Year: 1875

The following is from 8 paper on "'The Causes of Typhoid Fever in Massachu setts," published in the second annual re- port of the State board of health of Mas sachusetts

 A young butcher, between twenty and thirty years of age, was attacked with | typhoid fever. He was bachelor, and occupied good-sized chamber lighted by two windows and having an open fire place.

 The fever was mild, with daily febrile cerebration, hot skin, thirst, slight diar. rhea and rose spots, with no violent symptoms. There was no indication fo1 ! drugs. He was bathed two or three times day with tepid water, and was allowed water freely, iced or not, accord ing to his taste. The covering of his body was regulated by his sensations. A slight wood fire, just enough to insure ventilation, was kept in the fireplace, and one of the windows was raised a little.

 As soon as his family, who lived in the country, heard of his illness, two of them, maiden aunt and sister, came to the city to take care of him. They reached the house one afternoon just after my visit. My patient was, as de- scribed above, comfortably sick, with a pulse about eighty, and without deli rium. They were frightened to find their relative, who was sick with typhoid fever, so poorly cared for. Guided by their theory of the proper treatment of fever, they proceeded, without inform ing me, to reform matters.

 They pinned blanket over each win dow, so as to exclude the light, and closed the open window they closed the chimney with fireboard and set up an air-tight stove, in which they made a fire. In order to make him sweat he was packed in blankets and hot herb tea was given him.

 When called the next day I found his room dark and filled with hot foul atmosphere. The odor was of that of fensive sort that sick chambers are too often charged with. But the great change was in the sick man, whom had left so comfortable the day before. He was wrapped in blankets, his skin was dry, his lips cracked, his eye wild, his pulse 12O, and he was so restless and de- lirious that it was all his attendants could do to keep him in bed.

 His aunt said she came to nurse her nephew, and had found him with open windows, exposed to noise and currents of air, drinking cold water freely as he chose, and taking no medicine. These evils she had endeavored to remedy, but in spite of all her efforts he had rapidly grown worse.

 The physician states his conversation with the aunt and his refusal to continue in charge unless everything was restored as it had been on her arrival. The win dows were opened, the stove was re- moved, fire made in the chimney and the blankets were taken from the patient. He goes on to say:

 gave the sick man tumbler of wa ter, which he drank as if he were quench- ing an internal fire. All this they bore in silence. but when I called for large tub, and made preparation for bath, they demonstrated, and declared 8 cold bath would kill him. Remon- strances, however. were unavailing, and my patient got cool eff1sion by poul- ing water all over him. He was then put to bed, tightly covered, and soon went to sleep. By night his condition had greatly improved, and the next day, twenty four hours later, his fever as sumed it's previous mild type, his pulse was about eighty and his head tolerably clear. He made satisfactory convales- cent.

 The case justrelated is fair specimen of a common malpractice, occurring every day, but escaping notice because the effects of carbonic acid poisoning are not brought out in bold relief.