SCARLET FEVER. Synonyms.—Scarlatina; Scarlet Rash. Definition ...

ight scarlet color from which the disease takes its name. There is no
cessation in the fever with the appearance of the eruption, as in other
fevers. The eruption remains from two to six days, gradually fading
away, and is followed by a branny desquamation.
Anginosa.—Dr. Scudder has given so realistic a picture of this form
that I will quote him in full: “In S. anginosa, the chill is usually marked;
there is nausea and vomiting, pain in the head and back, thirst, etc. The
fever which follows is intense; the skin is dry, husky, and burning; the
eyes dry and painful; the face congested and tumid; bowels constipated;
urine is scanty, frequently voided, high-colored, with marked irritability
of the nervous system. Soreness of the throat is complained of from the
first, with difficult deglutition, and, on examination, we find the fauces
tumid and red and the tonsils somewhat swollen. The nares are
frequently implicated with the angina, and there is consequently
stuffing of the nose, with difficult respiration, and consequent increased
restlessness.
“The eruption sometimes makes its appearance during the latter part of
the first day of the fever, but, more frequently, not until the second or
third day, and about the third or fourth day it has reached its height. At
the commencement, there appears slight tumefaction of a portion of the
surface, which gradually assumes a rose color, and the minute red
points are developed. These patches increase in size until the greater
portion of the surface is involved. During the eruption there is an
expression of anxiety and suffering; the child is restless, uneasy, and
sleepless, which resists the usual means of rest, is caused by the heat
and stinging of the surface, and soreness of the throat.
“The throat affection is here the most prominent feature; the soreness
increases, the mucous membrane and subjacent tissues are engorged
and tumid, and the secretion from the mucous follicles and salivary
glands is so viscid and tenacious as to cause great distress. In some cases
ulceration commences by the fifth or sixth day of the disease, and the
secretion is difficult of removal and exceedingly offensive; occasionally
the ulceration assumes a phagedenic form, and speedily terminates the
life of the patient. Frequently enlargement of the cervical lymphatics
commences from the third to the sixth day, and, if not promptly treated,
terminates in inflammation and suppuration.
“The fever, under appropriate treatment, commences to abate when the
eruption has made its appearance, and disappears entirely by the
The Eclectic Practice of Medicine - PART I - Infectious Diseases - Page 129