COMMON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. 



in some cases. It is carried from one person Channels 

 to another by actual contact, clothing, or other °^ Outlet, 

 infected articles, such as dishes, bedding, 

 towels, dressings, and anything used by 

 patients. It may also be communicated by the 

 hands of the physician or nurse or by instru- 

 ments used in treating the case. All such out- 

 lets and inlets of this most mischievous germ 

 must be well guarded by the nurse. Burn all 

 old dressings immediately and use disinfect- 

 ants rigidly throughout the case and at the 

 close of the case. All cases must be isolated 

 and given to the care of a special nurse. The 

 "eternal vigilance" ordered in the nursing of 

 scarlet fever and other desquamating diseases 

 must be rigidly adhered to in erysipelas. 



While the erysipelas germ is liable to attack 

 wounds, the disease frequently appears where 

 there is no perceptible wound. A rose-red 

 blush of the skin is seen. The edges of the 

 affected area are clearly distinct from the 

 healthy surroundings. There is usually a 

 swollen condition and the sick one complains 

 of a tightness and stiffness in the diseased 

 region. Erysipelas spreads rapidly when it at- 

 tacks loose tissues, such as those of the face, 

 and preventive; applications have to be made 

 early in the case. It is a very severe disease in ^ij.jjijQijp 

 some instances, particularly so in persons ad- Subjects, 

 dieted to the habit of using alcoholics to excess. 

 8g 



