SECT. III.--OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH WILL ASSIST IN THE EARLY DETECTION
OF DISEASE.
1. THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS IN PRODUCING PARTICULAR FORMS OF
DISORDER.--The recollection of the fact, that at the different seasons
of
the year some diseases are more prevalent than at other periods, will
greatly aid a judicious parent in the early detection of the presence
of disorder, and its kind, in her child.
Thus, in the early part of the winter, what is called catarrh, viz. an
increased secretion of mucus from the membranes of the nose, fauces,
and air-tubes, with fever, and attended with sneezing and cough,
thirst, lassitude, and want of appetite, is generally prevalent.
As the winter advances, the air-tubes of the lungs, and the lungs
themselves, are liable to become the seat of disorder; and those signs
will present themselves, which have been pointed out in the previous
section as characteristic of such attacks.
In the spring, we have still the same diseases prevalent, and in
addition, measles, scarlet fever, small-pox, and chicken pox, which
increase in liability towards the close of this season, and with the
first weeks of summer.
In the summer, disease is less prevalent than at any other period of
the year; but towards its middle and close, and through the whole of
the autumnal months, bowel complaints may be expected, in the forms of
diarrhoea, cholera, and dysentery.
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