Hydriatic treatment of Scarlet Fever in its Different FormsMunde, Charles
Science
Hydriatic treatment of Scarlet Fever in its Different Forms
Munde, Charles
Hydrotherapy; Scarlatina
If the _throat_ is in a highly inflamed condition, repeated packing is
the surest means of allaying the inflammation and preventing _croup_.
Although I have had very bad cases under my hands, I never saw a case of
scarlet-croup under water-treatment. All you have to do is, to pack your
patient early enough and often enough to keep the inflammation down, to
keep a wet compress on his throat and chest, and, in general, treat him
as I have prescribed. The condition of the throat will improve in
proportion to your perseverance in packing.
74. NECESSITY OF ALLAYING THE HEAT.
The packs and baths should be continued, even when the patient cannot be
prevailed upon to stay long enough in the packs to perspire. The heat of
the skin and the general inflammatory condition of the whole organism
_must_ be allayed, especially, when there is much _delirium_. In that
case, the patient ought to be kept long enough in the bath to clear off
the head, and care ought to be taken, that he should never stay in the
pack to become much excited.
75. THE HALF-BATH--THE SITZ- OR HIP-BATH.
Should the half-bath or shallow-bath (which are technical terms for the
bath described above), not be sufficient to relieve the head, the
patient must be placed in a _sitz-_ or _hip-bath_ of 65 deg. to 70 deg. and stay
there, with his body covered by a blanket or two, till the head is easy.
During and after the sitz-bath, the parts exposed to the water, as well
as the lower extremities, should be rubbed repeatedly, to favor the
circulation of the blood. The head should be covered with a compress,
dipped in cold water and but slightly wrung out, to be changed every
time it becomes warm. The time required will vary according to the
condition of the patient, from half an hour to one hour and a half.
There is no danger of his taking cold, provided the body be covered
sufficiently. The room ought not to be too warm, as a hot room will
increase the tendency of the blood to the head; 65 to 70 deg. is perfectly
warm enough. I would rather have it between 60 and 65.
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