6
REPORT ON THE RANGOON LUNATIC ASYLUM FOR THE YEAR 1897.
19. European and Eurasian, &c.—During the year there were six admis-
sions ; one died, one was transferred to the Central Jail, Rangoon, and two were
handed over to their friends; eight (five males and three females) remained at the
close of the year under treatment. Separate accommodation is certainly required
in the female side. Those of this class confined in the female enclosure have to
mix with the natives and in their sane moods their surroundings are far from what
they should be. If patients of this class are to be confined here, there should
be a separate enclosure and buildings set apart for them.
List of Europeans and Eurasians under treatment in the Rangoon Lunatic
Asylum during the year 1897.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
Name.
A. E. ...
A. D. ...
E. C. ...
A. M. ...
J. H. ...
E. H. ...
J. H. ...
E. C. ...
S. P. ...
R. R. ...
C. K. ...
L. B. ...
Sex.
Male ...
Male ...
Female ...
Male ...
Male ...
Female ...
Male ...
Female ...
Female ...
Female ...
Male ...
Male ...
Previous occu-
pation.
Clerk ...
...
...
Telegraph sig-
naller.
Hunter ...
...
Clerk ...
Schoolmistress
...
...
Gunner ...
Overseer ...
Age.
33
21
28
20
38
43
40
29
62
40
33
41
Race.
Eurasian ...
Eurasian ...
Armenian
Eurasian...
European...
European...
Eurasian...
Eurasian...
Eurasian...
Eurasian...
European...
Eurasian ...
Date of admis-
sion.
15th September
1890.
4th May 1892...
12th May 1894
19th November
1894.
21st May 1896
17th November
1896.
13th February
1897.
4th May 1897 ...
10th June 1897
15th June 1897
25th June 1897
14th December
1897.
Type of insanity.
Melancholia ...
Idiocy ...
Melancholia ...
Do. ...
Mania ...
Do. ...
Melancholia ...
Mania ...
Do. ...
Melancholia ...
Dementia ...
Mania ...
Date of
discharge
or death.
...
...
...
...
12th Febru-
ary 1897.
...
...
6th July
1897.
15th July
1897.
...
1st August
1897.
...
Remarks.
A criminal
transferred
to jail.
Removed
by friends.
Died.
20. Statements III, IV, and V call for no special remarks.
21. Statements VI and VII.—There have been fewer recoveries during the
past year. This can be explained by the fact that during 1896 Surgeon-Lieuten-
ant-Colonel Thomas made an exhaustive and thorough examination of the cases
of the whole criminal population ; this resulted in a number of men being reported
sane whose mental conditions had been previously considered abnormal.
In Statement VII, column 15, the number of those who came to the asylum
with the cause of the insanity entered as unknown is " 99" out of 129 admissions.
It is very difficult, I know, to find out the true cause in many cases, but this is a
very large proportion.
22. Statement VIII, showing the return of sick, &c.—There were two
isolated cases of cholera during November and December. There were also
seven cases of chicken-pox, otherwise the asylum was free from epidemic disease.
The percentage of sick was somewhat higher than during the previous year, i e.,
42 per cent. as against 31. The increase occurs under chicken-pox (7), debility
(15), intermittent fever (6), and diarrhœa (12). The increase under debility and
diarrhœa is largely to be accounted for by the extremely wretched health in which
most of the civil lunatics were admitted during the past 12 months. Many of
those received had to be carried into hospital at once. On the other hand more
use was made of the hospital to treat those losing weight who had little or no
definite disease. The cases both of debility and diarrhœa more or less were of
the same nature ; a kind of bastard " sprue." They had not the characteristic
symptoms of Psilosis or sprue, but they nearly all had a tendency, more or less
marked, to frothy motions. Nothing but strict dieting is of any avail in treating
such and we were not as successful as might be wished.
The death from drowning occurred in the person of a civil lunatic who was
subject to epileptic fits. He fell into a shallow tank 18 inches deep used for soak-
ing husks while in a fit, and unfortunately no one observed him and he was not
missed until too late. An inquest was held and the verdict was " accidental
drowning during an epileptic fit."