A New Cure for Diphtheria

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 74, 25 September 1893, Page 3

A New Cure for Diphtheria

In the Normandie Medicals of Rouen there is an interesting account of a new and so far wonderfully successful treatment of diphtheria. It appears that in the village of Neuville Chump-d'Oisol, about nine miles from Eoueu, a uuihgnant type of the disease broke out last year. The country doctor, M. Frederick Flahant treated the cases in the usual way. but the deaths were numerous. Remembering, ac he says, that the English use petroleum asan anti-spasmodic and an antiseptic, he determined to try it as an experiment. His first trial was in the case of a little girl seven years old. He had already given her up and proposed to the parents to make the experiment, which consisted in swabbing the throat with common petroleum. He had little hope of the success of bis new method, but to his astonishment he noticed an improvement after the very first application. He continued the treatment, and the child recovered. Then he tried it successfully ■with his other patients. This year be had 40 cases of diphtheria to treat, and he was successful in every one. In order to be perfectly sure that the cases in question were genuine ones of malignant diptheria, he had the expectorated matter submitted to the analysis of Professor Francois Hue, of the Rouen College of Medicine, and the professor reported that he had clearly discovered the presence in it of numerous bacilli of diphtheria. Moreover, his diagnosis was confirmed by Drs. Deshayes, Lerefait, and Ballay, of Rouen, the last named being the phvsicianinchief of the hospital of that city. The treatment presents little difficulty or danger. The swabbing is done every hour, according to the thickness of the membranes, which become, as it were, diluted under the action of the petroleum. The brush, after being dipped in the petroleum, should be shaken to prevent any drops falling into the respiratory channels. The patients experience relief iroin the very first application. The disagr*eable taste of the petroleum remains for a few moments only.