The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-07-07
PHASES OF HYDRoPHoBIA
A SURGEONS STORY.


Evening Post of his experience with hydro
phobis: 1t was early in 1861, and we were
encamped on the bank the Potomac. Our
camp was overrun with dogs of all sorts,
sizes and values, there having been a sort of
mania among the men for long time for
the possession Of at least one dog to his tent.
| and so pretty nearly every stray cur we had
met between ElmFvs and Washington had
been appropriated. The weather was hot
enough, but nobody had Thought of
hydroPhobla, and the dogs ran about at
Will. 1 was thon assistant surgeon.
and attended the sick call while the surgeon
in the adjoining tent took charge of such
cases as seemed TO me to need more careful
examination than i could give them in the
time at nay disposal. One morning l was
his name was called, about the last person
one would have thought OF for patient
He was young Englishznan, not more than
twenty one years old, with an open, pleasant
ruddy cheeks, and the picture
in every way of perfect health. When ro-
marked this, and said to him that be did not
lock i'll, he replied with smile that he did
not feel i'll, but there seemed to be something
wrong with his throat. He then proceeded
TO sell that on going to the spring with the
others that morning he had been seized,
while stoopiBg to fill his pail, with
had companion not ssiEed him in
time Since then, whenever he had tried to
drink, he had felt slump in his throat.n
and his head had been carried over his
right shoulder Strange to say no one of
his companions had suggested hydropho-
bla; but, that, OF course, suggested itself to
me, though had never seen a case. did
not, however, commensurate nv suspicious
20 him, but quietly told him to so the sur
geon and have hi5-throes examined. On en-
tering she surgeons tent after call, he met
me at the entrace, saving, "We have a case
OF hydrophobia, GootoT11 All this time the
man had not told what his disease was, and
was evidently somewhat wondering at his
detention when all that allied him was a
triflng trouble in his thcoat. He wondered
still more when wsfafSer
A BRIEF CONSTELLATION,
ordered an ambulance and told hira we had
decided to take him to the hospital in Wash
iDgton for treatments. We deemed it best,
however, to avoid al chance of panic in the
regiment, and so he as>started of. Arrived
at the hospital, the scene on his reception
was significant. Ths-surgson entered and
reported his patient TO the surgeon in charge,
who, however, being busy, very inperfeetIy
heard the statement, and WAS as mach sur
pris1d as L had been to see walk in so
notwithstanding young man. Thinking he
looked hot and tired, she.doctor kindly offered
him glass of ice-weter, which was eagerly
accepted; but no sooner was the attempt
made 20 drink it thansthe inevitable convul-
sion followed. The patient was then put
into private room, and for the first time
told what his disease was. Soon
afterwards our surgeon took leave of
him, when he requested that he rnight be
bound, saying that he felt, when ths parox
ysms came on, desire to attack his attend
ants, and feared that he might iniuce some
of them. Upto this time his paroxysms,
though increasing in intensity and duration
had been only convulsive seizures, and there
had been absence of anything like delirium
or violence. From this time on, however
the attacks were more and'more violent I'm
til his death, which took place next morning.
He exhibited none of the violent symptoms
popularity supposed to belong to his malady,
until after he had been informed of the ma
ture OF the disease. Whether he
told, is an interesting question, but
one which, unfortunately, we can
not answer. The second case was that of a
strong, middle-aged German, of muscular
frame, and dark swarthy complexion, and like
most Germans of his age and temperament,
inclined to hypOchondriaand delirium in al
most any illness. He was in the hospital
tent i'll with some malanal fever, of which
we had a great deal, but his case was not at
all serious, and. L wondered somewhat to see
one surgeon, vEho had the care of the hos
pital patients, carefully giving all the pa
TENTS medicines himself. One morning,
however as was entering the tent to hold
sick call, the surgeon was
BENpzNG OVER THE PATIENT
with so ne liquid medicine in a teaspoon,
when the sick man sprang from his bed and
grappled tbs doctor. The latter was a strong
man. but he was taken unawares and would
have been roughly handled had not two or
three of us run to his assistance. The man
was finally secured, but not until he had es-
capped from us and started yelling through
the camp, the Northumberland finally
catching him at the edge of a ditch, into
which both rolled. The touch of the water
brought on the poor fellow the most frightful
commissions, and then knew for the first
time whst was the nature of h.
disease. We removed him at once
to the ordinance building (cur
camp was in a fortifcation), aud
made him bed on the floor, combining his
hands aud "slinging' his feet high enough
from the floor to prevent his standing up
right. He very soon became rational, when
we told him OF his danger and he made his
will, arranged all his business affairs anC
during the day conversed freely between his
attacks with the chaplain and others. His
case differed from the other in this, that
while the commissions were no more severe
the delirious attack which usuaIly-not al
ways-followed, was more violent, mas
much that he, two or three times, drove his
attendants, two burly fellows, out of the
room. Yet, in all these attacks, there was
not the slightest attempt at biting, nor was
there any of the whining or barking
like dog of which one hears so much.
L know that on one occasion, when
his attendants had been scattered, 1 secured
him and held him down while others bound
him, and he made no attempt at biting,
though he fought hard enough. To be sure
he would CRATE his teeth, as men in delirium
often do, and there was something of gath
erln0 of mucus in his mouth and throat,
rom tlirst; but there the resemblance of
the popular picture of hydrophobia ceased.
they were brought on by other causes than