Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [547]
without terror. Roussel speaks of a married woman who had never had any children, and who was apparently healthy, but who for the past six months had not been able to put her head out of the window or go upon a balcony. When she descended into the street she was unable to traverse the open spaces. Chazarin mentions a case in a woman of fifty, without any other apparent symptom of diathesis. Gelineau quotes a case of agoraphobia, secondary to rheumatism, in a woman of thirty-nine. There is a corresponding fear of high places often noticed, called acrophobia; so that many people dare not trust themselves on high buildings or other eminences.
Thalassophobia is the fear of the view of immense spaces or uninterrupted expanses. The Emperor Heraclius, at the age of fifty-nine, had an insurmountable fear of the view of the sea; and it is said that when he crossed the Bosphorus a bridge of boats was formed, garnished on both sides with plants and trees, obscuring all view of the water over which the Emperor peacefully traversed on horseback. The moralist Nicole, was equally a thalassophobe, and always had to close his eyes at the sight of a large sheet of water, when he was seized with trembling in all his limbs. Occasionally some accident in youth has led to an aversion to traversing large sheets of water, and there have been instances in which persons who have fallen into the water in childhood have all their lives had a terror of crossing bridges.
Claustrophobia is the antithesis of agoraphobia. Raggi describes a case of such a mental condition in a patient who could not endure being within an enclosure or small space. Suckling mentions a patient of fifty-six who suffered from palpitation when shut in a railway carriage or in a small room. She could only travel by rail or go into a small room so long as the doors were not locked, and on the railroad she had to bribe the guard to leave the doors unlocked. The attacks were purely mental, for the woman could be deceived into believing that the door to a railroad carriage was unlocked, and then the attack would immediately subside. Suckling also mentions a young woman brought to him at Queen's Hospital who had a great fear of death on getting into a tram car, and was seized with palpitation and trembling on merely seeing the car. This patient had been in an asylum. The case was possibly due more to fear of an accident than to true claustrophobia. Gorodoichze mentions a case of claustrophobia in a woman of thirty-eight, in whose family there was a history of hereditary insanity. Ball speaks of a case in a woman who was overcome with terror half way in the ascension of the Tour Saint-Jacques, when she believed the door below was closed. Gelineau quotes the case of a brave young soldier who was believed to be afraid of nothing, but who was unable to sleep in a room of which the door was closed.
Astrophobia or astropaphobia is a morbid fear of being struck by lightning. It was first recognized by Bruck of Westphalia, who knew a priest who was always in terror when on a country road with an unobstructed view of the sky, but who was reassured when he was under the shelter of trees. He was advised by an old physician always to use an umbrella to obstruct his view of the heavens, and in this way his journeys were made tranquil. Beard knew an old woman who had suffered all her life from astrophobia. Her grandmother had presented the same susceptibility and the same fears. Sometimes she could tell the approach of a storm by her nervous symptoms. Caligula, Augustus, Henry III, and other celebrated personages, were overcome with fear during a storm.
Mysophobia is a mild form of insanity characterized by a dread of the contact of dirt. It was named by Hammond, whose patient washed her hands innumerable times a day, so great was the fear of contamination. These patients make the closest inspection of their toilet, their eating and drinking utensils, and all their lives are intensely worried by fear of dirt.
Hematophobia is a horror of blood, which seems to be an instinctive sentiment
Thalassophobia is the fear of the view of immense spaces or uninterrupted expanses. The Emperor Heraclius, at the age of fifty-nine, had an insurmountable fear of the view of the sea; and it is said that when he crossed the Bosphorus a bridge of boats was formed, garnished on both sides with plants and trees, obscuring all view of the water over which the Emperor peacefully traversed on horseback. The moralist Nicole, was equally a thalassophobe, and always had to close his eyes at the sight of a large sheet of water, when he was seized with trembling in all his limbs. Occasionally some accident in youth has led to an aversion to traversing large sheets of water, and there have been instances in which persons who have fallen into the water in childhood have all their lives had a terror of crossing bridges.
Claustrophobia is the antithesis of agoraphobia. Raggi describes a case of such a mental condition in a patient who could not endure being within an enclosure or small space. Suckling mentions a patient of fifty-six who suffered from palpitation when shut in a railway carriage or in a small room. She could only travel by rail or go into a small room so long as the doors were not locked, and on the railroad she had to bribe the guard to leave the doors unlocked. The attacks were purely mental, for the woman could be deceived into believing that the door to a railroad carriage was unlocked, and then the attack would immediately subside. Suckling also mentions a young woman brought to him at Queen's Hospital who had a great fear of death on getting into a tram car, and was seized with palpitation and trembling on merely seeing the car. This patient had been in an asylum. The case was possibly due more to fear of an accident than to true claustrophobia. Gorodoichze mentions a case of claustrophobia in a woman of thirty-eight, in whose family there was a history of hereditary insanity. Ball speaks of a case in a woman who was overcome with terror half way in the ascension of the Tour Saint-Jacques, when she believed the door below was closed. Gelineau quotes the case of a brave young soldier who was believed to be afraid of nothing, but who was unable to sleep in a room of which the door was closed.
Astrophobia or astropaphobia is a morbid fear of being struck by lightning. It was first recognized by Bruck of Westphalia, who knew a priest who was always in terror when on a country road with an unobstructed view of the sky, but who was reassured when he was under the shelter of trees. He was advised by an old physician always to use an umbrella to obstruct his view of the heavens, and in this way his journeys were made tranquil. Beard knew an old woman who had suffered all her life from astrophobia. Her grandmother had presented the same susceptibility and the same fears. Sometimes she could tell the approach of a storm by her nervous symptoms. Caligula, Augustus, Henry III, and other celebrated personages, were overcome with fear during a storm.
Mysophobia is a mild form of insanity characterized by a dread of the contact of dirt. It was named by Hammond, whose patient washed her hands innumerable times a day, so great was the fear of contamination. These patients make the closest inspection of their toilet, their eating and drinking utensils, and all their lives are intensely worried by fear of dirt.
Hematophobia is a horror of blood, which seems to be an instinctive sentiment