ERUPTIVE FEVERS. 195 



determined duration ; " sometimes it disappears very quickly ; 

 at other times it remains for a great number of days ;" that 

 successive eruptions frequently appear in the course of the same 

 fever ; and that such eruptions frequently recur in the course of 

 the same person's life. 



All these circumstances render it extremely probable, that, 

 in the miliary fever, the morbific matter is not a subsiding con- 

 tagion communicated to the blood, and thence, in consequence 

 of fever and assimilation, thrown . out upon the surface of the 

 body ; but a matter occasionally produced in the skin itself by 

 sweating. 



DCCXXV. This conclusion is further rendered probable 

 from hence, that, while the miliary eruption has no peculiar 

 symptoms, or concourse of symptoms, belonging to it ; yet, up- 

 on occasion, it accompanies almost all febrile diseases, whether 

 inflammatory or putrid, if these happen to be attended with 

 sweating ; and from thence it may be presumed, that the 

 miliary eruption is a symptomatic affection only, produced in 

 the manner we have said. 



" The epidemic catarrh, catarrhus a contagio, of which 

 we shall speak afterwards, has very frequently this miliary 

 eruption; I have seen it in inflammatory diseases, such as 

 rheumatism, wherever these were accompanied with much 

 sweating ; and it is certainly a frequent occurrence in different 

 intermittent fevers : but its most frequent occurrence is in 

 childbed women." 



DCCXXVI. But, as this symptomatic affection does not 

 always accompany every instance of sweating, it may be proper 

 to inquire, what are the circumstances which especially deter- 

 mine this eruption to appear ? To this, however, I can give no 

 full and proper answer. I cannot say that there is any one 

 circumstance which in all cases gives occasion to this eruption ; 

 nor can I say what different causes may, in different cases, give 

 occasion to it. There is only one observation I can offer to the 

 purpose of this inquiry ; and it is, that, of the persons sweating 

 under febrile diseases, those are especially liable to the miliary 

 eruption, who have been previously weakened by large evacua- 

 tions, particularly of blood. This will explain why it happens 

 to lying-in women more frequently than to any other persons ; 



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