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Show 124 Conclusimz of tbe First Part. Conclusion (f the Firsl Pm‘z‘, is a proof that they were infected in some other way than by the lyin- phatics; the contrary is now known to be true. The venereal dis- ease, at first, was believed to be propagated by the breath of the, in- fectcd person; and Cardinal Wolsey was indicted, among other things, for whispering in the king‘s ear, knowing he had this disease;-we infection. 1 25 Mr. Howard, however, speaks of some who caught the plague instantly, and felt the infection as ifthey had received a shock of electri- city; he mentions others who had the same feeling without being infected- this looks like affection of the nervous system; he says also, that the first symptoms often is head-ach, but I have known the lymphatic vessels some- The mode of preventing the plague, times as suddenly affected; the prick of a needle in the point of the fore as given us by Howard, also tends to confirm my opinion of its en- finger, has instantly produced red lines along the arm, and swelling in the now reject these absurd opinions. tering by the lymphatics,-" washing with soap and ley,--_w1th soap glands of the axilla, and the head-ach does not prove that the poison did and cold water, and wiping afterwards with a towel,--washing With a If we solution of quick lime in boiling water, &c." all tend this way. not enter by the lymphatics. There are some poisons which kill instantly, but which must be always ap- could wash the surface of the lungs with soap and ley, as well as the surface of the body, perhaps we might prevent the plague altogether; we can cer- tainly preventthe venereal virus,inthis way, from entering the body. Every body will perceive how very difficult it must be to come Within a few paces of aperson infected with the plague, without touching something which he has touched; so that infection, without contact, is liable to strong ob- jectionsz-if touching a bit of wool, that the infected person has once touched, infects after months, how much more readily will the Contact of what he has recently touched infect! even recent contact seems necessary, for, notwithstanding our intercourse with Turkey, the plague has not appeared here these 130 years. I strongly suspect that the same methods which prevent the venereal disease, will be found the most powerful in preventing the plague, that is, by avoiding Contact; or, if that must be, by washing off infectious matter, and diluted caustic alkalidoes this better than anything else; the dilution must just go beyond the preventing its action as a plied to a wound, or ulcer, to produce this effect: whether these are absorbed, or whetherthey act on the extremities ofthe nerves only, and through their medium on the whole nervous system, I do not know. Animals who die by the bite ofthc rattle-snake, live no longer than the period the absorbed poison may be supposed to have taken in reaching the heart. The matter ofthc ino- culated small pox seems to lie in the pustlc till the seventh day; after which, the glands in the axilla often swell, (the mark of absorption) and, by the time the matter may be supposed to reach the heart, the eruptive fever commences. Not only do the radiated extremities of the lacteals and the lymphatics take up the most stimulating substances, but their trunks, after those radi- ated extremities are destroyed, appear to absorb better than the original ori- fices. Venereal matter having produced an ulcer, is almost immediately absorbed; whereas, had the matter been appliedto the original orifices, it might either not have been absorbed at all, or not till after a considerable period. This'reasoning may be objected to, from the consideration that though the I have also been told, that in the lazarcttos matter is applied, in ulcer, to broken extremities of certain lymphatics, it is they wash with soft soap, as containing more unsaturated alkali, and of course more readily combining with the mucus of the skin, to which the infectious at the same time still exposed to the radiated extremities ofothers which are entire. I do not know that this is not always the case. These vessels, then, in- I'I'oa'uce many diseases into the body from without, independant oftheir produc- mg‘ diseases within it ofthcmsclves. The infectious matter, however, may be caustic, or inflaming the skin. matter adheres, and that thus they escape the infection. The not wearing woollen, but oiled linen, as easily washed as the surface of the skin, and the not permitting hair to grow on the body, would also tend very much to prevent infection. \Vashing with cold water alone, and wiping with a coarse cloth afterwards, has been known to prevent gonorrhea and shankers for years. Mr. Howard himself says, that after visiting the plague, he \xashcd his mouth and hands in cold water, in order to prevent infection frequently prevented from entering their orifices, by washingit offbefore it has had time to be absorbed, as I have said. The surfaces to which infectiousmattcr has been applied, may be cut out, or may be destroyed by the actual or the potential Cautery, even after the poison has begun to net on the surface, and lliC absorption may by this means be prevented. I have known a patient inoculated .3. . .... ,. a....~‘:A |
