three Doses adding to each one ounce of Syrup of Violets and a dram of Sal-prunella if the Pain be very violent some Syrup of Poppies may be added to it and a dram of Gum Arabick powdered Broths may be also prepared in the following manner Take of the Roots of Marshmallows half an ounce of Mallows one handful of Liquorish half an ounce of the Seeds of Quinces one dram boil them with Chicken Broth and let it be taken for several Days together The Whey of Goats Milk is also very good a large draught of it being taken at a time and if there be no Feaver milk it self is more effectual especially Asses Milk If the Disease is inveterate Epsom and Tunbridge-waters are very proper Forestus cured himself of a violent Dysury by only using a Decoction of Mallows sweetned with Syrup of Violets a Conserve of Mallows has also done much good an ounce of it having been taken Morning and Evening and three ounces of Mallow-Water being drank presently after the Conserve of the Flowers of Marshmallows is as good or rather better some Practitioners commend the Troches of Alkakengi a dram of them being taken at a Time in some proper Liquor When the Pain is very violent the dipping the Yard in Milk whilst the Urine is rendring or in a Decoction of Mallows and the Seeds of white Poppies does much good in this case A small decoction of Mallows sweetned with Syrup of Violets or with Conserve of Roses is very proper for the ordinary Drink And to ease the Pain Injections may be made for the Passage of the Bladder of Milk an Emulsion of the cold Seeds of Plantane and Whey whereunto may be added the White of an Egg well beaten and a Scruple of the Troches of Alkakengi External Remedies do also much good to qualifie the Heat of Urine as Baths and Fomentations applied to the Pubis and Perinaeum made of a Decoction of cooling Herbs also Liniments made of Oyls of Roses of white-lillies and of Oyntment of Roses and of the white Oyntment with Camphor CHAP. XCV Of a Chlorosis or the Green-Sickness THe Green-Sickness is a vitious Habit of the Body proceeding from Obstructions it is accompanied most commonly with a Palpitation of the Heart Difficulty of Breathing and a longing for absurd things and with an Unfitness for Motion and other Symptoms The Diagnostick manifestly appears by the following Series of Symptoms First The Face and whole Body is pale and sometimes of a leaden livid and green Colour Secondly An Inflation and as it were a Swelling appears upon the Eye-lids the Legs also swell especially about the Ankles Thirdly There is a Dulness and Unwillingness for Motion Fourthly There is a Difficulty of Breathing especially when they move much or go up Stairs Fifthly There is a Palpitation of the Heart upon Motion Sixthly There is a heavy and often a lasting pain of the Head Seventhly The Pulse is quick Eighthly The Sick are drowsie and incline to Sleep Ninthly There is a great Aversion for wholesome Food Lastly The Disease increasing and the Obstructions being multiplied a Suppression of the Courses at length follows which shews the Disease is confirmed As to the Prognostick This Disease most commonly is noâ— dangerous but if it be neglected too much it occasions great Diseases as a Scirrhus Tumours a Dropsie and other grietvous Diseases which at length kill the Patient When the Disease is small and chiefly arises from Obstructions of the Veins of the Womb it is easily cured by Marriage in Young Virgins Women that have had this Disease a long while are either barren or bring forth Children that are Sickly and short liv'd There is great Hopes of Cure when the Courses keep their exact Periods and flow in a due Quantity and Quality The Cure of this Disease is performed by opening Obstructions by purging off the vitious Humours by Correcting the Intemperies of the Bowels and by Strengthning them First therefore A gentle Purging Medicine must be given that is agreeable to the Constitution that the first Region may be only emptied and if the Belly be bound a Glister must be given first of all Afterwards Bleeding must be ordered unless the Disease is very inveterate and the Maid be inclined to a Cachexy But a Vein in the Arm must be opened though the Courses are stopped for at that Time if you should bleed in the Foot the Obstructions of the Veins and of the Womb would be increased That quantity of Blood being taken away that is necessary proper Purges must be used viz. Take of the Pill Coch Major two Scruples of Castor powdered two grains of Peruvian Balsam four Drops make four Pills let her take them at five in the Morning and let her sleep after them Let these Pills be repeated twice or thrice every Morning or every other Morning according to the Strength of the Sick and their Operation After the purging Pills let her take the following Take of the Filings of Steel grains eight with a sufficient quantity of Extract of Wormwood make two Pills to be taken in the Morning and they must be repeated at five in the Afternoon She must continue this Course for thirty Days drinking presently after the Pills a Draught of Wormwood Wine If a Bolus be more pleasing Take of the Conserve of Roman-Wormwood and of the Conserve of the yellow Peel of Oranges each one ounce of candied Angelica and Nutmegs candied and of Venice Treacle each half an ounce of Ginger candied two drams with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges Make an Electuary Take of this Electuary one dram and an half of the Filings of Steel well powdered eight grains with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges make a Bolus to be taken in the Morning and at five in the afternoon drinking upon it a draught of Wormwood-wine Take of choice Mirrh and of Galbanum each one dram and an half of Castor sixteen grains with a sufficient quantity of Peruvian Balsam make twelve Pills of each dram Let her take three every Night at Bed time drinking upon them three or four Spoonfuls of compound Briony water through the whole Course But if these Pills should purge then the following must be used instead of them Take of Castor one dram of Volatile Salt of Ambar half a dram with a sufficient quantity of Extract of Rue make five and twenty small Pills Let her take three every Night at Bed-time CAHP. XCVI Of the 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 naturally is wont to be monthly seldom or sparingly proceeds or is wholly stopt The Cause of this Suppression is to be referred either to the Womb or to the Vessels of it or to the Blood which flows or ought to flow through them Various Diseases of the Womb may occasion this Suppression namely a
and Ambergrise each six grains with a little white Wax make a Liniment wherewith anoint the said Parts and anoint within with Civet or with natural Indian Balsam Lastly let Plasters be applied to the Perineum and the Loins and let rhem be worn continually Take of the Plaster for the Matrix four ounces of the Plaster of Mastick two ounces of Gum Tachamacha and Caranna each one ounce of the Powder of the Roots of Tormentil and Bistort each three ounces of the Powder of Myrtles two drachms of Aromatic Rosat four scruples moisten them with Oil of Quinces and with a drachm of Oil of Nutmegs spread two Plasters upon Leather the one round for the Pubes and the other square for the Loins CHAP. CVI. Of Miscarriage MIscarriage is the Exclusion of an imperfect or unripe Child and consequently a Child dead in the Womb is not said abortive till it is excluded so that whether alive or dead Child be brought forth not being ripe nor having attained to the just growth in the Womb it is to be termed abortive The causes of Abortion are some Internal some External the Internal may be reduced to four Heads viz. to the Humors to the Child to the Womb and to the Disease of the Mother The Humors may occasion Abortion when they offend in quantity or quality They offend in quantity either by way of excess or defect The quantity is excessive in a Plethora for there being more Blood than is requisit to nourish the Fetus it flows into the Veins of the Womb and is excluded like the monthly Courses and so the Child comes away with it There is too small a quantity of the nutritious Humor when the Child's nourishment is by any means lessened as by Fasting whether volunary or forced and when Women with Child nauseat all sorts of Food or vomit it up again Likewise by reason of a thin Diet in acute Diseases or by an immoderate evacuation of Blood Likewise by reason of extream leanness of the whole Body In respect of the Child Abortion may happen if it be over great so that it cannot by reason of its bulk be contained in the Womb and for this reason little Women often miscarry especially if they are married to Men bigger than ordinary whose Children grow very great and find not in the Womb a space large enough to contain them till they come to their perfect growth also plurality of Children may occasion Abortion as when two or three or more are contained in the Womb at one time The Womb it self occasions Abortion if it be not large and capacious enough to widen it self sufficiently according as the Child grows or if there be any thing preternatural in the Womb as an Inflammation a Scirrhus or Imposthume or the like or if the Womb be over moist and slack so that it cannot contain the Child so well as it ought to do Abortion comes two ways from the Diseases of the Mother First when her Diseases are communicated to the Child whereby it is killed or so weakned that it cannot receive due nourishment nor growth such are continual Fevers and Agues the French Pox and many such like Secondly when the said Diseases of the Mother cause great Evacuations or great Commotions of the Body as large Bleeding from what part of the Body soever Fluxes of the Belly grievous Swooning Falling-sickness Vomiting and a Tenesmus which above all other Diseases is wont to cause Abortion External Causes which further Abortion do some of them kill the Child others draw away it 's nourishment and others dissolve those Bands wherewith the Child is fastned to the Womb. The Child is killed by great Commotions of the Mind as by Anger Sadness Frights and the like by Meats earnestly longed for and not obtained by strong purging Medicines by things that provoke the Courses and by those things that expel the Child and by such things as are reckoned by a Specifick Quality to destroy the Child in the Womb by abominable Smells especially the stink of a Candle ill put out Violent Exercise dissolves the Bands that fasten the Child to the Womb as Dancing Running Riding Jolting in a Coach or Cart carrying or lifting from the Ground a heavy Weight a violent Fall a Blow on the Belly vehement Motion of the Belly by Coughing Vomiting Looseness Sneezing Convulsions Crying-out immoderate or over-wanton Embraces and in a word vehement motion of the Arms the turning a Wheel or doing some such work may exceedingly promote Abortion The Signs of present Abortion are manifest of themselves but such as go before Abortion and prognosticate the same are these An unusual heaviness of the Loins and Hips an unwillingness to stir Appetite gone shivering and shaking coming by Fits pain of the Head especially about the Roots of the Eyes a straitening of the Sides and Belly above the Navel the flagging or falling and extenuation of the Dugs but if frequent pains and almost continual Torment the Reins and Loins reaching towards the Share as far as the Os sacrum with endeavours to evacuate the Womb certainly the Woman will shortly miscarry If from violent external Causes such as are a Blow a Fall and the like vehement Pain and Perturbation arise in a Woman with Child she ought to keep her Bed three days or longer As to the Prognosticks Women are more endangered by Abortion than by a true and timely Birth because it is more violent and unseasonable for as in ripe Fruit the Stalks are loosened from the Boughs and the Fruit falls off of it self so in a natural Birth the Vessels and Ligaments wherewith the Child is tyed to the Womb are loosened and untyed as it were of their own accord which in Abortion must needs be vioiently broken asunder Abortion is most dangerous in the sixth seventh and eighth Month. Our ordinary Women say A miscarrying Woman is half with Child again The Cure of Abortion consists in Preservation for that which is past cannot be helpt But all the Symtoms which follow Abortion are the same which accompany Women duly brought to bed The preservation from Abortion consists principally in these two things the one concerns the Woman before she is with Child and the other when she is with Child Before the Woman is with Child all Indispositions of the Body which are wont to cause Abortion must be removed as fulness of Blood ill Humours and peculiar Diseases of the Womb viz. Intemperies Swellings Ulcers and the like Fulness of Blood opens the Veins of the Womb or strangles the Infant while it is in the Womb this if it be a pure and simple Plenitude may be cured by Blood-letting such as shall answer the quantity of Blood superabounding A Cacochymy is either Cholerick and partaking of Acrimony so as to open the Orifices of the Veins or by provoking Nature it stirs up the expulsive Faculty whereby the Child comes to be expelled with those ill Humours or it suffocates the Child by reason of
Sala says That he has used with very good success Mercurius Vitae in this Case four or five grains at a time and that it does powerfully exclude a dead Child and is better than other Remedies But it must be used with great Caution because it is a violent Medicine If after having tried Medicines a long while the Child cannot be ejected Chirurgical Operation must be used that is perform'd either by Instruments or by the Hand alone CHAP. CIX Of the Secundine retained IN a Natural Birth the Secundine is wont most commonly to be excluded presently after the Child yet sometimes it is retained whereby the Life is much endangered The internal causes of this Retention are too great a thickness of the Coats so that they stick firmly to the sides of the Womb the swelling of them by an afflux of Humors occasioned by hard Labour and the shutting of the Mouth of the Womb after the exclusion of the Fetus The external causes are coldness of the Air whereby the Secundine is expelled and the orifice of the Womb shut certain Perfumes whereby the Womb is allur'd upwards violent Passions of the Mind as fear and sudden Frights the perversness of the Woman who will not abide in such a position or use such Endeavours as are requisite the weight of the Child whereby the Navel is broken the Secundine remaining within the unskilfulness of the Midwife who cuts the Umbilical Vessels too soon or does not hold them in her left hand as she ought for if they are let go they are drawn back into the Womb and are hid there with the Secundine whereas it ought they serve for the extraction of the Secundine It is easie to be known when the Secundine is retained in the Womb but sometimes a piece of it is separated and remains in the Womb which is not so easily found yet it may be known for that the Womb after delivery endeavours to eject something But tho' its endeavours are but small a sense of Heat and Pain is perceived in the Womb and after a few Days a cadaverous Smell exhales from the Womb. The retention of the Secundine is very dangerous and if it continues some Days an acute Fever Nauseousness Fainting difficulty of Breathing Coldness of the extream Parts Epileptick and Hysterick Fits and at length Death follow The Secundine retained is expelled by the same Remedies which were proposed for a dead Child to which may be added some Specificks delivered by Authors Gesner and Augenius commend much the Testicles of a Horse cut in pieces and dried in an Oven as much of the Powder of them as may be contained with three Fingers being taken in Chicken-Broath and it may be repeated twice or thrice upon occasion Rulandus says He has given with success thirty Drops of the Oil of Juniper Some order the Woman to bite an Onyon three or four times and to swallow the Juice and presently after to drink a small draught of Wine by which she may be soon relieved Forestus mentions a Widwife who received the following Secret from a Jewish Physician He took the Leaves of Green Lovage and pressed out the Juice with good Rhenish-Wine and gave a Draught of it Angelus Sala commends Mercurius Vitae as before in a dead Child To these things may be added Sneezing-Powders Fomentations Liniments and other things both external and internal described above for difficult Labour The following Decoction has been very succesful Take of Vinegar of Roses four or five quarts of the Leaves and Berries of Bayes each three handfuls one Rose-Cake cut in pieces Boil them and with the Decoction hot wash the Hips and Legs from the Groin to the Feet for a long while To this Decoction may conveniently be added of Myrrh and both the Birth-Worts each one ounce But among other things the Hand of a skilful Surgeon may do much before the Inflammation and Inflation are increased for so the Secundine may be gently drawn out and the Woman freed from all the Symptoms and Fatigue of Medicines If the Secundine cannot be ejected by any means but sticks firmly to the Womb and putrifies there Suppuratives must be injected mixed with things that cleanse that that which is putrified may be drawn out by degrees to this purpose Rondoletius commends Basilicon especially being dissolv'd in the following Decoction Take of the Leaves of Mallows with the Roots three handfuls of the Roots of both the Birth-worts each six drachms of Flax-seeds and Fenugreek-seeds each half an ounce of Violets one handful of the Flowers of Camomel and the lesser Centaury each half an handful Make a Decoction in Water mingle Oil with it if you would have it suppurate much but if you more design to cleanse add a little Vnguentum Aegyptiacum CHAP. CX Of a Suppression of the Child-bed Purgations THere is so great a Flux of Humors from all parts of the Womb when a Woman is with Child and during the Commotion in her Labour that in case there be not afterwards sufficient Evacuation of them the Woman is in great danger of very ill Accidents and sometimes of Death it self because these Humors corrupting by their stay there will certainly cause a great Inflammation And this is the reason why the Suppression of the Lochia is one of the worst and most dangerous Symptoms which can befal a Woman after Delivery especially if they happen to be totally and suddenly stopt the first three or four days which is the time they should come down plentifully for then follow an acute Fever great Pains in the Head Pains in the Breast Reins and Loins Suffocation of the Mother and an Inflammation which is suddenly communicated to the Belly which becomes very much swell'd and blown up there happens also a great difficulty in Breathing Choakings Palpitation of the Heart Fainting Convulsions and often Death it self if the Suppression continues and if the Woman over-lives it she is in danger of an Abscess in the Womb and afterwards of a Cancer or there may happen great Imposthumes in the Belly also the Gout Sciatica and Lameness or an Inflammation and Abscess in the Breast The Causes of the Stoppage of the Lochia proceed either from a great Loosness because a great Evacuation that way turns the Lochia and makes them stop or any strong Passion of the Mind so do great Colds and cold Drink To bring the Lochia well down let the Woman avoid all Perturbations of Spirit which may stop them let her lie in Bed with her Head and Breast a little raised keeping her self very quiet that so the Humors may be carried downwards by their natural tendency Let her observe a good Diet somewhat hot and moist and apply an Hysterick Plaster to her Navel Take of the Conserves of Roman Wormwood and of Rue each one ounce of the Troches of Myrrh two drachms of Castor English Saffron Volatil Salt of Sal Armoniack and of Assa Fetida each half a drachm with a sufficient quantity of the
Syrup of the five opening Roots make an Electuary Let her take the quantity of a large Nutmeg every third Hour drinking upon it three or four spoonfuls of the following Mixture Take of the Water of Penny Royal and Balm each three ounces of compound Briony-Water two ounces of Syrup of Mugwort three ounces and an half of Saffron two drachms of Castor tied up in a Rag and hanged in the Glass one scruple mingle them If these things are used presently upon the Suppression they generally take it off But if they have been used so long that all the quantity is taken and the Lochia are still stopt in this case we may use Laudanum for once but it is best to mix it with hysterick things For instance Take of liquid Laudanum sixteen drops in a spoonful of compound Briony-water Or Take of solid Laudanum one grain and an half of Assa Fetida one scruple and an half Make two Pills But it must be carefully noted that if upon once taking the Business is not done Opium by no means must be repeated again But having waited a while to see what it will do we must return again to Emmenagoges mix'd with Hystericks and afterwards we must Inject a Glister But what was said before of Opium is also to be taken notice of in respect of Glisters for unless the first bring down the Lochia nothing is to be hoped for from more These things therefore being done it is safest and the duty of a prudent Physician to wait and see what Time will do for every Day the Danger will lessen and if the Sick live over the twentieth Day she will be in a manner out of Danger for then she will be able to bear that Method which is fittest to conquer the Diseases which were occasioned by the Suppression of the Lochia CHAP. CXI Of After-Pains PAins happen so frequently to Women in Childbed that few are free from them but they seldom require the Physicians help because they usually cease in two or three Days But if they are sharp and continue longer they are forced to send for Physicians who before they prescribe ought to enquire into the causes of the Pains The chief Causes therefore of Pains after Labour are a great quantity of Blood the Thickness and Acrimony of it and the Narrowness of the Vessels for when the Veins of the Womb have ceased to evacuate Blood for nine Months and when that is heaped up in a great quantity and also grows thick and acrimonious by it's long stay it occasions Pain while it passes through the narrow Passages which returns by Intervals as often as the Womb endeavours the Evacuation of the Blood And when that is over the Pain ceases till more Blood endeavours to come out These Pains are also sometimes occasioned by Wind or cold received into the Womb but the Pain seldom happens from these Causes This Pain is distinguished from other Pains that are wont to afflict the Belly by the continuance or Intervals which follow the Evacuation of Blood and Women can easily distinguish them themselves The thick Blood easily coagulates but the thin is known by its thinness and fresh colour If the Pain arises from Wind it is more wandring and possesses more parts of the Belly nor does it follow the Intervals of the Evacuation of Blood If cold Air be admitted into the Womb it may be known by those things which have been done about the Woman These Pains are not dangerous but are most commonly very troublesome and therefore are to be taken off or asswaged as soon as may be As to the Cure the Vessels of the Womb must be relaxed and the thickness of the Blood attenuated and its Acrimony qualified all which may be done by the following means And first the Woman's Belly must be gently swathed that it may subside and not move hither and thither as it often happens after Delivery upon so sudden an evacuation and then give of Oil of Almonds fresh drawn three ounces mixed with an ounce and an half of Syrup of Violets And Glisters may be injected made of Milk and Sugar and Yolks of Eggs or they may be prepared of a Decoction of Camomel-flowers and of Mugwort in Chicken-broath adding to them Oil of Lillies and Yolks of Eggs. And the Belly of the Woman must be anointed with Carminitive and Aperitive Oils as with Oil of Dill Rue Jasmin or with the following which is very effectual which may be prepared for this use in due season and kept in the Shops Take of the Roots of round Birth-wort of Orris and Peony each one ounce of Cyprus half an ounce of the dried Leaves of Mugwort Feverfew wild Marjoram Calaminth Pennyroyal Dittany of Creet of Wormwood Savin Rue Bettony and Sage each one handful of the Flowers of Rosemary Stechas Lavender Camomel Dill S. John's Wort Elder each half an handful of the Grains of Lawrel and Juniper each half an ounce of Cummin the Seeds of Rue Peony Daucas of the Chast Tree each three drachms of Cloves Nutmegs Cinnamon and Ginger each two drachms of Storax and Myrrh each one ounce Bruise them and cut them and infuse them in three quarts of old Oil adding a litte White-Wine keep them in an earthen Vessel well stopt for the space of a Week then boil them upon hot Ashes four or five hours then press out the Oil and keep it for use If you have it not ready prepared you may boil the Simples upon occasion with equal parts of Oil and White-Wine to the consumption of the Wine afterwards press out the Oil. A Fomentation may be also made of a Decoction of Mugwort Feverfew Baulm of the Leaves of Bays and Calaminth of the Seeds of Daucas Cummin and Caraways of the Flowers of Wall-flower and Camomel made in Water and White-Wine or in Milk Or the following Cataplasm may be applied Take of Onions boil'd in Water number three or four bruise them in a Mortar and add to them of the Seeds of Cummin and Flax bruised each one handful With a sufficient quantity of the Flowers of Camomel and Barly-meal make a Cataplasm and if there be occasion add a little of the Water wherein the Onions were boil'd Spread it upon a cloath and apply it hot to the Navel It is also proper to cover the Belly with a Sheep's-skin fresh flea'd off and applied hot for the Heat of it is very agreeable it eases the Pain and keeps the Belly from wrinkling And the following things may be taken inwardly Take of the Seeds of Daucas powdered one drachm of White-Wine three ounces Mingle them and give it twice in a day Or Take of Nutmegs Aniseeds and Cinamon each one scruple Mingle them make a Powder give it with White-wine or one scruple of Oil of Nutmegs with Broath Forestus used the Flowers of Camomel in Beer or a Decoction of Camomel and Mugwort in Chicken-Broath with good Success It is good presently after Delivery to give the Broath of an
of the Oak factitious Cinnabar and of Elk's Hoof each half an Ounce Dose half a Scruple or one Scruple Some find benefit by Shaving the Head and by applying to the forepart of it a Plaister Take of the Roots and Seeds of Peony of Castor of Misleto of the Oak and of Man's Skull finely powder'd each one Dram of the Plaister of Bettony two Ounces of Carrana Tacamahaca each two Drams of Balsam Copaiba a sufficient quantity make a Plaister spread on Leather and apply it to the Sutures of the Head Anoint the Temples and Nostrils often with Oyl of Ambar either by it self or mixed with Oyl of Copaiba Sneesing Powders and Apophlegmatisms must be used every Morning Take of white Hellebore one ounce of Castor and Euphorbium each half a dram of sweet Marjoram and the Leaves of Rue each two drams make a Powder which you may dissolve with Mustard in a decoction of Sage or hyssop and with it wash and gargle the Mouth Glysters may be used daily upon occasion 'T is said that six or eight Ounces of the decoction of Gujacum taken twice a day and the second decoction of it used for ordinary drink as is used in the French Pox will Cure this Disease CHAP. V. Of Childrens Convulsions CHildrens Convulsions in Latin Epilepsia puerorum are so frequent that it is almost the only Species of Convulsions They are chiefly subject to them in the first Month and at the time they breed Teeth but they also happen at other times and proceed from other causes in such are disposed to them Sometimes they do not come presently after the Birth but lye hid until the breeding of Teeth or not till a great while after and take their rise from other evident Causes either Internal or External as from an Unhealthy or Big-bellied Nurse from Milk coagulated or corrupted in the Stomach from a Feaverish Disposition from Ulcers or Scabs of the Head or of other Parts suddenly disappearing from changes of the Air or from the Conjunction or opposite Aspects of the Sun and Moon We must endeavour to prevent these Convulsions in Children and Infants or to Cure them when they are come for if the former Children of the same Parents have been subject to Convulsive Fits this Disease ought to be prevented by the early use of Remedies in such as are born after To this end it is customary to give to new-born Babes as soon as they begin to breath some Medicine proper for Convulsions Some upon this occasion give some drops of pure Hony others a Spoonful of Canary-wine sweetned with Sugar or Oyl of Almonds fresh drawn others give a drop of Oyl of Ambar or half a Spoonful of Epileptick water Besides these things used at first which certainly do good some other Remedies ought to be administred for instance give a Spoonful twice a day of the following Liquor Take of the Waters of Black Cherries and Rue each one Ounce and a half of Langius's Antiepilectick Water one Ounce of Syrup of Coral six Drams of prepared Pearl fifteen Grains mingle them in a Viol. The third or fourth day after the Birth make an Issue in the Neck and if the Countenance be florid evacuate by bleeding an Ounce and an half or two Ounces of Blood from the Jugular Veins but take care that too much Blood do not flow out in sleep rub gently the Temples with the following Linement Take of Oyl of Nutmegs by expression two Drams of Balsam of Copaiba three Drams of Ambar one Scruple mix them Hang round the Neck the Roots and Seeds of Male-peony and a little Elks hoof sewed up in a Rag Moreover Medicines proper for Convulsions must be given daily to the Nurse Let her take Morning and Evening a Draught of Whey wherein the Roots of Male-peony or the Seeds of Sweet Fennel have been boiled Take of the Conserves of the flowers of Bettony Male-peony and Rosemary flowers each two Ounces of the Powders of the Roots and Flowers of Male-peony each two Drams of red Coral prepared and white Ambar each one Dram of the Roots of Angelica and Zodoary prepared each half a Dram with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Peony make an Electuary Let her take the quantity of a Nutmeg Morning and Evening and be very orderly in her Diet. But if any Infant be actually seized with Convulsions because the Issue does not run well you must apply a Blister to the Neck or behind the Ears and if the Infant be not of a cold Constitution Blood must be drawn from the Jugular Veins by Leeches and Linements must be used to the Temples Nostrils and Neck and to the Soles of the Feet and Glisters which empty the Belly plentifully must be injected Moreover often in a day namely every sixth or eighth hour Specifick Remedies must be given Take of Oyl of Copaiba and of Castor each two Drams of Ambar half a Dram make a Linement Apply to the Soles of the Feet the Plaister with Euphorbium spread on Leather Take of prepared Pearls of the Powder de Gutteta each one Dram mingle them for twelve Papers whereof let him take one Morning and Evening in a Spoonful of the following Julap drinking after it one or two Spoonfuls Take of the Waters of Black Cherries and of Lilly of the Vallies each two Ounces of Fennel-water and Compound Peony water each two Drams of Syrup of red Poppies six Drams Take of the Powder of the Seeds of Rue of Castor of Assafaetida each a sufficient quantity mingle them and tye it up in a Rag sprinkle it with Vinegar and put it often to the Nostrils Vntzerus commends much the Gall of a Sucking Kitlin all the Juice being taken out of the Bladder and mixed with a little water of Lime-flowers and given to the Child An excellent Physician lately told me that he had known several Children cured with this Remedy When by reason of breeding Teeth difficultly Convulsions happen this Symptom is Secondary and less Dangerous and therefore does not require the first and chief work of Healing for sometimes we are more Solicitous to ease the Pain and take off the Feaverish Disposition And therefore a thin and cooling Diet is ordered for the Eruption of the Teeth either by rubbing or cutting the Gums and things that are anodine are applied to the swelled and pained Parts and here Glisters and Bleeding are often used and we ought to procure Sleep and to qualifie the Fury of the Blood in the mean while Temperate Medicines for Convulsions and such as do the least stir the Humours are to be used and Blisters because they evacuate the Serum too apt to be poured upon the Head do often give relief When Children are seized with Convulsions not presently after the Birth or upon breeding Teeth but from other Occasions and Accidents the cause for the most part of such is either in the Head or in the Bowels when the former is suspected as is wont to be
known by the signs which shew watry Humours heap'd up in the Brain the Medicines above mentioned must be used Moreover for those who bear Purging well a Vomit or gentle Purge must be prescribed Wine and Oxymel of Squills also Mercurius dulcis Rubarb and Rosin of Jalap are of good use when the cause of the Convulsions seems to be lodged in the Bowels or when Worms or sharp Humours in the Belly are the cause For Worms a Purge of Rubarb or of Mercurius dulcis with the Rosin of Jalap must be given and the following Medicines are also of use Take of the Roots of Virginian Snake-weed powdered one Dram of Coral calcined till it is white half a Dram make a Powder The Dose is half a Scruple or a Scruple twice a day for three days following drinking upon it the Decoction of the Roots of Grass Take of Hiera pitra and of Venice-Treacle each one Dram make a Plaister for the Belly If the Convulsions are thought to proceed from sharp Humours disturbing the Bowels or Stomach Purging upward and downward by turns is to be observed to this end a gentle Vomit of Wine of Squills or Salt of Vitriol is to be given Take of Syrup of Peony three Ounces Salt of Vitriol two Scruples of Compound Lavender-water one Dram mingle them give a Spoonful three or four times in an hour till the Child has once Vomited or went to Stool once But if Evacuation downward seem most proper give the Infusion of Rubarb or the Powder of it or Syrup of Succory with Rubarb or Syrup of Roses with Agarick And moreover Glisters are to be used frequently in this case and External Medicines are to be applied to the Belly Take of the leaves of Camomil cut small two handfuls put them into two Bags made of fine Cloth or of Silk which being dip'd in hot Milk and pressed out are to be applied successively to the Belly CHAP. VI. Of the Night-Mare or Incubus IT is commonly supposed by the ordinary sort of People that this Disease is occasioned by the Devil or an Evil Spirit 's lying upon their Stomachs which perhaps may be so sometimes but it also comes from meer Natural Causes as is supposed though what those are or where the Morbisick Matter is placed is not known when it is thought to come from Natural Causes the Cure is to be undertaken in the following manner Bleeding and gentle Purging is first to be used and afterward things proper for the Head as Powders of Ambar Coral Pearls the Roots of Male-peony Dittany of Crete Contra yerva and other things prescribed in the Chapter of the Apoplexy and the like But an orderly Diet is first to be prescribed windy Meats and such as are hard of Digestion are to be avoided and Sleep must not be indulged after Eating or Study and large and late Suppers and lying on the Back must be forbid Infants and Children are often troubled with this Disease the sign whereof is their starting in their Sleep and crying out violently and after they have had these Fits often they fall into Convulsions wherefore a right Method of Cure ought to be administred as soon as they seem to be disordered in their Sleep Inquiry must be made concerning the Milk they Suck whether it be good or not and whether it agrees with their Stomachs after they have Sucked plentifully they must not be suffered to sleep the Nurse must use an orderly Diet and let her take also Morning and Evening a Dose of a Powder or Electuary that is proper for the Head drinking upon it a Draught of Posset-drink wherein the Leaves of Sage or Bettany or the Roots or Seeds of Peony have been boiled Let the Infant take twice a day a Spoonful of Black-Cherry-water let an Issue be made in the Neck and let it lye sometimes on one side sometimes on the other and seldom or never upon the Back And Coral or the Seeds of Male-peony being hanged about the Neck or upon the Pit of the Stomach may do some good When they start violently often in their Sleep apply a Blister to the Neck or behind the Ears Moreover Morning and Evening daily give half a Scruple of the Powder de Gutteta in a Spoonful of Lime-flower-water CHAP. VI. Of Sleepy Diseases Coma Lethargy Carus and Apoplexy THere are four sorts of Preternatural Sleep Coma Lethargy Carus and Apoplexy which because for the most part they proceed from the same Causes and require the same Methods of Cure therefore they shall be treated of together in this Chapter The first and principal cause of these Diseases is a Flegmatick or Watry Humour contained in the Brain contrary to Nature Secondly Sleepy Diseases are wont to be generated by Blood abounding in the Brain and from extravasated Blood stopping or oppressing the Ventricles of the Brain sleepy Disease and especially an Apoplexy is sometimes occasioned Thirdly It is certain that a Comatose Disease proceeds from a Tumor that oppresses the Brain by its weight Fourthly Immoderate Vapors carried to the Head may be the cause of a Sympathetick Coma. Fifthly From the immoderate use of Narcotick Medicines inwardly taken so deep a Sleep is occasioned that many by the imprudent use of Opium have slept their last That Sleepy Diseases are occasioned by Flegmatick Humours stagnating in the Brain is known by a Flegmatick Habit of Body by old Age or Childhood by a cold or moist Season or Country by the Suppression of the Excretion of Flegm by the Mouth and Nostrils and for that the Sick before the coming of this Disease was afflicted with a Dulness of the Head Dimness of Sight and Unaptness for Motion and because in the Disease Flegm flows from the Mouth and Nostrils or falling upon the Throat is frequently swallowed down by the Sick That Blood produces a sleepy Disease is known by a Plethorick Disposition by Redness of the Face and by a Pain in the Head foregoing this Disease That the Sympathetick Disease arises from Vapors elevated to the Brain is known by the absence of those Signs which signifie an Idiopathetick Disease also by the signs of the peculiar disorder of the Parts from whence Vapors are transmitted to the Brain A very thin Diet is to be ordered at the beginning of these Diseases and when the Fit is off the Sick to prevent a Relapse must forbear all strong Liquors and be fed with Barly and Oat-meal Broths or with Chicken Broth and sometimes especially when he Purges with Chickens Lamb and the like When a Physician is first called to a Patient that is seized with a sleepy Disease he must endeavour by all means to rowse him by offering Violence to all his Senses and therefore he must expose his Eyes to the Sun-beams or to a clear Light his Ears must be filled with violent Noises and Clamours and the Sick must be sure to be called aloud by his own name sharp things are to be blown up his Nostrils the Sense of Touching
carried off by derivation to this end frictions of the extream Parts especially the lower Parts are to be used Cupping-glasses are to be applied to the Back and Shoulders without Scarification especially to the hinder part of the Head with Scarification whereby the Humours are so powerfully drawn from the foreâ—parts and beginning of the Nerves that some upon the application of it have immediately recovered their Sight At the same time a Blister must be applied to the Neck An Issue made in the Neck with a Skean of Silk is very beneficial in this case A Potential Cautery applied to the Coronal Suture has been successful sometimes when nothing else would do good After universal Purging a sudorifick Diet is to be ordered of Sarsa and the like and after the use of the sudorifick Decoction the use of a sulphureous Bath is very proper to Bath in and to wash the Head with Apophlegmatisms are also of use During the whole Course the Sick is to be purged often And care is to be taken to strengthen the Head and Eyes to which end a Dram of Old Venice Treacle must be given at Bed-time twice or thrice a Week dissolved in Fennel or Eye-bright Water Nutmeg also chewed iâ— a Morning Fasting is much commended so are Candieâ— Myrobalans eaten in a Morning In a desperate case after all Remedies have been used to no purpose a large Blister applied to the shaved Head has sometimes done much good and repeated twice oâ— thrice when the Excoriation begins to be dry CHAP. XV. Of Diseases of the glassy Humour THE glassy Humour is placed under the Cristaline and is therefore made by Nature clear that the Species may be conveyed pure and clear to the Optick Nerves if therefore the perspicuity of it be sullied by the mixture of any Humour and it become dark the Sight is more or less diminished proportionably to the degree of darkness of it Moreover this Humour may be injured by being misplaced namely if part of it by a Blow or Contusion is thrust before the Cristalin Humour for then the Sight is darkned for the glassy humour is thicker than the watry and so the Species of Objects cannot be brought pure and sincere to the Cristaline Humour The former of these Diseases can be known by no Signs but be imagined only by reason For this Humour cannot be seen nor the disposition of it known therefore Practitioners when they perceive no fault in the Eye confound this with the Gutta Serena and that without any damage to the Patient for extraneous Humours poured upon the glassy Humour must be discussed by the same Remedies wherewith a Gutta Serena is wont to be Cured But the vitiated situation of the glassy Humour may be known by appearing like the White of an Egg under the Pupil but it cannot be distinguished from a suffusion unless the antecedent and procatarctick causes are well considered for a suffusion proceeds from a simple influx of the Humours But this from the glassy Humour misplaced by a Blow or Wound This Disease is incurable by Art But sometimes it happens to be Cured by Nature and therefore the whole business is to be left to her CHAP. XVI Of the Diseases of the Cristaline Humour THE Christaline Humour is the chief Instrument of Sight and therefore more than the other Humours of the Eye ought to retain its Purity and Perspicuity that it may render the Sight perfect and if it recede from that Purity the Sight is much obstructed The chief Disease of the Cristaline Humour is the change of it to a grey Colour and this Disease happens in old Age from a drying and thickning Cause It is known by a deep and great whiteness that appears about the Pupil and all things are seen through a Smoak and Cloud but it is difficultly distinguished from a Suffusion which represents such a Whiteness in the Pupil upon which account many Authors confound it with a Suffusion But those that look carefully may distinguish these two Diseases for in a Suffusion the whiteness is in the Pupil but in this it appears deep This Disease is incurable especially in old People in whom the driness of the Parts cannot be mended Besides the Cristaline Humour may be vitiated in Situation namely when its broad part which is like a Lentil is not exactly opposed to the hole of the Pupil but is moved upward to downward and then things appear double But this fault of Sight is also occasioned by Vapours or by thin Flegm that sullies the Christaline Humour This often happens to People that are drunk The second ill Situation of the Christaline Humour is when it inclines forward or backward if forward towards the Pupil then things that are near are not plainly seen but things that are at distance are this happens most commonly to old People If it be placed backward towards the Optick Nerve things that are near are plainly seen but things at distance not at all This is called Purblindness which is to be remedied only by Spectacles The third ill Situation of the Cristaline Humour is when it proceeds too much to the right or left and this is called Squinting But this is not only occasioned by the vitious Situation of the Cristaline Humour but also from the ill Disposition of the Muscles that move the Eyes which is either natural or occasioned by a Convulsion or Palsie which is to be cured by Paralytick Remedies Lastly From a greater or lesser Inversion of the Cristaline Humour other Vices of Sight may proceed as when things that are streight appear crooked or upside down which happened to a Physician as Sennertus relates who looking earnestly upwards removed the Cristaline Humour CHAP. XVII Of the Diseases of the Watery Humour and especially of a Suffusion THE watery Humour is alter'd from its natural Constitution when it is peccant in Quantity or Quality when it is encreased or diminished beyond measure it causes a Dilatation or Contraction of the Pupil which are to be treated of in their Place But when it is vitious in quality it becomes thick it is caused by some other Humour flowing into it this is called a Suffusion which is to be treated of here This Disease when it begins and when the Sight is a little darkned is called A Suffusion But when something is collected in the Pupil like Water it is called Water Lastly when the Matter is wholly concreted in the Pupil and wholly obscures the Sight it is called a Cataract There is also a Suffusion which is Spurious which proceeds from Vapours translated from the Stomach and other Parts A Flegmatick Humour is the chief and most ordinary Cause of a Suffusion yet some other Humours may be mixed with it at least in a small Proportion if Choler be mixed with it it appears yellow when Melancholy black These Humours are wont to flow to the Eyes whâ— they are weak either naturally or occasionally To the natural Weakness belongs a prominence of the
they would be easily excluded by things that Evacuate and Cleanse and by Carminative Medicines but most commonly they are fixed in the very Tunicks of the Intestines upon which account it is difficult to remove them and so they occasion an obstinate Disease The Gross Flegmatick and Melancholly Humours flow by little and little through the Veins of the Intestines and so do not presently cause Pain till there is a quantity sufficient to irritate Nature for their Expulsion and then being moved cause Pain or Wind occasioned by them and included in the Coats of the Intestines distends them and not easily getting out occasions a lasting Pain also Choler after the same manner poured through the Veins of the Intestines upon their Coats and imbibed by them causes violent Pains which are wont to be long and obstinate because it is difficultly removed from their substance There is another Species of a bilious Chollick which degenerates into a Palsie scarce known unto the Ancients which proceeds from a bilious Humour not poured as the former upon the Colon but upon the Membranes of the Abdomen which is transferred thither either from the Gall-Bladder or from the Mesentery in the Crisis of long Feavers or by reason of violent Anger or some other external Cause when because of Obstructions it cannot be carried to the common Passages but by a Preposterous Motion is put off suddenly upon the foresaid Membranes of the Abdomen And hence great Pain arises like the Chollick which yields neither to Glisters nor Fomentations nor any other Remedy but continues for many Months by which the Body wasts and the Sick is vexed with a sort of intermitting Feaver and often with a slow continual Feaver at length the Pain remitting a Palsie succeeds that Humour leasurely creeping through the Membranes of the Abdomen to the Spine of the Back but this Palsie chiefly possesses the upper parts yet there is most commonly a Pain in the Thighs and Legs and in some few the use of them is wholly taken away and sometimes it breaks in upon the â—raâ— and causes the Falling-sickness from whence Death generally follows There are other causes of the Chollick but less frequent viz. Stones growing in the Guts Worms wound up in a bottom and obstructing the Intestines a Compression of the Guts by a Tumour of the neighbouring parts and the narrowness of them by reason of an Inflammation and other Tumours of the Guts or a twisting of them occasioned by Wind which is next to an Iliack Passion and sometimes the Matter which causes a Chollick is Venomous and Malignant Lastly All hard Bodies by obstructing the Guts or distending them may occasion a Chollick as stones generated in the Guts a great quantity of Cherry-stones hard Cheese and the like As Platerus relates of a certain Governour a long while troubled with the Chollick and Convulsions who after the use of Glisters evacuated a great quantity of hard Cheese by Stool The External Causes are a cold Constitution of the Air pressing and hardning the Belly or a hot Constitution which does likewise harden the Excrements the use of Meat and Drink unfit for the Mans Constitution of crudâ— and harsh Roots and of gross Meats of hard Digestion too much rest immoderate Sleep unseasonable Exercise immoderate Venery and other External Causes which may injure the Concoction of the Stomach The Diagnosticks of this Disease are plain for first the Pain is violent sometimes afflicting grievously this part sometimes that sometimes it possesses the Region of the Spleen sometimes of the Stomach or Liver or of the Reins sometimes it is above sometimes below the Navel and oftentimes it is most violent in the left side the Patient often Vomits the Pain is increased after Eating the Belly is most commonly bound The Signs of the Causes are distinguished in the following manner If the Pain proceed from Flegm it is not violent unless it be accompanied with Wind the Sick is eased by hot things and injured by cold things a course of Diet before apt to increase Flegm preceded If the Chollick is occasioned by Wind there is a stretching Pain and a certain Inflation of the Belly the Sick perceive a great deal of Wind and a rumbling in the Belly they are much eased by breaking Wind a course of Diet fit to breed Wind was used before as unseasonably drinking cold Water the frequent use of Pulse Turneps and Chesnuts Herbs and Fruits and the like and if the the Wind be contained in the Cavity of the Intestins the Pain is wandring and not fixed to one part and is renewed by Intervals But if it be kept in within the Coats of the Guts the Pain is fixed and is continual and obstinate because it cannot find Vent If the Chollick proceeds from an acrid and Cholerick Humour it is most sharp there is a twitching and pricking Heat Drouth and for the most part a Feaver the Disease is increased by hot Medicines and Diet and is mitigated by cold By the following Signs the Chollick and Nephritick Pain may be distinguished if they are accurately examined First The Nephritick Pain is fixed in the Kidney and stretches it self from that to the Testes according to the length of the Ureter but the Chollick is wandring and painfully girds the lower Belly Secondly The Chollick increases after eating by reason of the pressure upon the Gut by a full Stomach but the Nephritick Pain is not at all increased after eating but rather lessened because some of the Nutritious Juice is carried to the Veins which somewhat asswages the Pain Thirdly In the Chollick Vomiting is more severe and the Belly is more bound because the Colon lies near the Bottom of the Stomach and the Intestines being full or violently provoked contract themselves that they may expel the common Enemy but either of the Symptoms is common to either of the Diseases so that the Intention or Remission of them has a difficult Diagnostick For the Nephritick Pain being intense may occasion greater Vomiting and bind the Belly more than a remiss Chollick Fourthly In the Chollick the Patient is more eased by Vomiting and going to Stool than in Nephirtick Pains Fifthly In the Nephritick Pain the Urine is first clear and thin afterwards something settles to the Bottom and at length Sand or Gravel is evacuated buâ— in the Chollick the Urine is thicker from the beginning The Cure of this Disease must be varied according to the Variety of the Causes And first There is the same Way of Cure for a Windy and Flegmatick Chollick you must begin with an emollient Glister and afterwards you must give a Carminative and discutient Glister which must be repeated twice thrice or four times in a day till the Pain be gone but if after the use of one or two Glisters the Sick does not go to Stool as sometimes it happens the Belly must be irritated by a sharp Suppository but it is convenient to add to one of the Glisters four
the Pain is not so certainly determined to one Point as in the Progress of it nor is the Vomiting so frequent or does the Belly so obstinately resist Catharticks but the more the Pain is increased the more pertinaciously is it fixed in a Point the Vomiting is more frequent and the Belly more bound till at length by the dreadful Force of these Symptoms a total subversion of the Peristaltick Motion of the Guts if the Patient be not relieved and by consequence an Iliack Passion is procured in which Disease all purging Medicines become presently Emetick and Glisters that are injected are vomited up with the Excrements The Matter that is cast up after this Manner if it be sincere and without mixture is sometimes green and sometimes Yellow and sometimes of an unusual Colour In order to the Cure I bleed freely in the Arm if no Blood has been taken away before and after two or three Hours I give an Anodyne the next day I prescribe some gentle Purge and order that it should be repeated The next day save one and sometimes thrice according as the Relicks of the Humour are more or less But we must take notice that if this Disease proceeds from eating too much Fruit or from any Meat of hard Digestion upon which account ill and corrupted Juices are first transmitted to the Blood and afterwards to the Bowels I say in this Case the Stomach must be washed with large draughts of Posset-drink which must be vomited up again which being done an Anodyne must be given and the next Day a Vein must be opened and as to other things you 〈◊〉 proceed according to the Directions above mentioned but when the Violence of the Pain and the Vomiting by reason of which the Guts are as it were inverted do resist the Operation of the Catharticks for it is in vain to give a gentle Purge unless the Patient is easily purged which must be carefully inquired into for such a Medicine being not strong enough to make its way through the Intestines the Patient is more injured thereby for by its ineffectual Agitation the Vomiting and the pain are increased A lenitive purging Potion of the Infusion of Tamarinds of the Leaves of Senna and Rubarb in which may be dissolved Manna and Syrup of Roses is to be preferred before other Catharticks for it least exagitates and moves the Humours but if the Sick cannot retain a Liquid Medicine by reason of an Aversion or because of the Vomiting you must necessarily use Pills among which the Pill Coch pleases me best for they pass best through the Body in this and in most other Cases But when the Weakness of the Stomach or the Vomiting is so great that the Pills cannot be retained then I first order an Anodyne and a few hours after a Purge but there must be so much space betwixt them that the Cathartick be not quelled by the Narcotick and so rendred ineffectual but that it may continue so long in the Stomach as is necessary for its imparting its purgative Quality to it that it may operate when the Vertue of the Narcotick is spent though the purge if it could be conveniently done is best given a long while after the Anodyn for twelve hours after taking it the patient is difficultly purged But because in this as well as in most other Diseases wherein Narcoticks are indicated a purge always increases the pain at least when it has done working for while it is in Operation the patient is not so ill therefore I usually give an Anodyne as soon as the purge has done working which I order to be taken Morning and Evening daily betwixt the purges that I may the more certainly appease the pain till the patient has been sufficiently purged The purging of the Humours being over I endeavour to bridle the Fury of the Disease which now only remains to be done by giving an Anodyne constantly Morning and Evening which must be sometimes repeated oftner nor could I ever take off violent Pains without a larger Dose than is usual and that repeated too for that which is sufficient to vanquish another Disease will be altogether insufficient in this Case the violence of the Disease subduing the force of the Medicine And it is indeed safe to repeat Narcoticks while such a Pain as this continues violent but not when it is gone off Wherefore I repeat the Anodyne according to the degree of the Pain till it ceases or till it be very much lessened Yet there must be such a Space of Time between them that you may find what may be hoped for from the former Dose before another be given but for the most part unless the Pain be very violent a Paregorick given Morning and Evening may be sufficient Liquid Laudanum is the Anodyne I chiefly use whereof I give Sixteen Drops in some cordial Water or the dose may be increased according to the violence of the Pain But here I must admonish you that though I have said Bleeding and purging must necessarily precede this quieting Method yet sometimes upon occasion both being omitted you must begin with Anodynes For Instance when by reason of some preceding Sickness large Evacuations have been used not long before the Coming of the Chollick for many Times they who have recovered of another Disease have fell suddenly into this by reason of the Weakness of the Bowels especially if there be a great degree of Heat occasioned by drinking of Wine or some other Spiritous Liquor immoderately I say in this Case it is not only unnecessary but I think it is injurious to give Catharticks again for by them new Tumults will be raised Moreover The Guts are most commonly sufficiently cleansed by Glisters frequently used before the Physician is advised with so that partly for this cause and partly by reason of the long continuance of the Disease Narcoticks seem in a manner to be only useful But because this pain of it 's own Nature is wont to return more than any other all Occasions of its Relapse must be prevented by giving an Anodyne twice a day for some days but if as often as the Narcotick is intermitted the pain now and then returns as it sometimes happens I do not know any thing that will so certainly perfect the Cure as riding on Horseback or in a Coach with which the Patient must take long Journies and in the mean while an Anodyne must be given constantly Morning and Evening But Riding must not be used before the Patient has been well purged and then it must be continued for many Days If the Patient be young and of a hot Constitution I order a cooling and thickning Diet suppose Pulp of Barly Panada and the like and every third Day if the Stomach is craving a Chick or a Whiteing boiled and I allow no other Drink than small Beer or Milk-water and this is all I order unless Riding necessary to recover the Health requires more nourishing Food and more generous
most fitly conduce to the carrying down of the Faeces When they I say are forced to give way to a Motion contrary to their Fibres the aforesaid Pain is occasioned from thence which is fixed to one part and is like the boreing of an Auger when either the Valve which is placed at the Beginning of the Colon hinders the going back of the Excrements to the Ilion or any other Membrane belonging to the Sinus sustains alone the Force of this preposterous Impulse We may assign a twofold Cause of this Inversion from whence the Pain arises viz. Obstruction and Iritation First therefore Whatever violently obstructs the Intestines so that nothing can pass downwards necessarily produces this contrary Motion in them Among these Authors are wont to reckon the Excrements hardened gross Wind collected in a great quantity and tying up as it were the Intestines the Constriction of them in a Rupture And lastly An Inflammation and other great Tumours which stop up the Internal Cavity of the Intestine In the mean time we must not deny that this contrary Motion owing its rise to these Causes is rather to be accounted the Motion of these things taken in than of the Intestines nor is this an Inversion of the whole Duct of the Intestines but only of those which are situated above the Seat of that Obstruction wherefore I call an Iliack Passion proceeding hence spurious Secondly I think that in the Iliack Passion the cause of the Inversion of the Peristaltick Motion of the Intestines is most commonly after this Manner viz. Sharp and malignant Humours are cast upon the Stomach and the Guts that are next to it by which the Motion of the Stomach is inverted and forced violently to cast up what is contained in it at length the small Guts that are joined to the Stomack being weakned yield to the violent Motion of it and with them at last the greater follow by Consent the Stomach Vomiting leading as it were the Dance this I call a true Iliack Passion and which is treated of now The Method of cureing it has been hitherto in a manner unknown whatever some boast of the use of Quicksilver and Bullets which besides that they do little good are very oft injurious I have successfully used the following Method When it appears by Glisters cast up by the Mouth and other Signs that it is a true Iliack Passion I endeavour these three things First That the contrary Motion of the Stomach which causes the like Motion of the Guts may be hindred Secondly That the Intestines being weakned by the sharp Humour may be corroborated Thirdly That the Stomach and Guts be freed from these Humours And that I may Answer these Indications I institute the Cure after this Manner First I prescribe one Scruple of Salt of Wormwood in a spoonful of Juice of Lemons to be taken Morning and Evening but at other times of the Day I order some spoonfuls of Mint Water without Sugar or any thing else to be taken twice in an Hour by the repeated use of which alone the Vomiting and the Pain arising from thence will soon vanish At the same time I order a living Kitling to lie continually upon the naked Belly But after the Pain and Vomiting has wholly ceased for the Space of two or three Days I give one dram of the Pill Coch-major dissolved in Mint-water which I also order to be used very often all the time of the working of the Pills that I may the more certainly hinder the Return of the Vomiting nor is the Kitling to be removed before the Patient has taken the Pills I have observed that it is to no purpose to give these Pills or any other Purge how strong soever until the Stomack is strengthned and reduced to its Natural Motion and the Guts also to that which is proper to them for otherwise all Catharticks taken inwardly would prove Emetick and so do more hurt than good and therefore I do not use Purging Medicines until for some Time I have used those Medicines which respect the Stomach I prescribe a very thin Diet for I allow onely some spoonfuls of Chicken-broath to be taken twice or thrice a day in the mean while I order the Patient to keep his Bed all the Time of the Sickness till the Signs of perfect Health appear and when he is well I appoint him to persist in the use of the foresaid Water for a long Time and to keep his Belly warm with Flannels doubled that there may not be a Relapse where unto this Disease is very prone CHAP. LXXIV Of Costiveness BY Costiveness we do not understand a pefect Stoppage of the Belly so that nothing is evacuated downwards as happens in the Iliack Passion but only a slow and unsuitable Evacuation that Way whereby the Excrements and the Relicts of the Meat are seldom ejected and not according to the quantity taken in When the Belly is bound Vapours arise to the Head and Catarrhs and Diseases of the Brain are produced the Concoction is hindred and the Actions of other Parts For the Cure of this Disease the following Medicines must be used Take of the Roots of Marsh-mallows and of Lillies each two ounces of the Leaves of Mallows Marshmallows Mercury Violets Bears-breach each one Handful of Linseed and Fenugreek-seeds each half an ounce of the Seeds of Annise one dram and an half of sweet Prunes three pair of the Flowers of Camomil and Melilot each one Pugil boil them to a Pint and an half in the strained Liquor dissolve of Oyl of Lillies and of Fenugreek-seeds each two ounces of fresh-butter half an ounce of Catholicon Duplicatum and of Diaprunum simplex each six drams make a Glister to be injected as often as there is Occasion But we must endeavour to loosen the Belly by other Remedies because by the frequent use of Glisters Nature grows more slothful and at length will never ease the Body without a Glister To this End sweet Prunes or roasted Aples are to be eaten an hour before Meals or in a Decoction of Prunes an ounce of Mauna must be dissolved The following Broth certainly loosens the Belly and keeps it loose for some Days Take of the Leaves of Beet and Mercury each one handful boil them in common Broth let it be taken an Hour before Dinner CHAP. LXXV Of a Lientery and the Caeliack Passion A Lientery is a sort of Loosness wherein the Meat is voided in a short time nothing altered but as it was taken in at the Mouth In the Caeliack Passion the Nourishment is voided crude and imperfectly digested There are many Causes of the Lientery and Caeliack Passion proposed by Authors all which may be reduced to three Heads viz. A cold Intemperies of the Stomach and Intestines an Irritation of those Parts and a great Debility of the retentive Faculty from a grievous and deadly Disease There is another Cause different from those mentioned which uses peculiarly to produce the Caeliack Passion
does not only cause Pain there but it also stops the Urine just as if there were a Stone whereas there is none But this last kind seizing the Bladder happens very seldom That which resembles the Stone in the Kidnies is not so rare both use to invade those Women who are much weak'ned by Hysterick Fits coming frequently and whose health of Body is much impaired Sometimes falling upon the Stomach it causes câ—ntinual Vomiting and sometimes a Looseness when it is setled upon the Guts But no Pain accompanies either of these Symptoms though oftentimes in both the green Humours appear Both these kinds are familiar with those that are weak'ned by the Hysterick Fits coming frequently And as this Disease afflicts almost all the inward Parts so sometimes it seizes all the outward Parts and the musculous Flesh occasioning Pain and sometimes a Tumour in the Jaws Shoulders Hands Thighs Legs in which kind that Tumour which swells the Legs is more conspicuous than the rest But whereas in Hydropical Swellings these two things may be always taken notice of viz. That the swelling is most in the Evening and that the Finger prest upon it leaves a pit In this Tumour the swelling is most in the Morning nor does it yield to the Finger or leave any mark behind it and for the most part it only swells one of the Legs As to other things if you mind the largeness of it or its superficies it is so very like Hydropical Swellings that the Patient can scarce be brought to believe that it is any other Disease nor can the Teeth free themselves from the assaults of this Disease tho' they are not hollow and tho' there is no apparent defluxion that may occasion the Pain yet it is no whit gentler nor shorter nor easier cured But these Pains and Tumours which afflict the outward Parts chiefly seize those Women that are in a manner quite destroyed by a long series of Hysterick Fits and by the force of them But among all the Torments of this Disease there is none so common as a pain in the Back which most certainly all feel how little soever they are afflicted with this Disease Moreover this is common to the foresaid Pains that the place on which they were will not bear touching after they are gone but is tender and akes just as if it were soundly beaten But this tenderness goes off by degrees And this is worth observing That often a notable Cold of the external Parts makes way for these Symptoms which for the most part does not go off till the Fit ends which Cold I have observed is almost like that by which a Carcass grows stiff yet the Pulse is good And moreover all Hysterick Women which I have hitherto taken care of complain of a dejection and sinking of the Spirits and when they would shew the place where the sinking of the Spirits is they point to the region of the Lungs Lastly every one knows that Hysterick Women sometimes laugh excessively and sometimes cry as much without any real cause for either But among all the Symptoms that accompany this Disease this is the most proper and almost inseparable viz. a Urine as clear as Rock-water and this Hysterick Women evacuate plentifully which I find by diligent Enquiry is in almost all the pathognomonic sign of this Disease which we call Hysterick in Women and Hypochondriack in Men and I have sometimes observed in Men that presently after making Water of a Citron colour yea almost the next moment being suddenly seized with some violent commotion of the Mind they make Water as clear as Cristal and in a great quantity with a continued violent Stream and continue ill till the Urine comes to its wonted colour and then the Fit goes off And it happens to all Hysterical and Hypochondriacal People that sometimes they belch up ill Fumes as often as they eat tho' they eat only moderately and according as they have an Appetite and sometimes the Wind that comes from the Stomach is sower just like Vinegar Nor are they unhappy upon this account only viz. That their Bodies are so ill affected and as it were tottering like ruined Houses just about to fall for their Minds are more diseased than their Bodies and an incureable desperation is mixed with the very nature of the Disease and what the Roman Orator said of the Superstitions exactly agrees with these melancholy People Sleep says he seems to be a Refuge to the Laborious and Careful but from thence Cares and Fears arise whilst only Funerals and Apparitions of their deceased Friends are represented in Dreams and they are so tormented in Body and Mind that one would think their Lives were a Purgatory wherein they were to purifie themselves and to expiate Crimes committed in some other State Nor does this happen only to mad People but also to those who if you except those Impetuosities of Mind are very prudent and judicious and who much excel for deep thought and wisdom in Speech others who 's Minds were never excited by these Provokments to thinking But this dreadful condition of Mind which we have above described seizes on those only that have much and a long while conflicted with this Disease and have been at length wholly vanquished by it especially if Adversity care or trouble of Mind or hard Study or the like join'd with an ill habit of Body have added Oil to the Flame A day would scarce be sufficient to reckon up all the Symptoms belonging to Hysterick Diseases and I think Democritus reckoned pretty right though he mistook the cause of the Disease when he said in an Epistle to Hippocrates That the Womb was the cause of six hundred Miseries and of innumerable Calamities The procatarctick or external causes of this Disease are either violent motions of the Body or which is much oftener vehement commotions of the Mind But to these disorders of the Mind which are usually the occasions of this Disease is to be added emptiness of the Stomach by reason of long Fasting immoderate Bleeding and a Vomit or Purge that works too much As to the internal efficient Causes in my Opinion those Diseases which we call Hysterick in Women and Hypochondriack in Men proceed from a confusion of the Spirits The origin and antecedent cause of this confusion is a weak constitution of the Spirits In order to the Cure I order That 8 ounces of Blood be taken from the right Arm and that the following Plaster be applied to the Navel Take of Galbanum dissolv'd in tincture of Castor and strain'd three drachms of Tacamacha two drachms mix them make a Plaster The next Morning let her make use of the following Pills Take of the Pill Coch. major two scruples of Castor powder'd two grains of peruvian Balsam four drops make four Pills let her take them at five in the Morning and sleep after them Repeat them twice or thrice every Morning or every other Morning according to their operation and
Difficult Labour is known both by the Woman by the By-standers and especially by the Midwife And first if the Woman continue a long time in Labour viz. two three four or more days whereas a natural Birth is finished in 24 hours Another Sign of difficult Labour is languid pains returning at long Intervals also the pains tending backward rather than forward But the Causes of difficult Labour may be known by the Womans Relation and most commonly upon sight So the weakness of the Woman or leanness or over-fatness may be seen by the habit of Body The Diseases of the Womb may be known by their proper Signs the weakness of the Child by the weak and slow motion of it But the signs of a dead Child may be known by the following Chapter The bigness of the Child may be judged of by the stature of the Parents especially if a gigantick Man be married to a dwarfish Woman But when there are none of these Causes and the Womans and Childs endeavours are strong and yet the Labour is difficult it is a sign that the Secundine is so strong that it cannot be easily broken and this will be confirmed if no water or moisture flows out in Labour The preposterous figure of the Fetus may be perceived by the Midwife and other things as has been said by sight As to the Prognostick difficult Labour is of it self dangerous and sometimes the Woman and sometimes the Child and sometimes both are extinguished If a Woman continue in Labour four days she will hardly escape Sleepy Diseases and Convulsions coming upon hard Labour are most commonly deadly Sneesing coming upon hard Labour is good As to the Cure of hard Labour First all those things which retard it must as much as may be be removed afterwards Medicines that further Labour must be methodically administred And first it is common with Women to give a spoonful or two of Cinnamon-water or Cinnamon powdered with a little Saffron or half a drachm of Confection of Alkerms in broath or half a scruple of Saffron alone in some broath or every hour in a little VVine Or Take of Oil of sweet Almonds and of white Wine each two ounces of Saffron and Cinnamon each twelve grains of Confection of Alkermes half a drachm of syrup of Maiden-hair one ounce and an half mingle them make a Potion If these things are not sufficient the following may be used which I have frequently found very effectual Take of Dittany of Crete and both the Birthworts and of Troches of Myrrh each half a scruple of Saffron and Cinnamon each twelve grains of Confection of Alkermes half a drachm of Cinnamon-water half an ounce of Orange-flower-water and of Mugwort-water each one ounce make a Potion Oil of Ambar of Cinnamon and extract of Saffron are very effectual in a small quantity viz. five grains of extract of Saffron four or five drops of Oil of Cinnamon twelve or fifteen drops of Oil of Ambar in VVine Broath or some other Liquor Sneesing hastens Delivery it may be provoked by the following Powder Take of white Hellebore half a drachm of long Pepper one scruple of Castor five grains make a Powder let the quantity of a Pease be blown up into the Nostrils But difficult Labour must be helpt not only with inward Remedies proposed but also with external let the Midwife therefore frequently anoint the VVomb with the Oils of Lillies sweet Almonds Linseed and the like and let the Belly be fomented with an emollient decoction of the Roots of Marsh-mallows Lillies the leaves of Mallows Violets Mugwort of Linseeds Fenugreek-seeds of the flowers of Camomile and Melilot Sharp Glisters are to be injected by the irritation of which the expulsive faculty of the VVomb will be stimulated and the Guts being emptied thereby there will be more room for the VVomb Anoint the Navel with Oil of Ambar and such things as are thought to help Delivery by a specifick quality are to be used as the Eagle's-stone the Load-stone Storax Calamint and the like bound to the Hips and if the Woman has any Gems about her as in Rings or the like they must be pull'd off for many Women think that such things retain the Child by a specifick Quality If the Child seem to be weak it must be refreshed by giving strengthening things to the Mother as hot Wine Confection of Alkermes Cinnamon-water and the like If the Child begins to come forth preposterously as with one Arm or first with the foot or the like the Midwife must thrust them back and turn the Child right which may be done by placing the VVoman in a Bed upon her back with her Head low and her feet high and then force the Child gently into the VVomb and then the Midwife must endeavour to turn it right viz. to turn the Face towards the Mothers back and the Buttocks and Legs must be elevated towards the Mothers Navel and so she must hasten a legitimate Birth But all hopes of Delivery being past or the Mother being near Death some Authors propose the Cesarian Section whereof Franciscus Rossetus wrote an excellent Treatise wherein he endeavours to shew by many Arguments that it may sometimes succeed But because this operation is dangerous and very terrible it ought rarely or never to be attempted by a prudent Physician if he values his own Reputation CHAP. CVIII Of a Dead Child WHen the Child is dead the Motion of it ceases which either the Mother felt before in the Womb or the Midwife with her Hand a greater sense of weight with Pain afflicts the Belly when the Woman turns from side to side she perceives the Child fall like a Stone from one part to another the Belly feels cold the natural Heat being extinguish'd and the Spirits dissipated which were contained in the Child the Eyes are hollow the Face and Lips pale the extream parts cold and livid the Breasts flaccid and at length the Child putrifying a fetid Ichor and Sanies flows from the Womb an ill and strong smell exhales from the Woman's Body and her Breath stinks If the Secundine be excluded before the Fetus it is a certain Sign that the Child is dead The whole Cure consists in the exclusion or extraction of the Child Take of the Leaves of Savin dryed of the Roots of round Birthwort of the Troches of Myrrh and of Castor each one drachm of Cinnamon half a drachm of Saffron one scruple Mingle them make a Powder whereof let her take one drachm in Savin Water In the mean while apply to the Pubes Privities and Perineum an emolient Decoction After the Fomentation anoint the Parts with the Ointment de Arthanita and let a Pessary be put up the Privities Take of the Roots of round Birthwort Orris black Helebore of Coloquintida and Myrrh each one drachm of Galbanum and opopanax each half a drachm With Ox-Gall make a Pessary It is also proper if the Strength be sufficient to give a Purge Angelus
old Cock early in the Morning fasting for three Days with a little Cinnamon and Saffron The following Powder taken presently after Delivery preserves the Woman from Pain in a wonderful manner and some think if a Woman takes it the first Lying in she will never be troubled in Child-bed with these kind of Pains Take of Comfry dried one drachm of the Kernels of Peach-Stones and of Nutmegs each two scruples of Ambar half a drachm of Ambergrise half a scruple Make a Powder whereof let her take a drachm with White-Wine and if there be a Fever with Broath Let her use for her ordinary Drink a Decoction of Mugwort and Cinnamon When the Pains arise from Cholerick and Acrid Humors they must be cured in a manner the same way as the Cholick occasioned by Choler For instance Take of Syrup of Violets and of Borrage each one ounce of the Mucilage of the Seeds of Quinces extracted with Violet-Water half an ounce of Borrage and Scorzonera-Water each three ounces mingle them make a Julep for two Doses Or Take of Oil of Sweet Almonds two ounces of Syrup of Violets one ounce of Borrage Water half an ounce Mingle them for one draught External Medicines that loosen and mollifie the Passages must be applied Child-bed Women after Delivery are often troubled with a Pain in the Groin it may be taken off by applying a Plaster of Galbanum and Assafetida to the Navel in the middle whereof some grains of Musk must be placed CHAP. CXII Of the Acute Diseases of Women in Child-bed THE Fever from Milk whilst the Child-bed Purgations proceed right seldom lasts beyond three Days for about that Time it usually goes off by a great Sweat coming of its own accord But this Intemperies occasioned by the coming of the Milk is somewhat heightned and continues longer when the Milk flows plentifully to the Breasts and is not milkt out but repelled For by its going back as well as its coming there is a Disturbance in the whole Body usually which comes more certainly if the Milk be driven violently back by Repelling Topicks Some common Rules are to be observed concerning the Coming of the Milk or in driving of it back If the Milk flow too freely into the Breasts that the Inflammation of them and the immoderate Effervescence of the Blood may be prevented a thin and spare Diet must be ordered viz. of Broath without Flesh and the Breasts must be often sucked and if it be not thought convenient that the Woman should give Suck it is customary on the First or Third day of Lying-in to apply over the Breasts moderately Astringent Cere-cloaths But this kind of Remedy must be used with Caution lest the Milk should be Excluded altogether or too hastily and so cause a disorder in the Blood and a putrid or malignant Fever of which we shall speak next Women with Child by reason their Bodies are ill affected are as it were infected with a Pestilential Contagion and so are very subject to a putrid or rather malignant Fever This Fever seizes Child-bed Women at various Seasons and upon several Occasions sometimes presently after Delivery especially if it has been difficult and hard sometimes on the first sometimes on the second third or fourth Week but the later it begins the better it goes off It begins and proceeds most commonly in the following manner After a previous Indisposition the Fever begins most commonly with a Shaking and Shivering which Heat presently follows and after that Sweat the first or second day fits of Heat and Cold succeed one another and then all the Blood being inflamed the Lochia if they were not suppressed before flow but little or quite stop If the Disease be acute and of quick motion it comes to its height the third or fourth day the Heat is violent and the Thirst very much the Pulse vehement and quick Watchings obstinate there is great Restlessness so that the Sick tumble from one side of the Bed to the other continually the Urin is thick and red and there are many other grievous Symptoms when this Fever is in its State no Crisis is to be expected for I never saw this Disease go off by a critical Sweat for when the Blood has a while Boyled the adust Matter being presently translated to the Brain dangerous disorders of the Genus Nervosum are occasioned and convulsive motions of the Tendons and inflations of the Bowels like Mother Fits and sometimes a Phrensie or Delirium and often a Stupoâ— and loss of Speech follow and the Strength is suddenly dejected almost in all without any manifest Cause the Pulse is weak and unequal and the Sick soon die And if any chance to escape the flux of the Courses being restored or a Loosness happening they recover difficultly after a long Sickness The acute Diseases of Women in Childbed are not always according to the manner of the fore-mentioned Fever but sometimes they are accompanied with some great Symptom as with a Quinsie Pleurisie Peripneumonia Bloody-flux Small-pox and the like Of these a Quinsie Pleurisie and Peripneumunia by reason of the great similitude of the Cause and analogy of the Cure may be considered together Presently at their first beginning we must endeavour that the Blood fixed any where and beginning to be Extravasated be restored to Circulation lest an Imposthume should be occasioned wherefore internal Remedies which free the Blood from Coagulation must be used of which sort are Diaphoreticks abounding with Volatile Salt as Spirit of Harts-horne and Soot Urin also Testaceous and Bezoartick Powders Lapis Prunella Decoctions and Juleps made of Vegetables that force Urine and the Courses with all which must be mixed such things as have been found by Experience to have been proper for Uterine Diseases Moreover Discutient Medicines which disperse the Matter Impacted such are Liniments Fomentations and Cataplasms must be carefully applied to the Parts affected In the mean while the violent Motion and immoderate Effervescence of the Blood must be driven far from thence and the Filth must be driven as much as possible downwards To this end Frictions Ligatures Epispasticks and if there be occasion Cupping-glasses must be applied about the Legs and Feet if the Disease be very violent Bleeding is indicated and unless there be a Plethora in the whole Body and the Inflammation be very acute in the Part affected it will be best to open a Vein in the Foot or to apply Leeches to the Hemorrhoidal Veins But if necessity urge we may Bleed in the Arm and afterwards if it can be admitted in the Foot But you must take notice that Bleeding must be cautiously used in these Cases for unless it does good which I have seldom found the Sick is in worse condition the Pulse being thereby rendred weaker A Dissentery is very often deadly and so much the rather because such things as qualifie the Blood and that moderately bind are Indicated but the flux of the Lochia forbid the use of them
Wherefore in this case till she has been well Purged by a long flux of the Lochia the fierceness of the Symptoms must at present be only appeased The Indications of the Small-pox are not only contrary to those above-described but also to one another for the flux of the Lochia must be moderately restrained but in the mean while the Efflorescence of the Blood and gentle Sweating must be continued For seeing a twofold venomous Ferment is in this Disease and the corrupt Particles of the Blood are to be carried out two ways we must take care that the least and narrowest Passage do not draw all the Matter or more than it can let out Wherefore lest the Lochia flowing plentifully should turn inward the Venom that is inclined to go off by Sweat the course of Diet must be somewhat changed and first such things as are of an Alexipharmick and astringent nature must be boyled with their Broaths as the Roots of Tormentil and Bistort also Powders Juleps and Electuaries endued with such Vertues must be given at due Intervals and in this case the Woman must be no ways allowed Flesh or the Broath of it not must she Rise but she must be kept as quiet as is possible and the whole Business must be left in a manner to God and Nature All Women in Child-bed have an inbred Venom and they ought to be careful of it and to avoid it as much as the greatest Malignity Wherefore they ought to use an exact course of Diet whereby the Impurities of the Blood and Humours may be purged in Child-bed without the danger of a Fever and that the disorders of the Womb may be heal'd and their strength weakned by Delivery may be restored To which end three things are to be minded First An exact course of Diet must be ordered viz. That they be fed for a Week at least with Water-Gruel sometimes made with Beer sometimes made with Water mix'd with Whitewine or with Panada and other things of easie Digestion Secondly They must take great care that they do not catch Cold whereby the Pores and the Lochia may be stopt wherefore let them continue in Bed at least till the Tenth day Thirdly The Lochia must be gently provoked to this end Midwives when after hard Labour there is danger of a stoppage of the Lochia give Sperma Caeti Irish Slates Powdered or White Wine tinctured with Saffron and they make the Gruel with Water and White Wine wherein as also in Posset Drink they Boyl Marygold Flowers the Leaves of Penny-royal or Mugwort CHAP. CXIII Of Childrens Diseases Of ordering them and of the Choice of a Nurse A Child which during the stay in its Mother's Belly had no other Nourishment but the Blood it received by the umbilical Vessels hath for want of that after its Birth need to take some by the Mouth and Suck Breast-Milk however it is not good to give it Suck as soon as it is Born to prevent that so sudden a Change as well in respect of the difference of Nourishment as the manner of receiving it lest it cause some alteration in its Health First therefore empty the Phlegm out of its Stomach by giving it the first three or four days some Wine and Sugar to cut and loosen it to prevent the Milk he shall take from Corrupting it being mixed with this viscous Phlegm wherefore it is best to stay until the next day before you give it Suck It were to be wished that the Mother shou'd not give it Suck until the Eighth day of her Child-bed at soonest and it is best if she stay three Weeks or a Month for in that time she will be well Purged by the Lochia and the Blood will be much more pure besides the small holes of the Nipples are not at first sufficiently opened and therefore it is necessary for a Woman to Suck first But often poor People cannot observe so many Precautions and such Mothers are obliged to give their Children Suck from the first day and likewise others will not suffer any but themselves to do it In this case let her Breasts be a little drawn by some old Woman or some lusty sucking Child or they may Draw them themselves If the Nurse has much Milk she must not give the Child any thing else at least the first two Months As to the quantity of Milk the Child ought to suck it must be proportionable to his Age and Strength in the beginning he must not suck too much nor too often afterwards by little and little let it be daily augmented until he may take his fill but he may suck at any time night or day After the Child has suck'd two or three Months more or less according as one finds he needs stronger Nourishment give him then Pap made of Flower and Milk though but little at first and not too thick lest his Stomach may be overcharged When the Child has taken Pap thus made which must be but once a day especially in the Morning or twice at most the Nurse may give it a little suck to the end that being washed down into the Stomach the Digestion may be the better and easier made There are many Women who give their Children Pap as soon as they are Born and Nurses who have little Milk ordinarily do so to hinder their Crying as they will do when they are Hungry But sometimes this of it self is enough to kill them because of the Indigestion and Obstruction it occasions which by reason of its gross and viscous consistence can scarce find Passage through the Stomach and Guts which at the beginning are weak and not sufficiently opened and dilated whereby there happens to Children great Oppressions difficulty of Breathing Gripes Swellings Pains of the Belly and often Death Wherefore do not give it the Child till after the first or second Month at soonest and if you forbore it three or four Months he would thrive the better provided the Nurse does not want Milk When he is in the Cradle let it be so turned as it may be towards the Fire the Candle or the Chamber Window that having the Light directly in its Face he may not be allured to look continually on one side for doing so often his Sight will be so perverted that he will grow Squint-ey'd Wherefore for the better secucurity throw some Covering over the head of the Cradle Many Children are so Grip'd that they can't forbear Crying night nor day and some die so and this is very often the first and most common Disease that happens to little Infants after their Birth To remedy all these Pains which Women generally call Gripes respect must be had to their different Causes As to that which is the general cause viz. The too sudden change of the Nourishment you must forbear giving the Child Suck till the next day lest the Milk being mix'd with the Phlegm which is in the Stomach corrupt and at first it must Suck but little until it
sufficient quantity to make it pleasantly acid Take of the Leaves of Plantain and of Nettles each a sufficient quantity beat them together in a Marble-Mortar and press out the Juice clarifie it and give six spoonfuls of it cold three or four times in a day After the first Purge apply the following Plaster to the Region of the Loins Take of the Plasters of Diapalma and ad herniam each equal parts mix them and spread them upon Leather A cooling and thickning Diet must be ordered only it may be proper to allow once or twice a day a small Glass of Claret which tho' it be not so proper because it is apt to raise an ebullition yet it may be allowed to recover the Strength This Method may be also used to prevent Miscarriage but the Juices and the Purges must be omitted CHAP. XCVI Of the Whites THis obstinate and lasting Disease may be cured by Bleeding once and by purging with two Scruples of Pill Coch. major four times and by the following Corroboratives Take of Venice Treacle one ounce and an half of the Conserve of the yellow Peel of Oranges one ounce of Diascordium half an ounce of Ginger candied and Nutmegs candied each three drachms of compound Powder of Crabs-eyes one drachm and an half of the outward Peel of Pomgranates of the Roots of Spanish Angelica and of the Troches of Lemnian Earth each one drachm of Bole-armenick two scruples of Gum Arabick half a drachm with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of dried Roses make an Electuary whereof let her take the quantity of a large Nutmeg in the morning and at five in the afternoon and at night drinking upon it six spoonfuls of the following Infusion Take of the Roots of Elecampane Masterwort Angelica and Gentian each half an ounce of the Leaves of roman Wormwood white Horehound the lesser Centaury and Calaminth each one handful of Juniper Berries one ounce Cut them small and infuse them in five pints of Canary-Wine let them stand in Infusion and strain them only as you use them Through the whole course of Corroboratives purging must not be used for every Evacuation spoils what the Corroborative has done CHAP. XCVII Of Hysterick and Hypochondriack Diseases THese Diseases if I calculate right are the most frequent of all chronical Diseases and as Fevers with those Diseases that appertain to them if they are compared with chronical taken altogether make two thirds so Hysterical Diseases at least those that go under that Name are half the remaining third that is chronical Diseases are half Hysterick for very few Women which Sex contains half of grown People are wholly free from all kinds of Hysterick Diseases if you except those who being accustomed to Labour live hardly yea many of those Men that live sedentary Lives and are wont to study hard are afflicted with the same Disease and though heretofore Hysterical Symptoms were always reckoned to proceed from a vicious Womb yet if we compare Hypochondriack Symptoms which were supposed to proceed from Obstructions of the Spleen or Bowels or from some other I know not what Obstructions with Women's Hysterick Symptoms an Egg is scarce more like an Egg than these Symptoms are like one another in all respects But it must be confessed that Women are much more subject to this kind of Disease than Men. This Disease is not only frequent but so wonderfully various that it resembles almost all the Diseases poor Mortals are subject to for whatever Part it seats it self in it presently produces such Symptoms as belong to it and unless the Physician be very sagacious and very skilful he will be mistaken and suppose that tâ—ese Symptoms proceed from an essential Disease of this or that part and not from an histerical Distemper Sometimes for instance it possesses the Head and occasions an Apoplexy which also ends in an Hemiplâ—gy and this seizes Women very often after Delivery or it is occasioned by hard Labour or some violent commotion of the Mind Sometimes it produces violent Convulsions very like an Epilepsy the Belly and Bowels swelling toward the Throat the Patient strugling so violently that though at other times her Strength is but ordinary she now can scarce be held by all the strength of the By-standers uttering some odd and inarticulat sounds and striking her Breast Women who are accustomed to this Disease commonly called Mother-fits are generally extraordinary Sanguine and have a habit of Body almost like that of a Virago Sometimes it possesses the outward part of the Head betwixt the Pericranium and Skull causing violent Pain continually fixed in one part which may be covered with the top of your Thumb and violent Vomiting accompanies this Pain I call this Species Clavus Hystericus chiefly afflicting those that have the Green-sickness Sometimes falling upon the vital Parts it occasions so great a palpitation of the Heart that the Women who are afflicted with it may verily believe that the By-standers may hear the sound of the Heart thumping upon the Ribs This kind chiefly afflicts those that are of a thin habit of Body and of a weak Constitution and who look almost tabid and also young Maids that have the Green-sickness Sometimes the Patient coughs almost without intermission but expectorates nothing This kind of Hysterick-cough is very rare and chiefly invades Women that abound in Flegm Sometimes rushing violently upon the Colon and the Region under the Scrobiculum Cordis it occasions violent Pain much like the Iliack Passion and the Woman vomits exceedingly ejecting a certain green Matter somewhat like that they call porraceous Bile and sometimes Matter of an unusual colour And often after the Sick have been almost destroyed by the said Pain which would tire a stoical Apathy and reachings to vomit for many days at length it is carried off by the Jaundice tincturing the superficies of the Body like Saffron Moreover the Sick is oppressed by an anguish of mind and wholly despairs of recovery with dejection of mind and as it were a certain desperation as certainly accompanies this kind of Hysterick Disease as the Pain and Vomiting above-mentioned This kind chiefly invades those that are of a lax and crude habit of Body and those that have suffered much in bringing forth great Children When this Disease falls upon one of the Kidnies it plainly represents by the Pain it causes there a Nephritick Fit and not only by that sort of Pain and by the place it rages in but also by the violent Vomitings that accompanies it and for that sometimes the Pain extends it self through the passage of the Ureter so that it is very difficult to know whether these Symptoms proceed from the Stone or from some Hysterick Disease unless perchance some unlucky Accident disturbing the Woman's mind a little before she was taken ill of the vomiting of green Matter shews that the Symptoms rather proceed from an Hysterick Disease than from the Stone Nor is the Bladder free from this false Symptom for it