Disease.

Period of incubation.

Date of onset of characteris-tic symp-toms from invasion.

Characteristic symptoms.

Duration of illness.

Duration of contagious-ness.

Erysipelas...

3 to 7 days.

1st or 2d day

Redness, glos-siness, and puffiness of affected skin; area circum-scribed, pit-ting and pain-ful to pres-sure, and seat of burning and smarting pain. Fever.

5 to 7 days; several weeks in cases that extend.

From 1st day for 2 weeks.

Diphtheria . .

2 to 5 days.

1st or 2d day.

False mem-brane on ton-sils and other parts of throat.

Depends upon date of begin-ning anti-toxin in-jections.

From first day for 4 to 6 weeks but de-pends up-on results of throat cultures.

Whooping-cough.

7 to 14 days.

2 to 4 weeks.

Paroxysmal cough follow-ed by a crow-ing inspira-tion. Parox-ysms often end with the expulsion of glairy mucus or vomiting.

12 weeks.

From onset of initial catarrhal symptoms for 12 weeks or until whoop ceases. Most conta-gious dur-ing whoop-ing stage, 4th to 10th week.

Mumps ........

17 to 20 days.

1st day.

Swelling in front, below and behind the ear, some-times below the jaw; pain on movement of jaw or neck, and on swal-lowing.

7 to 14 days.

From one day before symptoms appear, for 3 weeks.

It may be well to give a few directions as to the management of a fever before the arrival of the physician. Every fever - whether it be due to a poison circulating in the blood or to a passing irritation of little or no moment - is attended by the following symptoms: heat of skin, lassitude, loss of appetite and thirst. When these features arise, the mother must be on her guard and take steps to place her charge in the best possible condition. First give the child a mustard foot bath;* then put him to bed with only sufficient covering to keep up a normal body temperature. Reduce the diet to the simplest possible basis, dilute milk food being the safest. Plenty of pure cool water taken in small quantities at short intervals, or of some effervescing saline water may be allowed. Febrifuges, as aconite, or even sweet spirits of nitre, had best not be given without advice, and quinine or other remedies are not to be trifled with.

Should headache be severe, place cold compresses upon the forehead, or a weak mustard plaster (one part of mustard to six of wheat flour) on the nape of the neck.

Free urination should be encouraged by hot compresses over the bladder, and it is well to secure a free action of the bowels by a mild saline laxative.

* See page 140.