Popular errours.: Or the errours of the people in physick, first written in Latine by the learned physitian James Primrose Doctor in Physick. Divided into foure bookes. viz. 1. The first treating concerning physicians. 2. The second of the errours about some diseases, and the knowledge of them. 3. The third of the errours about the diet; as well of the sound as of the sick. 4. The fourth of the errours of the people about the use of remedies. Profitable and necessary to be read of all. To which is added by the same authour his verdict concerning the antimoniall cuppe. Translated into English by Robert Wittie Doctor in Physick.

CHAP. XLII. That the wormes of the belly are not presently to be killed in Fevers.

IT falls out sometimes, that both chil∣dren and young men are grievously troubled with wormes, and that divers diseases in the body do arise from thence among which a Feaver is not the least, which is of a double nature; for either it is caused by the wormes themselves, and then it is a very gentle Fever, or it comes from other causes, and concurres with the wormes, and this is usually a malignant and violent Fever, which is thought to have been sometimes called

by Hippocrates 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 fierce and wilde as a beast. In the curing of these wormes the people many times doe erre much.

First, [ 1] in that they thinke, when there are wormes together with a Fever, that the fever is alwaies caused by the worms, when rather the wormes doe oftentimes proceed from the matter of the Fever: For as Aetius teaches, if they breed about the beginning of the disease, they take their substance from the corrupt matter, if about the height, from the malignitie of the dis∣ease, if about the declination, from the change to a better, which also are quickly voided. Therefore in the beginning of acute diseases, they betoken a maligni∣tie of the disease; for when wormes are the cause of a Fever, that Fever is never violent and acute; but most commonly they appear in a malignant fever, which is to be noted, for in the former case, the cure of the wormes is the cure of the Fever, but in this latter, when the Fever is cured, the wormes are wont to be cast forth by nature it selfe, the disease ten∣ding to a crisis, as Hippocrates teaches in divers places, as in his Prognosticks, and in his booke de crisibus.

Secondly, [ 2] they erre in that in this case

they consider onely the worms, and pre∣sently direct their cure to them, neglect∣ing the disease on which they depend, or making it worse with their remedies undiscreetly administred, for oftentimes those things which kill the wormes doe increase the feaver.

Seeing therefore worms, [Note.] because they are in every respect besides nature, are to bee killed and expelled, yet that ought not to be done with any kindes of reme∣dies indifferently, but the nature of the disease that doth accompany them is to be regarded, to which especially reme∣dies must be applied; for when it is once cured, nature it selfe casts them out in the declination of the disease. Where∣fore because they are so ordinary in ma∣lignant Fevers, those remedies which do cure malignant Fevers do serve for them likewise, such are many Cordials, as Harts-horne, Unicornes-horne, Corall, Triacle, Mithridate, the seed of Citron, &c. And there are scarce any Cordialls which are not good against wormes, al∣though not alwaies; hence it is that we see many of those remedies which are said to bee good against wormes to doe no good at all, namely because they are used after the manner of Empyricks,

without any difference of causes, and re∣gard of the other circumstances which ought to be respected. Let us hear what Rondeletius saith excellently concerning this subject in his Chapter of Wormes. When Wormes (saith he) are voyded in a∣cute diseases, as burning Feavers, and other diseases of old men and children, wee ought not to convert our whole intention against them, as women doe, and Physicians that study to humour them, whereby it comes to passe that the sick do perish, in that the dis∣ease is neglected, or because they bend them∣selves more to the curing of the wormes then of the disease; as if one bee holden with a continuall Fever, or some other Cholerick disease, or a flux of the belly, or if in the beginning of acute diseases one chance to voyd wormes, they commonly give Worme∣seed, which doth inflame the Feaver more, or else they are wont to administer Corall, and other things which are astringent to kill the wormes, all which are very ill for the principall diseases, as very bitter things for the Fever and flux of the belly, and astrin∣gent and drying things for Fevers. Where∣fore the Physician ought diligently to distin∣guish whether the Fever depend upon the wormes, or whether the wormes which are alwayes within the belly be cast out by some

other cause. And if one perceive that the Fever doth proceed from another cause, be∣cause it is a Quartane or a Tertian, or a true Quotidiane, and that there is no other ill symptome, they must be let alone, or only those medicaments prescribed, which are good a∣gainst the principall disease, and the worms. Which words of his we have set downe at large, because, they doe so plainly ex∣plicate this whole businesse. Forestus also in his observations, and Mercatus in his Chapter of the worms, and others do ob∣serve the same.

Notes

• Dangerous Fevers from wormes.
• Cap. 39. lib 1. te∣trab. 3.