Rashness

“ A sudden disappearance of the rash, or of the inflammation of the throat, is a bad omen. With such symptoms as these, there is usually little or no rash, and the little there is, of a pale, livid color, and the skin, in general, inactive. ”

“ Generally toward the end of the first day's illness, sometimes even at the very outset, a child, but a few minutes before in apparent good health, presents itself with a raspberry-red blush or rash, which may either cover the body completely or else appear here and there in patches. The face, the interior of the thighs, the groins, and the neighborhood of the joints are favored situations for the rash. ”

“ The face turns pale, the smooth muscles of the skin contract, the skin is covered with a cold perspiration, the heart stops beating: in a word there is a general organic disturbance following the stimulation of the medulla oblongata, and this disturbance is the supreme expression of disgust. ”

“ Then the patient’s face becomes flushed and his eyes congested, his pulse rate increases, and very soon his temperature rises and runs up to 103 or 104° F. The rash, which varies in type, generally appears on the fifth day, being found first on the upper part of the abdomen. It does not occur upon the face, but is usually very profuse on the back. If the rash develops the patient becomes seriously ill, and all his symptoms are intensified. He becomes dull and lethargic, his mouth is foul, and his general aspect is somewhat like that of a drunken man. ”

“ About the fourth day, a rash makes its appearance on the face, forehead, and behind the ears, and in the course of the next forty-eight hours travels downwards over the body and limbs, and then in another forty-eight hours it fades in the same way, being at its height on the body when it has already begun to disappear from the face. ”

“ The physical pain from the eczema, and working with raw and bleeding hands, threatened me with madness. I dare not tell a soul. I dare not even face it for some time, and then I knew I must fight this battle or go under. ”

“ It is a painful irritating rash, often spreading over the whole body, mostly prevailing, however, wherever the clothes screen the body from the power of the air; we rarely find it on the hands or face. ”

“ I found the Down begin to make my hand itch, and in some places to smart again, much like the stinging of a Flea or Gnat, and this continued a pretty while, so that by degrees I found my skin to be swell'd with little red pustules, and to look as if it had been itchie. But suffering it without rubbing or scratching, the itching tickling pain quickly grew languid, and within an hour I felt nothing at all, and the little protuberancies were vanish'd. ”

“ Where the passion of fear exists in a great degree, it exhausts or expends so much sensorial power, either simply by the pain which attends it, or by the violent and perpetual excitement of the terrific imaginations or ideas, that not only a cold and pale skin, but a retrograde motion of the cutaneous absorbents occurs, and a cold sweat appears upon the whole surface of the body, which probably sometimes increases pulmonary absorption; as in Class II. 1. 6. 4. and as in the cold sweats, which attend the paroxysms of humoral asthma. ”

“ It is like the peeling after scarlet fever,—the dead skin stays on until the new, tender skin is strong underneath, and after we think we have peeled entirely, we discover new places with which we must be patient. ”

“ The workmen who use it, are very apt to be attacked with irritation about the private parts, and a vesicular eruption about the hairs on the pubes,—with loss of appetite, tendency to vomiting, and other symptoms of irritation in the stomach,—with obstinate constipation,—with soreness and dryness of the throat and irritation in the nose,—and with want of sleep, and a remarkable greenness of the hair over the whole body. ”

“ Life goes on, means, -- the hair falls out and grows gray, the teeth decay, there appear wrinkles, and there is an odour in the mouth. Even before everything ends, everything becomes terrible and disgusting: you perceive the pasty paint and powder, the sweat, thee stench, the homeliness. ”

“ The attack often comes on with general feverishness, a hot skin, fretfulness, and restlessness, which subside when the skin begins to discharge, though the discomfort produced by the local irritation still continues. ”

“ It seems as though the dust recognized in our persons kindred matter. Our heads are powdered over in five minutes; our eyes, unless we sit with closed lids, feel as if a dash of cayenne had been administered to them; we sneeze like schoolboys after a first pinch of 'blackguard;' our epidermises are grittier than a loaf of provincial French bread, and washing would only be a mockery of resisting the irremediable evil. ”

“ The scents that reek around, from oil, tainted water, and human filth, with that last worst nausea arising from the hot refuse of atmospheric air, left by some hundred pairs of labouring lungs, render the act of breathing a process of difficulty, disgust, and pain. ”

“ So that by irritation, or by sensation in consequence of irritation, or by association of motions, a material is formed by the extremities of certain cutaneous vessels, exactly similar to the stimulating material, which caused the irritation, or consequent sensation, or association.
Many glands of the body have their motions, and in consequence their secreted fluids, affected by pleasurable or painful ideas, since they are in many instances influenced by sensitive associations, as well as by the irritations of the particles of the passing blood. ”

“ The sense of smell is sickened by the insupportable stench of so many putrid and infected bodies. The taste is tormented by a burning thirst and a cruel hunger, while never can be had a drop of water or the least refreshment. ”

“ Some Arab writers have asserted that the widespread eruption of skin-diseases which marks the thirteenth century, was caused by the taking of certain stimulants to re-awaken and renew the defaults of passion. ”

“ It is usually most considerable where the rash has been most abundant, while where the rash has been scanty, it is sometimes scarcely apparent except at the tips of the fingers and toes and just around the insertion of the nails. ”

“ Further, that in any instance in which even very slight feverishness, or very slight sore-throat, have preceded or accompanied the rash, the nature of the ailment is stamped beyond the possibility of doubt. Mistakes are made from want of careful observation, much more than from any insuperable difficulty in distinguishing one disease from the other. When the least hesitation is felt as to the nature of any [Pg 209] rash which may appear on a child, with, or without previous illness, the question should be at once referred to a medical man. ”

“ The skin is yellowish, hot and damp; a rash, disappearing on pressure, may occur on the trunk and legs, nausea is always present and thirst is usual. The liver and spleen both enlarge. The number of respirations and pulse-rate become increased. ”

“ This connection between the skin and internal organs is shown, not only by the internal effects of a chill on the skin, but by the sympathetic effect on the skin when these internal organs suffer. For example, there are some kinds of food that will irritate and influence the stomach or the bowels;240 and this, by sympathy, will produce an immediate eruption on the skin. Some persons, on eating strawberries, will immediately be affected with a nettle-rash. Others can not eat certain shell-fish without being affected in this way. ”

“ I constantly recommended to my patients, in this stage of the disorder, to lie in bed. This favoured the eruption of the rash, and the solution of the disease by perspiration. Persons who struggled against the fever by sitting up, or who attempted to shake it off by labour or exercise, either sunk under it, or had a slow recovery. ”

“ In the beginning of intoxication the whole skin becomes florid from the association of the actions of the cutaneous arteries with those of the stomach, because vinous spirit excites the fibres of the stomach into more violent action than the stimulus of common food; and the cutaneous capillaries of the face, from their more frequent exposure to the vicissitudes of cold and heat, possess more mobility or irritability than those of other parts of the skin, as further explained in Sect. ”

“ Flesh being turn'd to dust, and bones to sticks.
We lookt on this side of thee, shooting short;
Where we did finde
The shells of fledge souls left behinde,
Dry dust, which sheds no tears, but may extort. ”

“ One's skin feels irritable and unclean. Presently there is an itching at one's wrists, and at the back of one's neck. One squashes something, and there is a smear of blood (one's own good blood) and one realises that one's skin (one's own good skin) is being punctured by these evil beasts. ”

“ If it be in any way obstructed, the internal organs are oppressed, and hence fever or inflammation results; and when there is any cutaneous eruption, the malady is not only preju­dicial to health, but is also attended with an irritable temper, and too often with bad moral results. ”

“ There is usually comparatively little pain, and the patient lies in a sort of mild stupor, paying little attention to his surroundings. He is much enfeebled and seldom cares to lift his head from the pillow. A slight rash appears upon the surface of the body, but this [Pg 217] is so faint that it would escape attention unless carefully looked for. ”

“ Keeping these poisons in the system, not only produces pimples upon the face, and discoloration of the skin, but dullness and heaviness of the whole system. The mind becomes foggy, the spirits low, the muscles stiff and sore, the breath and perspiration offensive, the whole system unclean. ”

“ Many youths, particularly females, and those whose occupations are sedentary, pass days, weeks, and months without experiencing the pleasing glow and warmth of a healthy skin, and are habitually complaining of dullness on the surface, cold feet, and ether symptoms of deficient cutaneous circulation. ”

“ But all agree, that the skin throws out more of the useless and noxious matter from the body, than the lungs, bladder and bowels all together.
You can now understand the evil done by sitting with wet feet, or going into cold and damp air without proper covering. Cold always operates to make the skin shrink up, and the little mouths of the blood-vessels are thus closed, so that the skin cannot perform its office properly. ”

“ Sometimes this sense seems to possess a morbid degree of acuteness in respect to odors, which is highly inconvenient and even dangerous. With some individuals, the smell of certain fruits, flowers, cheese, &c., produce nausea and even convulsions. ”

“ It is obvious that it would have been exposed to injury from every floating particle of dust, and you would always have felt such a sensation as is caused by a burn or scald when the skin peels off, and leaves the ends of the nerves exposed to the air. ”

“ The organ of smell is in intimate relation with the brain and the organs of taste and sight; and its action may thus disturb that of the esophagus, the stomach, the diaphragm, the intestines, the organs of generation, etc. Odorous substances have occasioned syncope, stupor, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes death. ”

“ In other cases the sufferers complained of burning rags being stuffed into their mouths, and although nothing was seen, burnt places and blisters appeared, and the odor and smoke of smouldering rags began to fill the room. When they reported that they were branded with hot irons, the marks showed themselves, suppuration took place, and scars were formed which never again disappeared during life—and all these phenomena were watched by the eager eyes of hundreds. ”

“ There is an odor in this insensible perspiration, which becomes offensive when the impurities collecting upon the surface of the skin are not frequently removed. The entire surface of the body should be washed every day ”

“ Amongst the bulk of the people, the skin is more commonly of a dull hue, with some degree of roughness, especially the parts that are not covered, which perhaps may be occasioned by some cutaneous disease. ”

“ The hair of a man torn down from the cross is good for quartan fevers.”— (Pliny, lib. xxviii. cap. 7.)
“The smell of a woman’s hair, burnt, will drive away serpents, and hysterical suffocations, it is said, may be dispelled thereby. The ashes of a woman’s hair, burnt in an earthen vessel, will cure eruptions and porrigo of the eyes ... warts and ulcers upon infants ... wounds upon the head ... corrosive ulcers ... inflammatory tumors and gout ... erysipelas and hemorrhages, and itching pimples.”— (Pliny, lib. xxviii. c. 20.) ”

“ It is palpable, that the cause of redness and breaking out of the face, is a venomous matter, or filthy vapours ascending from the stomach towards the head; where meeting with a rheum or flegm thence descending, mix with it, and break out in the face. Therefore let the first intention of cure be to cleanse the stomach. ”

“ Besides these glimpses of the future, you may know something of your fate by a diligent attention to every itching that you may feel in your body. Thus, if the eye or the nose itches, it is a sign you will be shortly vexed; if the foot itches, you will tread upon strange ground ”

“ Causes.—Gout, diabetes, rheumatism, Bright's disease, dyspepsia, constipation, nervous trouble, heat, cold, strong soaps, acids, alkalies, rubbing, scratching, etc.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES. 1. Eczema, Lemon or Vinegar for.—"Rub the spots with sliced lemon. This will sometimes relieve the itching. Bathing with vinegar water is better for some as it destroys the germs." The bowels should be kept open, and then constitutional faults removed as the eruption of the skin is but a local manifestation of a functional fault. ”

“ For the cure of the disease called Lethargie burn the whole skin of a Hare, with the ears and nails, and give the patient the powder thereof warm. The smoak of Kid's leather burnt, holden to the Nose, awakens them powerfully. Ashes of Hartshorn burnt, mixt with the Oyl of Roses and anointed on the forehead and temples, causeth a pleasant sleep. ”