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John Turner, had been ill for a∣bove a Year of want of Appetite, a Swelling, for the most part of the day, in the Muscles of all his Bo∣dy, but especially of his Legs, his ••••lour was greasie, and like Clay, ••is Pulse was weak, and he made but little water.
The History of these Symptoms, plainly declares what this Disease is, that it is a Dropsie, and of that sort they call an Anasarca or Leu∣cophlegmatia: The ancient Physici∣ans thinking that it was entirely Phlegm subsisting some way between the Muscles that gave this white or pale colour, and made the Flesh capable to retain the print of any thing, that was press'd upon it, for some time. 'Tis certainly a very great weakness of the whole mass of Blood, ev'n so great, that it seems the Heart is not supplied with a sufficient quantity of Spirits to propel the mass of Blood, and to accommodate the thing to their way of speaking, seems to be full of Phlegm; but we must believe, that when the Sickness goes no far∣ther than an Anasarca, there is no breach of the Vessels, none of this stuff lodg'd between the interstices of the Muscles; because it would produce quite other effects than we see. This weakness may be procur'd many ways, either because the Spirits are mightily exhausted 〈◊〉〈◊〉 too great evacuations, made by
our selves or such as may be custo∣mary or critical, or because there are not sufficient quantities of Spirits made, through an ill way of living, or the Blood may ev'n be made so thick by some usual evacuations, be∣ing suppress'd, that this defect of Spirits may be very sensible. In all these Circumstances, this weakned Blood not having that quantity of motion, I have prov'd necessary for making the Perspiration; the steems that are daily voided that way in a great abundance being de∣tain'd in a great measure, and heightning the bulk of this sordid mass of Blood that was not easily pro∣pell'd, must needs lose of its mo∣tion, by this daily addition, and subsist in the smaller and more ca∣pillary Vessels, especially in extream parts of the Body, and proportio∣nably to this addition, the grow∣ing swelling will be.
Now, for the Cure of this Dis∣ease, the want of Spirits we must endeavour to supply, and to cor∣rect the viscidity and toughness of of the Blood: Upon these designs, Authors have advis'd sweating
Med'cins, which seldom have their effect in this Disease; and I must believe very hurtful, if they had, by carrying off some of the more spirituous parts of the Blood; and 'tis certain that when this Disease succeeds any immoderate evacuations that the fam'd purgatives are as un∣reasonable as letting of Blood: tho' when it comes from a suppression of some usual evacuations, purgatives conveniently used may be of great advantage: Yet Vomits for the rea∣sons assign'd in the second part, a∣bout curing of Agues may be of infi∣nite advantage, as Authors have found in their practise.
The method I pursu'd for his Cure was this; he first took gr. vij. of Tartar. emetic. which wrought very well, Vomiting eight times and giving him four stools; next day he took the following purgative.
℞ Pil. Rud. ʒss. Calomelan. gr. xij. elater. gr. j. Elixir. proprietat. q•••• ut f. pil. No. v. quas capiat multo m••∣ne cum regimine ac superdormiendo. Repe∣tantur semel vel bis qualibet septimana.
℞ radic. gentian••raphan sylvestr. an. ℥ij. Zedoar. Galangae an. ℥j. summitat. absi••h. card. Benedict. centaur. min. an. M. j••••ss salvi. agrimon. rut. murar. cochlear. a••. M. j. cortic. aurant. ℥j. ••••••••eran. ℥ss. baccar juniper. ℥iv. semi••. sinap. ℥jss. pptis s. a. affundant. cerevis. plus quam mediocr. lb xvj. Stent ••••••••d••em unum aut alterum in infusione; dein bibat pro•• potu ordinario: Affunde. tamen poterit cerevisia eisdem materialib. adalteram vicem.
With the first opportunity he was desired to purchase this Electuary and to take it as I have here pre∣scrib'd it, upon Riverius recommen∣dation in the 97th Observation, Cent 2.
℞ cons. fl tamarisc. capil. vener an. ℥jss. conserv. rad. enul. ℥ss. conf. al∣••••rm. ʒiij. sal. absynth tamarisc. an. ʒj. rasur. ebor. pulverisat. spec. diarrhod. Abbat. an. ℈j. syr. capil. vener. q. s. ut f. opiat. Cujus capiat quantitat. castan. sin∣gul. diebus duabus horis ante pastum su∣perbibendo
vini enjuslibet generosissimi poculum.
By the exact use of these things he recover'd wonderfully, and at∣tain'd to his perfect Health in the space of three Months.
But besides Anasarca's, 'tis almost a wonder that that other sort of Dropsie and Ascites is so rare a∣mongst People of gross enough ha∣bits of Body, that drink so much of spirituous Liquors; and they really observe themselves, that such as drink dry Drams (as they call them) seldom escape this misfortune; whereas when their Brandy is temper'd with Ship's Beer or rather in Flip or Punch, it becomes a most wholesome and useful Drink, considering their Diet and way of living. For this is it that these dry Drams drank at Sea or a Shoar do, they shrivel all the Mem∣branes and Membranous parts of our Body, by which our Stomachs is made less sensible of hunger, and uncapable of performing its office in digesting our Victuals, our Veins, Arteries and Nerves are dried up, so that they are not so easily contracted
℞ radic. gentian. raphan sylvestr. an. ℥ij. Zedoar. Galangae an. ℥j. summitat. abs••••h. card. Benedict. centaur. min. an. M. j. ss salvi. agrimon. rut. murar. ••ochlear. a••. M. j. cortic. aurant. ℥j. Win••eran. ℥ss. baccar juniper. ℥iv. s••mi••. sinap. ℥jss. pptis s. a. affundant. cerevis. plus quam mediocr. lb xvj. Stent per d••em unum aut alterum in infusione; dein bibat pro potu ordinario: Affunde. tamen poterit cerevisia eisdem materialib. ada••••eram vicem.
With the first opportunity he was desired to purchase this Electuary and to take it as I have here pre∣scrib'd it, upon Riverius recommen∣dation in the 97th Observation, Cent 2.
℞ cons. fl tamarisc. capil. vener an. ℥jss. conserv. rad. enul. ℥ss. conf. al∣••erm. ʒiij. sal. absynth tamarisc. an. ʒj. rasur. ebor. pulverisat. spec. diarrhod. Abbat. an. ℈j. syr. capil. vener. q. s. ut. f. opiat. Cujus capiat quantitat. castan. sin∣gul. diebus duabus horis ante pastum su∣perbibendo
vini enjuslibet generosissimi poculum.
By the exact use of these things he recover'd wonderfully, and at∣tain'd to his perfect Health in the space of three Months.
But besides Anasarca's, 'tis almost a wonder that that other sort of Dropsie and Ascites is so rare a∣mongst People of gross enough ha∣bits of Body, that drink so much of spirituous Liquors; and they really observe themselves, that such as drink dry Drams (as they call them) seldom escape this misfortune; whereas when their Brandy is temper'd with Ship's Beer or rather in Flip or Punch, it becomes a most wholesome and useful Drink, considering their Diet and way of living. For this is it that these dry Drams drank at Sea or a Shoar do, they shrivel all the Mem∣branes and Membranous parts of our Body, by which our Stomachs is made less sensible of hunger, and uncapable of performing its office in digesting our Victuals, our Veins, Arteries and Nerves are dried up, so that they are not so easily contracted
and bent outwards, which of it self creates old Age, and a thousand other inconveniences: These dry Drams with their loose Spirit, that's so free∣ly put in motion where ever it is, disperses and destroys the native and benign Spirits of our Blood, and so disposes it to a lesser motion. But not to insist upon the infinite misfor∣tunes that attend these dried and wi∣thered Vessels, especially the Arteries; how by their not being Contracted and Distended, the Blood may want some considerable determinations in its Motion, the secretions over all the Body may be diminished, and the Liquors separated even not pro∣pell'd through their proper ducts in∣to their proper Receptacles or some∣times into the Air; but I say, not to insist upon these inconveniences, which are so considerable, that upon them only depends the well being, nay indeed the being at all of the Crea∣ture; yet if the Vessels be thus hard∣ned and shrivel'd with such spiritu∣ous Liquors, Brandy, Plague-Water, &c. they are not at all fitted either to the Motions we are to perform, or the greater or lesser quantity of
the Blood; for the Blood must either never be rarefied or possess greater space, or we never change our po∣stures, else these Vessels must break; because, when the Vessels are so hard∣ned, and proceeding, as we may conceive them, in different shapes from the Heart through the whole Body, they cannot remain whole and entire, except they keep the same Posture; but that cannot be, if the parts thorough which they run change their Posture, and this is chang'd in every one of their Moti∣ons; the same may be alledg'd of the Blood's taking up more space in its augmentation. But in this hardning of these Vessels we cannot apprehend them to be rigid Bodies, perfectly stiff, and so not to break as matter in that circumstance; yet being har∣der, and not so pliable as musculous Membranes or parts made up of Fi∣bres and Muscles or Blood Vessels va∣riously interwoven as they originally are; they must be torn in considera∣ble motions or growth of Blood, which emissaries and holes transmit Liquors that can pass the diameters of these small Wounds, and in a
quantity proportionable to the re∣sistance the sides of these Holes make to the circulating Blood: So 'tis no wonder if considerable quantities of Serum are thus discharged into the cavity of the Abdomen, Thorax, or on the Brain it self, as it may ouze thorough these small emissaries upon these places; and make an Ascites, Empyema and Hydrocepha∣lus, which are of a very considera∣ble consequence to deter all exces∣sive drinkers of these loose Spirits, whatever specious names some of them may have.