| Description | Description of medical cases in the 75th, 77th and 84th Regiments at Old Woman's Island [no title page but see page 149]. Medical Officers: Surgeon: McGrigor; Assistant Surgeons: Bruce and Brown. Daily remarks are provided noting the names of patients, their complaints, the medicines prescribed, their progress and if they have been dismissed from hospital. Weekly remarks for the following dates are also included:
6-12 July (pages 10-11)
The condition of the detachments becomes more serious every day: 'in less than one month have one half appeared in hospital, yet the detachments [of the 75th, 77th and 84th regiments] landed from England with hardly any sick - the detachment of 84th from Suez _ were landed in the most healthy state'. The 75th detachment comprising of 53 men had 13 sick admitted on the 6th and another 4 during the week; the 77th with a total of 30 men had on the 6th only 8 sick before admitting another 3 during the week. The total strength of the 84th, including the [detachment] from England and from the Red Sea, amounts to 264. On the 6th they had 37 sick in hospital with a further 29 admitted during the week. Notes that the prevailing complaint in all the cases is dysentery, and the 84th have brought some long-standing cases of hepatitis with them from the Red Sea. Reports on some of the most serious cases of dysentery in the 84th, including that of Paden, 'an old pneumatic case who lately became dysenteric - He uses both Mercury and the Acid with Enemata'. Also refers to hepatic cases who are being treated with both '8/1' and the acid, and 10 venereal cases, 7 of these suffering from gonorrhoea and treated with acid. There are 3 serious cases of dysentery in the 75th detachment; the 77th detachment has only 4 cases of dysentery: 'they use 8/1 in the first stage, and acid in the convalescent state as a tonic'. Also mentions cases of pneumonia.
13-19 July (pages 35-37)
The report is no more favourable than last week. There have been 16 cases, mostly dysentery, admitted from the 84th regiment. All of the cases of dysentery from last week are doing well apart from one: 'In this case a new practice has been entered on, the vascular excitement, and the consequent number of stools, would have very soon [carried] off [this] patient, to moderate the stools and to relieve the tenesmus a dose of opium and Ether was [exhibited?] every three hours, and it had the effect in the course of 2 days of reducing the stools from 24 to 6 daily, of lowering the pulse and relieving pain. It ought to be mentioned that Enemata were frequently used at same time, tho' these had been here only used with less benefit'. Discusses other cases of dysentery, positive effects of using mercury, and hepatic and venereal cases. The 75th are more sickly than the 77th detachment, with nine cases admitted during the week. Comments on cases including that of Campbell, a chronic case of dysentery: 'it is found necessary to put him a second time on a gentle Mercurial course'. A few catarrhal cases have been successfully treated using the antiphlogistic treatment. In the 77th, 8 cases have been admitted suffering either from pneumonia or dysentery.
20-26 July (pages 39-41)
27 July-2 August (pages 61-63)
3-9 August (pages 75-77)
The detachments still have a large number of sick, especially the 84th. It lost one case and the post-mortem examination carried out ten hours after death revealed a general waste of the body, particularly of the abdomen which was quite collapsed and 'shrunk to a greater degree than has been noticed in any former example...'. Also refers to case of Saunderson whose mouth was affected and has since used the acid; his evacuations are reduced. Parker is a case of relapse from dysentery attended with a hardness and swelling of the left side. In all of the venereal cases the symptoms are milder particularly the chancres most of which are healing fast but a great proportion of them have buboes. Also mentions cases of gonorrhoea.
10-16 August (pages 89-92)
17-23 August (pages 101-103)
24-30 August (pages 113-115)
6-12 September 1800 [1-6 September?] (pages 126-128)
The number of sick in hospital from the detachments is still numerous with fifteen patients admitted during week, the majority suffering from dysentery or liver complaints: 'What the immediate cause of this unexpected increase is difficult to ascertain, probably the sudden succession of dry and sultry weather, causing exhalations and equally affecting the system, rendering it more susceptible of disease. This increase has been alone confined to the 84th Det[achment] and which has always afforded a long sick list since its coming under our charge, exclusive of any [endemic?] cause in the climate. The irregularities of the soldiers themselves must produce much disease, drinking strong liquor, excessive _ and other debilitating causes...'. There has been one death in the 84th from hepatitis and its attending symptoms, and suppuration formed. The other cases of hepatitis mend. Taylor uses ointment with success. Notes other cases including two bad cases of flux: one is treated with ointment, the other astringent medicines. The chancre cases use the acid and gradually improve; the bubo cases are chiefly on the bark. The 75th have seven men in hospital. Two are cases of dysentery; one is treated with astringents, the other with acid. The 77th now only have one case in hospital: Sullivan, a venereal case, uses the acid treatment with cold poultices. At the end of the remarks a table is added showing the number of cases admitted, discharged, that died, that remain and the increase or decrease from the previous week for the 75th, 77th and 84th regiments.
[Pages 132-133 are badly torn.]
7-13 September (pages 145-147)
14-20 September (page 152)
20-26 September (pages 160-161)
28 September-4 October (pages 165-166)
Page 169: 'It is very satisfactory to give up charge of the detachments when all of them are in such a favourable state, not only no case of danger, but hardly one that is not in a convalescent state...'.
There is an index at the end of the volume. |