The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-10-18
symptoms OF Yellow Fever.

Symptoms OF Yellow Fever.
An attack of yellow fever is generally
quite sudden, though in some cases
there are slight premonitory symptoms,
such as loss of appetite, general uneasi-
ness, headache, or costiveness. IL is
commonly ushered in by chiliness, al
ternating with Pushes of heat, or the
the person may be overcome with Ian
guor and extreme debility, while ut his
usual occupation. These feelings are
soon followed by fever, and the bodily
temperature rises rapidly, often reach
ing 1872 deg. Fahrenheit in a few hours,
the normal temperature being 1874 deg.
The fever is accompanied by headache,
generally located Immediately over the
eyes, OF shooting through from temple
to temple, and often very severe. But
the headache it frequently trivial in
comparison with the frightful pains in
the loins, which make the patient writhe
in agony. The pulse is generally full,
strong and rapid, beating from ninety
to a hundred and twenty times min
ute. The skin is hot and dry, the face
flushed, the eyes bloodshot, brilliant
and watery, and the tongue covered
with creamy-white fur, but with red,
clean tip and edges. There is usually
some uneasiness of the stomach from
the first, and in from twelve to twenty
four hours this develops into nausea
and persistent sensitiveness, which
will not allow anything to be retained.
The pit of the stomach is very tender
on pressure, and vomiting is almost in
cessant. With all this there is intense
thirst, and iced drinks are exceedingly
grateful to the patient. The bowels
are at first generally costive, and some
times obstinately so, but, as the
disease progresses, they become
loose. The patient is usually very much
debihtated, but is uneasy and losses
about in bed, and occasionally will try to
rise and walk about the room. In most
cases there is some confusion of intel |
lect, not amounting to delirium, and
the face expresses the greatest anxiety
and distress. The fever continues for
two or three days, being most severe in
the evening, the temperature often
reaching 104 or 105 deg, and according
to La Roche, in malignant cases, even
10 deg Then the fever subsidies, never
to return, and the temperature within
twelve hours may become nearly nor
NAL. The other symptoms mostly dis
appear, and the organs resume their
natural functions. At this time, j. e.,
on the third or fourth day, the yellow
discoloration of the skin appears upon
the face and thence extends over the
body. If the attack is mild, recovery is
now rapid. In the vast majority of
cases, however, this lull in the symp-
toms is deceitful and lasts only from
few hours to a day, when the gravest
stage of the disease sets in. The pulse
soon becomes small and thready, beat
ing only thirty or forty to the minute,
and the heart often works vigorously
after the pulse can no longer be felt at
the wrist. The nausea and vomiting re-
turn and become constant, the res
piration is often embarrassed, the |
tongue becomes dry and brown, the |
skin is cool and dry, there is often a
distressing hiccough, and the thirst is
Unsuitable. The mind is often clear,
but singularly apathetic, or there may
be delirium or stupor. The disorgani-
zation of the blood and the tissues has
HOW BOllt ~ luI blltb Jllt Sllldll VESSELS
of the mucous membranes no longer
retain their contents, and blood oozes
into the stomach. This produces in
tense nausea, and the blood is vomited
up, changed in color by the acids with
which it is mingled. This forms the
dreadful "black vomit," and varies in
hue from brown to almost Jet black,
generally appearing like coffee-grounds
floating in thin, watery fluid. The
urine, which becomes scanty early in
the disease, may now be entirely sup
pressed, or, if excreted Mt all, is black
and bloody. The discoloration of the
skin increases, until the body is of a
dusky brown, livid or mahogany color,
and there are frequent hemorrhages
from the mouth, nose, eyes or even I'M
der the skin, forming livid spots and
blotches The body now exhales q ca
daverous odor, the tendons of the wrist
twitch convulsively, hiccough is con-
slant, the features are pinched and
CHASTITY, cold sweats come on, and the
patient passes away in commissions or
coma, though occasionally he retains
his intellectual faculties unimpaired to
the last.-Dr. Il. s. Tracy, IN Popular
Science MOflthly for October.