SMALL-POX. (VARIOLA.)
Small-pox is produced by a specific poison, which is reproduced and multiplied during the progress of the disease. It is contained in the pustules, and in the excretions and exhalations of affected individuals. It is established after a period of incubation varying from nine to thirteen days after infection.
There are two varieties of this disease, known as confluent and distinct variola; in the former, the vesicles run together, in the latter, they are separate.
This fever has three stages. The first is that of invasion, distinctly marked by a chill or a series of chills, which alternate with flushes of heat. In this stage the tongue becomes coated, there is also nausea and vomiting, pain in the limbs, back, and particularly in the loins, the latter symptom being of diagnostic importance. This stage continues about two days, and if the symptoms are light, it may be expected that the disease will be comparatively mild, and of the distinct variety.
The stage of eruption. The eruption begins to appear on the skin, generally on the third day following the attack, though in the throat and mouth may be discovered round, whitish, or ashy spots, several hours previous to the appearance of vesicles on the surface of the body. These are first seen on the face and neck, then on the trunk and upper extremities, and, lastly, on the lower extremities. The eruption at first appears in the form of small, red or purple spots, which change the texture of the skin by becoming more hard, pointed, and elevated. On the fifth day of the eruption they attain their full size, being softened and depressed in the center, and hence are called umbilicated. Now a change takes place, and the vesicles fill with "matter" and become pointed, and there is a rise in the fever.
The stage of suppuration commences thus: the pulse quickens, the skin becomes hotter, and in many cases of the confluent variety, swelling of the face, eyelids, and extremities occurs. Frequently there is passive delirium in this stage, and if diarrhea sets in, it is an unfavorable sign. The duration of this stage of the eruption is four or five days.
The stage of desication, or of the drying of the pustules, commences between the twelfth and fourteenth day of the disease. In the confluent variety, patches of scab cover all the space occupied by the eruption, and the skin exhales a sickening odor.
The Treatment should have reference to the determination of the eruption to the surface. If there is thirst, allow cold drinks, ice-water, or lemonade. Bathing the surface with cold water, breathing plenty of fresh air, using disinfectants in the room, and taking antiseptic medicine internally, are proper. Add one part of carbolic acid to six parts of glycerine, mix from two to three drops of this with an ounce of water, and of this preparation administer teaspoonful doses frequently. A few drops of carbolic acid and glycerine may be rubbed up with vaseline, and the surface anointed with it to prevent pitting. The malady is so grave that it should be intrusted to the care of the family physician.
VARIOLOID. (MODIFIED SMALL-POX.)
Varioloid is a modified form of small-pox. There is less constitutional disturbance, and very little or no pitting of the skin. Varioloid generally occurs in persons who have not been fully protected by vaccination. A person suffering from this modification of the disease may, by contagion, communicate to another genuine small-pox. The treatment is the same as that recommended in variola.