Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
Do you need
volunteer, community service, work, military or court hours?
|
|
Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
|
|
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: A10-ADA |
|
|
ACUTE RHEUMATISM Or RHEUMATIC FEVER 1S the name given to a disease having for its chief
damp
Of recent
opinion as to the nature of the micro-organism by which it is produced. In 1900 F. J. Poynton and Paine isolated from eight cases of acute rheumatism in children a minute diplococcus similar to that previously de-scribed by Triboulet and by A. Wasserman, which inoculated into rabbits produced lesions of the joints and of the heart indistinguishable from those met with in acute rheumatism. They have since obtained the same micro-organism from a further large number of cases of acute rheumatism, and their results have been confirmed by Walker, Beattie and others. They therefore claim that this micro-organism, to which they have given the name Diplococcus rheumaticus, is the specific cause of acute rheumatism. The objections which have been raised by other competent observers against this view are: (I) That this diplococcus is not found in all cases of acute rheumatism. (2) That certain other micro-organisms when inoculated into animals will produce joint and heart affections similar to those produced by the aforesaid Diplococcus rheumaticus. It would be out of place here to enter into the merits of this controversy; suffice it to say that the objections raised do not appear to be cogent enough to invalidate the conclusions arrived at by the authors of the germ theory. The matter is, however, still to a certain extent sub judice.In adults the affection of the joints is the most striking feature. The attack is usually ushered in by a feeling of chilliness or malaise, with pain or stiffness in one or more joints, generally those of large or medium size, such as the torus. p~ knees, ankles, wrists or shoulders. At first the pain is confined to one or two joints, but others soon become affected, and there is a tendency to symmetry in the order in which they are attacked, the inflammation in one joint being followed by that of the same joint on the opposite side. The affected joints are swollen, hot and excessively tender, and the skin over them is somewhat flushed. The temperature is raised, ranging from about roe to 103 F., the pulse rapid, full and soft; the face is flushed, the tongue coated with a thick white fur, and there is thirst, loss of appetite, and constipation. The body
In childhood the affection of the joints is usually slight, and may be confined to a little pain or stiffness in one or two joints, and is sometimes attributed by parents to " growing pains." The constitutional symptoms are also ill-marked and there are no acid sweats, the temperature is not as a rule very high, the tongue not heavily coated, and the child does not appear to be very ill. The heart and pericardium are, however, especially liable to attack, and this may be so insidious in its onset that attention is not called to it till considerable damage has been done to the heart. It is of importance, therefore, that in children the heart should be frequently examined by a physician, when there is the slightest suspicion of an attack of rheumatism. Chorea or St Vitus's dance is a common manifestation of rheumatism in children. Subcutaneous fibrous nodules, attached to tendons or fibrous structures beneath the skin, are a special
diameter . They are not very common, but when present indicate that the rheumatism has a firm hold and that cardiac complications are to be apprehended.The patient should be placed in bed between blankets, and should wear a light flannel
should be kept at rest as far as possible, and enveloped Treat- in cotton
a specific influence in acute rheumatism. They have a powerful effect not only in reducing the temperature, but in relieving the pain and cutting short the attack. Frequent and fairly large doses of salicylate of soda should be administered for the first twenty-four hours: the dose and interval at which it is given should then be gradually reduced till the symptoms subside. In conjunction with this, alkalies such as bicarbonate or citrate of potash should also be administered. The effect of the salicylate should be carefully watched, and the dose reduced if toxic symptoms such as delirium, deafness, and noises in the ears occur. These drugs are of less service in the rheumatism of children than in that of adults, as they do not appear to exercise any specific influence in arresting the cardiac inflammation to which children are specially liable, though they have a marked effect on the joint affections. Aspirin has recently come into use as a substitute for salicylates, and may succeed when salicylates fail. Subacute rheumatism.This term is sometimes applied to attacks of the disease of a less severe type in which the symptoms, though milder in character, are usually of longer duration and more intractable than in the acute form. It is difficult, however, to draw a hard-and-fast line between the two, but the term may perhaps be most appropriately applied to the repeated and protracted attacks of cardiac rheumatism in children. End of Article: ACUTE RHEUMATISM If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/A10_ADA/ACUTE_RHEUMATISM.html"> ACUTE RHEUMATISM </a> |
|
|
(Previous) ACUPUNCTURE (from Lat. acus, a needle, and pung... |
(Next) ADABAZAR |
|
Sponsored Advertisements