YELLOW FEVER. 



5G7 



7. To guard against the bites of insects, apply a little lime-juice to the hands and face. 



8. In the bush, beware of unknown fruit. Some kinds, tempting in appearance, are poisonous 

 in reality. 



9. Cleanliness of person and clothing should be as far as possible observed. The daily use 

 of a tooth-brush and powdered charcoal for the teeth is enjoined. The under-clothing should be 

 changed as often as possible, or if it cannot from any cause be washed, it should be hung up in 

 the sun and well shaken. 



.10. A respirator, or veil of thin linen, or cotton gauze, worn over the face, may act as a guard 

 against malaria in the bush. 



11. Never lie down upon the bare ground, and never in thick grass. In the former case you 

 run the risk of an attack of fever or dysentery, and in the latter of being; bitten by snakes, &c. 

 Avoid remaining in the vicinity of newly turned- up soil. 



12. Do not believe that you are in any way "proof" against the climate. To believe this 

 will sooner or later prove delusive. You can lessen the risks of illness by due care and pre- 

 caution, but the attempt to brave those risks will surely and speedily end in your own prostration. 



13. The sooner, on being attacked with illness, you can obtain medical treatment, the greater 

 your chances of recovery. Jf you suffer from headache, dislike to food, chilliness and pains in 

 the back, or from gnawing pain in the stomach and looseness of the bowels, get advice if you 

 possibly can. 



Yellow Fever. This is a disease which is seldom seen in this country, but is 

 habitually present in the seaport towns of the West India Islands, in Africa, and 

 some parts of the coast of North and South America. It seldom occurs at a greater 

 elevation than 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, and whilst it may cause the 

 greatest devastation in plains and valleys, the inhabitants of elevated regions enjoy 

 almost complete immunity from its effects. It is essentially a disease . of warm 

 climates, an average temperature for some weeks of at least 72 Fahr. being 

 necessary for its production. The places in Europe most liable to be affected are 

 the southern ports of Spain. 



It usually has its origin in regions which are capable of producing ague. It 

 differs from this disease in many respects, but in none more strikingly than in the 

 fact that it is infectious, and is capable of being communicated from one person to 

 another. 



Yellow fever is generally said to consist of a single paroxysm. There are certain 

 premonitory symptoms, consisting usually of loss of appetite, of flatulence, and a 

 peculiar watery look about the eyes. There are, as a rule, no distinct rigors, but 

 chills alternating with flushes of heat. The patient complains of headache and vio- 

 lent pains in the back, and suffers greatly from nausea and tenderness at the pit of 

 the stomach. This usually lasts for a day or two, and then vomiting commences. 

 Every tiling is at once rejected, usually without any effort, and the vomited matter 

 will be found on examination to be tinged with bile or blood " black vomit." The 

 pain in the abdomen is increased, the urine becomes scanty, and the bowels are 

 obstinately confined. The patient is often very restless, and exhibits an evident 

 derangement of intellect, although he may answer questions coherently. This con- 

 dition may last from a few hours to two or three days, and is followed by a state of 

 remission. The patient feels much relieved, the irritability of the stomach abates, 

 the skin becomes moist, and the bowels are freely open. In favourable cases 

 this is an indication of convalescence, but too frequently the improvement is of short 



