The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 217 of 653in such cases is often wanting. These cerebral derangements aresaid to accompany the inflammation of an upper lobe much morefrequently than those of a lower lobe. The patients sometimesremain unconscious during the whole course of the disease, whichneed not run a prolonged course on this account. Cerebral derangements of a lighter grade, a light delirium, mostly of a merry natsleeplessness or sopor, are very common occurrences. These happenmost frequently in the case of drunkards. The tongue does not exhibit any regularly-occurring changes , at times it is quite cleasometimes very much coated, at times humid, at other times quitePneumonia, 251dry. The last-mentioned appearance is not very promising, it isespecially ominous if the balance of the symptoms impart to theaftectiou a dubious character. The appearance of a slight icterusafter the completion of the infiltration is very common, nor is iany particular importance; but if icterus sets in together withsymptoms of gastro-intestinal catarrh, it always indicates an unwelcome complication which threatens to delay the course of thedisease. As a rule the skin remains pretty dry during the wholecourse of the disease; profuse or exhausting sweats occur much lefrequently.The symptoms specially appertaining to the lungs, vary considerably. The cough which is usually not very violent and occurs insingle short turns, may assume a spasmodic character when, onaccount of the increase of pain, it becomes a source of great disto the patient. It rarely is entirely wanting, or is quite dry. Iparticularly old people who sometimes do not cough at all. The frquency of the respirations is sometimes but inconsiderably increaand it is the insufficient depth of the inspirations that revealscharacter of the disease. The pain varies more than any othersymptom; in the case of old people it is generally very slight; itheir case the admixture of blood in the sputa is generally missiIn the case of young and vigorous individuals the resolution ofthe infiltration generally takes place very rapidly, sometimes insingle day, but it may likewise be more protracted, without on thaccount a transition into the stage of gray hepatization havingnecessarily taken place. Thus we find that the fever decreases onthe ninth day and that the patient generally feels a little bettebut there is no sudden decrease of all the abnormal phenomena, noimmediate, but a scarcely perceptible, dragging commencement ofconvalescence. We seldom notice this condition of thmgs m thecase of robust men ; it occurs quite easily among weakly personsand after an exhausting method of treatment. Sometimes, afterconvalescence has begun, an exacerbation with progressing infiltrtion sets in, in which case the fever is very apt to assume anasthenic character and the appearance of typhus, yet the courseof the disease need not necessarily be very much protracted orunfavorable. But almost without an exception, important complications exist in such cases; such a form of pneumonia is very seldom the result of epidemic influences, but most generally of anexhausting treatment. Among the complications we notice moreparticularly pleuritis, bronchitis, peri- and endocarditis, all owithout an exception, exert a disturbing influence over pneumoi:'http://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt