Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 September 1896 — What the Doctors Say. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

What the Doctors Say.

Malarial Fever. This disease—also called fever and ague—ls best described as a periodical fever. Its chief characteristic is not so much the nature of the single attacks as the peculiar manner of their repetition. The two principal tyyca of malaria are Intermittent fever and remittenWever. The intermittent type is characterized by recurring attacks, in which, as a. rule, chill, fever and sweating follow each other in orderly sequence. Ono generally knows a few hours beforehand, by unpleasant sensation:;, and sometimes by headache, that a chill is approaching. The entire duration of an attack is usually from twelve to fifteen hours. The periodicity of the attacks is most striking?-they occur with regularity at the end of twenty-four, forty-eight or seventy-two hours. During the intervening period the patient feels pretty well, and except in unusually severe cases is able to be about. The remittent type of the disease has no distinct intermissions of the fever; the temperature Is constantly above the normal, thougli marked remissions occur. Malaria is caused by the presence in the blood of a parasite, a minute organism which can be seen only by the aid of a microscope. The natural history of this parasite is not known; nor do we know how the organism enters, or how or In what form it leaves the human body. It is known, however, that these organisms are always present in the blood of a person suffering from malaria, and that they disappear with the. disappearance of the symptoms, or with the administration of quinine. Low, marshy regions, with abundant vegetation, badly drained low-lying districts, old river courses, tracts of land which are rich In vegetable matter, and particularly districts which have been allowed to fall out of cultivation, are favorite localities for the development of the malarial poison. In regions where malaria constantly prevails, It occurs most frequently In spring and autumn; in temperate regions it is at its worst, in September ahd October. Wherever it prevails the drinking water should be boiled, and unnecessary exposure to the night air should be avoided.—Youth’s Companion.