and almost
too hard to bear. The joints become hot, red, painful, swollen and tender
to touch and motion. It seems to hurt worse when anyone comes near, for
the patient is afraid of careless handling.

Fever.--This runs from 102 to 104 and is modified by profuse perspiration
with bad odor and, generally, it does not afford any relief. The urine is
very acid, very thick and looks like thick, strong coffee. The symptoms
frequently disappear partially from one joint or joints as they begin in
other joints, attacking several in rapid succession, the fever varying and
changing with the degrees of joint involvement.

We may see the shoulder and hip, the elbow and wrist, knee and ankle,
etc., all affected at once: Heart complications are frequent and bear
close watching, for they are dangerous to life and the future health of
the patient. The patient becomes very anemic and this progresses rapidly.
When improvement does begin it is gradual; or the disease may become
chronic. Care must be taken not to be too active when improvement sets in
or you will cause a return by using the joints before they have become
thoroughly well. I did the same thing in my anxiety to get out, but would
never be as reckless again. Pain and stiffness of the joints often last
long after convalescence has set in. One who has had this disease once is
liable to another attack if he is not careful.

[CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES 319]

MOTHERS' REMEDIES. 1. Articular Rheumatism.--A gentleman sends us the
following treatment for articular rheumatism and writes as follows: "I
send you the following treatment for articular rheumatism because I used
it myself and was cured in a very short time, in fact, about ten days. It
was a number of years ago in the early spring when my knee joints, ankles
and wrists began to pain me and continued to become worse for about a
week, at the end of which time both my knees were perfectly stiff. I sent
for my physician; he wrapped my knees with common baking soda; taking long
wide bandages he was enabled to have the baking soda a fourth of an inch
thick around the knee, raising the bandage as he laid the soda on; after
this was completed I had heavy wet hot cloths laid around my knee and
renewed every fifteen or twenty minutes for probably eight or ten hours.
In the meantime I was taking the salicylate of soda and the cathartic,
veronica water, as directed below. The following day I sat up with my legs
resting on a chair, straig