Measles.—­Comes on gradually.  There is a feeling of tiredness and languor, headache followed shortly by sneezing, cold symptoms, running at the eyes, dry throat, cough, much like an ordinary cold in the head, but with a persistent, hard racking cough.  The eruption appears first in the sides of the mouth, in the inner surface of the cheeks, lips, gums and soft palate, in size from that of a pin-head to that of a split pea.  It appears then about the eyes and then on the face, chest and extremities.  It is first in red spots and then gets blotchy.  This is usually three to six days after the appearance of the cold (catarrh) symptoms.

Measles (German).—­Chilliness, slight fever, pain in the back and legs, coryza.  The eruption appears on the first or second day, on the face, then on the chest and in twenty-four hours over the whole body.  The glands under the jaw enlarge.

Ophthalmia neonatorum. (Inflammation of Eyes at Birth).—­A severe conjunctivitis in the newly-born baby, swelling and redness usually of both eyes, occurring on the second or third day after birth; very soon there is a discharge and shortly it becomes creamy pus which runs from the eyes when the lids are parted.

Pleurisy.—­The onset may be sudden or gradual.  Sudden with a chill, fever, a severe sharp pain, stitch in the side, made worse by respiration, coughing or moving.  The cough is dry.  The pain is near the breast and sometimes it extends to the back.

Pneumonia.—­It begins with a chill, fever, pain in the lungs, expectoration with cough, and the material spit up may be mixed with blood (rusty sputa).  Then also rapid rise of temperature, “grunting” breathing, the nostrils dilate, and the cheeks are flushed.

Rheumatic fever or inflammatory rheumatism.—­A number of joints become involved.  It spreads from one joint to another, very painful joints; profuse sweating.

Smallpox.—­The onset is sudden and ushered in by a chill, nausea and vomiting, headache, and severe pains in the back and legs, without grip symptoms.  There is a rapid rise of temperature.  Usually on the fourth day after the onset small red pimples appear on the forehead, along the line of the hair and on the wrists.  The temperature falls with the appearance of the eruption.

Spotted fever.—­Marked loss of appetite, chill, projectile vomiting, severe headache, pain and stiffness of the back and neck.  Later head is drawn back, often the back is rigid.  The muscles of the neck and back are very tender.

[5 Mothers’ diagnosis]

Scarlet fever. (Scarlatina).—­Comes on suddenly with loss of appetite, headache, sick stomach, perhaps vomiting, high fever, sore throat, vomiting may persist.  The tongue is coated, edges are red; later it is red and rough; the so-called strawberry tongue.  Usually within twenty-four hours an eruption appears, first upon the neck and chest which spreads rapidly over the face and the rest of the body.  The eruption consists of red pimply elevations about the size of a pin-head, very close together, so that the body seems to be covered with a scarlet flush.  If you look closely you can see these little pimply elevations.