The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-10-26
Vol. XVIII.

ls greatly Increased oy COM
pIication of the pseudo-memb bran
cons symptom Of diphtberia with
malignant Inflammation Of the
tonsils. Still, the pseudo-mem
braneous symptom :s of course al
ways sufficient to distinguish it
from quinsy.
1t is not probable that dirh,be-
ria is a new disease. The sGien.
ti6c accuracy of medical Germs
has made such rapid progress du
ring the last half century, thai
the practice frequently find the
data Of diseases, as reported thir
| ty years ago, unavailable through
| vagveoess for the purposes of an
indicative experience. Neverthe
less, from all that can be ascertain
ed on the subject, the identity Of
diphtheria with the 'putrid sore
throat: which made such fearful
ravages in Albany and other
places a quarter of a century ago,
seems very probable. That NAL.
| eGy was characterized by marked
typhoid symptoms; and this indl'
cation has it's counterpart in the
extreme prostration ofdiphtheria.
If we recollect rightly, not single
case of the old patrid sore throat
which received the then univer-
sal depicting treatment of calomel
aDd blood-letting, ever recovered
from the disease. At the present
| day nobody IN his senses would
| think Of letting blood OF giving
exhaustive medicines for diphthe-
ria.
The treatment of the disease
proposes to itself Two ends:
1st. To evoke and sustain all
| the natural and vital forces OF the
patient.
20. To rid the air passages of the
false membrane.
For the attainment of the first
end, nutritious, digestible food,
being, the most natural, is, of
course, also the best means.
Strong beef-tea combines all the
| most desirable elements for such
purpose. j, should be given from
the earliest stages of the disease !
and when, as sometimes happens,
the fauces become closed by The
disease, or the parts become too
painful to admit Of swallowing, it
is still to be given in the form Of
ana injections. Brandy, in judi
| cious hands, is another stimulus
OF the highest value in diphthoria.
Iron, in various forms, has been
administered with great success.
Perhaps it's mcst efficient form, as
determined by late experience, is
the seseuioxide. Its effect seems
to be Notwithstanding the gen.
| eral strength of the patient, and
assisting the tendency Of The mu-
cops membrane to throw off and
eject the diphtheritic slough.
For the attainment of the sec
ond end, inDumerable methods
have been proposed, aud some OF
them have been very successful.
Occasionally the use OF the ses-
quioxide above mentioned has been
successful, in cooperation with
the forces of nature, to produce
the election of the membrane IS
fast as it accumulated, and before
it. was indurated sufficiently to
exclude all air from the lungs.
Sometimes it has been found pos
sible to detach and pull out the
membrane by means OF q hook
ed or forcep shaped instrument,
though this operation has been
known to result in dangerous
hemorrhage. Bot by far the most
successful treatment for relieving
the diphtheritic patient Of the
false membrane, is that recently
discovered byDr. Lewis A. Sayre,
of this city. His method is one
of those admirable attachments of
the highest class of inventive
genius, which, from their extreme
simplicity and obviousness, ava.
ken in every mind the remark,
Why, 1 might have thought Of
that myselfr Yet nobody ever
does think of it till the inventive
genius happens to show him the
way.
The method of DR.. Sayre was
the result of the following obser
vstion. He noticed that if the
discharged diphtheria was ex
perforated upon any dry or warm
. substsuce-such as the side of {