HOW A CHOLERA PATIENT FEELS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1477, 1 December 1884, Page 2

HOW A CHOLERA PATIENT FEELS.

Tllft patient feels Well up to vritlliu a few Hours of theatt.u-k, ..r it nny be, goes to -bed and sleeps soundly thi-on 0 -h t.ie ni^; it, aud ininudirit'^y on rising iv the m-i.-ning, is seized with vioK-ut parkin ,' and voiiiiti-i^. li'judL-iOii-'ly treated, inanv persons i-r •overfi-oni thio th« a.Ht sta o r e of uimlr.'ii, \>n< if ,iej»lectetl, tiie tendency of tln-diseasH is to grovV iapidiy worse. T.ie p.ii.ie.it complains of intense thirst and a l>nrr.in< heat at the pit ot' the. stomach ; he snff^.s also exciMuifiting pain lVr»i« cra-aps in tne muscles ot the extremities J ha is tu.Tibly restless; and ui.s urgent o. y is for wate.r to qiench hi-; thirst, and that someone might rub his limbs, and thus reHeve the mnsonlar spasm. Tim p:ilse is rapid and very wvuk, the respuadons are hurried, and the patient's voice Incomes husky. His countenance is punched, and tl.n iuta^un <.it of Jiis body feels inelastic and doighy. while tht) .skin of his Hands and feet ba-i-o.aos wrinkled and purlisii in color, riu duration of this, tiir seuond stage of cholera, is%ery uncertain — it itt *.y last for two or tlir«*« hours only, or m.-ty t o.itinue for twelve to lif te« -n hours ; l>ut so long as the pulse can be felt at the wrist Uifi'H are still good hopes of the si.'.- pei sons recovery. Tn« weaker the pulse iteconies, Mm nearer the p.ili«iit is to the third, or t-olhipse, stage of clinl'.-rii, from which probably not more than 35 par Crfnt. re.cov t r. Li t!ie tiiird stage of t.iu di.;*-asfl, the vomiting ami purging continue, although in a m.itigaiiL.-d form and theskm is covered with a clammy perspiration, especially if the cramps are still severe. The patient remains terribly restless, longing only for sleep, and that he m iy be supplied with water. His intellect is clear ; but lie. seldom expresses any anxiety regarding woi Idly affairs, although fully conscious of the dangerous condition he is in. Sleep aud a plentiful supply of drinking water juv th« sole desires of a person passing through a collapse, stage of cholera. This condition seldom lasts more than twentyfour hours and re-action either commences within that period or the patient dies in collapse, or passes on to the torpid stage, which iv ninety nin« cases out of a hundred ends speedily in death. On the other bund, the sick person having been in the collapse stage of cholera some twenty-four hours (it may be a longer or shorter period), tae temperature of his body may oegiu to rise, gradually creeping up to the normal standard j the functions of animal life are slowy re&to:ed, and the sick person recovers his hcallh. — Quaint Dictionary of Medicine.