Time passed, but the Doctor did not come; the hour drew near at which I had ordered my carriage to be at the door for the return journey, when Miss A. reappeared and gave some lame history that he had been called out, but that he would be down soon. Mr. B. again pressed me to go to the sick-room, to which I at last acceded, desiring that it might be made plain to the Doctor when he arrived that I had only taken that course form the exigency of the occasion, time not allowing further delay.
I was therefore shown in an upper room, a pale thin child about eight years old, lying in bed, and the father gave his version of the illness. I found temperature normal, but pulse very weak and not that of fever, and he had no special chest or other symptoms; he was simply a poor starved-looking specimen with no apparent cause existing for such a state of things. His appetite was good and he ate heartily all they brought him. Evidently he had been ill and was now in a state of convalescence, and needing more the aid, as they say, of “Kitchen physic” than any other kind.
I was next taken into Mrs. Bs room. Here there was evidence of a much more serious state of things. The patient-a large, heavy- looking person-lay low in her bed at the far end of the apartment. By the imperfect light of a candle she appeared to be a full-faced but some what feeble-featured woman, with dull vacant expression of countenance. A very few questions put to her showed clearly that her mind was in as clouded a condition as her appearance indicated. She was decidedly dull of hearing, and when spoken to loudly and distinctly, she was slow to understand what she did hear, and still slower in forming an answer.
In turning back the bedclothes, certain stains betokening a loose and uncontrolled state of the bowels raised a suspicion which was confirmed by a glance at the abdomen and chest, where distinct rose-coloured spots were seen scattered about the surface. The skin felt hot and burning to the hand, and the whole abdomen was tender to the touch, the patient specially wincing when slight pressure was made in the right iliac region. All the symptoms indicated that the fever shown by the thermometer was Typhoid. It immediately flashed through my mind on making this discovery, what was undoubtedly the explanation of the whole affair.
The mothers case threw a light upon a childs which before was lacking. Undoubtedly they both had had the fever-Typhoid-the boy first of all. He had got over his attack and was now found in the low weak state of debility naturally succeeding. Mrs. B. had taken it either from her son, whom she had nursed, or from the same cause which had affected him.
Then another question presented itself to me. These illness of mother and child, which seemed at first perplexing to a stranger called in suddenly like myself, would be plain enough to the Doctor who had observed them from the commencement. Why then should he have called the illness a wasting in the case of the child and Influenza in that of the Mother?.
But the carriage was now at the door, and, taking a hasty farewell of Mr. B. during the fortunate absence of his sister-in- law, I drove to the Doctors house, and had a few words of explanation with him before leaving the town. His absence was as I accounted for by his objection to meet Miss A., who, he told me, had fairly hurried him both in and out of his house for some days past.
I ruminated over the whole of this odd affair during the long drive home in the darkness, and came to the conclusion that here we had an example of one of the advantages which is conferred by the Act for the Compulsory Notification of Diseases.
By this act it is required that whenever certain cases of infectious diseases occur, the Doctor in charge must certify this to the Medical Officer of Health of the district, giving such particulars as will enable the latter functionary to take such steps as are necessary for the safety of the neighbours and tracing the cause of the complaint, so as to check the spread of the disease. But this Act is not in force everywhere. Each town may adopt it for itself or leave it alone, according as its governing body thinks best, and this particular place had been behind the times in this as it is in some other respects.
There is a strong feeling amongst the owners of shops and places of business against its being known that anyone on the premises is ill of what is commonly called a “catching disorder”. To a certain extent there is reason in this, as many will be deterred from making purchases at any such place. Consequently it came to me very clearly that the Doctor, who was a young man and a recent arrival in the town, would not care to annoy his patients by giving their illnesses a name which might drive away custom from their shop.
Had the Act alluded to been in force, the law would have taken upon itself this responsibility, but as it did not exist here the name “Influenza” came in conveniently and everyone was satisfied and pacified, except myself who wanted to get at the true nature of the illness. The moral seemed to come naturally. Let all towns adopt this Act, which is undoubtedly a safeguard to public health.
I reached home about midnight, feeling to have had enough for one day and quite ready for bed. But this was not to be. An urgent message awaited me to go nine miles in an opposite direction. So much for the joys of a Doctors life, which cannot be regulated by any “Eight Hours Bill”!.
Homeopath and physician in Torquay.
Graduation from Edinburgh (1873), member of homeopathic society.