Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

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Materia Medica

Astringents

again was too weak, it was a valuable remidy in this disease, when the piles are too high up a saturnine solution may be used, it is necessary to distinguish between the different kinds of piles, one arising from a torpid state of the alimentary canal occurring in the decline of life in sedentary and Hypochondric patients, here galls are proper, possably they may be given internally with advantage, but in the febrile state of the piles they are injurious and the depleting plan will be necessary, and infusion may be used with advantage as an injection in gleets, in the disease called gonorrhea many vegitable astringents have been used, and some have been used with the greatest advantage, such as rose leaves, and green tea &c, which have succeeded after all other remidies have failed. Balsam Copaiva blended intimately with calomel is an excellent remidy, where there is no inflamation. Dr Swedier recommends a solution of galls in gonorrhea and gleets as an injection, when the disease is local astringents may be serviceable in weak injections, and in such cases may be used in the first stage. My old preceptor Dr Shippen found Hernia Humoralis brought on more frequently from the use of the Sulp. of Copper than of any other article.

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Materia Medica

Astringents

I have used it with great advantage in a case of obstinate gleet. The Sach. Sat. is verry generally used as an injection in gonorrhea and I think often with manifest injury in Phyladelphia by being used too strong, it is to be preferred to the vinegar of litharge, it is used with the

sulphate of zinc grs vi [6 grains] Sach. Sat. X grs [10 grains] in Aqua Font x ℥ [10 ounces].

Tetanus. Mr John Huter recommends the patient to be placed in an ice house while taking the Sach. Sat. I should not be willing to try it but cannot say it would do them harm. Modus operandi. I cannot say much of the medicine but I am persuaded it does not produce all its good effects by lowering the pulse, first because it is more usefull in hemorrhagy than venesection which reduces the pulse much more, secondly it is more efficacious than Digitalis the this reduces the pulse more than Sach. Sat. thirdly in fluor albus when bloodletting would prove injurious Sach. Sat. proves a valuable remidy. To what this property is owing or on what this property depends we are unable to say, it probably may be owing to its astringency, we know that astringents are usefull in many cases of hemorrhage, Sach. Sat. appears to be usefull both in the active and passive hemorrhage, I think

126

Materia Medica

Tonics

to cinchona in intermittant fevers. Dr Cullen speaks in the highest terms of it and assures it never failed when he combined it with gall and tormentil. Elix. Stom. Which is so much used in Britain and America is made by mixing Cort. bit. Aurant. and Rad. gentian. Linneus found gentian usefull in calculous, this I am inclined to believe from what I have said of it in gout, Gisner cured intermittants with the juice, Lentill used it with Sal. Absynth, clove, and ash bark. It is particularly recommended in Schrophula, Plentz cured a girl by giving half a scruple a day, and from the effect of bark in this disease, I have no doubt but gentian may be used with advantage. It has been extolled in histeria and nervous diseases. I believe it has virtues as an anthelmintic, but what are common to all bitters, Professor Murray supposes it operates by giving tone to the system. Perhaps it acts by purging or a quality deleterious to worms. I have lately used it with advantage in cases of obstinate gleet. I believe when properly given it will seldom fail. I have lately had a case of long standing, which had been under the care of several physicians. I gave the patient grs v. [5 grains] Rubeg. fer. and grs. viij [8 grains] of Rad. gentian twice a day, and continued three

214

Materia Medica

Tonics

will never come into general use for the cure of this disease in consequence of there being so many other valuable tonics as Arsenic, Cinchona, the peculiar property of Iron as a tonic making its impression slowly on the system is one cause why it is not seen in use, the preparations of Iron are usefull in most diseases attended with debility and all laxative habits.

Fluor Albus. This is generally a disease of simple debility, and the preparations of Iron are the most valuable medicines we can use, this I assert from my own experience, but when the disease is accompanied with fever Iron is highly improper.

Gleet. There is no disease in which I have used the preparations of Iron with more success than in this, when combined with some of the bitters. Gleet originates generally from Gonorrhea, it depends on local debility, the vessels of the parts having got a habit of effusing, continue to do so after the cause of such action has been removed. In these cases internal medicines are proper and the preparations of Iron are the best we can use = they must be persisted in a long time, beginning with small doses and gradually increasing them, when managed in this way I have never failed of curing

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Materia Medica

Tonic

a gleet of however long standing = the carbonate of Iron in this disease is the most efficacious.

Amenorrhea. Or Suppression of the menses, this depends upon two causes, first upon a considerable tone of the vessels attended with increased fever and frequency of the pulse, pain in the head, back and loins, with wild starting eyes every time the menses ought to appear = and secondly upon debility of the system generally or a debility of the ovary vessels, the last is the most frequent, cases, of the menses in the first species, Iron would do much harm and increase the complaint particularly in some cases of Febris Alba. For here bleeding, and purging, ought to be employ'd = but in the second species or that depending on debility, the preparations of Iron are of manifest service, and should never be omitted; when combined with savin the Iron proves more usefull = the preparations of Iron in a metallic or oxid state are the most useful.

Hemorrhage. These as I have already observed are of two kinds active and passive, in the former the preparations of this mineral is always injurious, but in the latter they are always serviceable, the use of Iron in Hemorrhagies is of Antient [ancient] date, Pliny the naturalist