A treatise of the small-pox and measles describing their nature, causes, and signs, diagnostick and prognostick, in a different way to what hath hitherto been known : together, with the method of curing the said distempers, and all, or most, of the best remedies : also, a particular discourse of opium, diacodium, and other sleeping medicines : with a reference to a very great case / by Gideon Harvey ...

CHAP. XV. Of the Prognosticks.

1. TO speak generally, the spo∣radic, wandring, erratick, of straggling Small-pox, carry much less danger with them, than those that are epidemick, popular, or common, which seldom appear with∣out a great mortality.

2. The Small-pox in Children are much less dangerous, than in those that are grown up, because (as I said before) in the former, you have only for the most part an ebullition, and in some few an imputrid conti∣nual Fever; and in the latter very oft a continual putrid, or a malign Fever; the cause is, that in Chil∣dren the Blood is faster or closer mixt, and more homogeneous, they feeding for the most part upon a more single diet, their Bodies are cleaner; whereas, in those that are

grown up, their Blood is looser, con∣sisting of more heterogeneous parts, their Food more various, and their Bodies fouler.

3. In old Men and Women they are the most dangerous, and com∣monly putting a period to their days.

4. The best conditioned Small-pox are a florid red, moderate in number, bigness, and softness; for if too soft, they prove upon matu∣ration, sanious, or ichorous; if hard, they are very flow in maturation, and sometimes so rebellious, that they will not come to matter at all, and then they are mortal. They ought to come out on the third, or fourth day; to be all perfectly turn'd to matter on the eleventh; and dried and scabb'd by the fourteenth day; those that come out slow, are very dangerous.

5. Those that are pale, signify feebleness of the spirits; those that are deep red, and inflamed, are worse; greenish, worse; violet or

leadish, worse and worse; the black, worst of all.

6. The Pox beginning to come out, the symptoms ought to abate; if they do not, it's a sign of a latent venom, and may prove mortal. It hath happen'd, that some have had the Small-pox in a small number, and kindly enough; yet when they have been all dried, on the four∣teenth day, and sometimes before, a new sharp putrid Fever has arri∣ved, upon which some few days af∣ter, the Small-pox have come out on fresh, and have been thrown out in great numbers.

7. To have few is best, provided the other symptoms do abate upon it; for that's a sign the venom was not great, and all is come out; but if the symptoms continue, or exas∣perate, it signifies Nature is weak, the venom strong, and a great deal of it is remaining in the Body. So likewise if the Pox be numerous, the other symptoms abating, the party

may do well enough, though they should flux into one another; but to have many, though turning into matter at their seasonable times, the other symptoms not remitting, the party stands on a precipice. The chief particulars to be observed, are the Voice, or Speech, the Breath∣ing, the Pulse, the Understanding and Memory, trembling or not trembling of the Hands, and ten∣dons of the Wrists, sleep or wake∣fulness, lying quiet in bed, or being anxious, and throwing ones self up and down.

8. The Pox going in and out straggling, denotes a struggling be∣tween the Venom and the Spirits; which renders the Victory very du∣bious; but if they strike in all toge∣ther, Death is at the door.

Tho the Pox be florid, or well maturated, if interspersed with O∣live-spots, or Spots like Freckles, or Black Spots, it's Mortal, much more if the Pox be of an Ill Colour.

9. Bloody Urin, or any hemor∣rhage, be it at the Nose, or by bloody Vomits, Stools, or the ordi∣naries of Women, after the eruption are all most certain deadly forerun∣ners; likewise if the Pox bursting of themselves ouse out blood instead of matter, it is the message of death.

10. If a Delirium, or lighthead∣edness continues after sleep, either before the Pox are all come out, or after, it's very ill. A brownish, dark, or black Urin is deadly.

Some have died on the seven∣teenth and eighteenth day, upon the taking of a Clyster only, after the Small-pox have been all, or most come out, turn'd to matter, dried away, and the person seemingly well and recovered, so as to eat his Vi∣ctuals, walk about the room, and all other symptoms vanisht; either be∣cause the malign evaporations, which always steem out of the Body for some time, (in some longer, in others shorter) after the Small-pox have

been quite gone, by too soon emptying the Body by Purges, or Clyster, or by putting on fresh Lin∣nen, or shifting the Sheets too early, have been shut up in the Body, by stopping the pores of the Skin; or because the same person, after being well, hath drawn the same infection back again; or rather, because the same venomous Particles, which were thrown out by his late Disease, are crowded in again. For the avoid∣ing of which two dangers, I usually keep them to a medicinal Diet, and continue the same Antidotes, though in lesser and fewer Doses, and forbear purging, until the whole month be expired.

11. The matter running too long out of the inward angle of the Eye, turns into an incurable Fistula lachry∣malis, by corroding, or eating away the little lachrymal Glandul.

12. A large Pox breaking in the Horny-coat of the Eye, in many causeth blindness.

13. A Cough remaining after the Small-pox, oft turns to a Consump∣tion.

14. A malignant variolous Fever is incurable, and very suddenly mortal.

15. A Ptyalismus or salivation happening sometimes, signifies the danger of the Small-pox to be past; wherefore you are not to imagine it to be critical, in regard it appears not, before the Pox are broken out, maturated, and drying away; and for that reason it cannot be supposed to carry off any part of the malig∣nant matter, which is requisite to make it critical. The Humors ha∣ving been extremely stir'd, and rare∣fied, as appears by the great swelling chiefly of all the parts of the Face, and in some measure of all the Body, there must of necessity have been a large quantity of Lympha separated, and impelled into the Glanduls, which the spirits having conquered the Distemper, are at leisure to throw

off, so that it seldom happens, but where there has been an extraordi∣nary swelling of the Face, and other parts.

16. Touching the Measles, they are usually not so dangerous with us, as with those of a warmer Country; they generally are discussed in four, five, six, or seven days. Notwithstand∣ing sometimes they are of equal dan∣ger with the worst of Small-pox, if they happen to be of a blew, brown, or black colour, and attended with a Delirium, Looseness, great oppression at the Heart, &c.

17. As there is an incurable Pox caused by the highest venom and malignity of that sort, most speedily mowing down the Life of a Patient (as it were) with one stroke, by a most violent irruption upon all the Bowels, and sudden overwhelming all the spirits at once; so likewise every other kind of Small-pox, even that of the least venom and malignity, may by contrary applications be

render'd as incurable and mortal, which is made evident by the com∣parison of a House, that being set on fire in all its apartments, is im∣possible to be preserved by any means whatever; and the same House being supposed to be on fire in that least part of it, if you indea∣vour to quench it by throwing Pitch, Rozin, Brimstone, and Oil upon it, will in a short time be as impossible to be preserved, as the other before-mentioned.

18. Whence I infer, That a Sporadick Pox in a Child, attended only with an ebullition of the Humors, though in a benign sea∣son, the ebullition may by con∣trary remedies be turn'd into a pu∣trid continual Fever, even into ma∣lign, and the Small-pox thereby stopt from coming out; or may be turn'd into a violet, brown, or black co∣lour, whereby it shall become equal∣ly mortal with an incurable Pox.