Selected essays and monographs : translations and reprints from various sources.

Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Selected essays and monographs : translations and reprints from various sources. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    406/476 (page 370)
    becoming affected. It was slightly swollen, red, and very painful. Thinking the case was one of acute rheumatism, and waiting his transference to the medical wards, the house surgeon ordered twenty-grain doses of sodium salicylate to be taken three times a day. After three doses had been taken (one drachm), an eruption appeared on the body and extremities looking very much like urticaria. Distinct wheals were seen, but there was not much itchiness. Successive crops of these urticarial spots coming out, the administration of the drug was discontinued. The spots now became petechial, and were raised above the surface and considerably indurated. The spots went through the usual chromatic changes following extravasation of blood, and coincidently the induration alto- gether disappeared. At a fewT points the haemorrhagic extra- vasation was so great that the vitality of the skin was destroyed, and a deep slough resulted, which on separating left a well- marked ulcer which was very slow to heal. The eruption affected all superficial parts of the body except the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In addition to this the mouth, soft palate, tongue, pharynx, and larynx were all the seat of the eruption, which caused a great deal of cedematous swelling and led to alarming symptoms of impending suffocation, and for some days the patient was unable to swallow anything but liquid food, and that in only very small quantities. Myalgic and arthralgic pains accompanied the eruption. The heart was normal throughout the course of the case, and once only was a trace of albumen found in the urine. There was never any blood or pus in the urine, nor was there any disturbance of the bowels. The whole period occupied by the disease from the onset to the disappearance of the eruption was thirty-three days. Such is the general account of the case, as to the distribution of the eruption and its appearance. As vTas noted, almost every part of the surface of the body except the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet was affected at some time or other during the course of the disease. The eyelids were so swollen that the patient could not see out of his eyes, and the prepuce was much enlarged, discoloured, and cedematous. The tongue, mouth, and pharynx were simi- larly affected, large extravasations occurred in the soft tissues of