Diagnosis From Measles

Categories: DESCRIPTION OF SCARLET-FEVER.
Sources: Hydriatic Treatment Of Scarlet Fever In Its Different Forms

In scarlatina the heat is much greater, and the pulse is much quicker

than in measles.--In scarlatina the throat is inflamed, usually the

brain affected, and the patient smells like salt-fish, old cheese or the

cages of a menagerie; in measles, the eyes are affected, inflamed, and

incapable of bearing the light; the organs of respiration likewise

(thence coryza, sneezing, hoarseness, cough); the perspiration smells

lik the feathers of geese freshly plucked.--In scarlatina the period of

incubation is a day less than in measles; namely, in scarlatina the rash

appears on the second day after the first symptoms, in measles on the

third.--The scarlet-rash consists of large, irregular, _flat_ patches,

which cover large spaces with a uniform scarlet-red, being brightest in

those parts which are usually covered by the garments of the patient;

in measles the spots are small, roundish or half-moon-like, with little

grains upon them, and usually of a darker color; the measle-rash is

thickest in such parts as are exposed to the air.--In scarlatina the

symptoms of fever and the affection of the mucous membranes continue two

days after the eruption has begun to make its appearance; in measles the

eruption diminishes those symptoms at once.--The scarlet-rash stands out

a day or two less than the measle-rash, and comes off in laminae, whilst

the latter comes off in small scales or scurfs.