A system of practical medicine. By American authors. Vol. 5 : $b Diseases of the nervous system
Science
A system of practical medicine. By American authors. Vol. 5 : $b Diseases of the nervous system
Medicine -- Practice
Case III.—A letter-carrier about 25 years old, without known
hereditary tendency to disease, under-fed, over-tired, and worried,
broke down with pronounced mania of the simple type, without marked
delirium or delusions. He was much exhilarated, often excited, rarely
noisy, and, as he had no delusions, he was not dangerous. He was
somewhat troublesome, and I feared that his disease might become more
active, and so I recommended his removal to an asylum, to which his
friends fortunately refused to consent. He became progressively worse,
but still not maniacal or delirious. He had no specific insane
delusions, but he had a generally exalted notion about all the events
of life and his own affairs. His {130} surroundings were not conducive
to quiet, as he lived in the noisy part of the city, and his
associations were those under the influence of which his disease
appeared. But he made a most excellent recovery, and resumed his work
with only a year's interruption.
Case IV.—A healthy young woman, without hereditary predisposition to
insanity, confined with her first child. Her delivery was not attended
with any especial difficulty, and she made rapid progress toward
health and strength until the beginning of the third week, when a
slight change of character was noticed which soon developed into
active mania. She was delirious, profane, obscene, filthy in her
habits, and filled with delusions regarding herself, her family, and
her surroundings. She had a great aversion to her infant, and often
did not know the several members of her household. Hers was as violent
a case of puerperal mania as I have ever seen in an insane asylum. She
was naturally not very strong, however, and people could always be
near enough at hand to prevent her doing any harm to herself or
others. Her infant was kept out of her sight most of the time for five
months, and all of the time for many weeks. The usual treatment was
adopted, an excellent recovery was made in six months, at the end of a
year strength was restored, and the patient remains quite well now.
Case V. was quite similar to the last, except that the disease was
melancholia, and that the patient had tried to kill herself and her
infant before I saw her. She made a complete recovery. Both cases were
taken care of in their own homes, and for the most part by members of
their own families.
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