The effect of the nitrous vapour, in preventing and destroying contagion : ascertained, from a variety of trials, made chiefly by surgeons of His Majesty's Navy, in prisons, hospitals, and on board of ships : with an introduction respecting the nature of the contagion, which gives rise to the jail or hospital fever, and the various methods formerly employed to prevent or destroy this.

James Carmichael Smyth

Date:: 1815

Credit: The effect of the nitrous vapour, in preventing and destroying contagion : ascertained, from a variety of trials, made chiefly by surgeons of His Majesty's Navy, in prisons, hospitals, and on board of ships : with an introduction respecting the nature of the contagion, which gives rise to the jail or hospital fever, and the various methods formerly employed to prevent or destroy this. 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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[ *I ] arifing from the fick, can be retained by the clothes of thofe confined in the variolous atmofphere, or by the furniture in the chambers of the fick, fo as to communicate the difeafe to fuch as have not themfelves been immediately expofed to it. No one can have a greater refpect for the opinions and obfervations of Dr. Haygarth than I have, as no perfon is better acquainted with his candour and accuracy. I readily agree with him, that the dread of thofe terrible difeafes, and the natural fears of men, have poffibly magnified the danger beyond reality ; that the rifle of propagating the contagion in this manner is by no means fo great as had been fuppofed ; and that phyficians, or even apothecaries, are feldom fo long expofed to this atmofphere, as to be in great danger of conveying the contagion elfewhere ; but I cannot go fo far as to believe that the perfons, and efpecially the clothes of nurfes or affiftants, who are conflantly confined in the chambers of the fick, fometimes not very well ven- tilated, will not imbibe the contagious vapour to fuch a degree, as to be capable of communicating it, efpecially where they have a direct or immediate intercourfe with a perfon fufceptible of the difeafe. But, putting the fmall-pox and other fpecific conta- gions out of the queftion, that the jail diftemper and other putrid contagions are frequently conveyed in this manner, cannot be denied. Indeed, wherever a vapour can be diftinguifhed by the fmell, we have the demonftration of our fenfes for what a length of time, not only clothes, but furniture, and even the boards and walls of houfes will retain it: there- fore, in refpecl to the contagion of the jail or hof- pital fever, we may fafely affirm, that it affects not only thofe who are immediately expoled to the origi- nal atmofphere, but that this contagion may cer- tainly be communicated by the clothes of perfons who

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