Diseases of children : a short introduction to their study / by James Frederic Goodhart.

  • Goodhart, James Frederic, Sir, 1845-1916.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of children : a short introduction to their study / by James Frederic Goodhart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    123/792 (page 107)
    GASTEIC FEVER—VOMITING. Some of the diseases of the stomach are closely allied to those of the intestines already described ; acute or milk dyspepsia, gastralgia, and vomiting are so. All these being symptomatic or functional diseases, have no morbid anatomy, and for this reason are of some- Avhat uncertain nature. They puzzle the student, because the symptoms which to one writer indicate— let us say, for example, acute dyspepsia, to another suggest gastric fever, to another perhaps dentition fever. Gastralgia may in like manner be, for all we can say positively to the contrary, a colic, or a nerve storm in some other part of the abdomen, just as well as an affection of the stomach itself. I shall therefore as far as possible avoid the use of terms the correctness of which we are not sure of, and describe as cases such sets of symptoms as are common in childhood, and which are attributed, both popularly and professionally, to gastric disorder. And first of all, let us take a case of fever : gastric fever if you will, but that the gastric origin is un- certain ; acute dyspepsia if you will, but even true dyspepsia is doubtful. A healthy child of twelve months, with its two lower in- cisors cut, ailed for a day or two with feverishness, constipa- tion and occasional vomiting. When seen first, it was fretful, with a temperature of ioo'4°, and a quick pulse and full abdomen. The temperature went up to 103°, remained up for two days and a half, and then fell rapidly to normal; the tongue was thickly furred, the bowels confined, the motions light in colour, and there was occasional vomiting. The bowels were opened freely by rhubarb and soda, and acetate of ammonia was given internally. A week later one of the upper incisors was cut.