Then follows the hot stage, for with the return of the circulation of the blood to the surface of the body, there is greater warmth, freer breathing, and a more comfortable and quiet condition of the system. The veins fill with blood, the countenance brightens, the cheeks are flushed, the intellect is more sprightly, and if the pulse is frequent, it is a good sign; if it sinks, it indicates feeble, vital force, and is not a good symptom. If there is considerable determination of blood to the head it becomes hot, the arteries of the neck pulsate strongly, and delirium may be expected. During the hot stage, if the fever runs high, the patient becomes restless, frequently changes his position, is wakeful, uneasy, and complains of pain in his limbs. In low grades, the sensibility is blunted, smell, taste, and hearing are impaired.
The patient in the hot stage is generally thirsty, and if he is allowed to drink much, it may result in nausea and vomiting. Moderate indulgence in water, however, is permissible. There is aversion to food, and if any is eaten, it remains undigested. The teeth are sometimes covered with dark sordes (foul accumulations) early in the fever, and the appearance of the tongue varies, sometimes being coated a yellowish brown, sometimes red and dry, at other times thickly coated and white. The condition of the bowels varies from constipation to diarrhea, although sometimes they are quite regular. The urine is generally diminished in quantity, but shows higher color.
The sweating stage in some fevers is very marked, while in others there is very little moisture, but an evident decline of the hot stage, the skin becoming more natural and soft. The pulse is more compressible and less frequent, the kidneys act freely, respiration is natural, the pains subside, although there remains languor, lassitude, and weariness, a preternatural sensibility to cold, an easily excited pulse, and a pale and sickly aspect of the countenance. The appetite has failed and the powers of digestion are still impaired.
Domestic Management of Fevers. It is proper to make a thorough study of the early, insidious symptoms of fever, in order to understand what ought to be done. If it arises in consequence of malaria, the treatment must be suited to the case. If from irritation of the bowels and improper articles of diet, then a mild cathartic is required. If there is much inflammation, a severe chill, and strong reaction, then the treatment should be active. If the fever is of the congestive variety and the constitution is feeble, the reaction imperfect, a small, weak pulse, a tendency to fainting, a pale countenance, and great pain in the head, apply heat and administer diaphoretics, and procure the services of a good physician.
As a general rule, it is proper to administer a cathartic, unless in typhoid fever, and for this Dr. Pierce's Purgative Pellets answer the purpose, given in doses of from four to six, according to the state of the bowels. If these are not at hand, a tea of sage and senna may be drunk until it produces a purgative effect, or a dose of Rochelle salts taken. In nearly all fevers we have found that a weak, alkaline tea, made from the white ashes of hickory or maple wood, is useful, taken weak, three or four times daily, or if there be considerable thirst, more frequently. Some patients desire lemon juice, which enters the system as an alkali and answers all purposes.
Diaphoretic medicines are also indicated, and the use of Dr. Pierce's Extract of Smart-weed will prove very serviceable. Drinking freely of pleurisy-root tea, or of a strong decoction of boneset is frequently useful. After free sweating has been established, then it is proper to follow by the use of diuretic teas, such as that of spearmint and pumpkin seed combined, or sweet spirits of nitre, in doses of twenty to thirty drops, added to a teaspoonful of the Extract of Smart-weed, diluted with sweetened water.
To lessen the frequency of the pulse, fluid extract or tincture of aconite or veratrum may be given in water, every hour. During the intermission of symptoms, tonic medicines and a sustaining course of treatment should be employed. If the tongue is loaded and the evacuations from the bowels are fetid, a solution of sulphite of soda is proper; or, take equal parts of brewer's yeast and water, mix, and when the yeast settles, give a tablespoonful of the water every hour, as an antiseptic. Administering a warm, alkaline hand-bath to a fever patient every day, is an excellent febrifuge remedy, being careful not to chill or induce fatigue. If there is pain in the head, apply mustard to the feet; if it is in the side, apply hot fomentations.
The symptoms which indicate danger are a tumid and hard abdomen, difficult breathing, offensive and profuse diarrhea, bloody urine, delirium, or insensibility. Favorable symptoms are a natural and soft state of the skin, eruptions on the surface, a natural expression of the countenance, moist tongue, free action of the kidneys, and regular sleep. If the domestic treatment which we have advised does not break the force of the disease and mitigate the urgency of the symptoms, it will be safer to employ a good physician, who will prescribe such a coarse of treatment as the case specially requires. It is our aim to indicate what may be done before the physician is called, for frequently his services cannot be obtained when they are most needed. Besides, if these attacks are early and properly treated with domestic remedies, it will often obviate the necessity of calling upon a physician. If, on the other hand, fevers are neglected and no treatment instituted, they become more serious in character and are more difficult to cure.
To recapitulate, our treatment recommends evacuation through nature's outlets, the skin, kidneys, and bowels, maintaining warmth, neutralizing acidity, using antiseptics, tonics, and the hand-bath, and the fluid extract or tincture of aconite, or veratrum to moderate the pulse by controlling the accelerated and unequal circulation of the blood. It is a simple treatment, but if judiciously followed, it will often abort a fever, or materially modify its intensity and shorten its course.