Banes. V. Profluvia. lirslirsontsons Frames.
long, even uncler the present boadlogy. Catarrh is described as possessing pyfetYi 'frequently contagious ; an increased se cretion of mucus, or at least efforts to efcrete it. Dysentery, as evincing contr.. gious pyreiy,frequent mucous or blood,* stools, while the alvine feces are for the most part retained; gripes; teneininnt.
Catarrh will be distinguished from the Measles by the greater mildness of the febrile symptoms, by the state of the eyes, by the absence of coma, and many of the symptoms accompanying the env tive fever of measles.
The disease is rarely attended with danger, except there be great difficulty of breathing, attended with a livid and bloated countenance, or it has been treated with negligence or impropriety, in which case it often passes into pneu monic inflammation,attended with symp toms of the utmost danger; in general, however, it is a slight and safe clisease, unless it attack persons of a phthisical habit, or those advanced in life ; in the former it may occasion phthisis, and in the latter peripneumonia notha.
For its cure, nothing mote is requisite, in general, than abstinence from animal food for a few days, keeping the body Warm, and drinking freely of tepid mu cilaginous diluents; if there be, however, a considerable degree of excitement, blood-letting will be necessary, but it must be employed with some degree of Caution, as it is frequently succeeded by depression of strength, particularly when catarrh is epidemic. If there be much oppression and tightness about the chest, occasioning a degree of dyspncea, local blood-letting will be advisable, and blisters must be applied to the sternum and scrobiculus cordis ; gentle, laxatives should be ordered; the patient should take copious draughts of some mucilaginous acidulated liquids; a gentle diaphoresis should be promoted by nau seating doses of tartar emetic, with spirit of mindererus, or by exhibiting the vola tile alkali in wine whey ; the vapour of warm water, impregnated with vinegar, should be frequently inhaled ; mucila. ginous oily demulcents should, be given, and expectoration should be promoted by the means pointed out when tresti of pneumonic inflammation. If the cough remain troublesome, after we have su dued the inflammatory diathesis, opiates, combined with the tartar emetic, or with ipecacuanha,may be employed with safety and advantage; rubbing the nose etter4 malty with oil, some ointment. er with These are ordinarily characterised, as consisting of pyrexy with an increased secretion, naturally void of blood. The genera are two : 1. Catarrhus, Catarrh. 2. Dysenteria, Dysentery. This order might easily be suppressed, and the ge nera it comprises transferred to other si tuations, to which they more properly be.
*hat is most commonly employed, warm tallow, is very often of great service, when the mucus membrane of the nose is much affected, which practice has very frequently come under my observation. In the treatment of the epidemic catarrh (influenza), as being frequently attended with a considerable degree of debility, the antiphlogistic regimen must not be pushed too far, even though there may be some appearance of excitement : it will, in general, if blood-letting should be deemed necessary, be more advisable rather to trust to local than to general blood-letting, blisters, mild diaphoretic., and diluents; sometimes, however, a more liberal diet, and the moderate use of wine, will answer better. Might not,
the allusion of tepid, or even cold water, be employed with safety, if the heat of the surface be greater than natural, and there be at the same time no tendency to asthma or phthisis pulmonalis? Dysentery is most commonly preceded by costiveness, unusual flatulence, acid eructations, and wandering pains in the bowels ; in most cases, however, from the commencement, griping pains are felt in the lower part of the abdomen, which often arise to a Considerable degree of severity ; the bowels are irritated to fre quent evacuation, in indulging which, but little is voided, and the rectum often be comes exquisitely painful and tender ; the matter evacuated is often very fcetid, and the stools are frequently composed of mucus, pus, blood, membranous films, and white lumps of a sebaceous nature, the mucus is generally mixed with a watery fluid, and is often frothy : tenes mus, in a greater or less degree, gene rally accompanies the evacuation of the bowels, and it very rarely happens that the natural fzces appear during the whole course of the disease, and when they do, they are in the form of scybalz, that is, small separate balls, which appear to have lain long in the cells of the colon ; when these are voided, either by the efforts of nature, or as solicited by medi cine, they procure a remission of all the symptoms, more especially of the fre quent stools, griping and tenesmus ; with these symptoms there is loss of appetite, great anxiety about the przcordia, fre quent sickness, nausea, vomiting, and the matter ejected is frequently bilious, watchfulness and prostration of strength: there is always some degree of sympto matic fever, which is sometimes of the remittent or intermittent type; sometimes it assumes the synochous, and very fre quently the typhous type : the tongue is white, and covered with tough mucus, or rough, dry, and sometimes black ; the patient complains of a bitter taste in the mouth, and in the advanced stage of the disease there is hiccup, and aphthz. If the small intestines only be affected, the pain is described to be most acute and excruciating about the umbilicus, the bowels are not evacuated immediately after the griping pains, the blood is mixed intimately with the fzces, and the sick ness, vomiting, and pain at the stomach, are more urgent. If the large intestines be the seat of the disease, the pain is more obtuse, not so constant, is more dis tant from the umbilicus, and is more im mediately followed by stools, and the purulent matter of blood, if their be any, is less mixed with the rest of the excre ments or only floats upon the m, and there is more sickness than griping; but it fre quently happens, that both the large and small intestines are affected, which ren ,dersit very difficult to determine, with any certainty, the seat of the disease. The remote causes, are, cold alternating with heat, derangement of the prima viz, and contagion. The proximate cause is supposed to be a preternatural constric tion of the intestines, more particularly of the colon. This disease will be readily distinguished from diarrhoea, by the ab sence, or less degree of fever in the lat ter; the less degree of griping and tenes pius, the appearance of the stools, and the other symptoms in diarrhcea, will fur ther assist us.