MEASLES

MEASLES begins with a "cold in the head," accompained with slight fever and malaise. These last from three to six days during which time the patient feels wretched. Soon there follow headache, nausea, sometimes vomiting, and chilly feelings. The coryza is intense with cough and redness of the eyes and eye lids. The temperature rises and the skin, especially on the face, feels hot and tingling. The tongue is furred. The mucous lining of the mouth and throat is an intense red. Little blue dots may be seen on the inside of the cheeks.

The skin rash develops on about the fourth day, starting, usually, on the forehead, then the face, then over the body generally. The eruption begins as little red spots, which increase greatly in number and are gradually arranged in groups, sometimes in crescentric groups.

The fever begins to fall on the fifth or sixth day and a fine, bran-like desquamation (scaling) of the skin begins, which lasts from a few days to several weeks.

BLACK MEASLES is a failure of the rash to "get out," accompanied with hemorrhages under the skin. These cases are said to be usually fatal, perhaps largely as a result of the falure of the eliminative effort.

COMPLICATIONS AND SEQUELAE: Under medical care these are chronic coryza, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, tuberculosis, laryngitis, otitis media, severe bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, severe inflammations of the mouth, Bright's disease, nose bleed, arthritis, menengitis, paralysis, and brain abscess. These must all be the results of suppressive treatment, since they never develop under orthopathic care. One medical author, in discussing the complications of measles says: "Hot drinks should be given freely as these help to 'bring out the rash.' A sudden chilling sends the blood to the internal organs and may cause a congestion of the kidneys." This is evidence, from an orthodox source, that complications are due to suppressing the eliminating effort through the skin--the rash.

GERMAN MEASLES is described as "having the rash of measles and the throat of scarlet fever." It begins with slight fever, headache, pain in the back and limbs and coryza. On the first or second day the rash develops, beginning on the face and spreading, in twenty four hours, over the whole body. The rash, consisting of little pink raised spots, fades after two or three days. The fever is slight, the rash is diffuse and of a brighter color than ordinary measles.

CARE OF THE PATIENT: Due to the persistence of the contagion-superstition these cases have to be isolated.

The patient should be kept quietly in bed. The room should be light and airy and fresh air should circulate in the room at all times. Medical authors say, "great care should be taken to keep him (the patient) from catching cold, for broncho-pneumonia is to be feared as a complication of measles, and tuberculosis as a sequelae" This fear of "catching cold" from fresh air is more supersutlon.

The patient should be kept warm and not allowed to chill. Chilling checks elimination and retards recovery. If it is winter time a hot water bottle, or other means of applying warmth to the body, should be placed at the feet.

No food should be allowed until 24 hours after all acute symptoms are gone. All the water desired may be given, but water drinking need not be encouraged or forced on the theory that it flushes toxins out of the body. Anyway, nature has concentrated the toxins in the skin and has adopted unusual methods of elimination. No drugs of any kind and no enemas are to be employed.

A luke warm sponge bath twice a day, for cleanliness, should be given. Antiseptics and alcohol are to be avoided. Do not use oil on the skin when it begins to scale.

Medical authors tell us that the room should be kept darkened as the light hurts the child's eyes. This I have not found to be so. I always have the room well lighted. I believe that the darkened room is more likely to injure the eyes.

The mouth and throat should be kept clean. Plain warm water, or warm water with lemon juice, or fresh pineapple juice will do for this purpose. Use no antiseptic gargles. Do not try to reduce or control fever.

CONVALESENCE: This is a critical period if the patient has been cared for medically. There is nothing to fear if the patient has been cared for as above directed.

Feeding should begin with orange juice, or grapefruit juice, or fresh pineapple juice, or fresh apple juice. This should be given as much as desired, for the whole of the first day. The second day, breakfast may be of orange or grapefruit or peaches in season. Lunch should be pears or grapes or apples in season. Dinner may be a raw vegetable salad and one cooked non-starchy vegetable. The third day may begin the normal diet, but in reduced amounts. By the end of the first week the patient should be eating normally.

The patient should remain in bed for at least twenty-four hours after all acute symptoms have subsided. Physical activity should be mild at fist. Healthful living thereafter will maintain the improved health that has resulted from this house cleaning.