attenuating and heating Potions made of opening Roots of Calaminth Fennel Saxifrage Burnet Hysop and the like Saffron and Cinnamon being added to them and the Cure must be begun presently after the Purgation of the Courses Let the Woman take every Morning five or six Ounces of the following Apozem Take of the Roots of Smallage Fennel and Parsley each two Ounces of the Leaves of Feverfew Cat-mint Penny-royal Maiden-hair each one Handful and an Half of the Seeds of Anise and Fennel each one Drachm and an Half boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to a Quart in the strained Liquor dissolve of the Syrups of Mugwort and Maiden-hair each three Ounces the Syrup of Hysop or of the Five Opening Roots made without Vinegar is also very good being mixed with the Waters of Fennel Cat-mint Penny-royal and Parsley and other things may be used which are mentioned in the Chapter of the Suppression of the Courses 3dly She must be Purged with Agarick Trochiscated or with the Pill of Mastick Or Take of the Pills of Agarick and Aloephargin each two Scruples with the Syrup of Mugwort make four Pills Fourthly Those things which draw the the Blood downwards must be used as bleeding in the Foot three or four days before the accustomed time of the Courses these things being done the Legs and lower Belly must be fomented with a decoction of Fenugreek Camomile Dill Melilot Fennel Parsly Daucus And while she is bathing let her take one of the Tablets called Diacalaminth afterwards let the Parts be fumed with Spices and use Frictions and Ligatures to the Legs and let Cupping-glasses be applyed to the Claves of the Legs without scarification and if the Courses do not yet flow let the Woman be purged every third day with four or five of the Pills mentioned before Let the lower Belly be anointed with the Oyls of Capers White Lillies Dill Cinnamon and Saffron and let Uterine Glisters be injected made of four Ounces of the Decoction of Penny-royal Horse-mint Thym and Cresses with two Ounces of Oyl of Rue or of Dill which wonderfully rouze the dull sense of the Womb. CHAP. VI. Of the Courses corrupted or suppurated THE Courses may be corrupted four several ways First from drawing a putrid quality from the whole Body Secondly from the mixture of some putrid humour in the passages Thirdly by a long suppression Fourthly from an intemperies in the Womb or from an abundance of putrid humours contained in and about it and are coloured and disordered according to the nature of the humours they are White Pale Livid Green Black Skinny Fibrous Membranous Windy Fetid and they have Sand and Worms in them The Cure is in a manner the same which is proposed for the Cure of the Whites for an exact course of Diet being ordered the Woman must be purged with Agarick trochiscated or with the Pill of Mastich if a Phlegmatic humour abounds if a bilious humour be the cause let her be purged with Rhubarb as Take of the best Rhubarb four Scruples of yellow Myrobalans one Drachm and an Half infuse them a Night in three Ounces of Succory Water to the strained Liquor add of Syrup of Roses Solutive and of Manna each one Ounce If Melancholy Humours abound Take of Senna one Ounce of the Seeds of Annise one Drachm infuse them in four Ounces of Fumitory-water to the strained Liquor add of Pulp of Cassia and of Syrup of Roses Solutive each one Ounce If the Courses are suppurated such things must be used now and then as evacute a dust and Cholerick humours which may be easily prepared with Agarick Rhubarb and Senna and sometimes Glisters must be used and moderate exercise which purge the Body and Womb and if the Stomach abounding with Flegm be the cause a Vomit used by Intervals is proper that what is daily heapt up there may be purged off before it enters the Veins Thirdly Such things must be used as are able to eradicate the Disease and if the Humours are cold and gross sudorifics must be used as a Decoction of Sarsaparilla Guiac China and the like But if Choler or Melancholy be the cause bathing is most proper but gentle Frictions and Pessaries are proper for both and anoint the Belly with the Oyl of Sweet Almonds or with the Oyl of Violets which are also to be put up the Womb. But if these things do no good an Issue must be made in one or both the Arms which is of excellent use CHAP. VII Of the Complication of the Courses with other Diseases THere is scarce any thing that does disturb Physicians more and which makes them err so much as the complication of the Courses with Diseases and this happens chiefly six ways First When a Disease happens just when the Courses are about to come Secondly If by reason of the invasion of a Disease the Courses come before their due time Thirdly If the time of the Courses and of the Disease are complicated so that they come together Fourthly If the Courses being suppressed delayed or lessened a Disease comes upon them upon an other account Fifthly If by reason of a Disease pre-existing a suppression or delay of the Courses is the cause of the increase of the Disease and its Symptoms Sixthly If when there is a Disease the Courses flow If therefore the Courses are just about to flow when the Disease is beginning or in the process of it we must consider whether the Disease be one of those which is occasioned by the Womb in which case if the Disease requires bleeding without any delay we must draw it from the foot that it may be let out by a convenient way that the Womb may be evacuated and the cause expelled But if the Disease arises from the whole Body or from some principal member of it that Vein of the Arm most affirm must be opened which chiefly respects the part affected but this opinion if it be generally received seems to me injurious and we ought rather to distinguish concerning the number of the days the acuteness of the Disease and the plenitude of the Body for if the Disease be not acute Blood ought to be drawn from the Foot and especially if the Woman be within three or four days of her Courses and in this case she ought to be blooded in the Foot although the Disease be acute and this both reason and experience confirms for Nature is to be evacuated that way she tends if it be a convenient place for if the Woman be blooded in the upper parts we often see that she becomes delirious and that watchings sleepy Diseases difficulty of Breathing and at length Death it self follow But if there be eight days or thereabouts before the time of the Courses and there is a great plenitude and the Woman cannot be so sufficiently evacuated by the Foot as the Disease requires then all agree that she must be blooded in the Arm especially if the Disease be acute but purging Medicines
may be found out by the hand of a Skilful Midwife As to the prognostick if the Closure be in the Orifice of the Privities it is easily Cured by a small Section But if it be in the inner Parts the Cure is much more difficult When a Membrane shuts the passage it is easily Cured but when the Closure is from fleshy Matter as it happens after Ulcers then the Cure is much more difficult The Closure of the inner Orifice of the Womb is Incurable for Chirurgcial Instruments cannot work upon it If the Closure of the Womb be contracted from the Birth it must be opened by simple Section but if it takes its rise from an Ulcer as it often happens in the French-Pox we must consider whether it be an Excrescence of Flesh that does not wholly stop the passage and whether it quite stops For if it be only an Excrescence we must endeavour convenient Evacuations going before first to hinder the increase of the Flesh by drying and discussing Medicines and afterwards we must lessen the Flesh by Medicines made of Frankincense Birthwort the Bark of Frankincense Roses Balaustins Mastick Myrrh Aloes and the like and if these things are not sufficient we must use burnt Allom Unguentum Aegyptiacum and the like or the Flesh may be cut off by that Instrument that is used for extirpating a Polipus But if the Neck of the Womb be wholly shut we must endeavour to renew the Ulcer and to take off the superfluous Flesh by the foresaid Medicines or it must be cut If a Tumour shut the passage of the Womb it must be removed by proper Remedies If it be occasioned by a Compression of the Neck of the Womb that which causes the Compression must be removed namely a Stone in the Bladder a Tumour of the right Gut or the like When the passage is too narrow it most commonly proceeds from hardness and dryness and therefore you must use moistning emollient and relaxing things as half Baths Fomentations Liniments and Pessaries and so the part being relaxed you must put a leaden Pipe or white Wax fitted for the purpose moistened with Butter or some emollient Oyl and she must always wear it or at least a-nights and a-days let a Pessary made of Cotten be used anointed with Oyntment Marsh-mallows or the like CHAP. X. Of Suppression of the Courses THere is said to be a Suppression of the Courses when in Women of a mature Age that neither give suck nor are with Child the Evacuation of Blood by the Womb which is Naturally wont to be Monthly flows seldom or sparingly or is wholly stopt Because this Suppression proceeds from Natural and Preternatural Causes the signs of both shall be distinctly proposed lest the Practitioner should be deceived by Women being with Child by Illegitimate Coition and so rashly prescribe Medicines to provoke the Courses First therefore Women with Child most commonly retain their Natural Colour and others do not Secondly the Symptoms which do happen to Women with Child at the beginning abate Daily but on the contrary in Suppression of the Courses the longer they are stop'd so much the more the Symptoms are increased Thirdly In Women with Child after the third Month the motion and situation of the Child may be sensibly perceived by laying the hand on the Belly But in others the Swelling is not at all hard nor is it always contained within the Limits of the Womb. Fourthly If the inward Mouth of the Womb be touched by a Skilful Midwife she will find it not exactly closed as it is in Women with Child but rather hard contracted and somewhat painful Fifthly Women with Child are most commonly cheerful but on the contrary in a Suppression they are most commonly sorrowful and sad A Suppression of the Courses is very dangerous and many desperate Diseases arise from it The Cure of this Disease must be varied according to the variety of the Causes and first if it proceed from too great a quantity of Blood bleeding must be ordered in the Arm and a large quantity of Blood must be taken away afterwards it must be drawn downwards by opening the lower Veins about the time the Woman used to have her Courses before she was ill If by reason of want of Blood the Courses stop as after long Fevers after great Evacuations and when the Body is much wasted you must not endeavour to provoke the Courses till the Body is replenish'd and a sufficient quantity of Blood is bred which being done they generally flow of their own accord but if it happens that Nature forforgets her Office she must be rous'd up by opening the lower Veins and by Medicines proposed in the Chapter of Hysterick Diseases But the quantity of Blood must be moderate lest the strength should be dejected and the Sick should fall into a Consumption yet it must be carefully noted that every wasting of the Body does not shew a want of Blood but only that which succeeds great Evacuations and the like For sometimes it happens that the Courses being suppressed and detained in the Veins occasion an ill quality whereby the Blood is rendred unfit to nourish the Parts upon which account the Body wasts tho the Veins are full of Blood in which Case large bleeding is required As to the suppression of the Courses which happens by a preposterous motion of the Blood when it is evacuated by bleeding at Nose by Vomiting Spitting or Hemorrhoids and other parts the Cure of it is perform'd by repelling the Blood from the parts through which it flows contrary to Nature and by drawing it back to the passage of the Womb. The first is performed when the Blood rushes out of the upper parts by washing the Arms Head and Face with cold Water and by forbearing the exercise of those parts especially singing and speaking aloud The second is perform'd by opening the lower Veins three or Four days before the Blood breaks out and by Cuping-Glasses applied to the Thighs and Legs sometimes with sometimes without Scarification by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Running by Walking Fomentations and Baths made of opening Herbs but the Bath water is especially commended and the Sick must bath in them often a good while after Meals but the water must not rise above the Navel and at the same time the upper parts be cool'd by fanning them If the Blood flow by the Hemorrhoids the Cure is very difficult for if you use things to draw downwards they bring them also to the Fundament and if you use astringent things to it they by nearness of the parts repell what should be brought to the Womb so that the only way of Cure is to apply such things to the Womb as may allure the Blood thither after you have used such things as draw the Blood downwards CHAP. XI Of an Immoderate Flux of the Courses AN immoderate Flux of the Courses comes either in Child-bed or at other times as to the first that afflicts Women most on
naribus erumpere bonum est The cause of this Disease is most commonly some violent Passion of the Mind or some great disturbance happening when the Courses are near flowing it comes also from Obstructions of the Womb or by reason of violent Pains and great Diseases of the upper Parts also from the weakness of them when the VVomb and lower Parts are strong for the weak Parts always receive what the stronger put upon them It also comes from some external Cause as by drinking cold Water unseasonably or by washing the Feet and Legs unseasonably or by the use of Vinegar when the Courses are near The Scope of the Cure is Two-fold the First is the Evacuation of the Blood abounding the other is the Recalling of it to the lower Parts which is chiefly done by Cooling the upper Parts and by Heating Moistning and Opening the lower Parts but both may be well answered by Bleeding in the Foot three or four days before the Blood flows and by applying Cupping-glasses to the Thighs Legs and Hips sometimes Dry but most commonly with Scarification and also by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Frictions by Walking by hot Baths natural or artificial by Fomentations made of opening Herbs by Unctions Pessaries and uterine Glisters But see more of this in the Chapter of Suppression of the Courses The two following Remedies are peculiarly proper for this Disease viz. Bleeding in the Foot for several Months at the times we have mentioned and the Bath-waters wherein the Woman must be Bathed early in the Morning and must continue a while in them but this must be noted that the Waters must not reach above the region of the Liver and in the mean while the upper Parts must be â—anned CHAP. V. Of the Courses coming before their due time and of staying longer than they should IN many Women the Courses flow before their accustomed time and sometimes they stay longer than they should and this anticipation and delay are sometimes orderly and sometimes disorderly The Causes are either the Vice of the Womb as the ill Figure of it or a Solution of the Continuum and sometimes a hurt on some other account as a Vitious humour that irritates before the time by reason of plenty of Blood or the thinness or sharpness of it the quantity of humours occasioning it may be known by the dulness of the Body by the sanguine habit of the Woman by a sedentary and idle Life by excess in eating and drinking or by some other Evacuation stopped or lessened The Acrimony of the Blood may be known by the Heat Erosion and Pain in the Excretion or by the Vitious habit of the Womans Body and the course of her Life foregoing or by the Diet she was wont to use and the like But if it come leasurely and without pain the retentive faculty is weak it may also be occasioned by a blow or fall If it proceed by reason of the Loosness and fault of the retentive faculty it must be strengthened by proper Remedies if it come from a plenitude it must be remedied by a sparing Diet and moderate Exercise and by taking away so much Blood as is agreeable to the strength in the middle of the Month or a little before the Courses flow Frictions also in the Arms and in all the upper parts of the Body are proper the Woman must abstain from Wine and all Strong-waters and instead of them Chalybeats must be used and if these things do not do the business she must be blooded in the Arm but if it proceed from the Acrimony of the Humours she must eat freely Meat of good nourishment and must exercise a little and such Medicines must be used as attemperate the humours and she must be purg'd and Uterine Glisters must be injected made of two Ounces of Oyl of Violets and four Ounces of the Decoction of Mallows but care must be taken that the Courses be not quite stopped because it is dangerous Lastly if a blow a fall or difficult labour occasion this disease the following Cataplasm must be applied to the Womb and Neighbouring parts Take of the Powders of Dragons-blood Frankincense Mastich and of the greater Comfry each two Drams with a sufficient quantity of Turpentine make a Cataplasm If the Woman be of a hot Constitution apply the following Plaister Take of the Powders of Roses Myrtles and Balaustins and Mastich each one Drahom of fine Flour one Ounce with the Whites of Eggs make a Plaister The Courses stay beyond their time by reason of age when they are about to go away or by a vice of the whole Body or of the womb If it proceed on the account of age you must only endeavour to prevent those inconveniences which are wont to follow especially the Gout and a pain in the Hip which may be done by a spare Diet much exercise and by bleeding yearly till Nature has been accustomed to the want of the menstruous Purgation But if it proceed from a Vice of the whole Body it must be treated as a suppression of the Courses If it proceed from a peculiar disorder of the Womb it requires a peculiar Cure and is a Symptom of the kind of the vitiated action of Excretion either because it is hindred by the ill Formation or a gross Humour that Obstructs The Causes therefore are these three which are contrary to the anticipation of the Courses viz. the weakness of the Faculty the fault of the Humours and the dulness of the Sense The impotence of the Faculty is occasioned by the frigidity or moisture of the Temperament or by the depraved Figure of the Instrument the Humour is faulty upon the account of its thickness siccity and clamminess The Sense is rendred dull most commonly by moisture abounding The weak Faculty by reason of Frigidity is known by the Womans perceiving a weight and disturbance after the time of the coming of her Courses is past The fault of the Instrument may be known by what went before as by hard labour a tumour cicatrix leaping or a fall whereby the Womb or a part subservient to it is displaced or the figure of it deformed The fault of the Humour may be known by those things that are evacuated by the Blood as if it be whitish it may be seen if it be gross and clammy a sedentary life and a gross and flegmatic Diet went before the Woman is of a soft pale and leaden habit of body and is fat and by the Bloods flowing slowly and by the long continuance of the Courses sometimes and by their ending in a slime If when they stay a long time before they come the Woman does not perceive any disturbance in the Womb and neighbouring Parts the Sense is dull If the Disease arise from a thick and clammy Humour as it does most commonly it must be cured according to Galen with three sorts of Remedies First by a thin and heating Diet by moderate exercise and frictions of the Legs Secondly by
Vomits and Sudorisicks must be deferred till the Courses are over or you must use those that are very gentle lest Nature should be hindred or diverted for if so the Blood may be unseasonably detained or may rush upon some principal part or increase the Disease But if it happen that the Womans Courses are procrastinated it is lawful to Purge for sometimes we see that Purging brings the Courses If the Disease be Chronical it is best to Purge eight days after the Courses are gon off But if the Courses come before their due time in Diseases which is the second way of complication nothing in curing Womens Diseases is so difficult and dangerous especially at the beginning of the Disease before universal Remedies have been given for at other times if we do nothing there is the less perplexity but if at the beginning you Bleed or Purge you hinder the menstruous Purgation and if you do neither the Disease increases Those things that are proper for the Disease stop the Courses and if they flow they do not relieve the Disease because they are then Symptomatical for such an evacuation is almost always pernicious at the beginning of the Disease for Nature at that time seldom promotes any useful evacuation wherefore we must diligently consider what good or hurt comes from it and from what cause the anticipation of the Courses in Diseases proceeds for in the beginning and in the increase as we said it is full of danger but in the state and declination the cruption of the Courses if they flow easily is wont to be advantageous by reason of the fitness of the Season for evacuation if it be not complicated with some other evacuations of Nature The Anticipation of the Courses proceeds from many causes but from whatever cause it come if there be a plenitude the Cure must be begun by bleeding in the Foot But if the Courses flow at their accustomed time and happen to come at the beginning of the Disease you must first wait on Nature and if after twelve hours the Flux is not or is not like to be sufficient you must bleed in the Foot to compleat the natural evacuation of the Woman and moreover you must take away so much Blood as the Disease requires for we must respect Custom and the Disease too and this may be understood of violent Diseases yet it is chiefly to be used in small ones and therefore that they should not grow to be violent you must incourage the Courses by all means by Ligatures Frictions Suppositories Glisters and other things which are sufficient to provoke the parts near the Womb and if the Disease arise from a cold cause you must give such Medicines as promote the Courses and also respect the Disease But if a Purge be necessary you must defer it till the Courses are over lest the Blood being moved and disturbed thereby greater mischief should be occasioned But if the Disease be one of the greatest as a Quinsey Frensy Plurisie or an acute Fever you must first bleed in the Foot afterwards the same day you must bleed in the Arm but in the mean while you must apply Ligatures to the Legs whilst the Blood flows and this is good Practice for the Indication of the most violent Disease is always to be respected before that Indication which is taken from the Courses and in the same manner you must proceed in the other Seasons of the Disease wherein you ought to defer Purging Vomiting and Sweat if the Disease requires them till the Courses are gone off for the Indication of the Courses is greater than the Indications of these helps unless a Sanies flow beyond the appointed time which is not to be accounted at that time to proceed from fulness and in this case an Indication for purging being urgent you may Purge The Fourth Case was when upon the Courses stopt a Disease came In this case we must first consider whether the Courses are but now stopt or whether they have been stopt a long while and moreover whether the Disease proceeds from this suppression for if it arise from hence you must without doubt bleed in the Foot first nor must we Purge Vomit or Sweat before and afterwards in the Arm if the Disease require it especially if it be four days past the accustomed time of the Courses But if the suppression be new and the Disease not urgent before you use other means you must expect a while the flowing of the Courses especially if you do not understand rightly the nature of the Disease for it is more secure the Courses being stopt to bleed in the Foot than to Purge Vomit or Sweat But if notwithstanding bleeding in the Foot the Courses flow but slowly you ought to give such Medicines as move them and it will be proper to give them before they begin if you suspect that Nature will not do the business throughly her self But if the Courses delay and the Disease grows worse thereby most affirm that the Cure must be begun by those helps which the Disease and its Cause require without respect to bleeding in the Foot But I am not of the same Opinion for in slight Diseases and in such as will bear a Truce experience has taught me that it is best to bleed in the Foot for the indication from the Courses stopt is more to be minded than a small Disease and therefore they ought to be provoked first by Ligatures Cupping-glasses Frictions and Medicines and afterwards you must provide for the Disease But if the Disease be violent as a Quinsie Pleurisie or the like then certainly those Remedies must be given which the Disease requires without consideration of the Veins of the Foot But when the Courses should come at the time of the Disease and are stopt by reason of the Disease and its Cause without doubt we ought to bleed in the Foot and to take away so much Blood as the plenitude of the Womb requires or till the Courses flow and if there be occasion we may Purge gently and not divert the Course of Nature Lastly if when the Disease is present the Courses flow by drops before their time you must proceed as in the second Case concerning the Anticipation of the Courses in Diseases Or if it happen at their due time you must treat them as in the third Case when the Courses happen with the Seasons of the Disease only the dropping of the Courses signifies a greater oppression of Nature and therefore requires larger bleeding CHAP. VIII Of the Courses coming difficulty and with violent Symptoms THis Disease is like a Dysury or adifficulty of Urine for it is accompanied with Pain and a great disturbance the Symptoms often come before the Courses and sometimes with the Courses the Blood comes by drops and is attended with violent Pain This Symptom comes upon an Obstruction of the Courses sometimes upon Solution of the Continuum an Ulcer Erosion and painful disorders in the neighbouring parts
The Courses as was said before come sometimes drop by drop and sometimes plentifully sometimes by intervals and sometimes continually sometimes orderly and sometimes disorderly It is most commonly occasioned by the same Causes from whence a suppression of the Courses proceeds but gentler for there is not a total Suppression but an unequal Obstruction of the Vessels of the Womb by reason of thick clotted and feculent blood which stretches the Vessels and Nature violently endeavouing to Evacuate it a gross wind arises which distending the Vessels and the neighbouring parts occasions the violent pain which continues untill the clods are ejected Sometimes the Blood flows plentifully yet the Courses are counted difficult and lessened because tho a great quantity is evacuated yet it is not answerable to the plenitude The second Cause is an Ulcer or some preternatural Tumour in the Womb or neighbouring parts which are provoked and hurt by the commotion of the Blood The third is the acrimony of the Humours This Disease is known by a pain in the Head a pain in the Stomach Restlesness pains in the Loins and of the lower Belly just like the pains of Child-bearing coming with the Courses or eight days before There is often also fainting and convulsions and a palpitation of the Heart and by these you may know that the Blood is clotted or thick and a small swelling is sometimes perceived in one or both of the Groins by reason of clotted Blood contained in it and just before the evacuation of the clotted Blood the pain is most violent and at the same time if wind be joined with it it breaks from the Womb or backwards with a noise and there are wandring pains about the Loins and Hips If an Ulcer be the cause Sanies or Pus is mixed with the Blood and the Courses flow always with a fixed pain This Disease afflicts Virgins and those that are Barren The Cure is two-fold the first respects the Cause the second the mitigating the Pain If it proceed from feculent gross and clotted Blood a thin Diet and moderate Exercise must be ordered and Medicines that cause Revulsion and Evacuation must be used Blood therefore must be drawn from the Arm if there be a great quantity of it but if the quantity be small from the Foot and the clotted Blood that cannot be evacuated must be drawn out by Cupping-glasses applied to the Thighs and Legs with Scarification and by Ligatures upon the Legs and the Humour may be turned by applying Leeches to the Fundament if the pain continue after the Courses are stopp'd but they must not be used before Secondly Evacuation must be used with this distinction when feculent and grumous Blood is the cause you must Bleed when an Ulcer Wind or an Acrid Matter you must Purge most Thirdly The Passages must be Relaxed and Opened and the Pain mitigated wherefore if the matter be thick slatulent feculent or clammy a Dram of Venice Treacle or of Mithridate must be taken at Bed-time in three Ounces of Balm-water and Baths must be provided and Lotions for the Legs made of a Decoction of Marsh-mallows of the Seeds of Flax Fenugreek Dill Rhue and Mugwort and the Feet must be bathed in it hot a while and the vapours must be received and a Spunge dipt in it must be applyed to the Privities and the lower Belly must be Fomented afterwards with Flannel dipt in Wine and Oyl of Roses or with a Bladder half full of warm Oyl but it will be better to anoint the Navel and the region below it with Oyl of Saffron of White-lillies the Seeds of Flax of Capers of Yolks of Eggs or of sweet Almonds among which or with one of them must be dissolved a Drachm of Treacle a Pessary dipt in the same is also is of great use or the foresaid Parts may be annointed with Hens-fat and Butter or with Butter and some of the foresaid Oyls The following Oyntment is also very proper Take of the juice of Angelica one Drachm of Oyls of Capers and of White-lilies each one Ounce and an half of White-wine half an Ounce with Wax make an Oyntment The following Cataplasm is also very good Take of common Oyl of sweet Wine and fresh Butter each two Ounces of Bran three Ounces boyl them gently apply them hot and repeat them frequently But if acrid and eroding Matter be the cause you must use gentle Oyntments and Fomentation of warm Water or Purslain and Lettice Water with Emulsions of the cold Seeds and the Parts must be anointed with the Oils of sweet Almonds of Violets and of Roses If the Disease proceeds from an Ulcer you must endeavour the Cure of it and you must mitigate the Pain by injecting uterine Glisters made of four Ounces of warm Water and if the heat be very much the Water must be sweetned with Sugar and you must add one Drachm of the white Troches of Rhasis Or the Glister may be made with three Ounces of Allum-water which is of excellent use or with so much Barly-water with an Ounce of Syrup of Roses or with Milk-water with Sugar or with an Ounce and an half of Milk it self with the like quantity of a Decoction of the Leaves and Seeds of Plaintain to which may be added half an Ounce of the emulsion of the cold Seeds and if the Pain and Heat is very violent inject two Ounces of the Decoction of Henbane or white Poppies But if these things will not do the business some Opium must be mixed with the Decoction before mentioned Lastly if other remedies will not do the business an Issue must be opened in the Leg. CHAP. IX Of the Closure of the Womb. VIrgins labouring under this Disease are said to be Imperforate This closure is wont to be in three places viz. in the mouth of the Womb in the neck of it and in the Privities It is occasioned either in the first Formation when a Membrance covers the Orifice of the Womb or its Neck or by a Wound or Ulcer preceding which growing together stops the Neck of the Womb or joins the Lips or it is occasioned by Humours or a Compression If the Closure be in the Privities it may be easily known but if it be in the Neck or Orifice of the Womb it is not found out till the Courses begin to flow or till Women are Married for at the time of the menstruous Purgation Pains and Gripes are perceived in the region of the Womb at certain times with a sense of weight yet no Flux follows Moreover you may guess at it if the Maid be of good habit of Body not Cachetical and without Obstruction the Disease continuing the Womb swells so that Virgins seem to be with Child and sometimes the whole Body which looks livid But if the Neck of the Womb be closed it may be known in the first Copualtion because it cannot admit the Virile Member Lastly if the Orifice of the Womb be shut it is difficultly known but it
Womans Belly And the Plaister above mentioned may be used It is believed that the two following Medicines will certainly retain the Child in the Womb if they be used before it is torn from the Vessels of the Womb. Take of leaves of Gold Number twelve of Spodium one Dram the Cocks treading of three Eggs not addle mix all very well till the Gold be broken into small peeces afterwards dissolve them in a draught of White Wine and give it three Mornings following At the same time let the following Cataplasm be applied Take of Male Frankincense powdred two Ounces the whites of five Eggs let them be stirred together over hot Coals add Turpentine to make them stick then spread them upon Tow and lay them upon her Navel as hot as she can possibly endure them twice a day Morning and Evening on the three days afore-said CHAP. XXI The Signs that precede a Natural and Vnnatural Delivery THE signs preceding a natural Labour a few days before are sinking down of the Belly which hinders a Woman at that time in walking as easie as she used to do and thence flows from the Womb slimy humours appointed by nature to moisten and smoothen the passage that its inward Orifice may the more easily be dilated when it is necessary which beginning to open a little at that time suffers that slime to flow away The signs accompanying present Labour are great pains about the Region of the Reins and Loins which coming and redoubling by intervals answer in the bottom of the Belly with reiterated Throws the Face is red and inflamed because the Blood is much heated by the continual endeavours of the Woman to bring forth the Child as also because that during these strong Throws her respiration is ever intercepted for which reason much Blood hath recourse to the Face her Privy Parts are swelled because the Infants head often thrusts and causes the Neighbouring Parts to distend outwards upon which account they appear swell'd in this manner she is often subject to vomiting which makes many believe who know not the cause of it that the Women are for this reason in danger But it is generally the sign of a speedy delivery because the good pains are then excited and redoubled every moment until the business is finished When the Birth is very near Women are troubled with an universal trembling and chiefly of the Legs and Thighs with the heat of the whole Body and Humours which then flow from the Womb and they are often discoloured with Blood which with the signs above mentioned is an infallible sign of the nearness of the Birth This the Women usually call shows and if one then puts up their Finger into the Neck of the Womb they will find the inner Orifice dilated at the opening whereof the Membranes of the Infant containing the Waters present themselves and are strongly forc'd downwards with every pain the Woman has at which time one may perceive them to resist the Finger more or less as the pains are stronger or weaker These Membranes with the Waters in them when gathered that is when they are advanced before the head of the Child which makes the Midwives call it the gathering of the Waters presenting themselves at this inward Orifice do then resemble very well to the touch of the Finger abortive Eggs which have yet no shell but are only covered with a simple Membrane After this the pains redoubling continually the Membranes are broken by the strong impulse of the Waters which incontinently flow away and then the head of the Child is easily felt naked and presented at the opening of the inward Orifice of the Womb now all these or the greatest part of them meeting together at what time soever of a VVomans going with Child it be whether at the full time or no one may be assured she will soon be delivered But great care must be taken not to hasten her Labour before the necessity of it be known by these signs for that would but torment the VVoman and Child in vain and put them both in danger of their lives Labour contrary to nature is when the Child comes in an ill Figure and Situation as when it presents any otherwise than the Head first as also when the Waters flow away a long time before it is born also when the After-burthen comes first The Labour is also grievous when accompanied with a Fever or any other considerable Disease which may destroy the Child in the Womb also when pains are small and come slow with long intervals and little profit upon which account the Woman is extreamly tired but the wrong posture of the Infant is most commonly the cause of difficult Labour As soon as it is known that the Woman is certainly in labour by the signs above mentioned then must all things necessary to comfort the Woman in her Labour be got ready and the better to help her care must be taken that she be not strait laced a pretty strong Glister may be given her or more than one if there be occasion which must be done at the beginning before the Child be too forwards for afterwards it is very difficult for her to receive them in the mean while all things necessary for her Labour should be put in order as well for the Woman as the Child her Midwifes Stool or rather a Pallet-bed girted placed close by the Fire if the Season require it the Pallet ought to be so placed as to be turned round about when there is occasion the better to help the Woman If the Woman be full of Blood it may be convenient to Bleed her a little for by this means her Breasts being disingaged and her Respiration free she will have more strength to bear down her pains which may be done without danger because the Child being about that time ready to be born hath no more need of the Mothers Blood for its nourishment which has been often practised with good success Besides this Evacuation often hinders her having a Fever after delivery and to preserve her strength it will be convenient to give her some good Gelly Broaths new laid Eggs or some Spoonfuls of burnt Wine from time to time or a Toast dipt in Wine avoiding solid Food Above all she must be perswaded to hold out her pains bearing them down as much as she can at the instant when they take her The Midwife must from time to time touch the inward Orifice with her Finger to know whether the Waters are ready to break and whether the Birth will follow soon after she must also anoint all the bearing place with emollient Oyls Hogs grease or fresh Butter if she perceive it can hardly be dilated and all the while she must be near her Woman to observe her gestures diligently her complaints and pains for so she may guess pretty well how the Labour advances without being obliged to touch her Body so often The Woman may by intervals rest her self on
of Honey one Ounce which may be injected also with the like quantity of Decoction of Mercury and Wormwood or the following Pessary may be used Take of Bulls Gall one Dram and an half of the Powder of Lupins two Drams of Oyl of Wormwood two Ounces of good White-wine half an Ounce mingle them and dip the Cotton for the Pessary in it At the same time apply to the Region of the Womb the following Oyntment Take of the Leaves of Wormwood Costmary and Calaminth each one Handful of Peach Leaves half an Handful boyl them in the sharpest Vinegar or in Wine for the Womb to the strained Liquor add of Aloes and Agarick each half an Ounce of Coloquitida three Drams of Oyl of bitter Almonds and of Bulls Gall each a sufficient quantity with a little Wax or without it make an Oyntment You may also make a Cataplasm of the same Herbs boyled and bruised with the Meal of Lupins Oyl of Wormwood and Ox Gall and the Pill of Aloes or of Hiera must be taken often a Scruple at a time That the Stones grow in every part of the Body Galen testifies as in the Bladder Reins Liver Intestines Lungs and therefore it is no strange thing if they should be generated also in the Womb as Aetius writes but they are not altogether like the Stones of the Bladder nor are they loose for if so they could not continue in the Womb but they grow to the Tunicks of the neck of the Womb. The causes of them are the same as of the Stone in the Bladder namely gross and viscid Humours The signs of them are a dull pain in the Womb and the Courses are inordinate and a Finger being put up the Anus the Stone may be selt But if the Stone be in the neck of the Womb the pain is great and affects the neighbouring parts and the Womb and the Woman can not sit without pain As to the Cure an emollient and lubricating course of Diet must be used and the gross and viscid Humours must be Purged off But the chief part of the Cure is to be performed by extracting the Stone but first the parts must be quieted by an emollient Glister made of a Decoction of Mallows Marsh-mallows Fenugreek of the Seeds of Flax and a great deal of Oyl of Roses and of Lillies to make the Manual operation the easier which must be performed in the following manner The Womans Thighs being spread the Chirurgeon must thrust up two of the Fingers of his Left-hand and with his Right he must press the upper part of her Belly to force the Stone out and this may be the easier done if the Stone be in the Neck of the Womb but if it be in the Womb it self the Operation will be more difficultly performed But if the stone grow to the mouth or neck of the Womb and cannot be extirpated this way it must be cut out the Woman being rightly placed and the parts dilated with a Speculum Matricis which being done those things must be injected into the Womb which cure Ulcers first Astringents and such things as stop Blood and afterwards drying things and an exact Course of Diet must be ordered and the Woman must be Purged twice in a Year lest the Stone should grow again The Cure of the Stone in the Bladder in Women is to be managed much in the manner as in Men but it seldomer happens and is easier Cured because the passage of the Urine is larger and shorter and straighter in Women But if it happen and must be extracted the Chirurgeon must put two of the Fingers of his Left-hand the VVoman being placed as above directed into the Privities and with his Right he must press the Bladder and force the Stone to the neck of it so as to make it pass the Muscle that shuts the neck of the Bladder and then a little above the wings of the Privities at which place the Stone occurs he must cut so that the Stone may be extracted with a pair of Forceps Lastly the Ulcer must be Cured by Astringent and Incarnating Medicines CHAP. XL. Of a Condyloma of the Hemorrhoids Warts Thymus Acrocordo and a Ficus and of Scabs of the Privities and of Chaps and Clefts of the same A Condyloma is a Tubercle arising from an Inflammation and resembles the Knucles when the Hand is shut It is cured by four kind of Remedies First by Diet and Purging Medicines that respect the antecedent cause Secondly By drying and repelling Topicks if the Callus be newly bred as by Baths and Vapours of a Decoction of Vervain of the Leaves of Brambles of Acacia Ivy-leaves to which must be added by reason of the Pain Camomile Flowers and if the Condyloma be Inflamed such things must be used as mitigate the pain as the following decoction Take of the leaves of Melilot Mallows and Marshmallows each half an handful of the Seeds of Flax and Fenugreek each three Drams of the Flowers of Camomile two Pugils boyl them and to a Pint of the Decoction add two Ounces of Roses inject it by a Syringe or warm Milk may be so injected If the Condyloma being old is grown hard and does not yeild to the foresaid Medicines Aetius commends as a wonderful remedy Mineral Misy mixed with Turpentine or instead of it Roman Vitriol a Dram of the Troches of Steel reduced to powder and mixed with the Oyls of Roses and Wax and made into an Oyntment with half an Ounce of the Juice of Mullein is also very good The following is also much commended Take of Tuty thrice burnt and washed of Ceruss washed of the Froth of Silver washed each two Drams of the Yolks of two roasted Eggs Wax Sope and Oyl of Roses each two Ounces make an Oyntment But if these things do no Good it must be cut off and if there be many of them they must be burnt off and the Ulcer must be regularly cured but cutting or burning in these parts is dangerous and must not therefore be used unless there be an absolute necessity If there be Hemorrhoids they are either in the Mouth or Neck of the Womb or in the Womb it self or in the Privities they are as divers as those in the Anus they are either blind or open they are with or without Inflammation they differ also upon their bigness Number and Figure they are occasioned by Chaps and by a Condyloma but chiefly by gross and feculent Humours falling upon the Veins of the Womb or by an inordinate defluxion of Menstruous Blood into those Veins This Disease may be known by a weight in those Parts and Women so affected are weak and subject to Spontaneous Lassitude But if the Hemorrhoids of the Womb or Anus flow moderately they cure and prevent many Diseases and the unseasonable stopage of them occasions the Falling Sickness and many other Diseases They are cured as the Piles of the Anus There are four sorts of Warts of the Womb and
of Mallows and Ducks meat each one handful of Flax Seeds one Ounce boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water and let six Ounces be injected in the manner of a Vterine Glister and anoint the part affected with the Oyntment of Ceruse with Camphor and if the pain and heat be much anoint it with the following Oyntment Take of the Populeon Oyntment one Ounce of Camphor two Scruples of Ceruss washed in Rose Water one Scruple and the white of one Egg mingle them Oyl of Flax hot is also good for Chaps of the Anus and Womb so is Pomatum Oyl of the Yolks of Eggs or of Flax Seeds stir'd about in a Leaden Mortar is also proper and if they are occasioned by driness Barly boyled in Water in Linnen Baggs and applyed for nine days are very beneficial But if the Chaps are malignant apply the following Take of good Aqua vitae one point of Sublimate powdered one Scruple of Verdegrease half a Scruple the Whites of three Eggs stir them well together and anoint the part every other day and apply over a Plaster of Diachylon CHAP. XLI Of the Melancholy of Virgins and Widows MElancholy befalls Virgins Widdows and Barren VVomen oftner than other VVomen there are two Causes of it First the Nature of a Woman which is tender and the Mind easily dejected Secondly Gross Blood The signs of it are a Pulsation about the Back which is a Symptom almost perpetual in VVomen so affected the Skin is sometime squalid wrinkley and rough especially in the Arms Knees and joints of the Fingers much Cogitation Suspicion Shame-facedness Dejection of Mind disturbed Sleep frightful Dreams a preposterous Judgment the Breast is often very Hot and hath a Pulsation in it and when the Vapour rises upwards there is a Palpitation of the Heart or Fainting there is a rising in the Throat as in Mother-fits the Belly is most commonly Bound they are Thirsty and subject to VVatchings to Despair and to VVeeping and Sorrow and sometimes the Melancholy is so high as that they grow almost Distracted and are ready to make away with themselves There are three Degrees of this Disease according to which the Danger is more or less and the Cure is to be varied accordingly The First Is when the Signs are small The Second when the Disease has lasted a long while and has disordered the VVomans Mind so as that she is continually Sorrowful and Sad. The Third Is when the VVoman is so overcome with it that she will not speak nor give any answers and this is near to Madness The First Degree of this may be removed by a sparing Diet by Exercise and by variety of pleasant Company and if she be not Married she must be Blooded in the Arm every third or fourth Month in the middle of the Month But if she be most Melancholy at the time of her Courses she must be Blooded in the Foot two or three days before or after them But if the Disease be in the Second Degree the Curative Indications are principally four The First to hinder the Congestion of the Blood in the VVomb by such things as force the Courses The Second is to expel the Melancholy that is heapt up The Third Is to discuss the VVind The Fourth To provide for the Head Heart Womb and the whole Body It is to be Cured therefore by five sorts of Remedies First By a moistning Diet as let the Dinner be of a boyl'd Chicken with the Roots of Fennel Parsley red Vetches and Saffron And the Supper of new-laid Eggs roasted and stewed Prunes or Borrage prepared with Almond-milk by reason of Watchings wherewith they are much troubled or a Ptisan with a little Anniseeds and Cinnamon to expel the Wind. Let the Drink be Rhenish or VVhite-wine with Borrage flowers in it midling Beer medicated with Elecampane or Balm or water boyled with the Herb Maiden-hair with the Roots of Scorzonera Lemon-peel and Citron-seeds If the Belly be bound use the following Glister Take of the Roots of Fennel and Parsley each one Ounce of the Leaves of Mallows one Handful of Polypody of the Oak one Ounce of the Seeds of Bastard Saffron Flax and Fenugreek each one Dram boyl them to a Pint to the strained Liquor add of the Oyls of Dill Camomile Violets and of Brown-Sugar each one Ounce of Diacatholicon half an Ounce Secondly Evacuations must be used and if there be a plenitude Bleeding must be ordered and purging Medicines frequently but the Humour must be first prepared by the following Medicines or the like Take of Syrups of Borrage of Apples and of Epithymum each one Ounce of the waters of Borrage and Balm each two Ounces mingle them and when the Woman has used this six or eight Days let her take every other Week one Dram of the Pills of Aloes of Mastick or of Agarick or rather because the Pills dry and heat let her take three or four times in a Year a Bolus made with an Ounce of the pulp of Cassia and two Drams of the Powder of Sena The following Syrup is much commended Take of the waters of Borrage Succory and Hops each ten Ounces of the juice of Borrage clarified eight Ounces of the juice of fragrant Apples six Ounces of the Leaves of Sena three Ounces of the Cordial Flowers each one Pugil of the Roots of Scorzonera cut small or of Angelica two Ounces boyl them over a gentle Fire till the twentieth part is consumed to the strained Liquor add of choice Rubarb and of Agarick trothiscated each four Drams and an half after it has boyled gently strain it out and add of the powder of the Stone called Lazulus prepared and tied up in a rag two Drams of Sugar a sufficient quantity make a Syrup of a moderate consistence The Dose is three or four Ounces The following Medicine is much commended Take of the Leaves of Spleen-wort Penny-royal Maiden-hair Thym Fumitory Borrage Mugwort and Agrimony each half an Handful of the Roots of Succory Endive Smallage Angelica Fennel Asparagus and Eringo each one Ounce of the flowers of Borrage Stechas Rosemary Violets each one Pugil and an half of Epithymum and of the leaves of Sena each half an Ounce of Doronicum of the Seeds of Anise Fenel Basil and Citron each two Drams and an half of Cinnamon half an Ounce of all the Sanders each half a Dram boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to a Quart at the end add of the Bark of the Root of black Hellibore and of choice Rubarb each four Scruples of the stone called Lazulus tied up in a rag one Dram of sweet smelling Flag of Zedoary and of the Seeds of Peony decortiated each half a Scruple strain it and with a sufficient quantity of white Sugar make a clear Potion aromatize it with one Dram of Diamosh The Dose is five or six Ounces But if these things do no good four Grains of Stybium prepared may be safely given but it is best to
Also Directions for making Compound Waters Syrups Simple and Compound Electuaries Pills Powders and other sorts of Medicines Moreover the Gums Balsams Oyls Juices and the like which are sold by Apothecaries and Druggists are added to this Herbal and their Virtues and Uses are fully described 8 o The Storehouse of Physical Practice Being a General Treatise of the Causes and Signs of all Diseases afflicting Human Bodies Together with the shortest plainest and safest way of curing them by Method Medicine and Diet To which is added for the Benefit of Young Practisers several Choice Forms of Medicines used by the London Physicians 8 o These Five by the Author of this Treatise Pains afflicting Human Bodies Their various Difference Causes Parts affected signals of Danger or Safety shewing the Tendency of Chronick and Acute Diseases for a seasonable prevention of fatal Events With a Tract of Issues and Setons By E. Manwaring M. D. 8 o The Compleat Chyrugeon or the whole Art of Chyrurgery explain'd by way of Questions and Answers Containing an exact account of its Principles and several parts Viz. Of the Bones Muscles Tumours Ulcers and Wounds Simple and Complicated or those by Gun-shot as also of Venereal Diseases the Scurvey Fractures Luxations and all sorts of Chyrurgical Operations together with their proper Bandages and Dressings Whereto is added a Chyrurgical Dispensatory shewing the manner how to prepare all such Medicines as are most necessary for a Chyrurgeon and particularly the Mercurial Panacaea Writen in French by M. Le Clerc Physician in Ordinary and Privy Counseller to the French King Faithfully Translated into English 12 o Pia Desideria or Divine Addresses In three Parts 1. Sighs of the Penitent Soul 2. Desires of the Religious Soul 3. Extasies of the Enamour'd Soul Illustrated with 47 Cuts Written in Latin by Herm. Hugo Englished by Edm. Arwaker 8 o The Art of Catechizing or the Compleat Catechist In four Parts 1. The Church Catechism resolv'd into Easie Questions 2. An Exposition of it in a continued full and Plain Discourse 3. The Church Catechism resolv'd into Scripture Proofs 4. The Whole Duty of Man reduced into Questions Fitted for the meanest capacities the Weakest Memories the Plainest Teachers and the most uninstructed Learners 12 o Country Conversations Being an Account of some Discourses that happened in a Visit to the Country last Summer on Divers Subjects chiefly of the Modern Comidies of Drinking of Translated Verse of Painting and Painters of Poets and Poetry 8 o The Christians Manual In two Parts 1. The Catechumen or an account given by the Young Person of his Knowledge in Religion before his admission to the Lords Supper as a Ground Work for his Right understanding the Sacrament 2. An Introduction to the Sacrament Or a short safe and plain way to the Communion Table being an Instruction for the Worthy Receiving the Lords Supper To which is added the Communicants Assistant being Devotions to that purpose fitted to be used before at and after the Receiving the Blessed Sacrament Collected for and Familiarly addressed to every particular Communicant By L. Addison D. D. Dean of Litchfield 12 o Letters of Religion and Virtue to several Gentlemen and Ladies to excite Piety and Devotion with some short Reflections on Divers Subjects 12 o A Practical Discourse of the Sin against the Holy Ghost Shewing plainly 1. What it is 2. How any Person may certainly know whether he has been Guilty of it Designed to bring Incouragement to the Faithful Penitent Tranquility of mind to the Obedient Joys to them that love and the Returning Sinner from Desparation 8 o A Discourse Proving from Scripture and Reason that the life of Man is not Limited by any Absolute Decree of God By the Author of the Duty of Man 8 o The Best Gnide to Devotion being short Prayers Meditations and Thanksgivings taken out of Scripture and fitted to all occasions 24 o Advertisement EXcellent Purging Pills prepar'd by the Author are to be sold by Mr. Henry Bonwicke at the Red Lyon in St. Paul's Church-yard They cure the Scurvey the most reigning Disease of this Kingdom they Purge the Head Breast Stomach and Reins and Cleanse the Blood and are a very proper Purge for those that cannot confine themselves when they want Purging but are forced to go abroad about their Business The Price of each Box is One Shilling Six Pence with Directions for use FINIS