The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 387 of 653the erysipelas reaches its acme at the spot where it first appearamid febrile symptoms which are sometimes exceedingly severe,attended with a foul-smelling catarrh of the mouth, vomiting, andmost generally delirium ; these symptoms, however, are not constant, whereas the headache and soporous stupefaction are exceedingly annoying. The face is now very much swollen, the featuresare disfigured to such an extent that they are no longer recognizble, the redness has a bluish and even brown-red tint, and vesiclErysipelas. 457of various sizes sometimes spring up upon the inflamed surface,which always indicate an intense degree of illness. The inflammation decreases very rapidly ; the redness disappears after the exvesicles had dried up previously and had become transformed intothin and flat crusts, and very soon desquamation commences firstin large patches and afterwards in very small scales. But inasmucas the disease never terminates with its first appearance, and usspreads over the whole head, we find erysipelas in full bloom cloto the original spot in process of healing, and find the rednessgradually diffusing itself into this spot, whereas it forms a shacontrast with the surrounding normal parts of the face. In thismanner erysipelas gradually wanders over the whole face, evenbeyond the ears, invading a portion of the nape of the neck, andspreading over the forehead and the hairy scalp. In this latter cthe patients sufter severe local pains, even after the fever abatThe intensity of the fever, as it first breaks out at the commencment of the disease, does not keep pace with its gradual progression. Whereas at one spot the inflammation runs its full course ifive to six days, yet, on account of its progressive appearance idifferent localities, the whole course of the disease lasts fromdays to a fortnight. The process of desquamation may last muchlonger, and the most severely aftected parts often exhibit for atime a yellowish tint with signs of serous infiltration.Deviations from this course are not unfrequent. The whole facemay be covered so rapidly that it would seem as though the exanthem had broke out all over at once. These are cases of intensevirulence, where one ear, however, commonly remains uninvaded.Moreover, the inflammation may communicate itself to the cerebralmeningse; generally, however, this does not take place until thelocal process has reached its height. In such a case the rednesssoon assumes a dingy and livid look; the skin becomes lax andwrinkled, a most violent* delirium sets in, and coma and deathspeedily supervene. This course has been mistaken for a metastasiof erysipelas; whereas in such a case the same changes take placeas in other similar cases, namely that, with the appearance of aviolent disorder, the previously-existing lesser disease abates adisappears. Erysipelas seldom becomes associated with diseases ofother important organs. Attacks of erysipelas succeeding the firsattack are very apt to show deviations from the normal course.These attacks are very seldom preceded^ by precursory symptoms,the less so the more frequently the attacks have occurred. Nor isDiseases of the Skin.http://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt