se of the
kidneys. Albuminuria is frequently the sequel of scarlatina. Hence, the
utmost care should be taken against exposure of a patient recovering
from scarlatina, and the same caution should be exercised during
convalescence from measles, erysipelas, and rheumatism. Dropsies may be
general, as in anasarca, or local, as dropsy of the heart, called
_cardiac_ dropsy: dropsy of the peritoneum, the serous membrane which
lines the abdominal cavity, called _ascites_; dropsy of the chest,
called _hydrothorax_; dropsy of the head, called _hydrocephalus_; dropsy
of the scrotum, called _hydrocele_.

Dropsy is not, therefore, of itself a disease, but only the symptom of a
morbid condition of the blood, kidneys, liver, or heart. Thus disease of
the valves of the heart, may obstruct the free flow of blood and thus
retard its circulution. In consequence the pulse grows small and weak,
and the patient cannot exercise or labor as usual, and finally the lower
limbs begin to swell, then the face and body, the skin looks dusky, the
appetite is impaired, the kidneys become diseased, there is difficulty
in breathing, and the patient, it is said, dies of dropsy, yet dropsy
was the result of a disease of the heart, which retarded the circulation
and enfeebled the system, and which was actually the primary cause of
death.

TREATMENT. Dropsy being only a symptom of various morbid conditions
existing in the system, any treatment to be radically beneficial must,
therefore, have reference to the diseased conditions upon which the
dropsical effusion, in each individual case, depends. These are so
various, and frequently so obscure, as to require the best diagnostic
skill possessed by the experienced specialist, to detect them. There
are, however, a few general principles which are applicable to the
treatment of nearly all cases of dropsy. Nutritious diet, frequent
alkaline baths to keep the skin in good condition and favor excretion
through its pores, and a general hygienic regulation of the daily
habits, are of the greatest importance. There are also a few general
remedies which may prove more or less beneficial in nearly all cases. We
refer to diuretics and hydragogue cathartics. The object sought in the
administration of these is the evacuation of the accumulated fluids
through the kidneys and bowels, thus giving relief. Of the diuretics,
queen of the meadow, buchu, and digitalis generally operate well. As a
cathartic, the Purgative Pellet