sing up from the toes to
the head, delusions of sight, smell, taste, or hearing (ringing, or
buzzing, etc.), palpitation, throbbing in the head, an impulse to run or
spin around--any of these may warn a victim that a fit is at hand. Some
patients "lose themselves" and make curious mistakes in talking.

The warning is nearly always the same each time with the same patient, and
is more common in mild than in severe cases. Rarely, the attack does not go
beyond this stage.

When the patient becomes conscious of the aura he should sit in a large
chair, or lie down on the floor, well away from fire, and from anything
that can be capsized. He must never try to go upstairs to bed. Some one
should draw the blind, as light is irritating.

If the warning lasts some minutes, the patient should carry with him, a
bottle of uncoated one-hundredth-grain tabloids of

Nitroglycerin, replacing the screw cap with a cork, so that they can
quickly be extracted. When the warning occurs, one--or two--should be
taken, and the head bent forward. The arteries are dilated, the
blood-pressure thus lowered, and the attack _may_ be averted.

The use of nitroglycerin is based on the theory that seizures are caused by
anaemia due to vasomotor constriction. Success is only occasional, but this
is so welcome as to justify the habitual use of the method.

If the aura be brief, buy a few "pearls" of Amyl Nitrite, crush one in your
handkerchief, and sniff the vapour. This has the same affect as
nitroglycerin, but the action occurs in 15 seconds and only persists 7
minutes. A headache occasionally follows the use of these drugs, and they
should not be employed without professional advice.

When the warning is felt in the hand or foot, a strap should be worn round
the ankle or wrist, and pulled tight when the aura commences. This
sometimes aborts a fit, as biting a finger in which the aura commences may
also do.

If a victim feels unwell after a meal, he must never eat the next meal at
the usual time, simply because it _is_ the usual time.

Should a patient feel unwell between, say, dinner and tea, instead of
eating his tea he must empty his bowels by an enema, or croton oil (see
chemist), and his stomach by drinking a pint of warm water in which has
been stirred a tablespoonful of mustard powder and a teaspoonful of salt.
After vomiting, drink warm water.

_Never attempt to empty the stomach at the onset of a definite aura_, for
if the seizure occ