Raehitia. This disease seldom makes its appearance before the eighth or ninth month, or after the second year of the child's age ; it appears first with a flacci dity of the muscles, and falling away of the flesh, although the food is taken in large quantities. If the child be able to walk, a difficulty of breathing and palpi. tation of the heart will be perceived on its walking a little faster than usual; the face is pale, and somewhat bloated, and the child becomes daily more averse to exercise or motion ; the head appears large in respect to the body, and the fore head becomes unusually prominent ; the fontanelle and sutures are more open than usual, the ribs lose their convexity, and become flattened at the sides, and the sternum is pushed outward and forms a sort of ridge ; the joints become en larged, while the limbs between them ap pear, or become slender, and variously distorted ; the spPne of the back, in par ticular, becomes very much incurvated, and the whole figure is sometimes dis torted in such a manner as to resemble the letter S ; the abdomen is hard and preternaturally tumid, and the other parts of the body are emaciated the appetite is but little, or not at all, impaired, and the stools are frequent and loose ; the dentition is not only slow, but later than usual, and the teeth, soon after their ap. pearance, become decayed, sad frequent ly fall out ; the faculties of the mind are sometimes impaired ; more frequently, however, they possess a premature acute. ness of the understanding. On the first appearance of the disease the system is but little affected, but after a short time febrile symptoms are generally present : the disease after a while often ceases to advance, and the health is re-established, but the limbs remain distorted ; in other cases, it goes on increasing till every function is affected, and at length termi nates in death, in consequence of inability to distend the chest, owing, in all ap pearance, to the softness of the bones. In the bodies of those who have died of this disease, various morbid affections have been discovered, in the internal parts in particular; the abdominal and thoracic viscera have been found in a diseased state, and the bones are some.
times so soft that they can be readily cut through with a knife.
The remote causes are, debility, an im pure and humid state of the atmosphere, poor milk, hereditary disposition, bad air, deficiency of proper exercise, want of cleanliness, and an improper diet. The proximate cause is supposed to be a defi ciency of calcareous earth and phosphoric acid.
The removal of this disease will be effected by gentle emetics in the first in stance ; it will not, however, be necessary to repeat them very frequently : bark Should be administered in moderately brire doses; but there is often a difficul ty in administering it in substance, in proper quantities; the extract of bark is to be preferred, or the oxide or sulphate of zinc, or some of the preparations of iron must be employed, and they will be more efficacious if administered, in com bination with calcined hartshorn or chalk, or with a neutral salt and rhubarb, in such proportion as will keep the bowels gently laxative ; the phosphate of lime and of soda are recommended, in equal parts, to the extent of a scruple, twice a day; and washing the surface of the body with a solution of potash, in the propor tion of half an ounce to a pint of water, morning and evening, is also of service, taking care, however, to wipe the skin perfectly dry ; the body must be well rubbed with flannel, and the dorsal spine should be rubbed with volatile alkali; the diet should be light and nourishing, and port wine should be exercise in the open air, in dry weather, should be strictly enjoined, and as gestation can only be employed, the child should al ways be carried in a horizontal posture, as moving them in any degree of an erect one is liable to increase the distortion, and they should lie down frequently in the course of the day ; and some of the ingenious contrivances, mentioned in the Zoonomia, should be employed. The cold bath may be made use of, or a bath of the temperature of the Matlock bath, which is 66°, or of the Buxton, which is 82°, would perhaps be preferable, and more beneficial. The prophylaxis con sists in cold bathing, frictions, and pro per exercise.