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Domestic Medicine : or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and simple Medicines
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OF THE SCARLET FEVER.

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twentieth part of what I have often seen after a severe attack of thescarlatina. He is losing his cuticle by desquamation, as was to beexpected; he has been washed with tepid water and soap for threeor four nights, to promote that desquamation, and relieve the itch-ing of his skin. He has not yet recovered his flesh, strength, orcolour, but seems in a fair way to do so soon, for he has a keen ap-petite and digestion. This is only the ninth day of his disease.

" You may be sure, from this detail, that I am perfectly wellpleased with your practice in this disease, and that I shall gladlyfollow it in any proper case of the same kind that may come undermy care, if I am allowed to do so. It is more than possible thatI shall soon have occasion to try it on two other of my sons, one ofthem past four, the other of them almost two years of age, andboth of them of the same sanguine temperament of their eldestbrother. Both of these young children were exposed to the con-tagion from their cousin, as much as my eldest son was, and bothof them were with him when he sickened, and for two hours after,so that I could have no hope of preserving them from the contagion •they have both had the cow-pox."

" Wednesday, Nov. 9.

" Yesterday afternoon my youngest son sickened, and had theusual symptoms of oppression, sickness, vomiting, diarrhoea, frequentcrying, frequent pulse; copious red eruption on the skin in lessthan three hours after he began to be uneasy, flushing of the face,and increase of heat: his voice is somewhat affected, and hoarse;but he swallows liquids and solids without difficulty, »o that I haveno great fears for his throat.

" Though he was never so hot as his brother, he was washed ina tub with cold water about seven o'clock, and again about eleven,last night, and twice to-day already with tepid water, as he was stillless hot than yesterday, and his feet even cool. He has been re-lieved by the washing all the lour times, and has always gone tosleep after it for a longer or shorter time.

" My other son (the four year old gentleman) has not yet sick-ened, but 1 expect him to be taken ill to-night or to-morrow ; forlast night he had very little sleep, and frequently through the nightand to-day he has complained of being tired. Lassitudines sponta-nea; morbos denunciant is one of the oldest maxims that I know ofin physic. Whenever he sickens, I mean to treat him as I havedone his brothers.

"Your's, most truly,

"J. Gregory."To the same." Dear Sir, Edinburgh, 10th Dec. 1803.

" I AM sure it will give you satisfaction to know that my chil-dren have all done very well under your practice for the scarla-tina. The eldest and youngest, though they have not yet fullyrecovered their strength, are recovering very fast, are in excellentspirits, and on the whole so well that they have been out of doorsrepeatedly, both in the carriage and on foot, though the weather

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