Genealogy Chat

I have just recieved a death cert for an 11 year old boy in London 1859........... The cause of death being Scarlatina................. I managed to 'google' info on this but underneath it also says ' 14 days certified '........Can anyone tell me what this means please ?.....Esta

My son had it, years ago when he was about 7 !! I had never heard of it before that. It is a modified version of Scarlet Fever apparently. Ann

so from the first day of being ill.......he would have died 14 days later.? How awfull. Unfortunatly I have 2 other children from the same family who died in the same quater of 1859.......probably from the same causes.( plus a birth in the same year ! ) Thanks Sarah Esta

Ann My husband also had as a boy ( he's 45 now ) and all he can remember is being red and not being allowed out of his room for about a week. No one would come in and food was left outside apparently !! Esta

Hi Esta where have you been hiding Nicky.x

Not been hiding - honest ! Just very busy at work so not had much time on here. I noticed you're still having troulble with your William Tucker ! Esta x

The symptoms sound very much like cellulitis and erisipilis

Esta lol getting on much better with my mums side though Nicky.x

My dad, who was a Sick Berth Petty Officer, once told me that a Scarlatina is a sore throat, and not related to Scarlet Fever. Still, if you could die from it it must have been pretty serious! Lisa

14 days certified does not mean he was ill for 14 days - it means he was seen by a doctor 14 days before his death. My great-grandmother was certified 3 years with TB but I am sure from what my grannie said that she was ill a long time before that. Similarly, if a death cert has a cause and says uncertified, it means they didn't see a doctor. nell

I remember my son having bruise like blotches when he had it. At the time my daughter + ME both had measles!! We were isolated by friends....who wouldn't come anywhere near, LOL Ann

Like a lot of things, a course of antibiotics knocks it on the head, but back then, it was a different matter.

Thanks for all your comments - I'm just doing a bit of 'googling' ( is that a word ! ) to get some more background info. It just seems so tragic that 3 children died so closed together and a child was born all in the same year. Esta x

Scarlatina is just another name for scarlet fever. My eldest son had it 12 years ago and the doctor had never seen a case of scarlatina before.

I remember having it about forty five years ago as well maybe there was a mini epidemic. At the time mum was told it was a mild form of scarlet fever. I made a full recovery thanks to penicillin. Anne