Uncomplicated cases recover, but in the aged and in the delicate we may see fatal results, due usually to the profound depression or the high temperature to which the individual is subjected. There is much redness and swelling of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat—a bronchitis—and a catarrhal state of the stomach and intestines. These may all be present, or the disease may center upon one particular portion of the animal economy, and manifest its ravages there alone.
Symptoms. The attack usually resembles an ordinary catarrh of cold. In some cases the nasal catarrh is absent, or very mild, and the infection invades the general system, with much fever. A very striking manifestation of the disease is the severe nervous troubles which are present at the outset, consisting of headache, pain in the back and legs, and a general soreness of the muscles and bones as if bruised or beaten. The pulse is usually feeble and small—intermittent. The disease may center in the brain, producing delirium. Mental disorders are not uncommon, and there is usually following the disease more or less inaptitude for mental work and a tendency to depression of spirits. In many cases there is a severe diarrhea, and the individual suffers much from pain and discomfort in the abdomen. This is a gastro-intestinal irritation, and apparently favors an early recovery, and usually there are less severe sequels in such cases.
The most dangerous complication is pneumonia. These cases may follow bronchitis, or the grip may begin with well-characterized symptoms of this disease, for which see the chapters upon this trouble. The sputa may not be rusty until after several days. The crisis is usually slow, and a considerable proportion recover, the disease frequently showing a sudden change for the better, and the patient being up and around in a few days. Cases complicated with pneumonia are the most indefinite in their symptoms, and require the closest attention.
Treatment. In every case the disease must be regarded as a dangerous one, and the patient be confined to bed and indoors until all fever has disappeared, otherwise sudden and serious manifestations are liable to appear at any time. The patient must be well fed and nourished from the outset. The bowels should be acted upon by mild laxatives, such as castor oil or Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets, using from one to three. It is also of advantage afterward to move them twice each day, by the injection of warm water, to which has been added a teaspoonful of table salt to each pint. This injected into the rectum, using the water slightly tepid, or cool if the patient is feverish, will tend to soften the actions from the bowels and favor the escape of poisonous matter. The cool water has also a soothing effect upon the fever and nervous system. If the fever is high, and there is delirium, small doses of aconite, with water, should be used every half hour or hour, but all depressing agents of this kind must be used with caution, as profound prostration sometimes develops. Warm baths, repeated frequently, and followed by hot lemonade, are of the greatest benefit in reducing the feverish condition and quieting the patient. The bed should be warmed after these are administered and the patient given hot lemonade to bring on free action of the skin, kidneys, and bowels. Where the pulse is weak, the free use of stimulants, as wine, coffee, tea, and brandy or whiskey, are required, as the great danger of the disease is a depression of the heart. In severe bronchitis, pneumonia, and other complications, appropriate treatment should be applied.
ACUTE NASAL CATARRH.
Acute Nasal Catarrh, or cold in the head, is an acute inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the nasal passage which may confine itself to these parts or extend to the pharynx, larynx, and air-passages below, or affect the auxiliary sinuses or cavities communicating with the nasal passages.
The most frequent cause of cold in the head is exposure to sudden changes in temperature, or draughts of cool air, without taking proper precaution to protect the body so as to prevent the rapid radiation of animal heat. In most cases there is an inherited tendency or acquired weakness, which frequently may be associated with a scrofulous condition of the whole system, that render these points less resistant, and consequently invite the morbid changes which result from exposure and cold. Acute Catarrh also occurs during the initial stage of such eruptive diseases as measles, typhus, typhoid, erysipelas, etc.
Seldom do we meet with an otherwise healthy individual, who is subjected to a frequent cold in the head. Impure blood, inherited scrofulous taints, enfeebled circulation, debility, either general or nervous, are all advance agents, inviting catarrhal disease, and preventing rapid recovery from an acute attack, so that a low grade of Chronic Catarrh is generally the sequence.
Symptoms. The attack is visually ushered in by a chill, or chilly sensation, feeling of lassitude, followed by a slight fever. These symptoms are not as distressing as the sense of fullness about the eyes and frontal region, and prickling dry heat, with more or less obstruction in the nostrils. A few hours later follows a copious, acrid watery discharge, which gradually becomes thick and yellow. Often the inflammatory action may extend to the orifice of the eustachian tube, causing obstruction with temporary deafness, or ringing in the ears. Severe facial neuralgia may be caused by the pressure from the swollen parts upon the branches of sensitive nerves.