Fever

Fever Treatments in the 19th Century - DON'T TRY THESE AT HOME

Warning: The following text is VERY old, and may be injurious. It is taken from the 1881 Household Cyclopedia

Fever is by far the most common complaint to which the human body is subject. It may be briefly described as a combination of heat, loss of appetite, weakness, and inability to sleep. It makes its appearance in two ways: either suddenly and violently, or gradually and gently. When it comes on in the first manner, a cold shaking, attended with sickness at the stomach, or vomiting, marks its access; the cold is more severe than in the latter, as is also the pain in the head, and other symptoms. When its attack is gradual, a feeling of soreness over the whole body such as is experienced after a hard day's work by one not accustomed to it, shows its approach. Nausea, pains in the head, chills, and more or less heat and thirst soon follow.

As these symptoms vary infinitely in their degrees of violence, the treatment to be pursued must differ accordingly. Thus the same directions that are given for simple inflammatory fever must be adhered to, in one whose symptoms are lighter, though similar, only there is no necessity for pushing them to so great an extent.

SIMPLE INFLAMMATORY FEVER:

Symptoms.--Chills, flushed face, skin hot, eyes red, pulse quick, full, strong, and regular, great thirst, tongue white, urine high-colored and small in quantity, bowels costive, breathing quick, etc.

Causes.--Cold, violent exercise while exposed to the heat of the sun, intemperance, the indulgence of unruly passions.

Treatment.--Bleed the patient, if he be robust, at the very beginning of the attack. The quantity of blood to be taken should be regulated by the strength and age of the person, and the violence of the symptoms. In this country, where diseases are very acute, from twelve to fifteen ounces is an average quantity for a robust man. If there be great pain in the head, shave it and apply a blister, or cloths wrung out of iced vinegar and water, frequently renewed. The bowels are to be freely opened with Epsom salts or citrate of magnesia, and the diet should consist of plenty of cold water, rice water, or lemonade. If the heat of the body be excessive and burning to the touch, and there is no perspiration, let cold water be applied with a sponge to his head and limbs, and then wipe him dry and cover him in bed. If there be intense pain in the head or side, apply a blister. The saline mixture, below, will be found useful throughout. An emetic, at the very onset sometimes cuts short the disease. The room should be kept quiet, cool, and dark, every source of excitement being removed.

Saline Mixture.--Carbonate of potassa, 2 drachms; water, 6 ounces. When the salt is dissolved, add by degrees portions of fresh lemon juice till it ceases to effervesce. A tablespoonful may be taken every half hour.

INTERMITTENT:

Of this fever, there are several varieties, which differ from each other only in the length of time that elapses between their attacks. There is one called quotidian, in which it comes on every twenty-four hours; another named tertian, in which it arrives every forty-eight hours, and the third quartan, because the intermission lasts seventy two hours.

Symptoms.--The symptoms of fever and ague are, unfortunately, too well known among us, commencing with yawning, stretching and uneasiness; this is succeeded by slight chills or shiverings, that end in a violent or convulsive shaking of the whole body. This is the cold fit, and is immediately followed by the fever or hot fit. The pulse rises, the skin becomes hot, with pain in the head, tongue white, and all the marks of fever terminating in a profuse sweat, which gradually subsiding, leaves the patient in his natural state, though somewhat weakened.

Treatment.--On the first alarm that is given by a chill, or any of those feelings indicative of its approach, take 50 or 60 drops of laudanum in a glass of warm wine, with a little sugar and a few drops of the essence of peppermint, get into bed and cover yourself with several blankets; this seldom fails to out short the disease. If the cold fit, however, has passed by, the next accession should be carefully watched, and the same remedy resorted to. If the inflammatory symptoms seem to require it, open the bowels with senna and salts; when this is done, in the intervals use a quinine pill of one grain every hour; if it cannot be procured take as large doses Peruvian bark as the stomach will bear; in addition to this, endeavor during the cold fit to bring on the hot one, as speedily as possible, by warm drinks, bladders or bottles filled with warm water applied to the soles of the feet and the stomach. Weak whiskey punch answers this purpose very well; it also is of use by inducing sweat when the hot stage is formed. If the disease resists this treatment, try six drops of Fowler's Solution of Arsenic three times a day, with the bark, gradually increasing it to nine or ten drops at each dose. As this is a powerful remedy, care must be taken to watch its effects; if it produce sickness at the stomach, headache, or swelling of the face, it must be laid aside. To restore the tone of the system when getting better, remove to a healthy pure air, use gentle and daily exercise. with a generous diet, iron and bitters. If the liver or spleen become affected recourse may sometimes be had to mercury.

Much mischief is done by giving either the quinine or the hark too early in the disease, and before its inflammatory stage is passed. It should never be employed until the bowels have been well opened and the excitement reduced.

REMITTENT FEVER:

This is a kind of fever which occasionally abates, but does not entirely cease, before a fresh attack comes on, so that the patient is never completely free from it. The most usual form of it is called bilious fever, or bilious remittent.

BILIOUS FEVER:

Symptoms.--In this disease all the marks of great excitement and a superfluity of bile are visible; the skin is hot, the pulse tense and full, tongue white in the commencement, changing to brown, as the fever increases, breathing hurried and anxious, bowels very costive, and skin of a yellowish hue. In bad cases, there is great pain in the head, delirium, the patient picks at the bed clothes, a convulsive jerking of the tendons at the wrist, tongue black and furred, a deep yellow skin, vomiting, and hiccup.

Causes.--A peculiar poisonous vapor from ponds, marshes, and decaying vegetable matter.

Treatment.--This must be conducted on our general principles. As the inflammatory and bilious symptoms are the most prevalent at the commencement, bleed the patient if he be robust. The next step is to open his bowels. Ten grains of calomel, combined with a portion of jalap, may be given in molasses, and repeated or followed by a saline purgative, until copious evacuations are produced. If the pain in the head be very great, shave it and apply a blister. Should the skin be very hot, and great thirst and restlessness prevail, apply cold water over the body, as directed in simple inflammatory fever. The diet should consist of rice-water, lemonade etc., taking care to keep up a moderate discharge from the bowels by purgatives, during the whole of the disease.

If, however, in spite of all endeavors to the contrary, the complaint seems advancing, the patient should be brought carefully under the influence of quinine. As soon as symptoms of exhaustion or a typhoid state make their appearance, no mercury should be given internally; on the contrary, bark, wine, acids, etc., are necessary to support the patient, who should be kept clean, cool, and comfortable, excluding all noise. The extreme irritability of the stomach, which is frequently found in bilious fever, may be overcome by the saline draught, in a state of effervescence (to be found on page 123), and in the latter stage of it, when the pulse flags, and the system appears sinking, the quinine mixture, below, has been found extremely useful. Blisters and mustard poultices may also be applied in this case to the ankles, thighs, and wrists. The internal use of the quinine is an invaluable remedy in all such cases, and should never be omitted.

There are in fact two distinct stages in this disease that require two different plans of treatment. The first is bilious and inflammatory, and should be met by bleeding, vomiting, purging with calomel, blisters to the head, and the affusion of cold water.

The second is typhoid end bilious, and must be treated by wine, brandy, the quinine mixture, sound porter, and the peculiar plan recommended in typhoid fever.