Charles Ellson <ce11son@yahoo.ca> wrote on 24 Jan 2016 in soc.genealogy.britain: > On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 08:41:25 +1030, Anne Chambers <anne@privacy.net> > wrote: > >>Jenny M Benson wrote: >>> Does anyone know what "Inflammatory Dropsy" would be called nowadays? >>> >>> This was the cause of death of an 8 yr old boy in 1863. >>> >>These were the symptoms >>https://books.google.com.au/books?id=0Po-vXkkaMUC&pg=PA617&lpg=PA617&dq=i >>nflammatory+dropsy&source=bl&ots=iKVKzyrfyX&sig=ApInnsNg7ucFhxo0Mgf2fUs9h >>Qk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzo6yXu8PKAhWj2aYKHUHKCXoQ6AEIHjAB#v=onepage&q=i >>nflammatory%20dropsy&f=false >> > "Symptoms" is the important bit as many older death registrations > listed only the signs (what others can observe) and/or symptoms (what > the patient is aware of) without specifying the actual cause of death. > Dropsy now known as oedema (accumulation of fluid in tissue, typically > in the legs) can imply congestive heart failure or other cardiac > problems but the mention of inflammation and the lack of mention of > the part of the body affected IMU leads to multiple choices of the > actual ailment. In some cases it can describe a person who has > suffered a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). > http://www.thornber.net/medicine/html/medgloss.html (Glossary of > medical terms used in the 18th and 18th centuries) also refers to > dropsy as a sign of kidney disease. > http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/oedema/Pages/Introduction.aspx describes > further conditions which can involve oedema. > > With an 8y old boy you can rule out some things but you're possibly > more likely to work it out by seeing if there was anything common > among his siblings although if e.g. there was a dozen of then who all > survived into old age then the actual illness is likely to remain a > mystery. "Dropsy" was short for "Hydropsy" and could be any swelling caused by fluid, in a pre-existing cavity, in a new-made cavity with a wall or diffuse [without a clear wall] in a tissue. An example of a fluid-filled inflammation in a new-made cavity could be an absess, in a subcutaneous tissue could be erysipelas or gangrene, in an existing cavity a pluritis or a peritonitis. Lacking context, it is a guessing game to translate the possible symptoms into a modern diagnosis, it being the surmized cause of death, it would have been a serious condition. -- Evertjan. The Netherlands. (Please change the x'es to dots in my emailaddress)