(seq. 463)

456

Materia Medica

Sialagogues

and often a discharge of worms, here it is frequently called worm fever
in the advanced stage the patient is blind, the pupils are dilated, the
stools pass involuntary, and the patient dies convulsed, this disease
is often connected with scrophula, it is most frequent in the early
stages of life, most from 2 to 5, next from 5 to 10. I have had almost
25 cases of the kind under my care, and the proportions of males
and females were nearly the same. I have often observed a tendency
in girls to this disease about the age of Puberty, when the menses
first begins to flow, a variety of remidies have been proposed in this
disease as blisters, bark &c, but mercury was first used by Dr
Dobson and likewise by Dr Percival who rubbed it in, since then
the practice has been verry general, there are a variety of opinions
among physicians respecting its propriety, it frequently fails. I have
frequently employ’d bleeding and blistering in the commencement of
the disease, but never made a cure by mercury alone. Dr
Percival says that a cure may be effected without a salivation,
one of the first effects upon children is to induce a profuse running
at the nose, it is said also to occasion perspiration of the head, this
if the head be kept warm it often does much good, in giving mercury,
we are directed to prevent laxity or the medicine will pass off, but we