Victorian-Era Hayfever Obs (so many!)-NOW WITH MORE!

[Dusty15]

So, in preparing to write a fic based on the Masterpiece Classics series 'Downton Abbey', I decided to do a little research into attitudes and etiquette surrounding sneezing in Victorian England.

Little did I know I would find the most incredibly descriptive accounts of hayfever in a book published in 1876 titled:

'Hay-fever; or, Summer catarrh: its nature and treatments including early form , or "rose cold"; the later form, or "autumnal catarrh"; and a middle form, or July cold, hitherto undescribed'

Long title!

Anyway, you can read it all here: http://books.google.com/books?id=MKIVAAAAY...p;q&f=false but I've pasted some of the best ones below...this is the stuff fetishists dream about. Unreal, toe-curling lovely stuff...enjoy!

You never before even suspected what it really was to sneeze. If the door is open, you sneeze. If a pane of glass is gone, you sneeze. If you look into the sunshine, you sneeze. ... If you sneeze once, you sneeze twenty times. It is riot of sneezes. First a single one, like a leader in a flock of sheep, bolts over; and then, in spite of all you can do, the whole flock, fifty by count, come dashing over—in twos, in fives, in bunches of twenty."

In hay-fever the sneezes come not singly, but in a series, following each other in rapid succession. They are excited by a draught of air, by dust, by exposure to sunlight or to gaslight, to smoke, to the odor of flowers, to the emanations of hay or grass, or indeed to any one or to all of the many exciting causes of this malady. A change of position, a trivial disturbance of mind or body, may bring on at any moment a torrent of sneezes, which do not, like those of ordinary catarrh, yield to the process of compressing the nose or the upper lip.

The late W. C. Roberts, M.D., a scholarly and eminent physician, was a victim of the later form of hay-fever, and has given the following very^ graphic picture of his sufferings. The account is taken from the New York Medical Gazette

"Sweating as I do so profusely during the summer months, and until then freely exposing myself to draughts without the slightest inconvenience, and rarely catching or suffering from colds at any other time, winter or summer—no sooner do the nights in August begin to grow chilly, and my relaxed cutaneous surface and sudoriferous tubes become refrigerated and contracted, say about the 20th, then my eyes begin to itch and stream, my nose to run and ' crow like chanticleer,' and my lungs to heave and whistle like those of a 'broken-winded horse.' I become the victim of a ' crying cold,' which I well know is to last me for a month, or more, with little or no abatemehopes of amendment. But in the very midst of my self-congratulations, after a few hours of comparative ease, some little imp, straight from Tartarus, plunges nt; with slight temporary remissions only, which, if I were not taught by long experience to know that they are fallacious, might raise in me delusive into the inner canthus of my eyes a white-hot needle, and tickles my nostrils; instantly they become suffused with scalding tears, which deluge my spectacles; a dozen or more sneezes follow in rapid and apparently ceaseless succession; a profuse sweat follows; streams of clear mucus flow from my nostrils upon my book or paper, and half-a-dozen handkerchiefs are at once called into requisition; an interval, more or less long, occurs, after which the paroxysm is repeated; and so it goes on, day after day, and hour after hour, until the disease has run its appointed course, and subsides, like a partnership, by its own limitation. During all this time weak and rather sore eyes, an itching and running nose, stuffing of the nasal passages, occasional violent fits of sneezing, headache, weariness and indolence of mind and body, a general feeling of good-for-nothingness; distaste of and unfitness for society, and an inability to look people in the face; cough and asthmatic wheezings, and a cold and clammy moisture, are the concomitants of my unhappy condition. Draughts of air are intolerable, and increase my catarrh; the very waving of a fan annoys me; such is the susceptibility of my skin that the application of a cold, wet part of a soiled handkerchief to my face irritates me. Another petty misery is the excessive coldness of the end of my nose, sensible to myself and to others, who are kind enough always to inform me that it is like a dog's. I have not seen this symptom, which I look upon as the pathognomonic one, mentioned by others, and I desire to have due credit awarded me for the discovery. It is amazing with what suddenness and rapidity the congestion of the Schneiderian membrane occurs—sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other; a little itching in the nostrils, and, presto! the sneezing begins, the stream issues, and the eyes follow suit. It is needless to say that I am never without a handkerchief to my nose, and two or three in my pockets; and I relay them, as postilions do their horses, spreading one out to dry white another is in use. Light does not annoy me, per se, as it does the wife of one of my confrires, a fellow-sufferer, who has a true photophobia, and has to have the room darkened; and in this respect I should do well enough, were it not for the weeping and irritability of my eyes, which keeps me wiping them constantly, winking and blinking, like a cat in the sun. But my cross in life is DUST—I print it in capitals. So surely as I go out at midday into one of our large thoroughfares, which has not been recently watered, or ride in a dusty railroad car, etc., so surely does every particle of dust make straight for my canthi, with the effect of a grain of cayenne-pepper; and for the rest of that day closed itching eyes, a darkened room, snuffling and sneezing, and an irritable temper are my portion. I pray for rain with all the fervor of the old Scotch clergyman, without caring whether or not it should eventuate in a deluge.

"If, in my walks, I see men sweeping a street, and clouds of dust arising, I shun it as I would a rattlesnake; and if I see a building in process of demolition, I go a block out of the way to avoid it. I always walk on the shady side of the street, if there is one, and select a well-watered street if possible, or keep well to windward. I can not begin to express the agony which on certain occasions of my life I have suffered from this cause, and therefore I confine myself within doors as much as possible. Dust and draughts are my particular aversions. I could not smell a rose or eat a peach unpeeled, the hairs of which irritate my fauces (and, by this way, I now think that my catarrh does come in peach time, which may have something to do with it); nor inhale ipecac; and snuff, I believe, would make me sneeze my head off. Nothing that I have ever snuffed up my nostrils has failed to injure me; I once almost suffered suffocation from an astringent injection prepared for me by a druggist friend.

A lawyer of Cincinnati, Ohio, gives the following report of the origin of his sufferings:

"As a further answer to question 32: During convalescence in September, after an attack of fever of a typhoidal type lasting through August, two years before hay-fever developed itself, I observed a tendency to sneeze on exposure to draughts of air. This was stopped by putting on a thick coat and keeping out of draughts, and gave no annoyance. Late in August of the next year, one single fit of sneezing— all within the limit of one half-hour, occurring on a railroad ride of one hour in length—of furious violence, and so prolonged as to be a chief part of my occupation during the trip, and followed, I believe, by a few hours of slight hoarseness, was also noticeable. The next year the hay-fever was developed. I have suspected that this typhoid-fever, with possibly the veratrum which reduced it, had something to do with preparing my system to receive the hay-fever.

"Of late years the paroxysms of sneezing are very rasping to the throat, rapidly produce some hoarseness, and seem to make it less easy than usual to draw full breaths for some time. The eyes are red and suffused, the nose somewhat red, the feelings and countenance dismal; and an indescribable feeling of discomfort and depression is all through the head, and apparently through the whole nervous system."

"Constant sneezing, fever in the head, headache, pain in the eyesockets, running at eyes and nose, excessive nervousness, etc., are the symptoms. Attack comes on in July, but at no particular date. Have been a sufferer ever since I can recollect any thing about it. In boyhood could not feed a horse with hay without sneezing; and pitching a single load of hay would send me to bed for the rest of the day, and would be sick for a day or two. Frequently, especially of late years, I will have no symptom of it at all, and in an hour will be suffering intensely—go to bed sick; next morning no trace of it left. The last few years this is the usual form with me. More or less cough for thirty years. The cough is increased by the attack. Always worse by day, and from three or four o'clock till bed-time. In-door dust from sweeping, or even the throwing down the clothes from the bed, the fine particles floating in the autumn atmosphere, and both fresh and old hay, excite the paroxysms.

"CHICAGO, May 23d, 1S76. "DEAR SIR,—Yours of the 15th inst. reached me via Paris yesterday. I take pleasure in giving you all the information I can. I think the only benefit from letting the beard grow is from the protection afforded by the mustache to the sensitive nerves of the upper lip, which are much exposed after shaving. This renders the patient a little less liable to take cold with the changes of the weather. I have suffered from the disease—' catarrh,' 'hay-fever,' 'harvest cold,' or whatever its name may be—since 1857. While in the army, living out-doors, sleeping under a tree or tent-fly, I was free from it, or at least from its effects, and I believe life in the camp would be the only remedy for my case. I have tried three or four kinds of catarrh snuff, each of which greatly aggravated the disease. I believe Dr. Seeley's course of bathings, dietings, etc., etc., recommended with the use of his patent remedy, would kill me. I have found more relief from insufflations of weak brine from the palm of the hand than from any other remedy. I think my case peculiar. A dust of any kind aggravates it. The secretions, which are copious, are not at all discolored, nor is the breath in the least offensive; but when under the effect of a cold I sneeze constantly—sometimes 250 to 300 times a day. I should like to hear from you and learn what you know of this terrible disease, for I think the man who discovers a remedy for it will be a benefactor. Very truly yours,

"GEORGE R. LODGE.

"P. S.—I do not exaggerate when I say that one half the people of Chicago suffer from this disease. G. R. L."

"The disease begins to grow less severe from about the first week in September, at the same time that the slight cough begins. When I succeed in avoiding fresh accessions to the 'influenza, it grows gradually better—as I express it, from a six- or eight- or ten-handkerchief activity, to a two- or three-handkerchief degree—by the fifteenth or twentieth of the month, and it is all gone before the first of October. This in the climate of Massachusetts. Inflammation of the eyes, with violent itching, often accompanies the decrease of the influenza.

"IN my childhood and youth I was subject to what are called bad colds in the summer; but I had never heard of the rose cold, and cannot therefore identify those colds with the rose season. It may have been in 1833, perhaps as late as—no later than—1836, that I learned that there was such a disease as the rose cold. At that time there was very little culture of roses out of season. With me the cold commenced with the earliest blossoming of the small red rose, which was the first to make its appearance, and lasted through the rose season, leaving me in my usual health about the time that many of my friends began to suffer from what they called the hay cold (which, however, did not begin till the hay harvest was almost over). During this season (the rose season) there was great swelling of the nostrils and face, an oppressive sense of fulness in the head, an inflamed condition of the eyes, with frequent paroxysms of sneezing, and a discharge from the nose which made half a dozen pocket handkerchiefs a day no more than a normal supply. I found a relief in travelling in roseless regions, and remember once having enjoyed a day or two of entire relief on Cape Cod, to suffer with renewed severity on my landing at Boston. I was affected temporarily by roses out of season. I remember once in mid-winter, in calling on a sick parishioner, being seized with a violent paroxysm on the entrance into the room of the fianc'e of the patient. My condition was such as to lead to the inquiry how long I had had so severe a cold. My reply was ' Not five minutes; but I should think, did I not see to the contrary, that I was in a room full of roses.'

Edited October 11, 2011 by Dusty15

[Anonymouse]

Holy crap this was a lot more interesting than I expected. Wow... all that flowery language back then came in handy after all.

[tma]

*builds shrine to Dusty*

Now I have thoughts of yummy Regency gents sneezing.... adkfskfjksnfkanf Yay!!

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

Completely aside from the absolute yumminess of this, it's also a ridiculously useful resource for my fetishy writing. So, thank you once for the fun of it, and again for the helpfulness of it. And, while I'm at it, one more time just for finding it. Three cheers for Dusty! :clapping:

[TheCakeIsAlive]

... *stares at book* ... *drools* .... Useful and yummy at the same time. Thank you so much for sharing this.

(And just because I'm clueless, is the book actually online or does google only have a description of it? )

[doggo]

Oh I love it love it love it! Thank you for posting this!

[VoOs]

I had read the first one before.

The rest...

Uh...

...

I... need a moment.

Edited October 7, 2011 by VoOs

[SexualOddity]

I actually can't speak. Wow.

[Dusty15]

Sigrith, the whole book is online! Click the link I posted

And agreed, all! It's both helpful for writing and just plain yummy

[Heathcliff]

Holy f***ing Lord! I cannot quite believe these exist, but they must- because I'm reading them. Fantastic find Dusty, thanks for sharing them!

[High on Lullabies]

Goodness me, such beautiful descriptions!

I *adore* the first one in particular, that is the sort of stuff I could read all day (though I'm not sure how long I'd survive if I tried... ). Brilliant find, Dusty!

[Jorm]

I always knew I like the victorian era for some reason. This is the most amazing find Dusty, thanks ever so much for sharing it!

[iheartsneezn]

Words really cannot explain how big this is LOL. The best thing about it is that there were no anithistamines in the 1800's so the symptoms just continue non stop untill the season is over. Poor them but hooray for us!!!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Sigrith, the whole book is online! Click the link I posted

I did. But I get a "no preview available". I do wonder if I'm doing something wrong but I can't find where to read it anywhere (except the link to amazon.com where one could buy it). Could it possibly be only available in the US?

[Dusty15]

I uploaded the .pdf to Megaupload if it works to download it. Maybe it isn't available outside the US in GoogleBook form -

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K9D1RFUF

[TheCakeIsAlive]

I uploaded the .pdf to Megaupload if it works to download it. Maybe it isn't available outside the US in GoogleBook form -

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K9D1RFUF

*builds shrine* Thank you lots. *runs off to read*

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

Thanks for the upload, Dusty. Even though I COULD access it online, this is a lot better for me, because now I don't have to save the link as a public "favorite" to find it. I can just hide it along with all my other SF-themed stuff.

[High on Lullabies]

As another non-US person, I wholeheartedly second Sigrith's thanks for uploading it. Thank you, Dusty! It's proving a most interesting read so far.

[Dusty15]

But wait....there's more!

From some other GoogleBooks that were written around the same time (late 1800s)

Case Study of Mr. Francis B Hannibal, aged 24, a train conductor: "The severe sneezing and the weeping of the eyes commenced last July (1873) while on the train. At that time, he would put a silk handkerchief over his nose, as he passed from one passenger car to the other; in this way he, in a measure, escaped the bad effect of the wind, the locomotive smoke and the dust. Sometimes on entering the car he would sneeze fifteen or twenty times before he could attend to his duties as a conductor. This condition of his case lasted until the first snow. In the early part of this month (June 18, 1874) he experienced the same sensation in an exaggerated form.

One year ago he felt itching symptoms in a slight decree, and was then informed that he was taking "hay fever." In the early part of this month he had occasion to catch a horse that was in a timothy and clover field, and in doing so became quite warm from running after the animal. About the time he got near enough to the horse "a spell of sneezing would come on," which frightened the animal away from him. He had noticed that his eyelids adhered together in the morning for a few mornings before this attack came on. To the dried, encrusted secretions that adhered to the evelashes he attributed the intense itching that he had experienced. He did not sneeze more than five or six times, "but the first sneeze closed the nostrils completely." In fifteen or twenty minutes he could breath as freely as usual through the nostrils, and would continue to do so until the next sneezing spell.

Case Study of a merchant storekeeper: He was liable to take cold all his life. Never did take good care of himself; is not able to do so now. (It was evident that when he did not have the attack, he did not have the least thought of the consequences of his numerous indiscretions). The itching of his eyes almost always commenced his trouble. The dust of his store was his great dread. He said "When I start to sneeze I believe that I would sneeze my head off, if I did not cover it with a silk handkerchief and my soft felt hat. I have tried to see how long I would sneeze without my handkerchief, but I would not have the courage to stand it long enough to see if it would stop while mv head was uncovered." When he first visited me his eyes were very red and his nostrils completely closed.

On May 6th, 1885, I received the following note from Mrs. C—: "I am in torture with rose fever; great irritation of the lining membrane of nostrils and lips, with constant running of water from the nose, with feeling of having inhaled pepper. Constant sneezing. Eyes inflamed and painful. Entire head hot and inclined to ache. Send something to relieve me."

The first group of symptoms are connected with the nostrils, and are those of a severe common catarrh, especially sneezing, which is very loud and frequent, and recurs in paroxysms of ten, twenty, or more sneezings in rapid succession, coming on at short intervals; so that the sufferer may sneeze as often as several hundred times in the course of the day. One patient, a medical man, thirty-four years old, whose case has been put on record, and in whom the first attack of hayfever made its appearance, as early as the eighth year of his age, in describing his own case, refers to the sneezing and the struggle against it, as forming a continuous and very troublesome annoyance. When this patient passed the day without much sneezing, he usually enjoyed almost entire freedom from asthma during the night; on the contrary, when the sneezing had been more violent and frequent in the day-time, the patient was generally tormented by asthmatic paroxysms at night. The excitement of the sneezing appeared to make the bronchi peculiarly irritable, and liable to take on spasm. I have observed a similar connection between these two symptoms in several cases which have been under my treatment. At the beginning of the attack there is no discharge, or only a slight one, of nasal mucus, but, after a few days a considerable quantity of watery limpid fluid is discharged from the nostrils. The nose very frequently becomes swollen, red, and inflamed, but the sense of smell, although occasionally diminished, is seldom completely lost. Great diversity is observed in this respect in different individuals; in one the sense of smell is but little, if at all, affected, in another it may be entirely lost, and in a third the faculty of smell may become so acute as to render it impossible for the patient to remain in a room where any flowers or other odoriferous substances have been placed.

Case 4.—Miss H., aged 23. Has suffered from hay-fever for years. So far as she can recollect the symptoms commenced about the end of May, and the disease continues until July. During this time she is unable to drive or motor into the country owing to the violent sneezings and a profuse discharge from the nostrils. The attack of sneezing is frequently followed by severe headache, which compels her to remain in a dark room.

Mr. M., a gentleman residing in the County of Berks. At the age of twenty he began to be affected whenever he entered a greenhouse when certain flowers were in bloom. The attack is characterised by the discharge of thin watery serum from the nostrils, by violent attacks of sneezing, swelling of the eyelids and severe lachrymation. When the disease has become fully developed, the fits of sneezing are so severe, that for the time being he loses all control over himself. Occasionally he will sneeze for ten minutes without stopping, and whatever he may be occupied with when the fit comes on he is obliged to set it aside and resign himself to the paroxysm until it is over. A profuse cold sweat will break out at the termination of each of the violent attacks of sneezing. During the course of the disease his nights are often disturbed by fits of coughing and sneezing.

A lady residing at Maidenhead consulted me in May, 1905. In giving particulars of her case, she says the attacks generally commenced some time in May, and from the commencement of the disease her life is a perfect misery until the end of summer.

Bright sunshine and dust of any kind will bring on an attack of hay-fever.

Immediately on leaving her bed in the morning she sneezes some thirty times, accompanied with profuse discharge from the nose and eyes. During the hayfever season the patient is unable to take exercise or even drive in her trap during the day time owing to violent paroxysms of sneezing, lachrymation and intense itching of the eyelids.

Mrs. M., aged 27, resides a few miles from London. In her case the disease first came on about eight years ago ; at that time she resided near Gloucester, and was assisting her father in the hay-fields and got buried under the hay. A few minutes later she was seized with a violent cold in the head and had to be taken home; her eyes being extremely painful had to be bathed with warm water. She never remembered having hay-fever before, but has suffered every year since. When once the malady sets in she is completely incapacitated from taking any pleasure or attending to the duties of the house.

The attacks of sneezing are so violent and long, that on one occasion her husband counted fifty times, at the end of which she is completely prostrate.

Mrs. W., aged 27. Has suffered from hay-fever since she was sixteen years of age. The first time she ever remembered it troubling her was on one occasion when walking through the fields gathering wild flowers in the month of June. She thought at the time she must have taken a violent cold. She had terrible attacks of sneezing, accompanied with a watery discharge from the nostrils, but the eyes were not so much affected as they have been for the last three or four years. She has had the attacks every year since the one mentioned above.

Slight itching of the eyes and nose are amongst the earliest symptoms of the disease, but as it progresses, attacks of sneezing come on, and these become severe and prolonged whenever she ventures out of doors in the country.

Miss F., aged 24. Has suffered from hay-fever four years. The first time she remembers it troubling her was on one occasion when walking through the fields in May, near Ilford. She thought for some time it was a cold of unusual severity, and remained quiet at home taking ordinary remedies, but with no result. She had severe attacks of sneezing, and the running from the nose was so profuse that a dozen handkerchiefs were used.

Miss S., aged 28. For four months in the year this patient may be said to be an invalid through hay-fever.

Dust of any kind, whether in or out of doors, will induce the symptoms. Sudden exposure to bright sunlight invariably brings on an attack. Roses affect her so severely that if she handles them a very severe attack instantly supervenes, worse than from any other flower. Violent paroxysms of sneezing repeat themselves again and again throughout the day

A man remembers developing hayfever at age 21: "I well remember the commencement of those symptom which I now recognise as my annual hay-fever torment. I was at the time in the midst of newly-mown grass, when I was suddenly seized with profuse running from the nose, lachrymation, swelling of the conjunctivae and eyelids, well-nigh blinding me, and ceaseless sneezing. I remember that I was taken into a farm house by my friends, and speedily recovered. From that time to the present the disease has manifested itself every year,

Mrs. R., aged 46, consulted me in 1904, has suffered from hay-fever for more than twenty-five years, but the exact time at which the disorder first commenced the patient cannot remember. The attacks at first only lasted a week or ten days and then disappeared.

During the last six years the duration of the attack has increased, beginning in May and terminating the end of September. With regard to the question of the cause the patient is unable to decide, but thinks the grasses affect her most. The seaside has not given her much relief this three years. Rainy weather and also sitting quietly indoors with all the windows closed are both very comforting to the patient when suffering from the malady. When once the hay-fever has developed she is completely prostrate, suffering agonies from stuffiness of the nose, severe attacks of sneezing, and these become prolonged whenever she ventures out. There is at the same time a copious discharge of thin serum from the nostrils, often bloodstained, the eyes itch intensely and become much inflamed, especially if she rubs them, which is impossible to resist doing so. The nasal mucous membrane was so sensitive that the mere touch with a probe induced a severe attack lasting the whole day.

The suffering and distress however are not long confined to the eye, for soon the patient begins to sneeze and to have a running at his nostrils, which he generally explains as the result of a feverish cold which he has caught. In some cases the paroxysms of sneezing are not very annoying, but in other instances the unhappy victim goes on sneezing so loudly and so constantly that he becomes at once an object of sympathy and also of considerable discomfort to his friends. The violence of these sneezing fits is not only a cause of great discomfort in itself, but it further augments the patient's sufferings by aggravating the headache from which, as we have already said, he generally suffers. These fits of sneezing are generally worst in the morning and early part of the day, and gradually abate with the advance of evening; at first also they may not be accompanied by any discharge, or by anything save a feeling of constant tickling in the nose, but sooner or later the nostrils give exit to a more or less profuse muco-watery discharge, which in turn is blamed for the herpetic eruption which in some cases appears on the lips.

Many of these quotes come from "Hay-fever, Hay-Asthma" by William Lloyd, which you can download here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W890JRJ6 or at GoogleBooks here: http://books.google.com/books?id=RMW6KHDmK...p;q&f=false

[count tiszula]

Wonderful! Some home counties rural sneezing from jolly country girls. Reminds me of a long lost children's book wherein a group of chaps are playing in a hayloft and one of them starts sneezing.....

Actually, I am not very engaged by the three daughters in Downton Abbey, but I can't help imagining them out in the dogcart [or the Rolls] bowling through the hay harvest breeze....

Have you contacted the Ministry of Getting Titles Wrong yet?

[Dusty15]

What's the Ministry of Getting Titles Wrong???? :-P

I love Downton Abbey and I'm actually writing a fic currently, which is how I came upon all this lovely nonsense!

[count tiszula]

Haha, you bit.....

Some years ago I concluded that in papers and broadcast stuff people get titles wrong far more often than is plausible; you would think for example that about 50% of the time they would be right. The only conclusion I can come to is that there must be a secret government organisation directing all references to titled persons to ensure that they are always wrong. What other possibility is there?

[VoOs]

Mr. M., a gentleman residing in the County of Berks. At the age of twenty he began to be affected whenever he entered a greenhouse when certain flowers were in bloom. The attack is characterised by the discharge of thin watery serum from the nostrils, by violent attacks of sneezing, swelling of the eyelids and severe lachrymation. When the disease has become fully developed, the fits of sneezing are so severe, that for the time being he loses all control over himself. Occasionally he will sneeze for ten minutes without stopping, and whatever he may be occupied with when the fit comes on he is obliged to set it aside and resign himself to the paroxysm until it is over. A profuse cold sweat will break out at the termination of each of the violent attacks of sneezing. During the course of the disease his nights are often disturbed by fits of coughing and sneezing.

These quotes completely SLAY me.

I'm trying to feel sorry for the poor individuals, but I am failing. Dear gods.

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

One patient, a medical man, thirty-four years old, whose case has been put on record, and in whom the first attack of hayfever made its appearance, as early as the eighth year of his age, in describing his own case, refers to the sneezing and the struggle against it, as forming a continuous and very troublesome annoyance. When this patient passed the day without much sneezing, he usually enjoyed almost entire freedom from asthma during the night; on the contrary, when the sneezing had been more violent and frequent in the day-time, the patient was generally tormented by asthmatic paroxysms at night. The excitement of the sneezing appeared to make the bronchi peculiarly irritable, and liable to take on spasm. I have observed a similar connection between these two symptoms in several cases which have been under my treatment. At the beginning of the attack there is no discharge, or only a slight one, of nasal mucus, but, after a few days a considerable quantity of watery limpid fluid is discharged from the nostrils. The nose very frequently becomes swollen, red, and inflamed, but the sense of smell, although occasionally diminished, is seldom completely lost. Great diversity is observed in this respect in different individuals; in one the sense of smell is but little, if at all, affected, in another it may be entirely lost, and in a third the faculty of smell may become so acute as to render it impossible for the patient to remain in a room where any flowers or other odoriferous substances have been placed.

Please tell me I'm not the only person who thought of the Victorian Dr. John Watson upon reading this particular passage....

Edited October 12, 2011 by ...

[NoV]

Some truly amazing finds here Dusty. And am I alone in feeling that the somewhat antiquated nature of the descriptions and people involved, actually makes reading the descriptions even hotter...