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The only reliable sign is the appearance of putrefaction. Even here, spots sometimes appear discoloring the skin in places and resembling decomposition. But, on the whole, the test may be regarded as certain—the only certain test.
Dr. B. TV. Richardson sums up the matter thus: “If all these signs point to death . . . the evidence may be considered conclusive that death is absolute. If these leave any sign for doubt, or even if they leave no doubt, one further point of practice should be carried out. The body should be kept in a room, the temperature of which has been raised to a heat of 84° F., with moisture diffused through the air. In this warm and moist atmosphere it should remain until dis¬tinct indications of putrefactive decomposition have set in.”It is hardly necessary to say that cremation is by far the most sanitary way of disposing of dead bodies.
Immobility of a needle stuck in the pericardium; empti¬ness of the central artery of the retina; disappearance of the papilla of the optic nerve; discoloration of the choroid and retina; interruption of the circulation of the veins in the ret¬ina; emptiness of the capillary vessels; corpse-like face; dis¬coloration of the skin; loss of transparency of the hands; emptiness of the temporal artery; white and livid coloring at the points of the fingers; relaxation of the sphincters and the pupil; glazed eyes and haziness of the cornea; insensibility of the eye in regard to strong light; bending of the thumb to¬ward the palm of the hand; disappearance of the elasticity of the muscles; non-coagulability of the blood, absence of a humming noise in the auscultation of the finger-points; etc.
After death, a certain odor is often present (odor mortis); but this too, may be absent.
Rigor mortis is a sure sign, if you can be sure it is rigor mortis. But the body may be in a state of catalepsy, frozen stiff, etc. It is an uncertain test.
DEATH, SIGNS OF.—1. To determine if a person is dead, a clinical thermometer may be inserted far into the rectum and allowed to remain five minutes. If it registers 90 degrees or more, life is present; it is below 80 degrees in death, though the internal temperature will not drop for an hour or more.
2. Form a small blister on the skin by heat; open it widely. If the part beneath is red and the. edges dark-red, there is life. If colorless, death is indicated.
3. Ascertain lung action by placing a shallow dish of water on the chest to note movement of the water; by a feather before the nostrils to note passage of air; or by a cold mirror before the nose and mouth to note moisture from the breath.
4. In three days, on the average, putrefaction begins, perceptible by disagreeable odor and distension of the abdomen by gas. If doubtful, wait until this takes place. The electrical test is an accurate one, but requires expert knowledge.
There are many signs of death; but practically all of them, with the single exception of putrefaction, are fallible and can¬not be considered conclusive. The following abridged gen¬eral summary of the signs of death is taken from Hereward Carrington and John R. Header’s Book, “Death: Its Causes and Phenomena:”
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In the consideration of the various diseases listed in this and the final volume it is assumed that the reader is more or less familiar with the contents of the first six volumes, and that he has at least a general idea of the natural curative proc-esses we employ, as described in Volume VI, including those brought about by diet, fasting, hydrotherapy, mechanical measures, exercises and other allied influences.
It is essential that the student give his careful attention to the matter contained in the other volumes in order intelligently to apply the treatment suggested for each particular disease. Special dietetic, fasting and vitality-building routines are referred to by number in connection with various diseases and are fully described in Section 6 of this volume.
MANIFESTATIONS OF DISEASE.—On the following pages appear some of the most prominent symptoms which usually mark the onset or characteristic phase of various forms of disease. To determine just what disease the patient may have, turn to the particular kind of pain or other derange¬ment which is most evident, and then determine what particu¬lar ailment is the most likely cause of that symptom.
The illustrations showing the relative positions of the va¬rious organs of the body and the diagramatic photographs showing the significance of pain in various regions of the physical organisms also will be of assistance in this respect.
SKIN.—A dry, scaly condition of the skin is indicative of costiveness and dryness of the intestinal canal. It is found also in certain nervous affections, in diabetes, gout, enteric fever, in many old persons, and in those who have not properly cared for the skin, either by neglecting bathing or from exces¬sive bathing with hot water with or without soap. Offensive odor and yellowish tints result from reabsorption of effete matter. Other conditions have characteristic odors: Addison’s disease, negro-like; hepatic abscess, like liver; jaundice, musky; measles, like freshly plucked feathers; acute rheumatism, sour; scarlet fever, like new bread; uremia, like ammonia or urine. A doughy feeling and pale color are evidences of poor circu¬lation, and possibly some serious organic disorder.
HAIE.—Hair in health has luster and gloss, is neither brit¬tle nor excessively oily. Baldness is often due to lack of clean¬liness and scalp ventilation and to anemia. Brain congestion also has much effect upon the loss of hair. But the chief cause is heredity.
REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH RECOVERY.—In order to be able to give intelligent treatment, one should strive to ascertain what organs, structures or tissues are involved and in what manner they vary from the normal standard of health.
When an organ or a structure becomes highly tense its normal action is interfered with by diminished caliber of the vessels which permeate it. Too great relaxation of tissues is an indication of deficient organic power. Methods of treat¬ment, therefore, while having for their first object the purifi¬cation of the blood-stream and the building of vitality or nerve power, should aim to relax tense and contracted conditions and to tone up and stimulate relaxed conditions. These results may best be accomplished by means of hydrotherapy, helio¬therapy, electrotherapy, and manual therapy, appropriate exer¬cises, deep breathing, air-baths, sun-baths, rest of many organs through fasting or a modified diet and the other natural meas¬ures discussed in the preceding volume. One should aim to remove all accumulations, obstructions and poisons, select a suitable vitality-building diet, fast if necessary, provide a proper environment, induce ease of mind and in all cases make the body as comfortable as possible, in accordance with the instinctive (but unspoiled) demands of the patient.
THE EYES.—The belief that one can diagnose diseases of the body from an observation of the eyes alone is wide-spread. While in a majority of cases this is impossible, yet a careful observation of the eyes and the eyelids may be helpful.
Thus paleness of the conjunctiva of the eyelid should make us suspect anemia; bloodshot eyes suggest excessive heart action or cerebral congestion (acute alcoholism) or local irrita¬tion or inflammation; while a yellow conjunctiva is common in liver diseases, especially in jaundice. An acute inflamma¬tion of the conjunctiva is often the first symptom of measles or whooping cough and is present in simple conjunctivitis, pinkeye, iritis, hay-fever, and when a foreign body is in the eye. A frequently recurring conjunctivitis, especially when it affects one eye only, is very characteristic of scrofula. In¬flammation and ulceration of the cornea (keratitis) is fre¬quently an expression of a rheumatic, tuberculous, diabetic or malnourished condition, or of a gonorrheal or congenital syphilitic infection, or of meningitis. A contracted pupil is seen in brain anemia, first stage of brain compression, third stage of brain concussion, apoplexy, sunstroke, uremia, from aconite and opium, and in morphine and alcohol addicts, al¬though in acute alcoholism the pupils are dilated.
A pupil which does not react to light (is fixed) is seen in locomotor ataxia, general paralysis of the insane and tem- ■ porarily in acute infections. Cataract, especially when the individual is young, should always arouse suspicion of diabetes. Marked disturbances of vision are common in hysteria, dia¬betes, Bright’s disease, locomotor ataxia, arterial sclerosis and in some blood diseases. Intolerance of light (photophobia) is present especially in conjunctivitis, iritis, measles, migraine and retinitis.
In deep-seated pain the gestures are indicative of its distri- bution and the tissues involved. In pains extending over a large area the whole hand is laid over the part. Stabbing pains often are indicated by finger tips pressed into the tissues. Severe pain, especially when paroxysmal, frequently is accompanied by dilation of the pupils, rapid respiration, flush¬ing or pallor, free sweating, increased arterial tension, and sensations of faintness.
Inarticulate sounds and involuntary exclamations are fa¬miliar objective manifestations of sudden and intense pain. The pain sense is not developed alike in all: in some individuals it is present to an abnormal degree, in others it is more or less blunted. The susceptibility differs according to temperament and the race. Latin races manifest greater susceptibility to pain than do the Anglo-Saxons; Oriental apathy is proverbial. Pain may be acute (sharp), dull, throbbing, burning or gnaw¬ing, itching, bearing-down or griping (tenesmic)..
Pain is modified by physical agencies, such as pressure, mechanical irritation, movement and rest; and also by mental influences, such as intense emotion, excitement, and other causes.
Pain may be occasional, constant, persistent, intermittent, recurrent or paroxysmal. It may be of a general or a local nature. In neurasthenia and hysteria there usually exists a morbid craving for sympathy, so pain may be feigned and simulated. Anatomically pain may be: tegumentary (in the skin), muscular, osseous, visceral, or neural (due to disease of nerves). See -also Abdominal Pain and Pain, in Sec¬tion 7.
PAIN is Nature’s danger signal. Its presence signifies a functional or organic disturbance of some organ or part of the body. The duty of the health-seeker, therefore, is to familiarize himself with the varieties of pain in order that the disease responsible for this physical distress may be detected and its course stayed before it increases in intensity and as¬sumes a dangerous aspect.
Pain may be functional or organic. For instance, the pain of aching, tired muscles is functional; the pain of pleurisy and gastric ulcer is organic.In pains due to inflammation the patient avoids touching the painful part, or approaches it cautiously.
THE TONGUE.—A dry tongue denotes intestinal irritation or nasal obstruction; a furred tongue occurs in nearly all fevers, in jaundice and nasal obstruction. Yellow, white or brown fur without fever points to indigestion or constipation, accompanied by liver trouble. A trembling tongue denotes nervous debility or a disease of the nervous system. Blueness indicates interference with respiration and circulation; and deep redness, intestinal irritation.
A beefy tongue occurs in chronic inflammation of the bowels or the liver, and in diabetes. GUMS.—A blue line at the junction of gums and the teeth indicates chronic lead-poisoning. Spongy and bleeding gums generally occur in stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth) and pyorrhea, and in several other conditions. It should not be forgotten that broken teeth and poorly-fitting dentures also may be responsible. Pyorrhea causes recession of the gums, often with bleeding and pus. Pale gums indicate anemia.
How TO DETECT DISEASE.—In ascertaining the nature of the disease with which one may be confronted, one should note the appearance of the patient and the external and internal conditions of the body as outlined in the pages which follow. After noting the constitution, sex and age, take the tem¬perature, pulse and breathing, note the ccndition of the mouth, tongue and skin, the urine, the fecal discharges, the condition of the nervous system, the state of the mind, and so on. For taking the temperature and counting the pulse and respiration see Nursing. (Vol. VII. Sec. 3.)
FACIAL SIGXS.—Sunken cheeks covered with sallow, flabby tissue signify deficient digestive and assimilative power, per¬haps some wasting disease. Pale, compressed, thin lips often indicate sexual and other deficiencies. Xarrow nostrils mean improper breathing and deficient lung power; if collapsed, adenoids or nasal obstruction. Coldness of the tip of the nose shows intestinal torpidity; redness of the tip of the nose, in¬testinal catarrh, dyspepsia, or menstrual difficulty usually amenorrhea. A yellow, sallow face often denotes liver de¬rangement or anemia, but also numerous other abnormal con¬ditions.
A waxy complexion is common among sufferers from Bright’s disease “and usually is associated with a puffiness, especially under the eyelids. Paleness shows internal con¬gestion or a deficiency in the amount of the red blood cor¬puscles (anemia). In women, paleness often is a symptom of menstrual irregularities. Advanced cancer also gives a pe¬culiar pallor with a yellowish cast to the skin. Redness of face, especially if dark red, may be due to overeating, or to apoplectic or gouty tendencies. Red spots upon pale cheeks suggest tuberculous difficulties, though in some cases worms occasion them. Local redness takes place when there is ‘in¬flammation.
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