This Last-
Mentioned Complaint Appears At The Beginning In Scurfy Spots Upon
Different Parts Of The Body, Which Finally Settle
Upon the hands or
feet, where the skin becomes withered, and, cracks in many places.
At length the ends of
The fingers swell and ulcerate, the discharge
is acrid and fetid, the nails drop off, and the bones of the fingers
become carious, and separate at the joints. In this manner the
disease continues to spread, frequently until the patient loses all
his fingers and toes. Even the hands and feet are sometimes
destroyed by this inveterate malady, to which the negroes give the
name of balla ou (incurable).
The guinea worm is likewise very common in certain places,
especially at the commencement of the rainy season. The negroes
attribute this disease, which has been described by many writers, to
bad water, and allege that the people who drink from wells are more
subject to it than those who drink from streams. To the same cause
they attribute the swelling of the glands of the neck (goitres),
which are very common in some parts of Bambarra. I observed also,
in the interior countries, a few instances of simple gonorrhoea, but
never the confirmed lues. On the whole, it appeared to me that the
negroes are better surgeons than physicians. I found them very
successful in their management of fractures and dislocations, and
their splints and bandages are simple and easily removed. The
patient is laid upon a soft mat, and the fractured limb is
frequently bathed with cold water.
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