Certain symptoms of nervous exhaustion / by George M. Beard.

  • Beard, George M. (George Miller), 1839-1883.
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Certain symptoms of nervous exhaustion / by George M. Beard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ii maimer most encouraging; and what is of eliief interest Just here, the improvement in the periplieral symptoms has ex- ' actly kept pace with the improvement in tlie brain symptoms, shoAving their common nature. Symptoms of this kind excite fear and dread—oftentimes as indicating graA^e and structural brain disease, or as pre- monitory of apoplexy; hut in the majority of cases, they are the results and signs of functional—not structural trouble, and occur in people A\dio Ih’-e to old age. I haA^e seen a number of cases Avhere there Avas numbness on a limited area of the thigh, and all have recovered or per- manently improAmd Avithout a very had history. Among other special symptoms coming under this head, I may mention a crawling or creeping as of insects just beneath the skin—a sensation as though a pin or many pins AA^ere just touched to the skin; a tendency for the legs and arms to “go to sleep,” under far slighter pressure than in the normal .state of health, is observed in cases of this class. Sitting a A’ery short time in a hard chair, riding in an omnibus, or car or carriage may cause the foot to get aslee}), AA'hen, in entire health, no such etfect would haA^e been produced by tlie same cause. I have noAV under my treatment a man Avho often Avakes up at night Avith a strong hut transient sensation of numb- ness in the little linger and inner side of the third linger, conlined to the track of the ulnar iicrA'e. In other cases, other nerves of the arm may be involved, and all the lingers may be numb. Numbness of this kind usually goes aAA'ay after a little shakino' and rubbing. It is more likelv to come on at night from lying on the arm; but in the daAdime, also, it may occur AAdien the arm rests for a Icav moments OA'er the back of a chair. When one is specially exhausted or Avor- ried from any cause, this transient and local numbne.ss is •more likely to shoAv itself. The pathology of this state is ])robably, if not certainly, an obstruction in the passage ot the nerA'e force through mechanical pressure. In the highest health, .sufficient pressure AA’ill produce this condition, and it the pressure be kept up, permanent paralysis may occur; but in nervous exhaustion, AA’hen the nerve force moves sloAvly and AA'ith A’ery little vis a much slighter pressure suffices