The After-treatment of operations : a manual for practitioners and house surgeons / by P. Lockhart Mummery.

  • Mummery, P. Lockhart.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The After-treatment of operations : a manual for practitioners and house surgeons / by P. Lockhart Mummery. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    hours in a few. Most of the other variations that have been described seem to be the result of the inclusion of septic cases among those of genuine scarlet fever, and therefore but little value can be attached to them. Rashes due to Enemata.—These are not at all un- common, and it is most important that they should be recognised, as otherwise they may be confused with septic or scarlatinal rashes, and cause considerable confusion. The practice of giving an enema just before an opera- tion is now so usual that it is not uncommon to see a rash follow an operation, and be mistaken for the onset of septicaemia or scarlet fever, when it is really due to the enema that was given before the operation. The rash generally makes its appearance very shortly after the injection, usually in from three to twenty-four hours. The most common time seems to be about twelve hours. The rash lasts from two to four days, and then gradually fades away. The distribution of the rash is very variable ; it may be evenly distributed over almost the whole body, or it may be confined to certain parts. The buttocks and thighs—especially about the inner aspects—and over the sacrum are perhaps the most common places for the rash to appear, and it is here that it is usually best marked and thickest. The rash often appears on the face, and sometimes on the arms and upper part of the chest. The type of the eruption also varies a good deal. Dr. Monro describes three types of rash from enemata : (1) The scarlatiniform ; (2) the measly ; and (3) the urti- carious. More than one of these types may, however, be present at once, or the rash may start as one type and subsequently change to another. There is usually no itching in the first two types, but the urticarious form is, as a rule, accompanied by very