The Indianapolis journal., 1885-02-01
TALKS WITH DOCTORS.
Group and Diphtheria- -AnInyestigation Into
the Ravages Of the Acarus Scabiei.

81 can only give my personal observation"
vuss the reply, land SO say that while there has
henn considerable sore throat, follicular tonsll
isis. with perhaps mild diphfheritic tendency,
shere has been little really serious throat affec
tion- When tonslitis goes beyond The tonsils it
assumes a diphtheritic phase and has for its
cause some poison. My reason for so thinking
Is the inflammation of the lymphatic glands as
veil as the occasional occurrence of the false
memhrane m the tonsils In conjunction with it.
Besides this, the very profound impression on
the nervous system, and aching. and fever which
aceompany it Fortunately this form of tonsil-
itis is selflimitei in most cases, to three four
days of discomfort, and is more fruitful of alarm
than of actually bad results
What is the usual remedyp
small doses Of qunine as tonic. There has
been apparentylittle true diphtheria 1t appears
also TO be more manageable, probably for the
reason that it is now attacked more inteliigently
In the second place all epidemics are milder at
their close and diphtheria has ceased to be cpl
Saenic Doctors at first tried to burn off the
false membrane, thinking that would get rid OF
fss offending cause. 1t is now appreciated that
il becomes constitutional disease by absorption
Of the poison germs
The reporter inquired concerning membranous
crDup
-.Membranous Group is a rare thing. have
seen but two cases of it in as many years The
GROUP we are called to deal with is mostly
catarrhal, though families fear it, and every time
q child exhibits hoarse barking cough at night,
waking up out of sleep. the older folks are in
state of alarm, and proceed to administer hive
fO a
the doctors in the neighborhood. The chances
arB immensely in favor of its being
nothing but cold with a little swell
ing of the larynx, where the vocal cords
are situated This yields promptly to whatever
makes the child warm and perspiring. This
may be brought about by giving the child hot
foot bath and wrapping 1t In wel-warmed
blanket-without ipecac or anything OF that
kind In such cases few doses of qunine or
Eaiacine given for two or three days breaks up
the congestion and the child is we'll Of course,
If this hoarse cough keeps on growing worse
physician should be sent for Operations for
membranous Group in this city have been eX
frcmely rare AS before remarked, nearly all
the ailments that attack the air passages of
children now are of o catarrhal character-what
VIZ call acute catarrhs--the basis being conges
fiOn from cold. Warmth, stimulants and tonics
VIII bring the blood freely to the small surface
vessels and congestion will be disSipated. Tho
ekef the fathers and mothers are, generally
Speaking the less heroic medicine is admins
tesed in the way of emeties."
s.Just take look in the microscope, said a
a country doctor to Journal reporter who was
Oh on a furlough, ''if you want to see the itch
mite that has taken possession OF Louisville, and
is Row invading indianapolis, am told"
The reporter glued his right eye to the glass
and gave aprolonged whistle as he saw in bold re-
Lief. about the size and shape of a common tor
t0ise the famous acarus scabiei. otherwise known
Oh the sarcoptes hommi or itch mite. The bug
had an oval body, conical mouth and eight
feet, the four front provided with small
suckefs and the hind ones with bristles half as
lrslg as the body
ssThat is female said the country doctor
The male is only half as large and neither sex
Is scarcely visible to the unaided eye. They
aESs only from one-ifteth to -seventieth of all
inch in length; the lar7a has but six legs"
Where did You get them,' asked the reporter
zvw thoroughly itching for information.
just cut it out from its burrow with a pair
oE curved scissors. A patient of mine who runs
on the railroad caught the itch either at Louis
ville or your city, al d young skin doctor whom
he consulted told him it was very bad, conta-
gyiOns skin disease, with worse Greek name, and
Il he would board in the city for a couple of
week he could cure him for $25. But it being
D hard winter. he concluding to consult his old
country doctor. | just told him he had been a
1iatle careless in squeezing somebody, but can
bMn
"a person sees between the fingers and on the
bnek of the hand, land il 1t is not stopped, on
the arms, legs and abdomen, rarely on the face, J
number of small red elevations with white or
wntery tops Extreme itching is always present
and often keeps the person scratching night and
day. The more you scratch, the more you
itch. and that's the way you show it, the old
SAT- is among the children. King James /, is
said to have described it as pleasurable sena-
ton, and disease fit only for kings it was such
Mxiry to scratch-but such is not the common
vsfdict.r
'tHow do you find the mite2' said the reporter
''Easily enoueh-that is, the female the male
is rarely seen. Running from almost any of the
little Yesicles you may see little red line or
track. at the end of which may be found a
slight elevated point here you find yeur fiat
bellied, round backed turtle-shaped eight-ieg,
blind headed rascal. The little canals at the
blind end of which the female mite is still eat
ing and burrowing, are just at the bottom of the
epidermis, and often reach into the true skin,
They are serpentine IN form and from a
the animal there may be in the burrow from
twenty to fifty eggs. These hatch in from three
TO six days; the young moult two or three times,
but do not especially change their form; they
fnd plenty to eat, grow fast and SO multiply
the misery"
'Is there more than one species?'
mot of the itch mite; the sugar mite and
cheese mite are we'll known domestic species of
as Also Un0 various species or
ticks on thelower animals, dogs cows and the like
There is another perfectly harmless parasite of
the same genus. the acarus follicuarum, or PIN
pie mite; which is found in the sebaceous glands
Of the face, chin, nose and forehead and is very
6asily shown By pressing out the secretions of
one of the stopped-up glands of the nose. People
squeeze out these masses of fat and call them
grubs,' regarding the black and dirty end as
the head. But the true mite is only one seven
tieth of an inch long, and looks much like Ash
ing grub-as many as ter or twenty are often
found in the contents of one follicle. THEY are
very common; l have no doubt but can show
them TO you from your own nose, if you will let
me give il tweAk.'
Tho reporter declined. as he did not care TO be
'nade into microscopic museum But there is
more than one kind of itch is there hot3 re-
member at school we had school itch, and in the
army army itch, and again, in the hospital we
ali iod hocnifal it.h