In The Town Of Al-Madinah It
Is Fatal To Children, Many Of Whom, However, Are In These Days
Inoculated[FN#14]:
Amongst the Badawin, old men die of it, but adults
are rarely victims, either in the City or in the Desert.
The nurse
closes up the room whilst the sun is up, and carefully excludes the
night air, believing that, as the disease is "hot,[FN#15]" a breath of
wind will kill the patient. During the hours of darkness, a lighted
candle or lamp is always placed by the side of the bed, or the sufferer
would die of madness, brought on by evil spirits or fright. Sheep's
wool is burnt in the sick-room, as death would follow the inhaling of
any perfume. The only remedy I have heard of is pounded Kohl (antimony)
drunk in water, and the same is drawn along the breadth of the eyelid,
to prevent blindness. The diet is Adas (lentils),[FN#16] and a peculiar
kind of date, called Tamr al-Birni. On the twenty-first day the patient
is washed with salt and tepid water.
Ophthalmia is rare.[FN#17] In the summer, quotidian and
[p.386]tertian fevers (Hummah Salis) are not uncommon, and if
accompanied by emetism, they are frequently fatal.
[p.387]The attack generally begins with the Naffazah, or cold fit, and
is followed by Al-Hummah, the hot stage. The principal remedies are
cooling drinks, such as Sikanjabin (oxymel) and syrups. After the fever
the face and body frequently swell, and indurated lumps appear on the
legs and stomach.
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