Domestic medicine : $b or, a treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines. With an appendix, containing a dispensatory for the use of private practitionersBuchan, William
Science
Domestic medicine : $b or, a treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines. With an appendix, containing a dispensatory for the use of private practitioners
Buchan, William
Medicine, Popular -- Early works to 1800
About the fourth day, small spots, resembling flea-bites, appear, first
upon the face; then upon the breast, and afterwards on the extremities:
these may be distinguished from the small pox by their scarcely rising
above the skin. The fever, cough, and difficulty of breathing, instead
of being removed by the eruption as in the small pox, are rather
increased; but the vomiting generally ceases.
About the sixth or seventh day from the time of sickening, the measles
begin to turn pale on the face, and afterwards upon the body; so that by
the ninth day they entirely disappear. The fever; however, and
difficulty of breathing, often continue, especially if the patient has
been kept upon too hot a regimen. Petechiæ, or purple spots, may
likewise be occasioned by this error.
A violent looseness sometimes succeeds the measles; in which case the
patient’s life is in imminent danger.
Such as die of the measles generally expire about the ninth day from the
invasion, and are commonly carried off by a peripneumony, or
inflammation of the lungs.
The most favourable symptoms are a moderate looseness, a moist skin, and
a plentiful discharge of urine.
When the eruption suddenly falls in, and the patient is seized with a
delirium, he is in the greatest danger. If the measles turn too soon of
a pale colour, it is an unfavourable symptom, as are also great
weakness, vomiting, restlessness, and difficulty of swallowing. Purple
or black spots appearing among the measles are very unfavourable. When a
continual cough, with hoarseness, succeeds the disease, there is reason
to suspect an approaching consumption of the lungs.
Our business in this disease is to assist Nature, by proper cordials, in
throwing out the eruption, if her efforts be too languid; but when they
are too violent they must be restrained by evacuations, and cool
diluting liquors, &c. We ought likewise to endeavour to appease the most
urgent symptoms, as the cough, restlessness, and difficulty of
breathing.
REGIMEN.——The cool regimen is necessary here as well as in the
small-pox. The food too must be light, and the drink diluting. Acids
however do not answer so well in the measles as in the small-pox, as
they tend to exasperate the cough. Small beer likewise, though a good
drink in the small-pox, is here improper. The most suitable liquors are
decoctions of liquorice with marsh-mallow roots and sarsaparilla,
infusions of linseed, or of the flowers of elder, balm-tea, clarified
whey, barley-water, and such like. These, if the patient be costive, may
be sweetened with honey; or, if that should disagree with the stomach, a
little manna may occasionally be added to them.
MEDICINE.——The measles being an inflammatory disease, without any
critical discharge of matter, as in the small-pox, bleeding is commonly
necessary, especially when the fever runs high, with difficulty of
breathing, and great oppression of the breast. But if the disease be of
a mild kind, bleeding may be omitted[97].
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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