Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1889-07-08
SCARLET FEVER. i.
Good Suggestions About This Terribl.
Disease.
[Good Housekeeping.]

[Good Housekeeping]
1t is a common but wrong idea, when one
member of family comes down with scar
let fever, to send the other children away,
not only to protect them but to allow of
their going to school, which they could not
do if at home. I repeat, it is q hazardous
proceeding: the children sent away can scat
ter the seed broadcast. They are themselves
liable to develop the complaint as we'll as
give 1t to others. Whole neighborhoods have
been afflicted whsn had 1t not been for this
custom the disease might have been limited
to one family.
Another thing, don't hang the bedding
out to air until it has been properly fumiga-
ted. Wash everything washable, disenfect
the rest before you expose it to the four
winds of heaven to SOW right and left, the
dread poison. Lastly, do not allow the pa
tient to mingle with others until desquamas
ton is well over. Let these laugh at pres
cautions as unnecessary, let not the sin of
omission lie at your door.
The period between the inception of the
poison and the appearance of the symp
toms Is called the period of incubation and
may last from one to ten days, occasionally
longer. When 1t il definitely known a child
has bsen exposed to the disease 1t should be
at once isolated If there are other members
of the family liable to contract the COM
plant. Not only confne the child in the
house but in a room prepared as heretofore
directed, and all preparations made for con-
| that one as antiseptio as possible. The first
symptoms are usually chill, headache, sore
throat, swelling of the glands Of the neck,
nausea, vomiting, high fever, bounding
pulse, dry skin, sometimes delirium and
| commissions, especially if the rash is tardy in
| appearing. A hot foot bath may hasten
matters. Never give physic in this disease
| until all danger of metastasis from the skin
to bowels is past. The diet should be light
milk, toast, etc.
At the end of from six to eighteen hours
the rash should appear. 1t will be noticed
| in patches, fading into normal color, appear
| ing first on the neck and spreading very rap
idly. The face seldom has more than a suf-
fused redness, the roughness being apparent
only on the body. The disease is new at its
height, the throat is very sore, the tonsilf
covered with apathous patches. In some
anomalous cases the whole force of the dis
ease seems spent on the throat, which is GOV
cred with a whitish fur extending in Sc vert
cases up into the mares, down into the larYnx
causing hoarseness and dyspnoes. Some Of
these cases are diagnosed diphtheria, but the
color of the membrane, which is not the
buffy coat of diphthsria, the presence in the
ueighborhood of scarlatina and other factors
should enable the careful diagnositcian. II
absent or very imperfectly developed. Any
thing that will bring it out will relieve tn,
throat
The child should have it's mouth washed
on each day, as also other parts of the body
sponeing off under the clothing. The wate
should contain small quantity of disin
fectant and a little bicarbonate of soda. Th
| spray for the throat is often needed, anc
fortunate the child who has learned to gar
| gle the throat. wish every parent woult
teach children to show their tongue and t.
| parRle their throat as persistently as the.
| teach them to talk. It can be done easily
and at very early age, and often proves
very great accomplishment when it become
necessary for the physician to inspect tn
] mouth The writer we'll remembers one lit
tie tot of only Is months who expected t
have her tongue and throat inspected ever
time the doctor visited any of the family
| and it stood her in good stead when the littl
. one was sick. -
: The medical treatment of scarlatina is nj
, | cessarily so varied and extensive as to forbl
any general rules to be followed by the lait.
/ In any simple cases nothing is really neces
b ary except isolation and confinement in
. room rendered antiseptic as before spoke
Of The daily giving of belladonna in
homeopathic form acts either as prevel
: tive or renders the attack much light,
when administered to children liable to el
. posure.
q In no case should patient dave freedol
o to mingle among the unprotected until de-
two weeks after the stage of eruption
closed by the disappearance Of the rash fat
i ing last In the feet to % long as four or evi