Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a hot swelling in the lungs. It sometimes forms from the very beginning of the disease, and sometimes follows the appearance of catarrhs, which descended into the lungs, or tonsillitis, which resolved and rushed into the lungs, or it appears after pleurisy, which has turned into pneumonia. Tumors of this kind kill by the seventh day, and if nature has the power to eject matter, then most often they drive into consumption. Inflammation of the lungs occurs from juice, but most often it occurs from mucus, because the diseased organ is not dense and liquid juice is rarely retained in it. And pleurisy in most cases, on the contrary, is bilious, and this is because the diseased organ is membranous, dense, compressed, and only rarefied, sharp substances penetrate into it. However, pneumonia sometimes occurs from blood, and sometimes it is a type of erysipelas. This disease kills in most cases due to its severity and proximity to the heart, as well as due to the small benefit of drinking medicines and dressings: the drunk medicine, having reached the tumor, does not retain sufficient cooling force to resist it, and the medicinal bandage does not reach the tumor. cooling tumor, which can equal its heat. With pneumonia, the tumor sometimes goes away due to resorption, sometimes it resolves with suppuration, sometimes it hardens, and often turns into abscesses. It happens that it turns into faranitus; such a tumor is malignant.

Sometimes pneumonia turns into pleurisy, but this is rare, not often, and sometimes it is followed by numbness, similar to what we said in the paragraph about pleurisy; with pneumonia, this consequence occurs more often. The beneficial effect of nosebleeds in pneumonia is not the same as in pleurisy, due to the difference in the material of the tumor, and also because it diverts blood from the lung further than from the thoraco-abdominal barrier, from the membranes of the chest and its muscles.

Signs. Signs of pneumonia are an acute fever, because pneumonia is a hot swelling in the internal organs, and severe shortness of breath, as if suffocating, which forces one to breathe only while standing due to the tumor narrowing the airways, as well as very hot breathing, heaviness due to the abundance of matter in an organ with an insensitive substance and a sensitive membrane that envelops it, tension in the entire chest for the same reason and pain spreading from the chest and from the depths of the body to the sternum in the spine; Sometimes pain is felt between the shoulder blades. It happens that a painful beating is felt under the shoulder blade, under the collarbone and under the nipple, either constantly or only when coughing. The patient can only lie supine, and when he lies on his side, he suffocates. In a person suffering from pneumonia, the tongue first turns red, then turns black; His tongue is so sticky that the pale sticks to it when touched, and, moreover, it is thick. Tension and fullness cover the face, and the cheeks become red and swollen, because steam rises to the cheeks, and they are fleshy and their substance is rarefied, not the same as that of the forehead, which is more leathery. Sometimes the redness intensifies to such an extent that it seems as if the cheeks are rouged, and sometimes the patient feels like steam is rising from the chest, and it is as if he is engulfed in fire. Severe shortness of breath appears and breathing becomes rapid due to a violent, noxious fever; the eyes become inflamed and move with difficulty, their vessels fill with blood and the eyelids become heavy; The reason for this is also steam. The cornea looks like a tumor, and the eyeball seems to bulge and become fatty and oily; the neck also swells. Often, with pneumonia, hibernation occurs due to the abundance of cold vapors, and sometimes coldness of the extremities is observed.

As for the pulse, it is wave-like and soft, since the tumor is located in a soft organ and the matter in it is moist. The wavy pulse is necessarily uneven with one expansion, but sometimes it breaks off, and sometimes it becomes two-beat, also with one expansion; however, this is sometimes observed with many expansions; It happens that with many extensions there is an interruption. The pulse with pneumonia sometimes “falls in the middle.” In most cases, the pulse during pneumonia is high due to the urgent need for treats and the softness of the instrument, unless the strength is very weakened; as for the frequency, it increases or decreases depending on the fever and the degree of need for refreshments, and also depending on whether the strength is sufficient for the pulse to be large or weak for this.

Hippocrates says that if in such patients abscesses appear near the nipples and in adjacent places and fistulas open, then they are saved, the reason for this is known; when abscesses appear on the shins, this is also a favorable sign. If pneumonia in rare cases turns into pleurisy, then the difficulty in breathing becomes easier and stabbing appears. The sputum in such patients is also sometimes of different colors, as with pleurisy; in most cases it is mucous. With inflammation of the lungs, which is a type of erysipelas or similar to erysipelas, the tightness of breathing and the heaviness felt in the chest are less, but the burning is extremely strong.

The signs of the transition of pneumonia to suppuration are close to the signs of pleurisy in such a case. Namely: the fever does not decrease, neither does the pain, and there is no significant excretion of matter in the form of sputum or thick urine with sediment or in feces. If you see that the patient is well and strong in the presence of these signs, it means that the tumor turns into suppuration or forms abscesses either higher or lower, depending on the signs mentioned in the section on pleurisy. If there is no strength and well-being, then expect the death of the patient. If the patient’s spit becomes insipid, it means that the tumor has festered; if the lungs are cleared within forty days it will be good, but if not, then the disease will drag on. When inflammation of the lungs continues for a long time, it causes swelling of the legs due to the weakness of the nourishing force, especially in the extremities. If the matter is drawn towards the bladder, one can hope for well-being.