(seq. 465)

458

Materia Medica

Sialagogues

must always avoid costiveness. I am not singular for many Physicians
have derived its effects, an emminent practitioner informed me that he
used mercury and blisters to the head, he thought sometimes it produced
good effects, but it sometimes induces caries and some other diseases
inconveniences. Mr Richerand a Surgeon in Europe informed me that a
Gentleman opened 6 Heads that had been treated with mercury and
found them to be full of serum. Professor Monroe gave mercury in 22
cases of this kind 10 were under 12 years of age, they all (says he with candour)
died, he used the strong mercurial ointment and tried to salivate
with calomel, and one boy he kept up a profuse salvation for 7 weeks, he
says he was generally called in too late, the disease often consists in a
determination of blood to the brain, what good can mercury do here, it has
been proposed to unite digitalis with mercury but there is more theory
than propriety in this practice.

Pneumonic Inflamation.
In the treatment of this disease mercury has not often been employ’d, but
it sometimes has in pneumonia appearing in marshy countries which
arise from the same cause as intermittants, remittants, dysentary &c, this
disease generally terminates fatally, but mercury is a verry good
remidy in it. Mr Hamilton has written a verry good paper upon the
peripneumony and the use of mercury in it, he found it verry usefull.