Page 72 - An essay on the diseasesof the jaws, and their treatment

50 AN ESSAY ON THE Should the malady, however, be seated in the lower jaw, and so far advanced as to have already penetrated its under edge, it will be sometimes necessary to allow the matter to escape exter- nally through the parts best adapted to the situation of the diseased structures and cavities. The mouth should be washed six or eight times a day with a mixture of tincture of myrrh and honey, diluted with sage tea, and the cavity cleared twice or thrice a day with a lock of cotton, or a very soft brush of bristles, sufficiently soft and long to clean it without occasioning more than a gentle irritation, previously dipped in the above mixture or warm water. The usual method of retaining cotton or lint in the diseased cavity seems to me to be rarely applicable, and from the peculiar structure, situation, and functions of the parts, injurious in most cases, as it not only interferes with the free discharge of the matter, but also prevents, in some measure, the cleansing and salutary ef- fects of the mixture and of the saliva, both of which act as a constant emoUiating stimulant upon the morbid parts. The general state of the constitution should be attended to, and in particular the functions of the alimentary canal ; such medicines, however, should be carefully avoided as have a tendency to act disadvantageously upon the glandular, or osseous system. To preserve the necessary constitutional strength, a wholesome and nourishing diet, free from undue stimulant and irritating pro- perties, is of the greatest importance. It should principally consist of bread, or farinaceous preparations, and broth, or a proper quan- tity of easily digested animal -food, as beef, mutton, game, &c. ; as a beverage, tea or toast-and-water may be taken with advantage, but all fermented liquors should be entirely avoided, and spirituous drinks, as brandy, &c., taken in very moderate quantities only; the patient should be directed to keep his mind and body as tran- quil as possible, to take exercise, but to avoid fatigue and to guard particularly against exposure to great heat or cold. The above treatment, I believe, will seldom fail to ensure a suc- cessful result, even when apphed at an advanced stage of the dis- ease : it must, however, be well considered, that the removal of a malady, of from five to twenty years standing, cannot be obtained