Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-10-25
III DAILY

80
at that moment five hundred cases OF tn
disease in the city. Another saw it, an
then he didn't see it. Others had suspi
cious cases which were related, and in
day or two were reported remittent fe
yer, because they didn't die, willis
others related cases that seemed TO b,
: Iremittent fever, but were reported IN q
, day or two as genuine yellow fever cases,
. Some calledit by that vague name con-
, gestion; others, perniciOus fever; others
7 malignant bilious fever; by another,
"jungle feveF,n etc. Now, ii We take
into consideration the action OF the
Board of Health, who n day refused TO
pronounce It epidemic, the next
came to a tie vote, and the nextday were
willing TO pronounce IL epidemic, unani-
mously, Save one.) And here let me
say that when the Board did so, it was
Its conscientious conviction, and that
opinion was strengthened by a large ma.
iority vote of the physicians present,
hence they should not be blamed for sup
pressing what they believed, and do be-
lieve, to be true. II they are the "watch-
men on the tower TO give warning and
advice to the people, why blame them
for sounding the alarm ? Rest assured the
Board of Health are not yet prepared
to sacrifice life and health to the inter-
ests of trade and commerce. But to re.
turn to the point. We ask If consistency
is a Jewel, have we not thrown the gem
entirely away? and have We not laid
ourselves open to the Tidicule OF the pub
lie bv such exhibitions of contrary Opin-
ions? How are we to account for such a
diversity OF opinions Only upon the
charitable ground of the extraordinary
diversity Of the human mind? No but
the whole secret rests here, land we
shall see that therei is not so much incOn-
sistency after all, and that is lin the
fact of a want Of a proper appreciation
of the effects OF an iutermiDgliDg Of the
types Of malarial or autumnal fevers and
their superventiOu Of one upon the other.
The fact is, the prevailing types Of our
autumual fevers are in the aggregate of
their symptoms very similar to yellow
fever, and when influenced by circum-
stances, locality, constitution, season,
etc, and add TO this the deviatious that
yellow fever makes from its regular
history and progress, and they are so
great that Dickson says d" they offer to US
pictures of strange and U~nscc0untsble
diversity" that any physician, however
extended his experience and observation,
will find himself bsffied and deceived.
Don't understand me to say that yellow
fever is not a specific disease, for I be-
Iieve it is; but the idea which I wish to
convey is this, when the specific cause of
yellow fever is introduced into g locality
where remittents and iutermittents are
prevailing, as in this instance, IL mingles
with il and after awhile becomes pre-
dominant, and a little later becomes
master OF the situation, the material ele-
ment yielding more or less to its
influence. Another notable fact is this,
/ that all observers declare that during
the prevalence of yellow fever ia a local.
ity, there is always a falling off Of the
numbers OF remittent or Intermittent
fever cases. How strikingly is this fact
illustrated this season here in Memphis.
Three or four weeks ago almost every
physician was remarkiHg the great pau
| city of such cases, the bills Of mortality
only amounted to from twenty TO thirty
per week. As soon as the yellow fever
influence became apparent, the mortuary
! report ran up to sixty and one hundred.
Comment is unnecessary. We have all,
too, anatural indisp0sition to believe that
which we do not wish to believe. All
were slow in believiHgand declaring yell
low fever in our midst, and
this, in connection with our
~disgouistic difficulties has made US over
cautious, and it is likely that many of
the milder cases-cases that recovered,
we were willing to call remittsnts, when
they were really yellow fever cases.
Now, il is not necessary to every case OF
yellow fever; no, not one in ten, that
thew should have the death a~ppeudages,
a yellow skin and black vCmit. Three
fourths or more Of all the cases attacked
recover; hence there must Oecur a great
number Of mild cases which are not
marked by the deadly symptoms Of black
vonit, etc. Our most reliable statistics
90 20 prove positively as q general result
that only ten to thirteen die in hun
bred who have the disease. Now
facts and figures are very stubborn
things, and we would respectfully ask If
there have already occurred in the city,
one hundred deaths from yellow fever,
and we doubt not many more than this
number have occurred, there mus be a
corresponding statistical quota OF mild
cases,-case that have recovered and
when you apply the figures to it, you
have from one thousand to fifteen hun
dred cases Of the disease occurring in
the last three or four weeks in the city.
This accounts for the great number Of
fever cases that have occurred during
that period, and this view is entertained
by q large number of the ablest medical
men in the city. It istrUe that you have
in the midst of all this epidemic influ-
ence, q number Of pure cases Of remit
tent and intermittent fever. ! have seen
in the same house, two or three cases Of
yellow fever, with one solitary case Of
bilious fever, which readily yield to the
ordinary treatment in twelve hours, |
whilst The Others persisted, snd only
yielded to appropriate yellow fever treat
zz-4 ~ 7 Ln--. 49,. o--rr~EA h~ D~N ]
fpssional men, that they have observed
the same thing. The approach, attack
and march ofthese cases, in their incipi-
ency, are very alike and the treatment
very similar. Our best and most success
fui practitioners usually commence the
treatment by cinchOnizingth patient IS
speedily as possible. Under this course
the fever usually sbates in from twelve
to twentY-fOur hours provided it is q
simple remittent attack, If it does not,
look out, yellow jack is lurking behind,
and the tactics sre Immediately
changed positive quiet is enjOjned, the
patient is kept properly covered up in
bed, orange leaf tea administeTed-the
feet bathed ia a good mustard bath, and
a gentle perspiration kept UP as soon IS
the fever abates, which will be in about
from twenty to seventy-twO hours, the
pulse comes down almost always to sixty,
seventy, eighty or ninety beats 70 the
minute then commence freely with
stimulants and beef tea. Take off some
of the bedclOthing and gradually sbste
BY means OF a proper medication, too /
free q perspiratiOn, You must remember
that yellow fever is a blood disease and
by excessive sweating the blood loses
some Of its appropriate and necessary
elements these we must endeavor
to replace by proper treatment
whilst the strength must be- sup
ported by stimUiauts aud good nour-
ishmeut. TSince ] first skstched this ar
ticle, 1 observe that my clever medical
friend DR.. r. w. Creighton has given
expression to very similar views in a
very sensible article on the anne subject.
I only mention the fact to express my
qualification that one of his excellent
medical sense and acute observation
should entertain the same views. Under
this gentle yet decisive treatment, nine
tenths Of the cases occurring here will
ecover. I have followed out this line of
treatment in my intercourse with the
disease, with the most satisfactory re-
suits. should have said that it is indis-
pensable in the treatment OfyellOw fever
70 have the patient faithfully and sedu-
lousy nursed, by q nurse, however, who
will carry out to the letter the
directions of the physician. Hea-
ven deliver Us from a nurse who
pretends to know more than We
do. The physician is alone responsible
for the life of the patient, and the nurse
that would temper with his prescriptions
or directions should not be trusted. l
learn that there are some such nurses
those recently imported here to
nurse yellow fever for such, whether
native or imported, the profession have
no use, and such they viii not toler-
ate. In other cases Of yellow fever
death seems inevitable, from the fact
that the sufferer has taken into his sys-
tenn an overwhelming dose of the yellow
fever pOison-the paroxysm OF fever
speedily runs its course, depression of the
vital forces ensues, the blood becomes
rapidly deteriorated, loses its vitality as
in "typhus,n and eXudes rs 8 hemor-
rhage from the stomach, bowels,
eyes, mouth ami ears; the
urinary secretion becomes suspended
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