HX64077802 RA805.B86 B69 The Buffalo Lthia w X uo ±jnu.>xi\j Ajiiiiio tvai/Ci'S 111 the Treatment of Diseases of tbo Nervous System. G. IIALSTED BOYLAND,M.D.,M.A., LATS St-I.<:>nil, rRIKCII AKHY (DICKKATVD) ; I.ATt rRorxuoB or iubokiiv in tub baltiuubk MBDIOAL COLLICI, (TC. REFBINTKU FBOM Cte Nfb) Yotft i«fti(cal Souvnnl for Augmt 20, 1887. JAP J CoUege of l^^psitiani anb ^mstom ICitirarp Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from Columbia University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/buffalolithiawatOOboyl THE BUFFALO liTlUA WATERS IN TlIK TUKATMEST OF DISEASES OE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM BY G. IIALSTED BOYLAND, M. D., M. A. LATE StTRGEON, FRENCn ARMT (DECORATED) ; LATE PROFESSOR OF SURGERY IN THE BALTIMORE MEDICAL COLLEGE, ETC. REPRINTED FROM THE NEW YORE MEDICAL JOURNAL FOR AUGUST 20, 1887 NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1887 THE BUFFALO LITIIIA WATERS IX THE TnF:ATMEXT OF DISEASES OF THE KERYOUS SYSTEM. There is no physiological process that is not executed either directly or by reflex action by the nervous system — waking, respiration, deglutition, walking, sleeping ; in a word, life itself begins and ends in the medulla oblongata. It is not necessary to look beyond the par vagura to observe the great variety of physiological functions and far-reaching psychical influences exercised by a single nerve. The de- duction naturally drawn therefrom that the majority of dis- eases are referable to derangements of the nervous system, be it through the plexus affected, the sympathetic, or the cercbro-spinal system, is fully established by pathology. Almost all morbid changes thus find their origin in a neurosis. Neuroses dominate pathology. A remedy there- fore suitable to diseases of the nervous system in general — such as neurasthenia, hypera^sthesia, chorea, neuralgia, neu- ritis, dyspepsia, araenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea of nervous origin, impotence, sterility and hysteria, cerebral hyperaMnia and an;f mia, melancholia, paralyses, and cephalalgia — is one to commend itself to the neurologist as well as to the gen- eral practitioner. Such an one there is provided by nature in the waters of the Buffalo Lithia Springs of Virginia, a remedy which, independent of drugs and medicines, has alleviated all cases of such character in which it was pre- 4 THE BUFFALO LITHIA WATERS. scribed, cured many, and been successfully exhibited when- ever a revitalizing of the nerve-cells was indicated. Dr. Hunter McGuire was the first to direct attention to the re- constituent powers of the Buffalo Lithia waters. In speaking of Spring No. 2, used in cases of nervous dyspepsia caused by mental over-work, and to quote from his article on the subject : " It has never failed me as a powerful nervous tonic when I have prescribed it as such. I sometimes think it must contain hypophosphites of lime and soda." The writer, who has had a large experience in the treat- ment of diseases of the nervous system by these waters, ex- tending over a period of 'four seasons as resident physician at the Buffalo Lithia Springs, is decidedly of opinion that their chemico-physiological action is analogous to that of the hypophosphite compound, as mentioned by Dr. McGuire. In confirmation of this, Dr. William A. Hammond writes that he bas for some time made use of them in cases of af- fections of the nervous system, stating that his results have been eminently satisfactory, and that he often prescribes Buffalo Lithia water " in those cases of cerebral hypersemia resulting from mental over-work in which the condition called nervous dyspepsia exists, and generally with marked benefit," As the limits of a single article forbid the introduction of long lists of cases in detail, it will be impossible to do more than briefly refer to one or two out of some thousands, either treated by myself or that have come under my own professional observation. Cases I and 11 are selected as being typical of their class of nervous affections : Case I. Atonic Dyspepsia. — Mr. A. presented the following symptoms: Pain in the epigastrium after eating, anorexia and dyspnoea of many years' standing. This patient Lad been under treatment all tliat time, the remedies exhibited not only hav- ing failed, but also left the gastric membrane in a state of TIIK IJUlFAl.o I-ITIIIA U ATEIIS. 5 chronic ^n^ortroiiK'Hl, iiivolviii}? the {rlaiids. lie (lr;iiil< tVoin six to (.■i^,'hl f^hisses u day before ineuls of Spring No. 1, during ii stay ofsiA weeks at the sprinjjrs, at tiio end of wliicli time all of his distressing symptoms liad disappe;ired ; he could eat freely of dishes previously proscribed without post-prandial malaise, pain, o: dyspnoea, and returned homo completely re- stored to healtn. Many other cases of atonic dyspepsia liave been treated in the same way with unitornily similar results. Case II. yeuraslhcnia. — Tiiis patient had likewise been under treatment, having taken quantities of drugs and elixirs, such as strychnine, iron and quinine, phosphide of zinc, bella- donna, etc. His condition was one of emaciation, lethargy, cerebral exhaustion, and melancholia, with torpidity of the bowels and liver. Spring No. 1 was prescribed, two glasses three times a day before each meal. After six weeks of this treatment at the Buffalo Lithia Springs he was able to take regular exercise and enjoy his meals, having gained several pounds of tlesh. This patient was seen by me some months later; there had been no return of the melancholia, and his cerebral activity was fully up to the avei'age. I now prescribe this water freely in all cases where loss of nerve-force and want of tone are present without further classification of the malady. That Spring No. 2 is equally beneficial in properly selected cases has been well estab- lished in my own practice as well as in that of many others, among them that of the late Dr. Harvey L. Byrd, in whoso opinion Spring No. 2 was a general nerve-tonic and restora- tive, and ho strongly recommended it to a very large class of sufferers as a nervous cxhilarant, having used it with emi- nent success in most nervous diseases, epccially those where depression was a prominent symptom, when there was noth- ing to contra-indicate its exliibition. In neuralgia, cephalalgia, and cerebral hyporaMiiia, as well as in cases of general hypera^sthesia of the nervous sys- tem, the water of Spring No, 2 is chiefly indicated, and Q THE BUFFALO LITHIA WATERS. where anseraia exists, that of Spring No. 3 as an adjuvant, on account of its strongly chalybeate property, which it pos- sesses in the most desirable form for administration — name- ly, the carbonate of iron. It will be found very service- able in these maladies taken in quantities of a wineglassful, to four ounces (twenty minutes after meals), according to the nature of the case, whether the anaemic condition is cerebral or general. The same rules apply to their admin- istration in neuritis of the sensory nerves. The benefit to be derived from the use of the Buffalo Lithia waters in paralytic affections — such as multiple degen- erative neuritis of the motor nerves, chorea, paralyses of the rectum and bladder, and paralysis of the facial nerve — has been attested by numerous well-authenticated cases, apart from my own. I have found them especially valuable in facial paralysis and hemiplegia; in the two last-named dis- eases Spring No. 1 exercises the greater therapeutic potency. In hemiplegia the patient, while using the water internally, should also douche the paralyzed parts with it at the tem- perature at which it is taken from the spring. Its action in multiple degenerative neuritis of the motor nerves is manifested during a course of the water by a diminution of the muscular contraction at times present and a return of reflex and electrical conduction, thereby preventing the paralyzed muscles from becoming atrophied. When exhibited in cases of paralysis of the bladder, tone is imparted to the organ generally ; the muscular coats are strengthened and incontinence of urine is checked. In cho- rea, the water of Spring No. 1 acts directly upon the inhibit- ory nerve-fibers, exercising a steadying power and causing a gradual disappearance of that tremulous condition known as paralysis agitans. In a communication to the " Virginia Medical Monthly," * Dr. M. II. Houston, after observation * " Virginia Medical Monthly," February, ISTS. TllK lUFFALo I.ITiIlA WATERS. 7 of the ai'tioii of Spring No. 2 in iiuiirtoiis cases in his prac- tice and alhuling to its virtue as a i)owerfiil and permanent nerve-tonic, says of its employment in paralysis of the rec- tum, that its effects in improving and restoring the organic sensibility of the entire intestinal tract were strikingly illus- trated in one of his eases. Under a continuous use of the water the sensibility was restored to a considerable extent, tonic contraction of the paralyzed bowel took place, and its contents, which it had before been necessary to remove by mechanical means, " were expelled, with very slight assist- ance, from the use of simple water." Locomotor Ataxia. — In a case of tabes dorsalis sent to these springs for treatment by the waters, and occuriing in the practice of Dr. Landon B. Edwards, the attending physi- cian, the improvement was so notable that when the patirnt returned to Dr. Edwards he would have been inclined to doubt the correctness of his diagnosis had it not been for the fact that this had been previously fully established in consultation, several eminent confreres concurring in the opinion that the case was one of true sclerosis of the pos- terior columns. The therapeutic action of the waters in this instance was unquestionably exercised upon the nerve-centors in just the same manner as in cases of multiple degenerative neuritis, or as it would be in affections of the anterior horns. They would thus seem to be indicated in all forms of spinal paralysis. Hysteria. — I use the term in its broad sense, including hysterical attacks and sensations, hystero-epilepsy, rcHex mental disturbances, cephalalgia, nausea, and vomiting — a neurosis and yet only a symptom, for which, in the ma- jority of cases, the uterus is responsible in the opinion of Dr. Graily Hewitt. This conclusion, however, is not shared by the latest writers on hysterical affections, and among them Professor Charcot, who adopts the view that the ova- 8 THE BUFFALO LITHIA WATERS. vies are the real cause of manifestations of this nature. It is, however, my purpose to deal with the subject clinically only, and to accept the condition as presented in practice. Experience has led me to the belief that hysteria is rather a symptom than a disease, and, whether attributable to the uterus or ovaries or in some cases to both, certain it is that this condition rapidly ameliorates under treatment by the Buffalo Lithia water of Spring No. 1 in those cases [and they are many] in which faulty innervation of the uterus and ovaries is the fons et origo morbi. To prove that hys- teria is only a symptom, we have but to follow the patho- logical process one step farther, and we observe this same deficient innervation finding expression in the different flexions and versions of the uterus, dragging now one then the other, sometimes both, ovaries out of position, whether the displacement is antero-posterior or lateral. This hystero- neurosis is most frequently met with in derangements of the catamenia, notably in amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea. My friend and colleague, the late Dr. J. Marion Sims, who had used the water of Spring No. 2 in his very exten- sive gynaecological practice for two years prior to his death, found it highly eiBcacious in such cases. This has been the ^experience of many others in the treatment of diseases of women, whether organic or functional, the prescribed quantity acting directly upon the nerve-centers of the pel- vic viscera, imparting through them strength and tone to the muscular layers, and to the round and broad ligaments, thus enabling the uterus to resume its proper axis and to derive the necessary support from its appendages, which now retain it in situ. The waters also regulate the menstrual flow in much the same manner that digitalis regulates cardiac action. In dysmenorrhoea the excessive discharge is lessened in quan- tity and the ovaralgic pain alleviated; in amenorrhoea THE lUIFKALo LITllIA WATERS. 9 the appearance of the catamenia is brought about at tin- rcLjiilar interval of twenty-ciijlit days, not only in cases whore the menses have been sup[)resse(l tcin{)()rarily, but also in those in whieh they have been entirely absent for a protraeted period. We have here the same neurosis, causing in one case dysmenorrho'a, in another amenorrhrca, accord- ing to the idiosyncrasy of the individual patient, an illus- tration of the physical phenomenon that the same cause produces ditferent effects; the same neurosis productive of different pathological process. The nerve-cells are revital- ized under the influence of the waters, the cause is removed, and the effect ceases. The majority of my own cases of this class were treated with Spring No. 1, which also pos- sesses, in common with Spring No. 2 but to a greater de- gree, decided aphrodisiac powers. Impotence and Sterility. — In numerous cases of loss of sexual power, and sterility, treated with the water of Spring No. 1, as well as in cases of absence of orgasm, in both the male and. female, there was a return of erotism, the sexual appetite was restored with normal function, and in several cases of sterility patients bore children at term. In some of these cases, iron, cantharidcs, aloes, daminna, nux vomica, phosphorus, and electricity had been resorted to without benefit. In this class of cases the waters of Springs Nos. 1 and 3 combined will be found most serviceable, prescribed in the manner above mentioned. It will be seen from the foregoing that there are three springs comprising the group known as tl:e Buffalo Lithia Springs, and designated respectively by the Nos. 1, 2, and 3. It is evident that each case must be properly selected and the spring suitable to each individual patient carefully chosen from the symptoms, or, in the absence of these, from the di/s- crasia. During treatment, tea and coffee should be avoided, as well as all stimulants and acids, the latter exercising a 10 THE BUFFALO LITHIA WATERS. special deleterious influence in nervous subjects, apart from causing molecular and chemical changes by neutralization of the alkaline constituents of the waters. These, for obvious reasons, should only be taken when the stomach is in an alkaline condition — viz., one hour before meals, witb the ex- ception of Spring No. 3, as noted. "We possess, then, a remedy that may be used not only ah initio, but one which will prove grateful to the stomach in patients that have taken drugs ad nauseam, spent many painful moments of instrumentation on the operating-table, and languished for months under the wearing routine of ordinary gynae- cological practice. It will be readily conceded from the foregoing that the Buffalo Lithia waters merit a prominent place in the therapeutics of diseases of the nervous system, both as a quasi-specific and as a general nervine tonic — prop- erties that distinguish them from all other mineral waters known to science. The relief obtained from the exhibition of drugs and electricity in these maladies is too often ephemeral. That afforded by these waters is more radical and permanent, being based upon molecular change through- out the nervous system, which in its turn alters the dia- thesis and thus removes those neuroses from which diseases originate. The analyses of the Buffalo Lithia waters. Springs Nos. 1, 2, and 3, are hereto appended. It will thus be seen that the following paper disclaims all advocacy of a secret reme- dy and is intended solely as a contribution to the therapeu- tics of diseases of the nervous system, based upon scientific research and personal experience in the treatment of those affections, by the author. Analyses. — Analyses of the waters of the Buffalo Springs, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, made by Professor Will- iam P. Tonry, of the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, March 17, 1874. (Results expressed in grains to the imperial gallon.) TIIK HITFALo LITlll.V WATKIJS. 11 SlMtlNU GIIAINS. Sulphate of luagnesium. . . 1 T.IJO " iiluniiiiiuin.. . 8-180 " potiisi^iiiiu . . . 0-4 (j;3 " calcium . . . . . 19-251 Dicurbonute of calcium.. . 39-277 " litiiiuiii.. . 1-484 " iron . 0-ouo Cliloiiilc of sodiiiin . 1-25G Spuing No. 2. GRAINS. Sulpliiitc of magnesium., . 0-885 " aluminium.. . 9-OG7 " calcium 33-067 Carbonate of potassium.. 29-800 Bicarbonate of calcium. . . 14-903 " lithium... 2-250 " barium. . . 1-750 " iron 0-300 Chloride of sodium 4-921 " silicon 1-873 Phosjjhoric acid traces Iodine traces Organic matter.. . . small amount Total number of grains in a gallon 98-376 Sulphureted hydrogen. 8-:{ cub. in. Carbonic-acid gas. . . 59-2 " No. 1. GRAINS. Chloride of f-ilicon 1-725 Phosphoric acid traces Iodine traces Organic matter. . . . snuill amount Total numi)er of grains in a gallon 73-693 Sulphureted hydrogen. 59 cub. in. Carbonic-acid gas .. . (j91 " Spuing No. 3. GRAINS. Sulphate of magnesium. ... 0-150 " aluminium.. . . 3-035 " calcium 2-353 Carbonate of potassium .. . 1852 Bicarbonate of calcium.. . . 2-524 " lithium. . . . traces " iron 3-774 Chloride of sodium 0-217 " silicon 0-570 Phosphoric acid traces Organic matter. . . . small amount Total number of grains in a gallon 14-475 Sulphureted hydrogen. 3-4 culi. in. Carbonic-acid gas ... 11-6 " COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the expiration of a definite period cifter the date of borrowing, as provided by the rules of the Library or by special arrange- ment with the Librarian in charge. DATE BORROWED DATE DUE DATE BORROWED DATE DUE C28(i141)mI00 RA805,B86 B69 Boyland The Buffalo Lithia waters J B 63 r Rl