In this strait the pontiff
is said to have devised a form of prayer to be uttered when the
paroxysm was seen to be coming on, and which, it was hoped, would
avert the stroke of the death-angel.
There are some curious cases of anomalous sneezing on record,
some of which are possibly due to affections akin to our present
"hay fever," while others are due to causes beyond our
comprehension. The Ephemerides records a paroxysm of continual
sneezing lasting thirty days. Bonet, Lancisi, Fabricius Hildanus,
and other older observers speak of sneezing to death. Morgagni
mentions death from congestion of the vasa cerebri caused by
sneezing. The Ephemerides records an instance of prolonged
sneezing which was distinctly hereditary.
Ellison makes an inquiry for treatment of a case of sneezing in a
white child of ten. The sneezing started without apparent cause
and would continue 20 or 30 times, or until the child was
exhausted, and then stop for a half or one minute, only to
relapse again. Beilby speaks of a boy of thirteen who suffered
constant sneezing (from one to six times a minute) for one month.
Only during sleep was there any relief. The patient recovered
under treatment consisting of active leeching, purgation, and
blisters applied behind the ear, together with the application of
olive oil to the nostrils.
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