Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-02-22
EruBLIsHED BY REQUEST.
DlPTHERIA, IT'S SYMPTOMS AND
CTRE.

/ Il
Except in the malignant form, dip
theritis is insiduous in its invasion.-
The outset of the attack is general,
markedly slight fever, but not invaria
bly,. In the eommepest form, in pseudo
membraneous pharyngitis, some discom
fort in the fauces is usually complained
of early, with, perhaps, some difficult,
of swallowing, and the glands of the an
gle of the jaw are commonly swollen
There is slight thirst, loss of appetite
often headache, sometimes shivering
and sense of prostration. From
twelve to thirty six hours after the in
vasion of the disease, there is found, OF
examination, commonly on. one tonsil
spots or patches of whitish or opaline
exudation, ike coagulated mucus.-
These speedily coalcsce, and may spreat
over the entire fouces, and palate, or In
wade the windpipe IF the disease is
not arrested, the plastic deposit becomes
thick and leathery, yellowish or ash
colered. The surrounding mucous sur.
face is red and swollen. The disease in
the milder cases yields readily to proper
treatment, which consists in modifying
the muscuous Surfaces by the applica,
ton of astringent solutions, in the en-.
ployment of potash and tonies, the very
sparing use of evacuants, and atten.
tion to hygienic precautions. In
the more dangerous form of pseudo
membraneeus pharyngitis, the precurs-
ory symptoms are Identical, but hoarse-
ness, cough, and tenderness On pressure
upon the windpipe promptly supervene,
and the fertile movement is commonly
more active. The plastic exudation is
formed as before, but now it encroaehes
on the glottis or ori6ce Of the windpipe.
Some difficulty Of respiration occurs,
then suffocatiVe paroxysms, continually
increasing in intensity and frequency;
the breathing becomes slbilant, the
hoarse cough is stifed, the. voice dies
out. We do not wish to depict the
scene of helpless, hopeless agony that
succeeds. ss 80. -..., /. i' - =, t-'.7s
The characteristic features of the ma
lignant form of diptheria are the intense
constitutional disturbance, headache,
fever, prostration, the excessive engorge-
ment of the ceryical glands, and the ex-
tent of the peculiar deposit, which covers
the palate the nasal foss;n, the throat,
then becoming partially detached and
decomposed exhales an intolerable fetor
The patient sinks into state Of pro-
found adynamia or prestration, and dies
in estate of somnolent quietude- con-
trasting strongly with the agitation pre-
ceding croupal suffocation;'' or should
he recover, he passes through a tedious
convalesence, with diseased kidneys,
perhaps, or paralysis, or a complication
of other dangerous ailments. 8
Fortunately the latter form is of rare
occurrence. The first form is curable.
The second variety is that which often
occurs sporadieally, and it is-of vast inn
POI tancea that it should be understood
1t is constantly compounded with false
Group; most deplorable error, which
continually causes children to become
tormented by violent and superfuous
physic, or WHAT'S worse, induces fatal
neglect in regard to one Of the cruelest
and most insiduous of diseases: Let it
be known, then, that when child in
full health is suddenly seized, during
sleep, with cough and hoarseness, with
oppressed breathing and rattling, there
is no need to be frightened and to give
powerful medicine, or even homeopathic
fer this is not true Group, but
a disorder requiring a hot foot bath,
and restricted suppers Tor the future
If; on the contrary, after a slight feb
rile movement, a child has a cold or
sore throat, slight hoarseness, and lit
tie difficulty of deglution, the throat
should be examined or physician sum-
moned at once, for nineteen times in
twenty true dipthcria Group commences
in this way. We say nineteen times in
twenty, for sometimes it commences
in the windpipe primarily. We do
not write on the symptoms or his
tory of this rare variety, which we
believe, is always fatal. But we
cannot sufficiently protest against the
fallaeieus ideas that prevail in soei-
ETY., and even among some physicians,
the incipient symptoms of
Group Il is. stridulous
pharyngitis. that furnishes the occasion
for the boasts Of empires; it is false
Group that awakenss the solieitude of
parents, and against which every mother
keeps that precious bottle of hive sirup
or of globules. If there happens to be
true Group, diptheritic Group, there is
every chance that the physician is not
called till the second or third day, when
grave symptoms announce that the
windpipe is implicated.
We have already said word as to the
treatment of the first form of diptheria.
In malignant cases the most energetic
sustaining measures are requisite This
is agreed on all hands. Generous wine,
beef essence, eggs and brandy milk and
what other forms of.nutrimentt the fancy
of the patient or the ingenuity of the at
tendants can suggest, must be, adminis-
tered. In GreaE Britain. tincture of ses-
quichloride of iron is much relied on
and it has been extensively employed in
New York. Chlorate Of potash and di-
luted mutriatic acid are very generally
of. From the latest accounts
of Partisan. practice, as complied by
Loiseau, it appears that nourishment
and chlorate of potash are there chiefly
depended on except when surgical inter
ference is requisite, In New York qui-
nine has been much used, with what ben
eft weare notinformed Calomel, which
was formerly the great remedy, under
the supposition that the effusion was
fbrinous character, the control exercised
over fbrinous deposits by mercurials be-
ing well established, has now fallen into
disuse. A few practition-
ers persist in cinnabar fumigations and
mercurial inunctions, and calomel, but
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