A treatise on the diseases of negroes, as they occur in the island of Jamaica : with observations on the country remedies / by James Thomson.
- Thomson, James, active 1814-1820.
- Date:
- 1820
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on the diseases of negroes, as they occur in the island of Jamaica : with observations on the country remedies / by James Thomson. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
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![irregular, cold shivering*,' debility, and lassitude, widen excite no alarm. More generally the attack commences suddenly, with t]ic most acute pains along the back> and prostration of strength : In one night's time the patient cannot move himself in,.bed. , The countenance is completely altered, the features sharp, eyes glisten- ing, the pain.of the head is intolerable, great aversion to light, the ar- teries of the head throb in the most visible manner, the heart beats violently, the breathing is hurried, and not complete: The fevef excites on the surface a burning;, bififtg heat, as it has been culled* from its leaving a tingling, sensation at the extremities of the fingers after they have-Wentwithdrawn;.!. The urine lis high-co- loured, and passed in small quantities. The symptoms, most cha- racteristic- at this period of the disease, are the-singular1 deprivation of strength : He is thrown down in a few hours, and cannot move. Also the dreadful anxiety and despondency ; Me gives himself up for lost, and utters hisi fefelif g* >in ,aiWwv languid voice. Towards evening a low kjad of ,deVir^i^( ccHncs. ,on: , He appears confused, and requires to have the quesuon several times repeated before he can make an answer. There is constant watchfulness, except towards morning, when he doses for a. short time. Every symptom now mitigates. After continuing from twelve to-eighteen hours;, and a crisis seems to have taken place by a copious perspiration, or free evacuation of the bowels,..and the urine becoming muddy, as the patient is now extremely low,. we have no hesitation in giving barjt, wine, and other stimulating substances, with the view of preventing the return of fever. It is not till the afternoon of the se'eend day that we are convinced of the fatal error committed : Restlessness- shivering, and febrile anxiety, with aggravation of every feeling, denote the accession of a second attack* The de- lirium is much severer^ the thirst is irresistible, the heat very irre- gular over the surface;, and nvbving from one part to another:: The tongue and lips are parched, and acquire a thick brown Jhr, which also covers the teeth,:. Articulation becomes;extrdmcly dif- fftujl^and .inaudib|e,:j The patient is constantly muttering to him- Seif. These commotions, alter a certain time, subside. A cold; clammy sweat succeeds; affording no manner of relief. The subii- jeet is sunk to tile lowest degree, has irregular startings, with fre- quent syncope^ on the least exertion. ,<Afterrthe seeoiid'or third accession of fever, it is seldom that we can observe any regularity in did progress of the disease. The remedies used havcebeen of thaf](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21159336_0027.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
