Periods of fevers

Fevers, like other diseases, have periods: onset, rise, stop at the limit and decline; These periods are general, but there are also private ones - in relation to each seizure. The danger exists from the onset of fever to the limit of development; during the decline, the patient dies from the fever itself only for the reason that we will mention below.

The onset of a fever is the time when the innate warmth is suffocated by the matter that floods it in one or another organ, that is, the time until not a trace of the maturation of the disease or anything contrary that opposes the maturation is visible. Every disease has an initial period, but sometimes it is hidden, as in epilepsy and sinusitis, and when the initial period is hidden, with minor symptoms, they think that this disease does not have an initial period. Also, on the first day of acute fevers, they sometimes see a cloud or a sign of maturation in the urine and think that the disease does not have an initial period, but this is not so.

Intensification is the time when the innate heat is clearly set in motion to oppose matter, and signs of maturation appear, or signs of that which opposes maturation, and the limit of development is the time when the battle between nature and matter intensifies and signs appear that one of the combatants overcomes the other; in other words, it is battle time. Its duration in fevers with acute attacks is one attack, and then it is learned about it only by the next attack, or two attacks, and then it is learned about it by the third attack. For the most part, this period does not exceed two attacks, except in chronic diseases, when often many attacks are similar in all their qualities. Here, at the limit, all the signs of the maturity of the disease or that which is the opposite of maturity appear.

Decline is the time when innate heat has prevailed over matter, suppressed it and part by part separates its totality; then the inner warmth becomes lighter and is expelled to the extremities until it dissipates, and this leads the doctor into error. The distance to the limit varies for different diseases. In very acute diseases, the greatest distance limit is up to four days; one-day fevers are also included in their number, but they are not considered acute, because for a disease to be considered acute, it is not enough for its limit to be close, and it must also be included in the category of dangerous diseases. Very acute diseases are followed by acute diseases in general, but not very much, that is, those with a range of up to seven days, for example, a burning fever or a persistent three-day fever, and some of them are even less acute and these are those with a range of up to fourteen days. Then there are acute fevers from among the long-term ones - up to twenty-one days, then chronic ones - up to forty or sixty days and more. Recognizing periods of acute as well as chronic diseases and their degrees helps to choose a nutritional regime for patients, which we will talk about later.

With many fevers, the period of onset, intensification and limit ends in one attack and the next attack comes already weakened. With regard to the duration of these periods of time, fevers also differ: with some, the increase lasts a long time, with others the decline lasts for a long time.