Enchiridion medicum: containing the causes, signs, and cures of all those diseases, that do chiefly affect the body of man: divided into three books. With alphabetical tables of such matters as are therein contained. Whereunto is added a treatise, De facultatibus medicamentorum compositorum, & dosibus. / By Robert Bayfield.

CHAP. XLV.

VERMES, There be three kindes of them; The first round and long, [ 1] named Teretes. The second be broad, * 1.1 called therefore

Lati: * 1.2 the third is called Ascarides: The first kind be round, and a hand breadth in length, and sometimes longer, they be comoner than the other, and they are often in the slender and small guts, and they go into the stomach, and therefore often voyded by the mouth, and often some out at their nostrils, and this kind is peculiar to infants, children, boyes, and girles.

2. * 1.3 The second be broad long, and of incre∣dible bignesse, as Pliny witnesseth, lib. 2. cap. 33. sometimes they are seen three hundred foot long, * 1.4 Paulus, and Aetius, witnesseth they are nothing else but a permutation of the thin films going about the small guts within; into a cer∣tain living body that will move and stirre.

3. The third kind be thin, short and small, and found most commonly in the right gut, and in the end of the fundament.

All these be ingendred of cruid, * 1.5 raw, gross, and flegmatick matter, and through a kind of rottennesse in children, especially in great eaters.

1. * 1.6 They that have Teretes, do feel incredible gnawing of the bowels and stomach: with thin and small coughs, provoking to vomit (often times) with driness, in some yelking, with mo∣vings of the stomach, and do arise up unreaso∣nably: many do walk and leap up with noyse, and crying out, and fall asleep again, some put forth their tongue, and shut their mouth, and be quiet, & keep a silence, but do fret & fume with them that raise them; because they cannot watch, they are so weak: some have their eyes sprinkled with blood, and their pulse unequall,

obscure; fayling, and running back; to many there chanceth losse of appetite, children, while they sleep chew their tongue, and also do fast joyn their mouth, as though they sucked meat: to some gnashing of teeth, others refuse meat, for if compelled to eat, they can scarce swallow it, or else vomit it up again. In many the belly throweth out corrupt meats, being puffed up as it were a tympany: The rest of the body con∣sume without fasting, or purging, going be∣fore: sometimes the face is red about the Halles of the cheeks: but it turneth again into a swarthy colour: some speak foolish things in their sleep, like frantick persons; some change the place they lye down on, tumbling from one place to another. And a fever is increased with∣out order, with vehement coldnesse of the ex∣tream parts, having fits the third or fourth day without order: but all these signes must not be looked for in every body, but the chiefest of them.

2. Broad wormes bring continual gnawing of the stomach, and an impotent and incorrigi∣ble appetite to meat; for being in the guts, they devoure the meat, so that they have need of more straightway, or else the bowels are gnawne: there followes slendernesse and weak∣nesse of body, with inequality. The infallible signe is, if certain things like coucumber-seeds, be avoyded out with the excrements.

3. Ascarides do raise vehement itch in the fundament, and provoke the patient to go to school continually, and they that be troubled with this disease, for the most part are better

after egestion, and easing themselves.

For the cure, * 1.7 eschew all things that ingender flegmatick humours, but they must be fed, and not hunger: * 1.8 no hot things if there be a fever, but be diligent to get the worms out of the bo∣dy, or else they will gnaw untill they die; there∣fore first kill them, and then drive them out; these symples following are good (if there be no fever, if there be, use them outwardly or in∣wardly with some thing that is of a cooling quality) wormwood, Seryphium, a kind of wormwood growing in the Sea, Sothern∣wood, Callamint, Horehound, Dittanie, Hy∣sope, Rew, leaves of Persica, Coriander seeds, Hartshorn, Lupines, Mints, Peniroyal, Ori∣gan, Centory, Fern, Gentian, Aristolochia ro∣tunda, Garlick, seed of Coleworts, and roots of Ennula campana; but Aloes is most commended, so is wormseed; of all these you may make ei∣ther powders, decoctions, or poultices, also Pul∣vis contra lumbricos is good, * 1.9 but remember to give your powders with milk, honey, or Syrrup of liquoris, because it allureth the wormes: out∣wardly you may use Bulls gall, or the oyles of some of the fore-mentioned symples; * 1.10 and a plaister of honey and Aloes is good, also Rew and wormseed boyled in white-wine vi∣negar, * 1.11 and after it be strained, adde honey; if no fever, * 1.12 boyle it in Muscadel, or take worm∣seed ʒ. ij. centory, wormwood, harts-horne burnt, ana ʒ.j. calamint, peniroyal, origan, ana ℥.ss. Sothernwood, mints, lupines, leaves of Aristolochia rotunda, ana ℈.j. Aloes ℈.ij. make a powder the doss is one dram in some sweet Syr∣rup:

If it be an infant, and that the body be bound, apply a poultis made of cammomel, * 1.13 wormwood, mint, and porret, &c. and rost an onyon soft, stamp it with neats gall, and apply it a little above the Navill: sometimes syrrup of Rhubarb is sufficient. Hierapicra, * 1.14 and pilulae pestilentiales, or Rufie, have a marveylous effi∣cacie in killing and bringing out wormes: If there be a flux joyned, search the Chapters of fluxes, but remember to adde, with restrictive things, those things that do kill wormes, but labour to strengthen the stomach.

The worm called Ascarides, in children that be infants; they must be brought out with Suppos: made with honey and salt, or such like: * 1.15 in them that be elder give clysters with some of the symples abovesaid, adding oyls of the same; but first take a piece of old powdred flesh, fa∣shion it like a suppository, fit for the fundament, * 1.16 and thrust it into the Tuel, applying a ligament or band; let it alone awhile, and then draw it out with the worms that stick on it: after this the clyster, and then anoynt the streight gut or fundament with Acatia, Hypocischidos, * 1.17 juyce of Sumach, for the flesh being constrained by restri∣ctive things, looseth its ability that ingendreth wormes, and excludeth and shutteth out the Ascarides. * 1.18 Vermibus eductis valent pilulae Ar∣noldi; quia tunc materiae reliquae sunt maxime educendi.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Teretes.
• * 1.2

  Lati. Ascarides.
• * 1.3

  Plinius.
• * 1.4

  Paulus. Aetius.
• * 1.5

  Causae.
• * 1.6

  Signa.
• * 1.7

  Curatio.
• * 1.8

  Victus ra∣tio.
• * 1.9

  Palvis.
• * 1.10

  Emplastrū,
• * 1.11

  Decoctio.
• * 1.12

  Pulvis.
• * 1.13

  Cataplas∣ma.
• * 1.14

  Pilulae.
• * 1.15

  Supposito∣ria. Clyster.
• * 1.16

  Suppositor.
• * 1.17

  Acatia.
• * 1.18

  Arnoldus.