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CHAP. XXIX. Of Fomentations.
A Fotus or fomentation is an evaporation or hot lotion, chiefly used to mol∣lifie, relaxe and asswage paine, consisting of medicines having these fa∣culties. A fomentation commonly useth to be moist, being usually made of the same things as embrocations, to wit, of roots, seeds, flowers, boiled in water or wine. The roots here used are commonly of mallowes, marsh-mallowes, and lillies. The seedes are of mallowes, marsh-mallowes, parsly, smallage, line, fe∣nugreeke. Flowers are of chamomile, melilote, figges, raisons, and the like: all which are to bee boiled in wine, water, or lye, to the consumption of the third part or the halfe: as,
℞. Rad. alth. & lilil. an. ℥ii. sem. lini, foenug▪ cumin. an. ʒiii. flo. cham. melil. & aneth. an p. i. summit. orig. m. ss. bulliant in aequis partibus aquae & vini, aut in duabus partibus aqua, & una vini, aut in Lixivio cineris sarmentorum, ad tertiae partis consumptionem, fiat fotus. In imitation hereof you may easily describe other fomentations, as occa∣sion and necessity shall require.
We use fomentations before we apply cataplasmes, oyntments or plasters to the * 1.1 part, that so we may open the breathing places or pores of the skin, relaxe the parts, attenuate the humour, that thus the way may be the more open to the following me∣dicines. The body being first purged, fomentations may be used to what parts you please. They may be applyed with a female spunge, for it is gentler and softer than the male; with felt, woollen clothes, or the like dipped in the warme decoction wrung out, and often renued; otherwise, you may fill a Swines bladder halfe full (especially in paines of the sides) of the decoction, or else a stone bottle, so to keep hot the longer; yet so, that the bottle bee wrapped in cotton, wooll, or the like soft thing, that so it may not be the hardnesse and roughnesse offend the part, accor∣ding to Hippocrates. * 1.2