Affections of the Blood

Hydremia is an excess of water in the blood with a corresponding decrease in its cellular constituents, observed in anemia, anasarca, and often excessive intake of fluids.

Leucoytosis is an increase in the number of white cells in the blood. It is considered physiological during pregnancy, parturition, infancy, digestion and after physical exertion; and as all aid to diagnosis in inflammatory conditions associated with suppuration.

Leukopenia, is a marked reduction in the white blood cells as observed in pernicious anemia, malnutrition, starvation, etc.

Lipemia is the presence of microscopic fat globules in the blood.

Macrocytosis is larger than normal red blood cells. It occurs in severe and pernicious anemia.

Melanemia is the presence of dark brown or yellow granules in the blood as seen in Addison’s “disease,” melanosarcoma, etc. It is rare.

Microcythemia or Microcytosis is a marked reduction in the size of red cells as seen in severe anemias and toxemia.

Oligochromemia is a deficiency in hemoglobin (red coloring matter) of the blood.

Oligocythemia is a diminution of the number of red cells regardless of cause.

Parasites, both animal and vegetable, are encountered in the blood in certain conditions.

Poikilocytosis is irregularities in the shape of the red blood cells, as in pernicious anemia, chlorosis, etc.

Toxemia is the presence of toxins in the blood. Because in the minds of the profession and the laity it is a vague term, meaning much or little, it is not given the position of importance it deserves.

Etiology: All abnormal states of the blood, whether involving deficiencies or excesses, may be attributed to disturbances of nutrition, either from food deficiencies, or from poisons.
There is good reason to assume that toxins may actually destroy the life of the blood and impair it at its source, or may pathologically alter its normal constituents. The lungs eliminate carbon dioxide and volatile substances. When their function is lowered or when, as in anemia, chlorosis, dysemia, etc., there is oxygen starvation, the neutralization of poisons, which depends upon a sufficient amount of oxygen, fails. Uremia is caused by a failure of the kidneys to throw off toxins from the blood, but for years, perhaps, before uremia develops, there has been a gradually mounting toxemia due to less apparent kidney insufficiency. Cholemia is an intoxication that develops in severe forms of jaundice and in the late stages of liver pathology even in the absence of jaundice. It is supposed to be due to retention in the blood of certain poisonous compounds which the normal liver renders non-toxic. For years before this stage is reached the enervated liver must have been failing to do its full duty. Lactic acid poisoning develops when breathing is shallow, or when there is oxygen starvation from any cause. It is seen also in gastro-intestinal affections and in diabetes. Other forms of acid poisoning are seen — acetone, ethyldiacetic, acetylacetic, nitric acid, etc., poisoning — in acetous fermentation in the stomach and intestine and in certain advanced pathologies such, as for instance, diabetes.

Care of the Patient: If more than an evanescent arousing of lethargic metabolism with fleeting apparent benefit is desired, the cause of abnormal blood states must be removed and the deficiencies supplied.
There is no known source of assimilable organic salts needed by the blood except food. Natural foods, especially raw vegetables and fruits, supply the body with all of the needed minerals and vitamins. Patent foods, mineral and vitamin concentrates, etc., are not needed and are not as valuable as natural foods.
Nutritive redundancy causes far more cases of abnormal blood states than food deficiencies. A fast is often the speediest means of remedying these conditions. To relieve the blood of its load of toxins allows the blood making organs to function efficiently.
All causes of functional impairment — all causes of enervation — must be removed. For instance alcohol, tobacco, and strong condiments, overwork the liver and kidneys and cause their functions to lag. Normal function cannot be restored to these organs so long as they are thus lashed into impotency by overstimulation: toxemia cannot be eliminated and the blood’ cannot become normal.
Other than the above the proper selection and combination of food faithfully persisted in will give most gratifying results In simple anemia, chlorosis, pernicious anemia, purpura, hemophilia, and leucocythemia.

ANEMIA

Definition: This is a deficiency in either the red blood corpuscles, or in hemoglobin or in both, with or without changes in the total volume of the blood. Several kinds of anemia are recognized and these are grouped as primary and secondary anemias.

Symptoms: Any form of anemia may present, pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, loss of strength, a full, rapid pulse, unnatural pulsation of the vessels of the neck, palpitation of the heart, slight dropsy, beginning in the feet, hurried breathing, dyspepsia, headache, vertigo, disturbed sleep, neuralgic pains, a tendency to syncope (fainting), and discolorations due to extravasation of blood into the skin and mucous membranes and bleeding from the mucous membranes. There is often what is known as a hemic murmur, which is a hum over the jugular vein.

PRIMARY ANEMIAS

Definition: This is a state of anemia which, “in our present state of knowledge, cannot be associated with any conspicuous underlying cause” — cause in this case, meaning some serious pathology in some of the organs of the body.

Chlorosis (green sickness) is a form of primary anemia occurring almost exclusively in young women and characterized by deficiency in hemoglobin. Occasional cases of chlorosis develop in boys and young men.

Symptoms: In addition to the general symptoms of anemia given above, the conspicuous features are a greenish hue to the skin, pallor and weakness without much loss of weight, dyspepsia with perversion of appetite, menstrual disorders, especially absence or menstruation, and a tendency to hysteric outbreaks. There is usually only a moderate reduction of red cells, but a greatly reduced hemoglobin.

Complications: These are uncommon. Peptic ulcer, tuberculosis, hyperthyroidism, and thrombosis, either of the cerebral sinuses or the veins of the extremities may develop.

Etiology: Toxemia plus septic infection is the chief cause of this condition. Retained menstrual blood, due to a pin-mouth os, or to flexion of the neck of the uterus, is a very frequent source of sepsis. Intestinal sepsis from too much food, too frequent eating and wrong foods, is another source of sepsis. Many chlorotic girls are sugar poisoned. They appear to have lost all desire for all foods except cakes, confectionery, pickles, etc. A real sex neurosis — habitual masturbation — with its retinue of sequels will be uncovered in the majority of these cases if the truth can be secured. Overwork, working in ill-ventilated rooms, wrong foods, and every other cause that breaks down the nervous system will help to break down the blood.

Prognosis: This is good and the relapses, so common under regular care, need not develop if the body is properly cared for.

Pernicious Anemia (Progressive pernicious anemia) is a grave form of anemia characterized by an extreme diminution in the number of red cells, marked changes in the red cells and a decrease in the number of polymorphonuclear neutrophiles.

Symptoms: There is intense anemia with its usual manifestations as previously enumerated; a lemon-yellow tint to the skin, progressive weakness, without marked emaciation, recurrent periods of feverishness lasting a week or two, digestive disturbances with paroxysms of pain in the stomach region, numbness, tingling or other morbid sensations in the extremities, and occasional hemorrhages, especially into the skin and retina, slight or moderate enlargement of the liver or spleen, and symptoms of tabes dorsalis or other symptoms referable to the cord.

Aplastic Anemia is a “rapidly fatal form of pernicious anemia” seen largely in young women. In contrast with the above form of pernicious anemia, aplastic anemia runs an acute course, there is much greater tendency to hemorrhage, the color index is low, there is usually an absence of nucleated red cells, and there is a relatively high percentage of lymphocytes. The bone marrow is yellow instead of red, the red-cell producing tissue being replaced by fat.

Etiology: We are told that in many cases “no adequate cause is apparent,” while “forms of anemia closely resembling pernicious anemia may result from the action of intestinal parasites,” and that “the most plausible theory is that the disease is due to the hemolytic (breaking down of the blood corpuscles) action of some poison produced within the body or the result of infection. According to W. Hunter, oral sepsis is the cause of toxemia.” The intestinal toxemia, rather than the tapeworm, is the likely cause of the anemia. Hemic infection from intestinal decomposition must in time, destroy the life of the blood, not merely by breaking down the blood corpuscles, but, also, by impairing the blood-making function of the bones.
The iron-deficiency seen in these cases is secondary to toxemia and hemic infection. It is not so much that these patients need iron, as power to assimilate the iron in their food. The mistake commonly made under such circumstances, is that of eating excessively when there is no power to digest and assimilate the food eaten. Over-feeding produces exactly opposite results to those sought.

Prognosis: Victor P. Fleming, M.B., writing of the care of pernicious anemia at the Tilden Health School, says: “Seventy-five per cent of our cases recovered, and they represented the extreme type; that is, the condition had existed for from one to three years, and the blood-count was as low as 2,000,000 red blood-cells on an average. * * * There is no doubt in my mind that practically all these cases could recover if attended to at the beginning of the development of this disease. The deaths which represent the 25 per cent, occurred within a few days of admission to the institution. These cases were so far gone that nothing could be done, and no treatment, was attempted, as they were dying when admitted.”
Weger says: “The only cases of pernicious anemia that fail to respond favorably to hygienic methods “are those in which the heart muscle has degenerated and in which a general dropsical condition has existed for a long time, accompanied (as is often the case) by cerebral manifestations or mania and profound hemolytic jaundice. These advanced symptoms indicate that the organism has passed beyond the power of recuperation because of nutritional devitalization.”

Care of the Patient: Weger adds: “This state is not due to lack of food. To the contrary, too much food and food of the wrong kind is generally the chief cause. We have records of cases and later reports from patients who were treated ten or more years ago by a preliminary fast for the purpose of freeing the system of toxic waste. These patients are still alive, well, and efficiently carrying on their work. Such results were accomplished without feeding liver or using iron or other drugs.”
In the paper quoted from above Fleming says: “What did we do for them? (pernicious anemia cases). If a case was not too weak, a fast was undertaken for at least ten days. During the fast there was an increase in the blood-count of several hundred thousands. This always occurred during a fast in any case of anemia. By the fast toxemia is partly eliminated, and the source of blood-destruction is reduced. The bone-marrow is rested, and also relieved of toxemia, and stimulated to activity once the source of poison (toxemia) is removed, contrary to the stimulation of transfusions, X-rays, drugs, etc., which ends in greater enervation.”
These experiences coincide with that of Hay and of the present writer. Rest, fasting, sun bathing and a corrected mode of life accomplish the seemingly impossible in these cases.
Arsenic and iron are useless in pernicious anemia, and can only produce and cause more poisoning and enervation, as they only ‘stimulate’ and then enervate. Experiments on anemic rats with diets containing drug iron, food ash containing iron, flour to which copper had been added, etc., showed that by no kind of trick or makeshift diet could the anemia be overcome. The rats had to have real foods from Nature’s own food laboratory — the plant kingdom — in order to recover.

SECONDARY ANEMIA

Definition: This is anemia that is supposed to be symptomatic of some conspicuous primary pathology.

Symptoms: In addition to the usual phenomena of anemia, as previously given, there is a decrease in the number of red cells and a proportionate deficiency in the percentage of hemoglobin. There are other blood changes that need not be listed here.

Etiology: Three general classes of causes are given for secondary anemia, as follow:
(1) Nutritive insufficiency from inadequate food, chronic gastritis, pyloric cancer, etc.
(2) Excessive demands upon the blood-making organs, as produced by overwork, hemorrhage, chronic diarrhea. Too profuse, too frequent or too prolonged loss of blood in menstruation will cause anemia. Frequent bleeding from the lungs, as in tuberculosis, or from the bowels, as in ulcer or typhoid, will do the same. Almost fatal hemorrhages from accidents produce marked anemia.
(3) The hemolitic action of parasites and toxic agents, as in malaria, uremia, cancer, lead poisoning, etc. There is every reason to think that intestinal sepsis will produce anemia as surely as the sepsis generated in cancer.

Prognosis: This depends on cause. In cancer and advanced tuberculosis recovery is not likely. In practically all other cases recovery should follow proper care.

Care of the Patient: It is now considered good treatment to transfuse in almost fatal hemorrhages and in low states of anemia. There are three objections to this: namely —
1. The blood transfused is likely to cause more troubles (anaphylaxis) than grow out of anemia itself. Sudden death and fatal hemolysis are possibilities.
2. It is as much of a shock to the patient to have blood thrown into the veins as to have it suddenly withdrawn and two shocks are often more than the patient can withstand.
3. Nature can make blood out of the tissues of the body as fast as is necessary and this forms the only legitimate source of supply.
Dogs were bled white in experiments. These dogs were fed upon various types of diets to determine what foods produce the most rapid blood rejuvenation. Part of the dogs were given no food but water. The fasting dogs made the most rapid recovery. The most rapid blood regeneration is produced from the organism’s own internal resources — if it is allowed to rest and is protected from further shock.
Nothing equals fasting and rest in those cases due to excessive menstrual losses. What besides fasting can assure results in gastritis, diarrhea, etc.?
Rest is the one great need of these patients — physical, physiological and mental rests “They are shocked,” says Tilden, “by being tormented with dressing and nurses.”
Of course, these cases must be fed properly after the fast and they will require exercise and sunshine. A general health-building regimen should follow the fast.

SPLENIC ANEMIA (Banti’s “disease”)

Definition: This is a form of pernicious anemia with enlargement of the spleen. It is apparently a secondary anemia though exspurts disagree about its classification.

Symptoms: In addition to the above symptoms of anemia, in splenic anemia there is a greatly enlarged and tender spleen — the spleen may increase to ten times its normal size. There is a tendency for the patient to become a bleeder. Fluid may collect in the abdomen. There is weakness and marked pallor and often damage to the liver. Unless the condition is corrected the patient goes down rapidly.

Etiology: Medical men, who always start with an established pathology as cause, say that it is due to misbehavior of the spleen. One of the functions of the spleen is to destroy old red blood cells and save the hemoglobin for reuse by newly formed corpuscles. Over activity on the part of the spleen is supposed to destroy the normal red cells at a rate that results in anemia. They do not attempt to account for the cause of the overactivity of the spleen. Toxemia and intestinal intoxication account for the hyperfunctioning of the spleen.

Prognosis: Unless cause is removed death comes in a short time. With removal of cause recovery follows.

Care of the Patient: Medical authorities say that “the remedy lies in getting rid of the over-active spleen.”‘ Hygienists say the remedy lies in getting rid of the cause of the overactivity of the spleen. The condition should be cared for as described under pernicious anemia.

ERYTHREMIA (Vaquez’ “disease”)

Definition: A rare affection characterized by persistent redness, or cyanosis of the skin, certain blood changes, and marked enlargement of the spleen.

Symptoms: Besides the characteristic symptoms mentioned above less common symptoms are high-blood pressure, headache, dizziness, ascites and albumen in the urine. Hemorrhages are of frequent occurrence, especially hemorrhages into the brain.

Etiology: Overactivity of the red cell-producing tissues of the bone-marrow is regarded as cause, but this leaves unrecognized, the cause of the erythroblastic overactivity. Toxic overstimulation is the probable cause.

Prognosis: As a rule the condition is said to last for years, death resulting from heart failure or hemorrhage. Blood-letting, X-ray treatment, saline purges, and persistent ignoring of cause is the cause of death.

Care of the Patient: Same as for Leukemia.

HEMOPHILIA (“Disease” of Kings)

Definition: This is commonly defined as an hereditary constitutional defect characterized by immoderate and persistent bleeding after the most trivial injuries. These patients are called “bleeders.”

Symptoms: The leading symptom is the occurrence of profuse, at times uncontrollable, hemorrhages, sometimes developing spontaneously, though usually following slight trauma. Bleeding from the mucous membranes, into the subcutaneous tissues and into the joints (hemarthrosis), the latter resulting in inflammatory changes in the joints resembling rheumatic or tubercular arthritis, occurs. Women so inclined will lose much blood with each menstruation. Such cases will continue to bleed for an indefinite time after a tooth is pulled. The nose bleeds easily and long.

Etiology: Medical authorities say “nothing is known of the causes of the disease beyond the facts that it is strongly hereditary and familial, that it occurs chiefly in males, and that it is transmitted almost exclusively by unaffected females.” We place no value upon its supposed hereditary character. This is a superstition that will be outgrown in time.
The blood has lost its power to coagulate, or, at least, to coagulate in normal time and this is thought by some to be due to a deficiency of thrombokinase produced in the walls of the blood vessels and other tissues, by others, to a decrease of prothrombin derived from the blood platelets. As these deficiencies are part of the pathology, they cannot be regarded as cause.
Hemophilia is seen in very young children and is caused by excessive eating and eating of wrong foods which bring on plethora and blood dyscrasia. Plethora means excess of blood and there is always nasal catarrh with inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membrane. With this condition established, the nose-picking habit develops. Dry scales or scabs form in the nose, causing the subject to dig with his fingers to remove them. This often results in bleeding. Some of these subjects carry so much blood in the head from hyperemia, that when bleeding is profuse, it is made more intense by fear and excitement and the obvious apprehensiveness of the physicians. A congenital tendency to bleeding may result from wrong food, plethora, and toxemia in the mother. The normality, or lack of it, in the embryological food supply depends on the degree of legitimacy by which the aggregate of the mother’s nutrition is characterized.
An exactly similar condition as hemophilia may result from poisoning by such drugs as lead, arsenic, mercury, etc. The most common intoxication leading to hemophilia is intestinal sepsis, from over eating, wrong eating and enervation.

Prognosis: While medical works says that “in some instances the tendency is outgrown,” they add that the “outlook is unfavorable in most cases,” about 60 per cent of all ‘bleeders”‘ die before the eighth year, only about 11 per cent, reach maturity. The high death rate is due to failure to recognize and remove cause and to such things as blood transfusions, removal of the spleen, treatment of “infected areas” and “plenty of good nourishing food” in the form of high-calorie diets, much liver, cod-liver oil and meats “to keep up the strength,” calcium lactate, antidiphtheritic serum, thyroid extract, etc. Bleeding is a way to get rid of an excess that would kill and the treatment given is quite sufficient to transform the plethora into a malignant blood degeneration. Weger says: “All such cases that it has been our privilege to treat have made satisfactory recoveries.”

Care of the Patient: Put the patient to bed and place an oil cloth over the pillow or other part of the bed, and in such a way that the blood will drain into a vessel. Keep the patient still and calm. When physicians become anxious they impart their feeling to their patients. Nervous doctors should be withdrawn or be fired from any case in which poise is needed. No gossip and meddlesome officious attention should be allowed.
No food and no drink should be given until the full pulse has become soft and the bleeding has stopped. When blood pressure is greater than a weakened blood vessel can resist, the laws of hydraulics demand that the quantity of fluid be reduced, not by phlebotomy (blood-letting), but by stopping the intake.
If there is much thirst a half-glass of water may be given every three hours, if thirst demands. Positively no food is to be given until the subject has lost enough weight to render bleeding impossible, or, in other words, the fast should continue until the volume of blood is lowered sufficient to stop the bleeding from the nose or any other part of the body.
Abstention is Nature’s anodyne — it is her means of getting rid of plethora. Fasting speedily restores the coagulating power of the blood. Feeding builds more plethora and more toxemia. Laboratory experiments show that blood regeneration is more rapid during a fast than while on any form of diet known.
Beyond fasting and rest, there is nothing else to do except to build up the general health of the patient with proper food, exercise, and sun baths and stop all bad habits, especially the overeating habit.

HODGKIN’S “DISEASE” (Pseudoleukemia)

Definition: A comparatively rare affection characterized by enlargement of one or more groups of lymph-glands and progressive anemia.

Symptoms: The lymphatic glands in different parts of the body — arms, legs, abdomen, etc. — become enlarged, but painless, the spleen and liver are enlarged and pronounced secondary anemia is present. The condition is commonly preceded by chronic tonsilitis. Pressure of the enlarged nodes upon adjacent structures may give rise to difficult breathing cough, blueness, edema, neuralgic pains, etc., depending on their location. In the early stages there is slight fever but as the condition grows worse, the fever tends to rise in the afternoon. Sometimes a chill precedes the fever and a sweating stage follows its subsidence. In fatal cases pronounced emaciation develops. Dropsy appears about this time, due to exhaustion of the heart and kidneys.

Etiology: “The cause is unknown” says medical authority. “In all cases that I have been called upon to treat,” says Tilden, “I have found gastro-intestinal derangement and the bad habit of excessive eating and keeping up putrefaction in the intestine.” Chronic tonsilitis and rapid enlargement of the inguinal glands (in the groin) show that there is putrefaction in the intestine and that resistance is broken down. Enervation, toxemia and intestinal sepsis growing out of wrong life cause this affection.

Prognosis: “The disease is invariably fatal and the duration varies from a few months to several years,” says medical authority. Since they ignore cause and declare arsenic to be the most valuable “remedy” in this disease, we do not wonder at their uniform failure. “The disease can be controlled, if taken in the early stages,” declares Tilden.

Care of the Patient: It Is first necessary to eliminate toxemia and stop the gastro-intestinal putrefaction. Fasting and rest are essential in all cases. A fruit and vegetable diet and no meat or eggs, with proper general care of the body — cleanliness, exercise, sun-baths, plenty of sleep, poise — will restore these patients to health.

LEUKANEMIA

Definition: This is a symptom-complex marked by the blood conditions of both pernicious anemia and leukemia. See these two conditions. It is to be cared for as directed for these two affections.

LEUKEMIA (Leukocythemia)

Definition: A symptom-complex characterized by an overgrowth of the white-blood-cell producing tissues and by an enormous increase in the number of leukocytes (white cells) circulating in the blood.

Varieties: The bone-marrow, spleen and lymph glands are all more or less involved in the excess of white cells. Accordingly, two types of leukemia are described; namely — myelogenic, and splenic, or lymphatic. Lymphoid leukemia may be either acute or chronic. The difference between lymphatic and myelogenous leukemia is slight, the two forms being merely variations of the same condition.

Symptoms: The symptoms of the above forms are practically the same. In myeloid leukemia progressive loss of flesh and strength and abdominal enlargement due to the increase in the size of the spleen are early developments. There is pain in the region of the spleen, the liver is moderately enlarged. Hemorrhages from the membranes and into the skin, retina, or brain are common. Anemia rarely develops early, but usually develops as the condition grows worse. Indeed Tilden says that anemia and leukemia “are two different stages of the same disease.” In the later stages pallor, difficult breathing, digestive disturbances, edema, etc., are conspicuous developments.
Lymphatic or splenic leukemia presents the same general symptoms as above. In lymphatic leukemia, the most conspicuous feature is enlargement of the lymph glands — cervical, axillary, inguinal, etc. Indeed before any form of leukemia develops there is always lymphatic involvement because the lymph glands serve to arrest, detain and destroy toxins. Enlargement of the tonsils, which are lymphoid structures, is often an early symptom. The spleen is more or less enlarged in almost every case.

Atypical Leukemia is a term applied to rare cases in which there is no enlargement of the lymph glands, and to cases in which there is a relatively low white blood cell count.

Chloroma is a term applied to cases of atypical leukemia in which green-tinted tumor-like masses penetrate the bones (lymphoid infiltrations), especially those of the skull, and invade the surrounding tissues.

Complications: Hemorrhage or leukemic infiltration cause dim-ness of vision if it occurs in the retina or optic nerve; deafness if it occurs in the labyrinth; exophthalmos (protrusion of the eyes) if it occurs in the orbit.

Etiology: Leading medical authorities declare the cause is unknown. They say leukemia “is not primarily a disease of the blood, but of the organs that make the blood — the spleen and bone-marrow. Why these organs fail to produce the proper proportion in the blood is totally unknown.” They note that it occurs more often in males than females. We are safe in declaring that without constitutional toxemia and lymphatic involvement no leukemia will or can develop. The primary cause is hemic infection and the cause of this infection is sepsis arising out of intestinal decomposition. Leukemia is most prevalent where sunshine is least abundant. It has greatly increased since the stuff-em-on-milk-and-cod-liver-oil and shoot-em-full-of-serums practices got well under way.

Prognosis: Medical authority declares, “The disease is always fatal. The average duration of chronic forms is from two to three years. Remissions are not uncommon. Acute cases last from a few weeks to several months.” This is the experience of those who ignore cause and abuse the body with treatment. Tilden says of advanced cases, if, they “get well in six months or a year,” they are “going very rapidly toward recovery.” Weger reports gratifying results in the few cases cared for by him. Our own experience has been limited but satisfying.

Care of the Patient: Tilden says: “The patient is fortunate if living in a warm country where be can stay out of doors all the time.”
It has been our observation that sunshine in the form of sun baths is a most potent aid in restoring a normal blood condition.
Of prime importance is the elimination of toxemia and the correction of the intestinal condition so that septic poisoning no longer occurs. The fast, for this purpose, must be of sufficient duration, not merely to reduce the spleen and liver, but to rid the body of its toxic load.
Rest is very essential and daily exercise is important.
Meat must be omitted from the diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables should form the bulk of the diet. Much of the diet should be uncooked.

PURPURA

Definition: This is the name of a symptom. It is a spontaneous hemorrhage into the skin and mucous membranes and is always a secondary condition, that is, it is a symptom of some underlying pathology. Since the underlying or primary pathology is not known in “several purpuras,” it is customary to speak of a primary or essential type.

Secondary Purpura is seen in anemia, leukemia, “acute infectious diseases,” cancer, scurvy, old age, chronic nephritis, whooping cough, hysteria, neuralgia, sciatica, jaundice, snake-bite and drug poisoning, such as poisoning by iodides, antipyrin, salicylic acid, quinine and mercury — drugs commonly used in “acute infectious diseases” and sciatica.

Primary Purpura is divided into several not well-defined varieties, as follow:

Purpura simplex presents successive crops of small hemorrhagic spots on the extremities, especially the legs. Pains in the joints are frequent and when these are severe the name changes to purpura rheumatica. Urticaria is common. The condition lasts from a few days to several months.

Henoch’s purpura is characterized by recurrences of purpura an4 paroxysms of abdominal pain, often accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. Often the discharges are bloody. The condition lasts from two to three weeks to as many months and is often accompanied by erythema, urticaria, localized edema and nephritis.

Purpura hemorrhagica presents bleeding from the mucous membranes, especially of the nose, mouth and genito-urinary tract, as well as into the skin. The average duration is from four to six weeks and relapses are common. Fever develops in more than half these cases, while arthritis and nephritis are frequent developments in severe cases anemia results. In rare cases purpura becomes malignant — purpura fulminans — and death follows in two or three days. It occasionally becomes chronic and lasts for years.

Etiology: “The cause of primary purpura is unknown,” say medical authorities. It develops in many chronic affections and denotes a most pronounced toxin poisoning. Its frequent development in pyemia, septicemia measles, scarlet fever, small pox, cerebro-spinal fever, arthritis, snake-bite, and drug poisoning indicate its true cause — great poisoning.

Prognosis: Recovery is the rule, except in severe forms. Cerebral hemorrhage, nephritis, or exhaustion are the chief causes of death.

Care of the Patient: it is necessary to emphasize that purpura is a symptom and that no attention is to be paid to it. The first need is elimination of toxemia and thereafter proper feeding and good general hygiene. Weger says: “All such cases that it has been our privilege to treat have made satisfactory recoveries.”