In small-pox, the fever abates as soon as the eruption makes its appearance.  In scarlet fever, this is by no means the case; and as little so in measles:  the vomiting, indeed, subsides; but the cough, fever, and headach grow more violent; and the difficulty of breathing, weakness of the eyes, and, indeed, all the catarrhal symptoms, remain without any abatement till the eruption has all but completed its course.

Maternal management.—­Measles, in its ordinary and simple form, is a mild, and by no means dangerous, disease:  it is sometimes, however, accompanied or immediately followed by symptoms of a very serious character, and which, it is to be feared, in many instances, owe their origin to the carelessness of the attendants in the sick chamber.  A mother’s superintendence, therefore, is much required at this time to insure a careful attention to the medical directions, as also to those general points of management upon which the well-doing of her child much depend, of which the following are the most important:—­

Ventilation of the bed-room, etc.—­The child must be kept in bed from the onset of the attack.  He must have so much clothing only as will secure his comfort, avoiding equally too much heat or exposure to cold.  To these points the parent’s attention must be particularly directed.  It is the practice with some nurses, in the belief that a breath of cool air is most pernicious, to keep the child constantly enveloped in a smothering heap of bed-clothes, with curtains closely drawn, and the room well heated by fire, by which means the fever and all its concomitant dangers are greatly augmented.  It is equally a popular error (and yet by many it is still held and acted upon) to suppose that because in small-pox exposure to cold is useful, that therefore it must be of equal advantage in measles.  It cannot be too generally known that the nature of the fevers accompanying the two diseases are widely different, and that the adoption of this error is productive of the most serious consequences; for it would most likely produce in measles inflammation of the lungs, which, in truth, is commonly the result of carelessness upon this point.

The bed-room should be large and airy; free from currents of cold, but well ventilated, and not hot.  The room, also, must be darkened, on account of the tenderness of the eyes; all noise excluded, and mental excitement or irritation carefully avoided.

Regimen.—­Little or no food must be allowed, and whatever is taken must be of the simplest kind, and in a liquid form.  Mild mucilaginous drinks, and warm, may be given liberally; as barley-water, or thin gruel, etc.