The Science of Therapeutics - Classical Homeopathy Online

Full text of "The Science of Therapeutics: According to the Principles of Homeopath...Page 492 of 653in consequence of slow and intense exhaustion or else by the supevention of acute complications. In the other case the disease setin like typhus of a middle grade, continues this course during thfirst three weeks, but in the fourth week it assumes the lentescetype with the previously-described symptoms of the first variety,except that the prostration is still greater and the diarrhoea ismore common. This form is most easily succeeded by sequelaeTyphus of a more intense type runs a very characteristic courseamong children during the first period of dentition. The diseasebegins with the symptoms of a severe catarrhal fever, with intensheat, passing sweats, occasional vomiting, constipation ; the pulinstead of exceeding one hundred and twenty beats which it frequently does in catarrhal fever, usually ranges from one hundredto one hundred and twenty. Towards the end of the first weekthe somnolence changes to sopor, and in the second week to a deepcoma; diarrhoea sets in, the passages as well as the urinary secrtions taking jjlace involuntarily ; the face assumes an apjiearanof collapse at an early period, the pupils are almost always considerably dilated; deglutition is difficult, only small quantitiebe swallowed at a time. The little patients most commonly signifyTyphus. 585tlie presence of a severe headache by moving a hand or a forearmover their foreheads at short intervals, and uttering every now athen the characteristic "m enciphaliqiie,^^ One side of the bodygenerally completely paralyzed. The patients remain in this condition which looks very much like meningitis, for weeks withoutshowing the least sign of a change. To judge from the four casesthat we have met with in the last two years, it seems to us asthough the end of the sixth week were the decisive term of thisfever; for on the first day of the seventh week these four childrwere again restored to consciousness. In such cases the diagnosishas to depend entirely upon the pulse which, in contra-distinctioto an inflammatory cerebral affection, especially to acute hydrocephalus, constantly remains at one hundred and twenty; likewiseupon the presence of diarrhoea, upon the hypertrophy of the spleewhich is seldom very considerable; and finally upon the fetid odowith which the sick-chamber is filled and which strikes one invarably on entering the room from the open air, even if the apartmenis ventilated with ever so much care. Sequel© are not very common in such cases; nor is, in spite of the worst apparent signs,prognosis so very bad, provided the eighteenth day is safely passIn conclusion we have to make mention of pneumo-tj^phus, amodification which occurs very frequently at times, whereas it isnot met with at all in other epidemics. The supposition that insuch a case the typhoid process runs its course upon the pulmonarinstead of upon the intestinal lining membrane, is not correct ;the aflection of the intestinal lining membrane is not entirely wing, although it may be inconsiderable. In pneumo-typhus theinflammatory irritation of the bronchia which we meet with inevery case of typhus, increases to a more marked degree of intensreal pneumonia supervenes, and the ailditional advent of hypostasoccasions a very threatening combination utterly overshadowingthe abdominal phenomena. Pneumo-typhus may exist from thebeginning of the disease, or it may break out in the course of thfirst, second, and even third week, most generally in a very insimanner. Beside the physical signs, pneumo-typhus is not revealedhttp://www.archive.org/stream/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog/sciencetherapeu00kafkgoog_djvu.txt