A manual of diseases of the nose and throat / by Cornelius Godfrey Coakley.

Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A manual of diseases of the nose and throat / by Cornelius Godfrey Coakley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    day, often of quite long duration, when the patient is free from these paroxysms and can get a much-needed rest. After retiring at night the sneezing and nasal discharge quickly cease, but the swelling of the nasal mucous membrane usually persists. In aggravated cases, on awaking, and even before getting out of bed, the paroxysms return. A peculiarity of this disease is that the patients often predict months in advance the very day upon which they expect the attack to begin. Those who have suffered from hay fever several years in succession frequently manifest symptoms of bron- chial asthma after from five to ten years. The asthma may persist through the winter months, and not infre- quently with the onset of the asthma the attacks of hay fever diminish in severity or disappear. Examination. Examination of the nose shows an almost total occlusion of the nasal cavity, the mucous membrane of the inferior and middle turbinates touch- ing that of the septum. Ecchymotic spots are fre- quently seen on the mucous membrane. The conjunc- tive are reddened and the bloodvessels injected. The use of the cocaine spray may in a few minutes reduce the swelling of the mucous membrane, so that a better inspection of the nasal cavity can be obtained, and then the chronic pathological processes described in the etiology will be brought into view if they exist. Differential Diagnosis. The disease can scarcely be confounded with any other condition, as the patients usually come to the physician for treatment, having made their own diagnosis of the condition. Prognosis. The prognosis in hay fever should be a guarded one. If, during the time of the year when a patient is subject to the attack, he can leave and go to