existing in the intestines, but occasionally wandering
into the stomach to be vomited. His vermifuges were the flowers and the
seeds of the pomegranate, the
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