The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-10-22
SYMPTOMS OF CATARRH.
BY DOCTOR FOSTER,
now rRACTICINd AZ THE
PHILLIPS HOUSE, DAYTON.
now rn,crrcNd A. rnr

H
CATARRH is a disease of the mucous mem-
branc OF the nasal passages and those cayi-
ties of the head communicating with them.
Insignificant as It appearsin Its first stages.
it Is apt in Its progress to become instru-
mental i'm causing the loss or impairment
of smell, taste, hearing. and sight, and mi
creating serious constitutional derahge-
ments, not unirequently terminating IN
consumption.
At the commencement of the malady. the
symptoms are those of an ordinary cold. a
| feeling of irritation, seusitivcness, heat or
pain Is experienced in the nose, the edges
of which are red and swollen. and which is
stopped up sometimes on one side some
| times on the other, and occasionally on
both. rendering respiration through II either
difficult or impossible. This condition
| is accompanied by frequent desire to
sneeZc aud u discharge of ut first clear,
acrid water, afterwards Of proiuse thick,
| yellOwish and extremely offensive matter.
| This secretion becomes purulent and IN
creased In quantity rs the complaint pro-
crosses, assumes an exceedingly fctid odor
aud forms one of the most characteristic
| features of the disease, and a source of the
| greatest annoyance and danger. II escapes
lnOt only by the nose. but passes into the
throat producing by its lodgmcnt local
irritation. and requires frequent eNpectora-
tom hawking, or scraping for its removal
| As it~ passage into the throat is very much
| facilitated bl Il horizontal position of the
body, sleep is frequently disturbed by q
sensation Of choking In consequence, and
many are Obliged to lie in "a scmi-recum-
bent position to obtain necessary rcpose.
! Owing to the Inflammation and heat In the
head, the WAteIy portion Of the discharge
Ian a linn
condition OF solidity, Is deposited upon the
membrane of the nose and upper part of
thc throat in the shape of criSts or hard
rned Jumps. The accumulation of these in
lcrustationS produces feeling of discon-
fort and narrOWs the nasal passages 60 rs
to embarrass respiration, therefore, fire.
luucnt efforts are required TO remove them,
either by forcibly blowing the nose or by
persistent hawking, II practice as disagree
able to the one affected as II is to those
Earound him. That side of the incrustation
which adhered to the mucous membrane.
win, after it, removal, sometimes hc found
bloody, a fact which explains the force re-
quircd for its ,liSicdgmcnt. During sleep
these incrWstations accumulate moro rap
idly. and the feeling is therefore most uu-
comfortable in the morning Sometimes
all efforts TO clear the throat are futile un-
I'll after breakfast, or'altcr some stimulant
has been swallowed Liberation of the
mucous membrane of the nose takes place
frequently, sometimes attacking the bone,
when small particles of this substance will
occasionally he found mixed with the dis
chnrgc
The breath assuming an excessively lctid
and Sickcning odoT, and becomes OCCASION
ally so offensive as to render the patient an
object of disgust to himself rs wen rs to
others.
The accumulation of the discharge, to-
gcther with the thickcncd condition of the
mucous membrane, renders respiration
through the nasal passages very difficult,
and oftcntimes Impossible, neceSSitntno
, respiration principally through the mouth
"A method very deleterious TO the general
health, hut more particularly 50 to the
lungs Which become weak and irritable
The voice loses its musical quality, and as
sumcs discordnnl. harsh, and nasal char
acter; tlc sense of smell becomes much
p impaired or entirely lost, and the same cf-
b feet, though less frequent, is produced on
taste. Occasionally, while blowing the nose,
a cracking or bubbling sound is heard in
the ears and hearing becomes quite thick
or stopped up, but returns suddenly, with
something like swapping sound. This
phenomenon may be repeated several times,
until hearing does not return, hut remains
permanently injured. In other eases hear
Ing is lost so gradually that r considerable
degree Of deafness may exist before the
person is really aware of tile fact. Either
condition is often accompanied With noises
in the head of every conceivable dcscrip-
ton, materially increasing the distress OF
the sufferer.
J Thceye, are aptto become weak, irritable,
and disposed to water ON exposure 10 cold
and wind, or after the slightest eXertion.
\ pain, more or less acute, or n distressing
feeling Of pressure Is experienced over the
eyes, and sometimes on the top or back of
the head and also pain in the face closely
resembling neuralgia, for which il Is very
often mistaken. The distress in the head
weakens the memory and produces irrita-
bility and moroscncss of disposition. The
stomach generally suffers more or less, and
becomes weak and irritable; the appetite
Is capricOus and nearly always bad I'm the
morning. In severe cases the system
becomes feeble and prostrated. This is
{ manifested by a disposition TO drowsinCsa
aud sleep, aversion to either physical or
mental eXcrtiOn, and a feeling of fatigue
and weakness.
Not unftequently catarrh proves fatal,
lcither BY drbilitating the system and wear
, ing out the patient, or by travelling down
ward and producing throat affections.
bronchitis, and, finally, CONSUMPTION. II
may he safely asserted that after hcredita-
rs predisposition, catarrh Is the most
frequent AID important canse of this fatal
complaint
The symptoms of catarrh vary consider
ably in different individuals, the degree OF
their severity depending upon constitutions
.al idiosyncrasies aud various external in
, flueuccs. With some the complaint con-
tinucs for a number of years in amid form,
and without cansing any of the injurious
results above described, while with Others
all the worst effects are produced in short
+ space of time, and cases apparently most
harmless may, through impruden expo
sure. additional cold or unfayorablc
changesni the weather, suddenly exhibit
all the violence and malignity which char
acteriHc the -vVCre-t ones.
With SOME persons this disease becomes
periodical, attackingihem regularly at GER
tain seasons each year rs in the early part