An essay on the cerebral affections occurring most commonly in infancy and childhood : including notices of their history, causes, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment ; being the Council prize essay, awarded at the annual meeting of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, held at Bath, on Wednesday and Thursday, August 16th and 17th, 1848 / by Valentine Duke.

  • Duke, Valentine.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the cerebral affections occurring most commonly in infancy and childhood : including notices of their history, causes, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment ; being the Council prize essay, awarded at the annual meeting of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, held at Bath, on Wednesday and Thursday, August 16th and 17th, 1848 / by Valentine Duke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    them. The natural process of teething is a fre- quent exciting cause ; and more remote sympathetic irritation also gives rise to them, such as that caused by worms, flatulence, and indigestion. Mental im- pressions, as excessive fright, will also occasion convulsions. The treatment must depend mainly upon the removal of the cause of the attack. The discovery of this is very often a difficult matter, but we shall generally proceed safely in ordering cooling appli- cations to the head, having the bowels well freed, and directing the use of the tepid or warm bath ; sprinkling cold water in the face is a means also recommended ; I have seen it shorten and prevent the seizure. When some distinctive symptoms are present, localizing the cause, we can apply our- selves more particularly to their removal. Car- minatives, with turpentine and assafoetida enemata, will procure the discharge of flatus, generally fol- lowed by great relief Lancing the gums should never be neglected ; it will often induce sound sleep, and hinder a return of the attack. Sometimes, especially where there is a tendency to somnolence or coma after the seizure, the application of a couple of leeches will considerably lessen the liability to a recurrence. In such a case, we must be very cautious in the use of cold to the head. We must not attempt to shorten the attacks by the administration of