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From the book: Medical Council – A Monthly Journal for the Physican and Surgeon. Volume 15, p. 88. 1910
By WALTER T. BROWN, M.D., Cloverdale, Oregon
During the early part of the spring of 1909 there occurred in my practice a peculiar and interesting epidemic.
Several of my patrons, all of them mothers of young children, called at my office at different times and asked me to prescribe for their children. All of them had said: "Doctor, it seems to be some kind of a sore throat that's going around. I did not think it best to bring the baby out in this changeable weather, and I do not think he is sick enough to have you come to see him. He complains of his throat hurting him when he swallows, and doesn't seem to be able to turn his head around well. He plays around the house all morning, but in the evening he drinks a good deal of water, seems to have a little fever and is dumpy."
This is the usual description given, in their own words, when asked what seemed to be the matter with their children. Thinking it was a simple sore throat, common at this changeable season of the year, I paid no more than the usual attention to it. It was not until after several of these mothers had called and asked for some of the same kind of medicine I had given to a neighbor's child that I began to suspect it was something unusual.
One afternoon a dairyman called me upon the phone and asked me to come down to see his children, as all of them seemed to have sore throats and something the matter with their necks. As this was in the same neighborhood where most of the other cases lived, I began to suspect it was an epidemic of some kind, and that the disease was contagious.
When I arrived at the dairyman's house I found all six of his children, ranging from two to sixteen years of age, indoors. Only two of them were in bed; the others were playing listlessly about the room or sitting near the stove. All of them were suffering with sore throats, painful swelling of the cervical and submaxillary glands, and elevation of temperature. Their temperatures varied from 101 to 103½ degrees. In four of the children only the cervical glands on the left side were swollen and painful;
in one the glands on both sides were swollen; in the other only the glands on the right side. were swollen.
The pain in the throat was always on the same side as the swollen cervical glands. The pain in the throat of the one in whom the glands in both sides of the neck were affected was not so acute as in the others.
One of the little fellows, who was confined to his bed, had been very sick and had vomited several times the evening before. When I examined him I found his liver and spleen slightly enlarged, and the retro-peritoneal glands affected. This was the only case in which I found these symptoms.
The temperature of these children was nearly normal in the morning, and there was very little pain in their throats and necks, but the glands remained tender and swollen. I gave up the idea of its being scarlatina. But what was it?
I searched all the works on practice and pediatrics at my command, but found nothing that described the disease at hand. I had about decided that I had discovered a new disease, peculiar to this locality, when there fell into my hands a small, German manual of pediatrics. Looking through the index of this book, I came across this title, Drusig-fieber. Under this title the author gave the following description:
"Glandular fever” (known as Mononucleosis today) is an infectious disease which sometimes occurs in epidemics, most frequently among children from 2 to 8 years of age. The cause is unknown. The infection enters through the mouth and pharynx. Simultaneously with a rapid rise in temperature appear painful swellings of the cervical and submaxillary glands, which usually interfere with the movements of the head, and redness of the throat. There may be head-ache, vomiting, diarrhea and enlargement of the spleen and liver. These symptoms are not always present. As a rule, the general health remains unaffected. The fever and glandular swellings usually disappear in two or three days, and the disease is at an end. It is occasionally followed by nephritis. Sometimes the disease continues for weeks. The fever runs an intermittent course, the glandular swellings persist or spread to the other glands-bronchial, esophageal and retroperitoneal. "The prognosis is favorable."
This briefly and accurately describes the disease, and is the only mention of the subject I have ever seen.
I had one case in a man twenty-seven years old. He had two young children who had had the disease. I had only the one case in which the retroperitoneal glands were affected, with enlargement of the spleen and liver. In one of my cases there was an acute nephritis.
One peculiar feature of the disease is that the cervical glands on the left side are almost invariably affected. In only two of my cases were the glands on both sides of the neck affected, and in only one were the glands on the right side alone affected.
Treatment.
My treatment consisted of small doses of calomel** repeated to effect, followed by tonics***. I applied damp cloths to the swollen glands, hot ones when there was little or no fever, and cold ones when the fever was high. I had the patient inhale aqueous vapor with tincture of iodine in it. At bed-time I had the parents apply (painting) iodoglycerine**** (iodine with glycerol 0.25%) to the swollen glands and the affected side of the throat. I had all my patients wash out (gargle) their mouths and throats with a solution of hydrogen peroxide, two or three times a day. They were restricted to soft eggs, cream and broths.
**Calomel: also known as mercurous chloride. Calomel is no longer used as a medicine due to its toxicity. It is considered a hazardous waste and is strictly regulated under environmental laws. Modern substitutes would be Olive leaf tincture and Elderberry or Colloidal Silver.
***Tonic: Usually and iron tonic.
****Iodoglycerine: Tincture of iodine 2% or Lugols iodine 2% painting on the throat over the affect side
Multiple Remedies
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1) Cut way back on sweets, sugar hampers your immune system.
2) Ate a lot more fruits and vegetables.
3) Limit caffeine, switch from coffee to green tea.
4) Quit alcohol.
5) After about month 5, I quit using my steroid nasal spray. Steroids lessen your immune function. Also I believe it was adding to my anxiety.
6) From month 3 to month 6 I took L-lysine - 2 500mg pills 3 times per day.
7) Olive leaf extract, 1 500mg capsule 4 times per day for its antiviral properties (started in month 5).
8) Monolaurin, 1 capsule 4 times per day - antiviral (started in month 4).
9) Astragalus, 1 capsule 4 times per day for immune help (started in month 6).
10) A multivitamin 1 per day.
11) I take about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil every day.
12) Apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon in a pint of water daily.
13) I recently started magnesium, 1 250mg tablet 4 times per day. It is supposed to have a calming effect and promote restful sleep.
14) Also, I recently started fish oil, 1 1200mg capsule 4 times per day. Among its many benefits, fish oil is said to help brain function and lift one's mood.
15) Pray...a lot. ask others to pray for you too.
16) Rest.
I am not sure which, if any, of these supplements/strategies helped. Maybe it is just the passage of time and my body's own healing process that is making me feel better, but I want to help that process along as much as I can.