Portal Congestion
Dr Kellogg on...
Portal Congestion
The portal system is a reservoir capable of containing all the blood in the body... intense portal congestion is wholly harmless in conditions of health, for it is evidently a part of the function of the portal system and the distensible and elastic viscera connected with it, especially the spleen, to serve the body in this fashion as a sort of overflow reservoir, whereby the regulation of circulation may be (controlled in emergencies). But what is true under normal conditions by no means always holds good in... disease. When the portal system is the seat of pathological states involving changes of the vessel walls..; in acute congestions..; in (abdominal inflammations), - in these and kindred states, any procedure whereby the portal congestion already present is increased can not be otherwise than damaging to a high degree; and hence the portal reservoir cannot safely be utilized as a means of diverting blood... In such cases the desired end may be accomplished by other means almost, if not quite, as effective. The cutaneous envelope of the body,... is capable of holding fully one half of all the blood in the body, and fortunately, can not be easily filled to a really dangerous degree. pp 837,8
JHK
from Dr JH Kellogg's Hydriatic Techniques...
In:
Treatment Method:
- running Cold Foot Bath
- Hot Foot Bath or Leg Bath
- Hot Leg Pack
- Scotch Douche to legs and feet
- Wet Girdle
Acute cases:
- hot Pelvic Pack or hot Sitz Bath (5-15 min) followed by...
- short cold (30-60sec) along with
- Short hot applications to abdomen (5-10 min) then cold 1-2min
- Repeat whole procedure every 2-3 hours
For Chronic Congestion:
- Prolonged Cold Sitz 27-21°C 15-30min or
- Wet Girdle renewed as becomes dry ie about every 4 hours
Problems:
Treatment:
- Vascular Antiphlogistics
- Hot and Cold Lumbar Pack
- cold Hepatic Douche
- Cold Douche especially if Passive Congestion
- cold Pulmonary Douche in Neurasthenia