Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-11-26
From the Pacific Christian Advocated
Practical Suggestions on the 1tSoezf
ton and Treatment Of SMALL -Pox,.

/ FROM the racine CnrisuAA Advocate.IT
Practical Suggestions on the HlSoel<
tion and Treatment Of Small-Rox,,
This article is written with the, view of
removing difficulties which friends always,
and inexperienced practitioners frequently
encounter ut the bedside, in determining,
whether, in = given cases it is, or is not,
ono Of smallpox. Ny object Is TO simplify
and disseminate practical informYtion, and
therefore shall etudiedly exclude details
which cannot bs Of sbsoluts value ID che
general framework of the estimste-s0
that between wind and water, the essen
tials shall be hit. -,,,.l
This affection may be Characterised as {
pustular eruption, which, at first consists
Of small pimples, containing morbid, semi
transparent lymph, elevated shove. and
deposited between, the outer and true
skin, and invested with a red inAamed
zone. Again, it is presented and distin-
guished by slight superficial red patches,
irregularly circumscribed, and of variable
form and extent. These small red spots
rapidly increase in volume and speedily
exhibit cup-shaped depression in the
centre, characteristic Of the disease. In
some, the interior of the nose, mouth,
throat and tongue, are involved. The PIN
pies begin to crop out on the third day Of
the fever and gradually ripen until by the
eighth the pustules reach maturity after
which they begin to break up and scab
over. This is the usual progress. .,yys
There are certain premonitory indices
which invariably usher it in, such as gen
eral lassitude, a sense Of chillness, head
ache, nausea, vomiting, hot skin, pains in
the back, stomach and limbs, depression,
thirst, pulse accelerated and tongue some.
times intensely rcd. Now many Of these
symptoms accompany or precede other
acute diseases, and therefore, are there
any reliable land marks which will point
to true solution of tho problem, and en-
able one to recognize and pronounce cor
rect opinion, before the eruption declares
it beyond the reach of successful refuta-
ton 2 1 think so. When q party COM
plains of headache, nausea, vomiting, pain
in the back, tongue red, with high fever,
should uuhesitatingly infer the proba-
bilities overwhelming that in three days
thereafter the characteristic eruption of
small pox would appear on the forehead,
face, neck, wrists, trunk, and lastly on the
lower cxtremitics. IF saw man Gaping
and loading gun with powder and ball,
take deliberate aim at another and FIRE,
and the man fall to the ground doad, /
should infer from all this that the imme.
diate cause of death was the ball, notwith-
standing did not see it enter the body
have seen over thousand cases Of small
pox--have read many authors
With many medical gentlemen of large ex-
perience, and from what have seen, read
and heard, am convinced in my judgment
that all these latter symptoms simultanc-
ously coexist in the invasion, and are never
absent. And when facts are numerous,
unquestionable, and unequivocal in their
import, theory must follow them as best il
may.
There are two distinct forms in which
it makes its appesrsnce-the one called
Variola, or true small pox-the other,
Varioloid, or modified small pot. The
difference is in the quantity and poti1 the
quality of the eruption. The former at
tacks those who are unprotected BY vac
cinatiou. If the eruption be extensive,
the pustules will generally. coalesce, or be.
come united in clusters, in which Case
much healthy tissue will be destroyed aud
the case becomes one Of gravity aud danger.
IF the extent Of surface implicated be con-
tinuous and great, it is then ofa malig-
nant type and death is inevitabls. If il is
arrested, it is BY skillful and psrsevsring
treatment. .t.....a...f s..Q Sgf
The latter invades those partially pro-
tected by vaccination. The characteristic
eruption, in shape and form will be exactly
analogous, but moro sparse, scattered with
frugality over the surface, 20 that between
the pimples, which soon ripen into 2us-
tules, there is large extent Of the tegu-
mentary envelop or skin, uninjured ,-in
healthy and vigorous conditiou-iu fact
its integrity is intact hence no danger
need bo appreheuded. The eruption,
therefore, will disclose the degree Of the
protection afforded by vaccination, to which
We will speedily refer. Both, forms are
equally contagious, and the pimples and
pustules are identical, and either viii 81.
perinduce or predisposc TO the other under
certain conditions. The disease may be
contracted by contact, or through the mo
dium of the atmosphere, or from clothes
upon the person Of visitor, or by cotton
or woolen fabrics used in the sick room.
and to render such articles non-conductors
they must be subjected to heat Of at
least $50 degrees Fahrenheit. IL ID best
to bury or burn them. If the party, for
sufficient reasons, be unable to do 80, then
let them be boiled, and this process will
effoctually destroy the infectious aud cou-
tagious properties with which they were
previously endowed. l'a ,. ksa iassesa
The poison is so subtle when fully de-
veloped, as to make it scarcely possiblelfor
an unprotected person 70, enter q room
where it exists, without infection. In this
respect il is far more contagious than
Asiatic cholera. - se
| The only aa caouar1 s,a:,ss - - 49,