THE LADY's Physician.
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE VARIOUS DISORDERS INCIDENT TO The FAIR SEX.
With proper DIRECTIONS for the Cure thereof.
The Whole laid down in so plain a Manner, as to enable every Reader not only to be a competent Judge for
herself,
but also to direct
others
with Propriety and Success.
Written Originally in
French,
By M. TISSOT, M. D.
First Physician to the Queen of
France,
and Fellow of the Royal Society of
London;
Member of the Medico-Physical Society of
Basil,
and of the Oeconomical Society of
Berne,
and Author of
Advice to the People concerning their Health.
Translated by an EMINENT PHYSICIAN.
LONDON: Printed for J. PRIDDEN, at the
Feathers,
in
Fleet-Street.
MDCCLXVI. [One Shilling.]
THE LADY's Physician.
INTRODUCTION.
T HE Author of this Work, besides the Emolument that every Practitioner has a Right to expect from his Profession, had another Motive to encourage him to the completion thereof; to wit, a humane and Christian Concern with which he had been long actuated for the Welfare of the Fair, whose delicate Frames are too often a Prey to Diseases, which, through the Decrees of Providence, peculiar to their Sex, yet, through a mistaken Modesty, they are loth to declare, and apply for Succour, from those duly qualified, to relieve them.
They are here provided with the most rational, yet easy Instructions, as well as with the most select and approved of Recipes, either to prevent in Time, or cure themselves of, when, through carelessness, or any other cause they are surprised with, any of those Distempers particular to their own Sex, but unknown to the other.
Most Males, young or old, make little, or rather, no scruple, of unfolding any complaint they may labour under, to a Physician, Surgeon, or Apothecary; while young Females, except abandoned Prostitutes, and many even of those more advanced in Years, through innate Modesty, an almost invincible Bashfulness; and a being reserved in the Extreme to the great Detriment of their health, by the ridiculous concealment of a beginning Distemper, suffer a kind of petty Martyrdom to misunderstood Notions of Virtue, which are consequently the cause of their health and constitution being ruined, and of their manifestly pining away, though all around them can assign no Reason; and no Disorder of the Fair Sex is made such a destructive Mystery of, as that which shall take the lead here; to wit,
The Menstrual Flux.
UNTIL the Age of Puberty, (that is, of being capable to propagate the Species) which varies in different Nations, being earlier in the Southern Climes, and later in the Northern, young Males and Females are indiscriminately liable to the same Distempers; nor before that critical Period of Life, is there any sexual Difference; the Cause of this Difference, the first of that Class, which, on Account of its being the Fore-runner and fruitful Source, whence all others are derived, that in an especial Manner, afflict the more amiable Part of Society, must afford us ample Matter of Admiration, as will obviously appear to all who, in a philosophical or Christian Light, shall consider this essential Evacuation.
The Womb of a Female being designed by Nature for the first Receptacle and Nursery of the yet unborn Being, is, after a certain revolutionary Period of Life, irrigated with an extraordinary Quantity of Blood, at stated Times; by which means the Vessels are used to open and distend themselves for the more easy Admission of the Monthly Tide, which when, by a kindly Discharge is decreased of its super-abounding Quantity, the stretched Vessels recover their due Spring, and return the rest to the general Course of Circulation.
Nature's Intent, by this Process, is, that after Impregnation, such encreasing Quantities of the Blood, derived to the Womb, are to supply Nutriment to the Foetus; who, when brought forth, is supported by Milk from the Breasts, of which the redundant Blood, then diverted from the Womb to those Parts, becomes the nourishing Fountain.—While Things are thus carried on in their due Course, all goes right; but as from every Deviation some new Malady arises, and indeed directly or indirectly all those with which the Sex is peculiarly affected: and that we may progressively follow them, we have fixed our Choice to begin with the menstrual Discharge, that is perverted either by its Obstruction, or an extraordinary Efflux, in a more or less violent Degree.
SECT. I.
An Obstruction, Suppression, or Stoppage, of the Menstrual Discharge,
IS caused in young Females either by too great a Consistence, Viscidity, or Siziness of the Blood, which cannot force its Way into the smaller Vessels, to be thro' them emptied to a certain Degree; or else is owing to too great a Compactness in the Fibres of the Womb, whose secretory Orifices, or little Mouths are too closely compressed to yield Admission to any Ingress of the Blood, and consequently preventative of salutary Evacuations. In either Case, the Blood's Escape being debarred, its return into the general Circulation, on account of its augmented Quantity, makes offensive Lodgments on many Parts, through their Weakness rendered more liable to yield; and prove dangerous in Proportion to the Parts affected being more or less essential to Life.
This Distemper is ever attended with an Unwillingness to Action, an Heaviness of Mind, a Paleness of Complexion. Pains are felt both in the Groin and Loins, with a Difficulty of breathing; cold Sweats, hysteric and fainting Fits, &c. There ensues a total Depravation of all the Functions of the Body. Nay, such hath often been the dreadful Effect of the Discharge not being able to make its Way through the proper Outlets, as to force for itself an unnatural, violent, and perilous Egress, through the
Anus,
or Fundament, the Bladder, Breasts, Eyes, Ears, &c.
The Bowels are wont to suffer prodigiously in such Patients, and in general, more outrageously, as their Constitution is more delicate.—Hence what a Train of Maladies arise, particularly every Species of a depraved Appetite, as is made manifest by unnatural, and often offensive Longings, too well known to need being mentioned here.
Besides the above assigned inherent Causes of this Disease, whether in the too compact Structure of the Womb, or the too great Siziness obstructive to its escaping by the emissary pores; the following, which we may call external or adventitious ones, are not to be neglected, but rather seriously attended to; such are the improper Use of astringent Remedies; of acids; and whatever may cause a Spissitude in the Humours; too incrassating a Diet; that is, Nourishment which thickens the Blood too much. A Suppression of the menstrual Discharge is sometimes caused by too great an Evacuation of the Blood from a Wound, or otherwise; it being thence rendered too weak to force its Way by the Womb. It is also caused by any sudden Terror, obstinate Grieving, a violent Cold, &c.
The Cure.
IN general, where too great an Evacuation of Blood, or Weakness of the Patient's Constitution, is not supposed to be the leading Cause, it is proper the Patient should undergo a gentle Bleeding, in order to make Way for the Remedies operating more effectually; and during the Course of taking them, to receive frequently the Steam of Camomile Flowers that had been boiled in Water, by the Means of a conveying Tube, or Funnel, through a certain Part, to play upon the Insertion of the Womb, in order to soften its Texture, in ease the Suppression should be owing to the Toughness of its Structure.
But should there appear to be a stagnating Vice; that is, an Unwillingness to flow in the Blood, a Spur must be given to its Laziness, by Fomentations, such as the above, accompanied with frequent Exercise, diluting Drinks, such as Tea, Whey, or a pleasant and wholesome Liquor, that may be made by infusing the Rinds of Oranges, Citrons, and Lemons, in Spring Water, till it shall have acquired an agreeable Taste from them.
Then take the following Pills for some Time; to wit, Venetian Soap—Borax— Aloes—one Drachm each, to be made into Pills; each Pill to confist of three Grains; four Pills to be taken every Day; one a little after the Patient rises in the morning, and some Time before her Breakfast; another about an Hour, or at least Half an Hour before Dinner; a third at about the same Distance before Tea-Time in the Evening; the fourth is to be taken on going to Bed.
Let the Patient seek all Occasions of Exercise, of Merriment, and whatever may excite a Flow of Spirits. Some Time after the bleeding in the Arm, if Matters succeed not as may be wished, then let a gentle Bleeding in the Foot take Place; and this Practice carefully followed for some Time, cannot fail of effectuating a Cure, where consummate Weakness, an exhausted Constitution, or other insuperable Difficulties do not intervene.
SECT. II.
The immoderate Flux of the Menstrual Discharge.
AS a due Discharge of Blood by the Uterus every Month is an Insurer of Health, so an extraordinary Efflux is the Harbinger of Sickness, and highly detrimental to the Constitution; because it occasions a Loss of Strength, which is attended by other Symptoms; to wit, Crudities from Indigestion, a Loss of Appetite, a Sense of Oppression in the Stomach, a sickly Complexion, oftentimes a small Encrease of Heat, a feeble Pulse; a Swelling in the Feet, and a Restlessness during the Time of Sleep.
The immoderate Flux of the menstrual Discharge is effectuated in three different Manners: 1. By too plentiful and impetuous an Eruption at the usual Period. 2. Sometimes by happening twice, or oftener, within the Space of a Month. 3. Sometimes by continuing several Days longer than they were wont to flow. The Cure to be obtained, is a restraining of the present Flux, and keeping a future one within due Bounds. For this purpose let the Patient rest, as long as convenient to her Situation of Life, in Bed upon her Back, and as much as possible let her avoid speaking. According as she is strong or weak, and concurring Circumstances will allow, let her blood in the Arm. Care should be taken that no strict Ligatures be suffered on any Part of her Body, as by means of Garters, Sleeve-buttons, &c. which are very prejudicial. Let the Patient's Diet be slender, and consist chiefly of Veal, Chickenbroths, Fish-soups; let her constant Drink be Ptisan of Plantane, Yarrow, and Nettletops, into which, by way of giving it a Zest, put some Orange-peel, or of the greater Comfrey; but put in Linseed, if she be of a hot and bilious Temperament.
In Cases where these Remedies do not succeed, then Recourse must be had to the following prescribed by Dr. Mead, as a more efficacious one: "Take one Ounce of burnt Alum, one quarter of an Ounce of Dragon's Blood, which reduce to a Powder; to those of weakly Constitutions let there be given from fifteen Grains to twenty; to those of middling, from twenty to twenty-five; to those of a strong Habit, thirty Grains in a Glass of red Wine, diluted with an equal Quantity of warm Water and to be taken three Times a Day."
In the more alarming Cases of this Malady, the Womb, on account of its Orifice being in a quite relaxed State, may be syringed with a Decoction of Yarrow, red Roses, Plantane, or with warm Water impregnated with the Powder of Roch-alum, or with Vinegar made warm.
SECT. III.
Of the Whites, or Fluor Albus.
THIS Malady is the running of a liquid Matter, from the private Parts of the female Sex, but stinks not like Ulcers, and is free from any infectious Taint. Its Colour is sometimes white, sometimes green, sometimes yellow, &c. It is sometimes of an acid Nature, and excoriates the Parts, sometimes not. This Species of running is in general continued, but not copious. It is interrupted in some Patients, and returns either at irregular or stated Periods. It is in many a constant Forerunner of the menstrual Discharge, and after that is over, re-appears for some Time.
The common Signs to distinguish the Whites from the venereal Flux or Clap, is, that in the latter Case the Discharge is more copious, and continues during the Times of the menstrual Discharge; whereas the former suffers an Interruption: the Patient's Knowledge of her own Conduct must help to judge in this Case.
The Patients who labour under an uninterrupted Fluor Albus, or one that frequently returns, have a pale and swollen Countenance, a Distaste for their wonted Aliments, a Loss of Strength, frequent Pain about the Region of the Heart, besides troublesome Twitchings, and a sinking Weakness of the Stomach.
Inasmuch as this remote and fixed Cause of the Fluor Albus is in the Stomach, the setting that to rights is the surest Way of performing a Cure. Let the Patient set off in the Beginning of the Disorder, when not much enfeebled, by letting a little Blood from the Arm; and in a Day or two after, be puked with one Grain of Tartar Emetic; if young, and rather weak, with half an Ounce of Tincture of Hipecacuanha; but if at her full Growth, and of a strong Habit of Body, let two Grains of Tartar Emetic be employed; and when it begins to operate, it is to be encouraged by drinking after each Effort some Camomile-tea. In a few Days after let her be purged with what ever purgative Medicine and Dose she may have been used to; but if not habituated to any, in case the Patient be young and weakly, let fifteen Grains of Jalap in Powders be taken in a Dish of Tea, or Whey, or any other inoffensive and weak Liquor warmed, to be also drunk from time to time, while the Medicines are operating, in order to encourage it.
After these Preludes to a Cure, the Patient must betake herself to a proper Regimen; that is, she must shun all Ragousts, Fruits, Salads, Confectionary-articles, Roots; and live chiefly on Rice, Beef, Mutton, Fowl, and all Sorts of Food that tend to strengthen the Constitution. If denied either by the Place of her Abode, or of her Circumstances, the means of procuring Ferrugineous Waters, she may make an artificial one for herself, by boiling old pieces of rusty Iron in Water, of which she is to drink half a pint each Day, if young, and of a weakly Constitution; but if of a strong Habit, and come to be full grown, then she may drink a Pint, and every eight Days, for the first Month, repeat the above Purgative; in the second, every fifteen Days; in the third Month let the Interval be of three Weeks; and once a Month afterwards for the Space of six, if the Malady should persevere.
Immediately subsequent to the first Purge, let her begin to take the following Remedies for a recent or inveterate State: 1. In the Commencement the Fluor Albus, and in as yet a not-emaciated Constitution; an Infusion of Rosemary drunk every Day, in the manner, and in the room of Tea, has been often known to prevent its farther Progress; but when of a long standing, and that it has resisted the commonly advised Remedies by female Friends, Gossips, and Matron Advisers, &c. Recourse must be had to the following Remedy; "Take Extract of the Peruvian Bark, Nutmeg, Alum, of each one Scruple, and of Syrup of Clove a sufficient Quantity, to make a Bolus of th
se Ingredients." Let the Patient begin by taking a very small Quantity from the Tip or Edge of a Tea-spoon, and so continue for one Week, encreasing it the next and following, but there she is to stop where the Quantity may be found disagreeable. In Cases where a Weakness of the Back is perceived, let a strengthening Plaister (to be had at any Apothecary's shop) be thereto applied.
Doctor
Russel
advises for the Cure of an inveterate Fluor Albus, to bathe in the Seawater, and drink it. Those who are situated near the Sea, may try; but since it has been known to fail in so many Cases, it is not strenuously insisted upon here, and frequent Exercise is preferable to it.
SECT. IV.
Of the Green-Sickness, or Chlorosis.
TO this Malady are subject Maids and Widows. It is attended with a slow, irregular, and almost imperceptible Fever. The Complexion of the Patient is discoloured, being sometimes a ghastly pale, at other times livid, and not rarely greenish, with a Circle of a Violet Colour under the Eyes. They feel a constant Irksomeness, and a Despondency without any apparent Cause: the Pulse is small, unequal, and variable; the Ancles and Eye-lids are apt to swell: the Face is bloated; a benumbing Dulness is diffused through the whole Body: in the Legs and Feet are felt a tensive Lassitude; such Patients are also subject to a Palpitation of the Heart, racking Pains in the Head, and an inordinate Desire of things totally unfit for nourishing the Body; to wit, Chalk, Coals, &c.
The Treatment in order to obtain a Cure, is to be commenced by a Purgative proportioned to the Patient's Strength, as may be gathered from our Directions in the Maladies already treated of. Then get, of Castile Soap, three Drachms; of Rhubarb in Powder half a Drachm; Filings of Steel, half a Drachm; Species of Hiera Picra, half a Drachm; with a sufficient Quantity of Orange Peels made into an Electuary; of which the Patient, if young and weakly, is to take the Quantity of half a small Tea Spoon full twice a Day; if grown up, and strong, she is to take, each Time, the Tea-Spoon full.
She is to eat nothing but wholesome Food, and of easy Digestion, such as the young of all Kinds of Animals, Fowls, &c. and to delight in much Exercise without continuing it to a wearisome Fatigue. Doctor
Mead
has advised, to take of the Tincture of Black Hellebore thirty Drops, two or three Times a Day; it sometimes produces good Effects; and there is no Harm in trying it alternately, Day about, with the above Electuary, after the latter has been taken for the Term of a Week.
Mineral Waters, especially of the ferrngineous or iron-Class, prove often very effectual in those Disorders, and may be drunk several Times in a Day in moderate Quantities, followed by some moderate Exercise immediately after. If the Distemper be caused by a Suppression of the menstrual Discharges, it is effectually removed by the Remedies that restore them. When a deep rooted Passion for a Male Object is the Cause, then Marriage with the Object beloved is the most powerful of all Specifics.
SECT. V.
Of the Furor Uterinus.
THIS Frenzy, or rather, libidinous Rage, all the Female Sex are liable to, not only Maids and Widows, but sometimes even married Women, and especially those who are disappointed in their conjugal Expectations. It is a continual and insatiable Desire of Copulation. All Regard to Decency is thrown aside. It begins by a morose Silence, and an occasional Sparkling of the Eyes. The Patient is kindled at hearing any obscene or wanton Expressions, and her Pulse beats tumultuously; she alternately bursts into Fits of Weeping and Laughing. She soon bids adieu to Shame, and speaks openly and boldly of every Part and Action from which Modesty turns aside. Unhappy Females, a Prey to this Curse, become even so abandoned as to attempt to force Men to satisfy their lustful Desires.
This dreadful and calamitous Disease, is the most disgusting and offensive of all that invade the Female Sex (because the like suffering State in the Males is not held so disgraceful) owes its Origin to some remote, and to some immediate Causes. The remote are the reading obscene Books, hearing immodest Discourses, or the frequent Presence of a lov'd Object without proceeding to the last Favour. A natural Disposition of the Body, Time of Life, Manner of Living; for it is always observed, to seize on those who lead an indolent Life, more than on others. The immediate Causes are an Irritation of the Womb caused by the Acrimony of the Humours that are brought thither; or the applying (either through the Patient's own Wantonness, or false Lover's cruel Deceit) external Remedies that are called Provocatives, whether internally taken, or externally applied.
In order that a Cure may be attempted, the Patient must, in the first Place, renounce all Excitements to lustful Sensation, such as Reading, Conversation, Self-touching, &c. She must be copiously and repeatedly let Blood. Her Food must be of the mildest Kind; she must avoid salted Food, high Sauces, all seasoning whatever that may tend to enflame. Her Drink must be cooling, such as Whey, or other weak Liquor, with twenty Grains of Nitre, to be dissolved in every Quart.
She must frequently sit in half Baths of warm Water; when out of them let her as often as conveniently she can, convey by Means of a Funnel put into the Vagina, and up towards the Orifice of her Womb, the Vapours of warm Water. She is to take frequent Clysters of warm Water, with two Ounces of Manna dissolved therein, which she is to retain as long as conveniently she can. It will not be amiss, from Time to Time, that Blood may be drawn more immediately from the suffering Part, to apply Leeches to the Anus.
By this Process the desired Ends are to be obtained; which are, 1. To diminish the Quantity of irritating Humours. 2. To correct the Acrimony of the remainder by a cooling Diet. 3. To dilute and weaken the local stimulatory Cause, by the Application of warm Water in Half-baths and Injections. 4. To act as an immediate Auxiliary to the enflamed Womb in the gentlest Manner, by Manna's mildly operating in the simple Form of Clysters, and, at the same Time, concurring with the other curative Views, to release the Fibres from their violent State of Tension, and bring about the wished-for Calm, which cannot be missed of, with the Concomitance of Regularity, Sobriety, and chaste Company.
SECT. VI.
Of the Vapours, or Hysteric Passion.
THIS Malady of the Female Sex arises mostly from an Accumulating of the Blood in the Bowels, and is caused chiefly by an Hindrance of the menstrual Discharge, which Obstruction is productive of much Mischief to the fair Sex, on account of their tender Structure. It is frequently accompanied with a Vomiting, a Sense of Suffocation, a violent Compression of the Breast, convulsive Efforts, &c. Maiden Ladies (in the true chaste Sense) and Widows, are the most liable to this Complaint. It is sometimes occasioned by too immoderate Evacuations through whatever Means, whether of Bleeding, Puking, Purging, &c. Sometimes by being debarred from a Commerce with the other Sex, in those especially whose Frame consists of too delicate and irritable Fibres.
This very unaccountable Disorder ariseth from many different Sources, and each requires different Views of Cure; thus it is wont to make its dreadful Invasion in what is vulgarly called a Fit. A compressive Pain is felt in the Forehead, a Numbness of the Limbs, a Dimness of the Sight, an universal Irksomness is diffused through all the Parts; something, as if in a globular Form, seems to force its Way upward through the Throat, and menace immediate Suffocation. The Speech is interrupted, the Heart is in a violent Palpitation, the Pulse is irregular and hard. Very acid Matter, like to a greenish Bile, is thrown out by the Mouth. A tormenting Head-ach fixes in one Part, and is called the
Clavus Hystericus;
racking Pains are felt in the Bladder and Kidney, as if the Patient was afflicted with the Stone; the Back aches prodigiously; an excruciating Tooth-ach often comes in for a Share. The Legs and Arms are cold. Fits of Weeping and Laughing succeed to each other, without any apparent Cause for either, and are accompanied with Convulsions.
The Intention of curing is two-fold; one when the Patients are in the Fit; the other when they are out of it: Let the Body and Limbs be rubbed with warm Flannels; let the Legs be plunged deep into a warm Bath, in which are Camomile Flowers, or Bran, and there be detained for some Time; let the Soles of their Feet be tickled, let the Patients be pulled by the Hair in the most sensible parts, to awaken the Faculty of Feeling; let the Fume of Assa-foetida Leather, Horn, or of any strongly smelling Substance, when burnt, even of Tobacco, be conveyed through a Pipe up their Nostrils. Some Practitioners recommend a few Grains of Musk, or Civet tied in a Rag, to be introduced into the Vagina, and assert this Method to have often proved very efficacious.
Treatment out of the Fit,—in order to prevent its Return, or, at least, to make it abate of its Violence, when it shall re-appear: A bleeding in the Foot, to be followed in a Day or two by a Vomit of Hypecacoana, fifteen Grains for Girls about Fourteen; twenty Grains for those between Nineteen and Twenty; for those turned of Four and twenty, Twenty-five Grains—the Patients are to drink Camomile-tea by Preference, to quicken its Energy, and is productive of very good Effects on this Occasion. The following Remedy has been recommended by very eminent Practitioners, to wit,
Mead, Hoffman,
and others of no less Fame, dosed in these Proportions. Take twenty-four Ounces of simple Pepper-mint-water, of Valerian in Powder two Ounces, and of Lavender-drops one Ounce; let them be perfectly well mixed together, and two or three Times in the Day, let the Patient take three large Tea-Spoonfulls. It is looked upon as a good Method to apply a large Galbanum-plaister to the Navel.—Twelve or fourteen Drops of the Spirit of Harts-horn taken in any proper Vehicle, as weak Tea, Whey, &c. prove a serviceable Medicine. To make use of as a constant Drink, waters impregnated with Iron are a powerful Assistant; and Women who are not situated in the Neighbourhood of such salutary Springs, may, in Part, substitute thereto by heating in the Fire Pieces of old rusty Iron, and plunging them repeatedly into Water, small Beer, Tea, &c. which they drink.
Let those who are liable to this afflicting Disorder, seize on every Opportunity of taking Exercise; and although that on Horse-back hath been accounted the best, yet the others, such as walking, being carried in a Coach, Chair, &c. are beneficial to a certain Point; let them seek all Occasions of Mirth, avoid dull Company, too serious Conversation, melancholy Stories; and if they be single, let them finally mak trial of that powerful Remedy, which the Matrimonial State alone provides, in a lawful and blameless Manner.
SECT. VII.
Of Pregnancy.
HAving, in the Close of our last Section, advised all single Females, whether Maids or Widows, to have Recourse to Matrimony, as yet the most universally acknowledged Specific against so manifold a Disease, and the greatest Tyrant over the tender Sex; to wit, the
Hysteric Passion;
it is now consistent with the strictest Order, that our next process be (on Supposition that the suffering Fair ones have followed our Advice, and taken Refuge in the conjugal State, for the Cure of so grievous a Calamity) to delineate the Changes, the salutary Ailments they are to undergo, in Consequence of their Change of Life, the first whereof is to be in the State of Pregnancy; which is discoverable, and may, beyond all Doubt, be ascertained by the following Signs:
We think it proper to premise, that the Signs of Conception, especially at the Beginning, are very obscure, because common to several other Diseases, and that more over they are different in different Women, which depend, in a great Measure, upon a more or less robust Constitution, and different Manner of Living. However, the following Signs in general are declaratory of a Conception: the
Menses,
or monthly Discharge from the Womb (being at the End of the first, second, or third Month, after having undergone the Embraces of a Man) either entirely suppressed, or at least very much diminished, with a frequent Tendency to Puking; in the fourth Month, and, in some, not until the fifth, a Motion of something alive is felt in the Womb, and, soon after, that inwardly felt Intimation is perceived by others on applying their Hands on the Belly; there then remains no longer a doubt of the Person's having conceived, being advanced in Pregnancy, and big with Child. The Breasts swell to a greater Size than they were wont to be of, by the flowing thither of a serous Fluid, the Forerunner of milk, which oozes out occasionally from, and admonishes them of the Motherly Care they are soon to be charged with in suckling their Children. Around the Nipple are darkish Circles. The swelling or Expansion of the Abdomen, or Belly, is upwards.
All the pretended Foretelling, before its Birth, of what Sex the Child in the Womb is, ought to be treated with the highest Contempt, as a barefaced Imposition on the Belief of weak People, who have no Repugnance to let themselves be made Dupes; provided if wishing for a Son, they are flattered with the Promise of their soon being delivered of one.
A Dropsy is easily distinguished from advanced Pregnancy, because in the former the swelling is in the lower Part of the Belly; whereas in the latter it is in the upper. Besides, another Proof which puts the Matter out of all Doubt, is, if the Patient's Swelling be Hydropical, that will appear by putting one Hand at either Side of the Person's Belly, and then to pat or push it gently with the other; the Hand on the opposite Side will feel a Fluctuation of Water.
The chief Inconveniencies which pregnant Women are liable to, are either a Loss or Depravation of their Appetite, a Nauseating, or Tendency to puke, a Listlessness, a Heaviness, an Head-ach, a Diziness, Difficulty of Breathing, a Swelling of the Feet and Breast, a violent Tooth-ach; in all which Cases proper Rest, as far as their Condition will allow, is required; and that they expose themselves to no great Fatigue. A gentle Bleeding is often not amiss. But if Pregnancy be the Consequence of a private Love Affair, let the Patients communicate their Situation to some experienced Female Friend, that may perhaps be able to advise; or at least able to apply for them to the skilled in Physic. We purposely avoid giving any Directions, through Fear of dangerous Consequences, either by Misapprehension, or unskilful Application.
SECT. VIII.
Abortion or Miscarriage.
THE Female Disease next, in order to Pregnancy, is Abortion, which is the premature Exclusion of the Foetus many Months before the natural Term. This Disaster most commonly happens in the third Month, or thereabout; the most dangerous to the Mothers are those that happen on the fifth Month. To avoid being the Cause of any Mischief, we, for the same Reasons as in the preceeding Chapter, decline directing any complicated Remedy. Yet when these Forerunners of an Abortion are felt; to wit, a Pain in the Bottom of the Matrix, or Womb, or in the inward Parts of the Thighs, as well as slight shiverings between the Skin and the Flesh, and at the same Time the Belly becomes depressed and flattish about the Navel from pointed, which it had been in that Part at the Beginning of such Symptoms, Linseed has been often proved a very good Remedy to prevent a Miscarriage, or Abortion. It may not also be amiss to bleed about the third Month of Pregnancy, more or less, according to the Strength of the Person; and during the first Months particularly, let it be remembered, that the Body is to be kept open with Rhubarb, or Senna, or other Purgative of the mild Class. We cannot finish this Section more profitably to the Common-wealth, than with a truly physical, moral and religious inculcating to young Maids, who may have unfortunately been seduced, to beware of, and shun, as they would Poison, all Remedies which the wicked recommend to cause Abortions, and for the following Reasons, obvious to the meanest Capacity.
The Remedies that have been cried up by Ignorance and Vice, as capable of causing an Abortion, or Miscarriage, are in Fact, nay absolutely not endowed with any such especial Faculty; for the Way that they act towards, and contribute to that Purpose, is by the Violence with which they exert themselves when introduced into the human Body; where, by the outrageous Tumult which they cause, they are sometimes productive of the too early Expulsion of the Foetus from the Womb, all shaken and convulsed, by the general Commotion caused throughout the Mother's Frame, which storm likewise frequently causeth her Death; so by one unhappy Deed she is guilty of Self-murder, and that of her Child.
But in those Constitutions where such accursed Remedies cannot operate the wished and diabolical Effect of murdering, and prematurely driving the Foetus out of the Womb, whether through too great an Adhesion, or strong Contexture of the Parts, &. then they exercise all their malignant Power on the Constitution of the unhappy Mother, which they ruin for ever after; and thus she shortens her Date of Life, as but too many fatal Instances have been known in Practice.
If they have no feeling for their yet unborn Babes let them have some Regard for their own Health, and well being, in this World; which, should they overlook, let them tremble at the Certainty of their being to appear before a tremendous Judge on the last Day, and there to receive the Sentence of eternal Torture for the most detestable, the most barbarous and inhuman of all Crimes, a Mother guilty of the Murder of her own Child; nay, of tearing it bleeding ftom her own Womb before its allotted Time of Delivery. To mangle its tender Thread of Life! Nature shudders at the Thought—The most wild, most savage, and most ferocious Beasts that howl Terror through dreary Forests or Desarts, never commit so monstrous a Deed.—
SECT. IX.
Of a Mole.
BY the Term Mole, is to be understood nothing more than a fleshy Substance generated in the Womb; it is most commonly of a spherical Form, and, until ocular Conviction after its Delivery, or a Continuance long beyond the Time of Child-bearing, hath been mistaken for the true Consequence of a Conception, a Foetus, or Child in the Womb.
Its Dimensions vary from the common Size of an Infant down to that of a large Nut-shell. Some are of a membranous Texture, others of a softish or spongy Consistence, and have, in their middle, a Cavity. They sometimes abound with little Bladders, called Hydatides, and, at others, they are replete with a serous Matter.
Moles are apt to alarm those who are troubled with them, by a Display of Symptoms at first not unlike to those of Women really with Child. They differ much afterwards; for a dull heavy Weight, like a Ball of Lead, is felt when a Mole is the Case; but it never does (like a living Foetus) exhibit a vibratory Motion to any Hand applied on the Outside of the Abdomen, which, in the State of undoubted Pregnancy, is spherical and roundish.
A Mole in itself menaces no Peril to the Patient; and all the Danger or Difficulty, that it is liable to be accompanied with, consists chiefly in the Manner of freeing the Womb from so useless an Incumbrance: for otherwise Women have been known to have carried them for many Years; nay, even to a very advanced Age in Life, without suffering any other Inconvenience than the being troubled, from Time to Time, with the disagreeable Sensation of a listless Weight, and a teazing Uneasiness.
The most ignorant of the Sex may be persuaded, beyond any Possibility of a doubt, that they have a
Mole
in the Womb, when they perceive that an Increase of Bulk and Weight has exceeded by far the usual Time of Gestation or Child-bearing, which in general exceeds not nine Months, and the utmost Indulgence of Physicians to cover the Reputation of great Ladies hath never let it stretch beyond eleven, the Truth of which Complaisance is much doubted of, and not without Reason.
The Certainty of a
Mole
in the Womb being established, the next Attention is to eject an idle Occupant of the first Cradle of human Existence, for the two-fold Reason of being useless in itself, and preventive of introducing there what may prove the reverse.
The Method to be followed by those who do not chuse to run the Risk of violent internal Remedies, which ought not to be ventured on without proper Advice, is to take the fresh slender Root of a Walnut Tree, not exceeding in Length the Palm of the Hand, then to shave and polish it to the Thickness of a middle-sized Finger, which is to be introduced, from Time to Time, into the
Vagina,
where it will excite a tingling Sensation of Heat, and that being communicated to the Womb will provoke it to Action, and cause it, in Time, to eject its inanimate Contents, whether it be a real or dead Foetus, a Mole, or any Concretion formed in the Womb in Consequence of a former Delivery not happily conducted. It will not be amiss to accompany the above Application with the Repetition of a pretty strong Puke, and Purgative, alternately, that is, within a few Days Distance of each; in order to accelerate the desired Effect. The Dose of the Puke or Purgative is to be settled by the Patients, which in this Case is to be encreased beyond that which is wont to work them.
SECT. X.
Dropsy of the Uterus, or Womb.
THAT Distemper of the female Sex, and which by Practitioners, in all Treatises upon their Maladies, is called
a Dropsy of the Uterus,
is obviously distinguishable from the common Dropsy of the Abdomen or Belly, and for this very striking Reason, because in the former the Dropsy of the Womb, by the Appearance both to the Eye and Touch is confined to the Region or Neighbourhood of the Uterus or Womb, and is round, circumscribed and prominent. But it is quite the contrary in the other Dropsy, because then the whole Belly is equally swelled.
The curing a Dropsy of the
Womb
is not attended with so much Difficulty as curing that of the Belly. Sometimes nothing more is necessary than hard riding, or any other violent Exercise, accompanied as in the Cure of Mole, dead Foetus, &c. with strong Pukes, and Purges, from Time to Time.
The following simple Injection has been found of great Use—Get an Ounce of
Ipecacoana
boiled in a Pint of Water till the Quantity be diminished about a Quarter; then let it be put by to cool—When to be used, which may be every Morning, as the Action of the Day will forward its Effect, let it be warmed to that Degree a Clyster commonly is, and then be injected up through the
Vagina
towards the Orifice of the Womb, the Patient lying on her Back, in which Situation she is to continue as long as she can; and if for a Quarter of an Hour, so much the better; because by that Means the Remedy will have the more Time to make its desired Impression.
It will not be amiss to take internally of the Tincture of Jalap and Florentine Orris mixed together, one Tea-spoon full just before Tea-time in the Morning and Evening; and constantly to put a small Quantity of Saffron into their Tea will not be unserviceable.
SECT. XI.
The Falling down of the Womb.
WHAT is in the Writings of eminent Physicians called
Procidentia Uteri,
and which, for the being readily understood by the most vulgar Capacity, we have translated
The Falling down of the Womb,
is, alas! too common a Disorder in that Part, and easily known by presenting itself between the Lips of the
Vagina,
and preventing an Entrance into it.
This Distemper is rather more incommodious and disagreeable than dangerous—The first View of Cure is to reduce the Uterus, and the next, to retain it in its proper Situation.—To answer the first View of reducing it, a common Clyster must be taken in order to discharge the Gut that is next to it, called the Rectum, of any excremental Lodgment.
The Patient must be let Blood three or four Times; and there must also be applied emollient or softening Plaisters, as of White Bread and Milk.—A few warm Baths will be of Use, because, by their Means, the Parts will be properly relaxed. Then must the Patient lie on her Back, with her Hips raised much higher than her Head, and her Legs must be separated to a proper Distance. Then in a most gentle and gradual Manner is the Womb to be put back, and in that Direction where it meets with the least Obstacle. When this Operation is performed, the Patient, still taking Care to keep her Hips raised, and Legs across, is to remain in Bed about a Fortnight.
But to put a finishing Hand to the Cure, an astringent Medicine, dexterously applied, will be necessary; such as for Instance—a Quarter of a Pound of the Bark of Oak, with two Oun
of Misletoe, boiled in two Quarts of Water, until reduced to one Quart; then lay it aside for Use. It is to be twice a Day injected with a proper Degree of Warmth up through the Vagina towards the Womb—And in the Vagina, on going to rest at Night, ought to be introduced as high as convenient, an adapted Piece of Sponge; or else soft Linen Rags twisted into a circular Form, and well soaked in the above Decoction of the Bark of Oak and Misletoe; the longer it is retained in the Part, so much the better.
SECT. XII.
On Delivery, or Child-birth, and after-Pains.
ONE of the Inconveniencies that most commonly attend Women approaching to the Time of Delivery, or of being brought to Bed, is a Difficulty of making Water, which in general may be removed without taking any inward Remedy, or applying any outward, and that by raising the Belly. For the Pressure of the Womb (big with a grown Foetus) on the Sphincter or Outlet of the Bladder, is frequently the Cause of such Stoppage.
When Things are so far gone as to be near Child-birth, since from the extraordinary Bulk of the Patient, it can be no longer kept a Secret, were there even a Necessity for so doing; then it is prudent to lay aside ill-timed Modesty, and Application is to be made to those who practice in that Branch, whether they be of the Male or Female Sex; especially when Nature seems in Danger of meeting Difficulties she cannot overcome, although, in most cases, she is sufficient of herself; and great Mischief is often caused by conceited Practitioners thwarting her Operation. Doctor
Mead
advises, for the quickening of a Delivery, that a Grain of purified Opium be divided into two Pills, one to be taken six Hours after the other.
About an Hour after the Delivery the Mother ought to take a Tea-spoon full of the Oil of Sweet Almonds, and that repeatedly, if it appear requisite, in order to soothe the subsequent Pains. Then let a Cataplasm, made up of Oil of Sweet Almonds two Ounces, with two or three new laid Eggs boiled together, be applied to the Parts, and, for the Space of two Days, be renewed every six Hours.
If the Pains after Delivery prove violent and menacing, then the following Prescription has been experienced of the greatest Use: Take two Scruples of Sperma Ceti; ten Grains of volatile Salts of Hartshorn; ten Drops of Balsam of Peru, and one Drachm of Venice Treacle; let them be carefully mixed with as much Syrup of White Poppies as will suffice to be made into four Doses; one to be taken every six Hours, till the Pains disappear; the Patient is to drink Caudle very plentifully, and to be kept very warm.
In about fifteen Days after Delivery, and a vanishing of the Pains attendant thereon, the late suffering Parts are to be bathed with an astringent Decoction that they may be braced up; which Decoction is to consist of Half a Pint of red Wine, wherein are to be boiled red Roses and Balaustins as chief Ingredients.
Inasmuch as after all Births that are any ways laborious, the Mother is in general weak, and very apt to faint, it will be necessary, and far from imprudent, by the Means of a Glass of hot Wine, or other generous Liquor, to comfort and keep up her Spirits. The same is to be repeated as often as she shall appear to stand in need thereof. Comfortable Broths greatly contribute to forward a Recovery of Strength. All other Occurrences of a more intricate Tendency are to be remedied by professed Practitioners.
SECT. XIII.
The Lochia.
THE Advice with which we have closed the last Section, must take Place relative to the Disorders of this Discharge immediately after Child-bearing, whether in Excess or diminished, because then the Patient, on account of so enfeebled a State, can be of no Service to herself, and the relying on Friends in general is dangerous.
SECT. XIV.
Disorders of the Breasts after Child-bearing.
THAT which commonly takes the Lead, and is therefore reckoned the first, because it appears the third or fourth Day after Delivery, is caused by a Congestion, or Gathering of Milk in both the Breasts, or in either of them. It is thence called the Milk Fever.
It is usually accompanied with a tensive or excruciating Pain: and also with a Tumor or swelling of both the Breasts, or either, that frequently extend to both Arm-pits, or at least to that of the Breasts affected.
This Pain of the Arm-pits is sometimes violent to a most insupportable Degree. It is wont to persevere for the Space of one to two Days, and then puts an End to itself by copious Sweats, (always proportioned to the preceding cold Sweats) by which it is diverted out of the Body as a Benefit of Nature.
In some Cases, however, there may be a Necessity of using gentle diaphoretic Remedies that encrease Perspiration, or some of the hot diluting ones to assist and encourage the disembarrassing of the Vessels in the Breasts; to which the Child ought often to be put, and the Mother confine herself to a strict Diet.
But if it should not be the Intention of the Patient to suckle the Child, then a more strict Regimen is to be observed, and a proper Person is to be procured to draw the Breasts, from Time to Time, which will contribute to hinder a Gathering there.
Moreover, a thickening of the Milk is to be hindered by embrocating the Breast with Oil of Sweet Almonds, or even with Linseed Oil. Nay, a warm Application of the Leaves of red Cabbage hath proved beneficial on such Occasions, as have also double Cloths dipped in Brandy, and then put under the Arm-pits. But if the Milk Fever should prove very hot, acute, and threaten immediate Inflammation, then Recourse must be had to Bleeding.
SECT. XV.
An Inflammation of the Breasts.
IF, in a short Time after Child-birth, there happens a stagnating of the Milk, accompanied with a Swelling and a Pain, it is called an Inflammation of the Breasts. Then inwardly let gentle Cordials be taken; and externally apply hot Linen Cloths steeped in Rum. Care must be taken to have the Milk drawn off some how or other, whether by the Mouth of an Animal, such as a Puppy, or the Hand of the Nurse, &c.
But should the Swelling, caused by a Stagnation of Milk, be observed to be without Heat, then, with all possibe Speed, let the Part be bathed with red Wine made warm, or Spirit of Wine camphorated. Nay, the Cataplasm or Plaister of white Bread, and red Wine boiled together, with the Addition of some camphorated Spirit of Wine, has been recommended as a successful Remedy by some very good Practitioners.
When the Swelling appears inclinable to break, then make Use of a softening Plaister, particularly the common one with the Gums which will ripen it to an Opening. As soon as it shall be opened, take Care to cleanse it with a digestive Ointment, to heal it with balsamic Remedies, particularly the Balsam of Peru, to be had at any apothecary's shop.—Women, in this disorder, are liable to a disagreeable attendant upon it, and that is, a Chapping in the Nipples, which in that case are to be anointed with a mixture of oil and bees wax.
SECT. XVI.
An Inflammation of the Uterus, or Womb.
THIS Malady happens frequently to Child-bed Women, at the same time of the Milk Fever appearing; however, if proper care be taken to oppose its progress in the Beginning all will go well. Therefore let the Patient take inwardly oil of sweet Almonds alone to the Quantity of Half an Ounce. But for exterior Remedy, let the whole Abdomen, or Belly, be duly anointed with Oil of Dill an Ounce, with the same Quantity of white Lillies and Camomile, to which add a Drachm either of Camphire or Caraways, over which a double Napkin must be laid.
SECT. XVII.
The Cancer.
THIS Malady is incidental either to the Womb or Breasts in Women. It begins at first with a small Swelling, no exceeding a Nut in Bigness; nor does the Colour of the Skin, on the Breasts, undergo any sudden Change, because the Cancer, without causing any terrifying Alarms in its first Stages, continueth, as it were, a silent Progress for many Years.
But when the fostering Humours of that Evil is endowed with a greater Degree of Activity, the Swelling is suddenly enlarged into a great, unequal, round, and livid Tumour, accompanied with a racking Pain.
Finally, it terminates in a Rupture, and thence discharges a Blood-urged Stinking, and acrimonious Humour, which, by preying upon the Parts that are sound, render the Lips of the Wound ghastly and horrible to Sight, nay often Death.
The Cancer of the Womb seldom admits of any Cure, because the Patient, generally speaking, is in a desperate State before it can be ascertained. The Cancer of the Breasts, as well as of the other Parts, if timely taken in hand, is often cured; for which End the following Remedy is recommended for its powerful Virtue by a very eminent Physician. Get two Ounces of the Shavings of Guaiacum, which boil in two Quarts of Water, and let it continue to boil until it be reduced to three Pints. Half a Pint of this Decoction is to be drank twice a day.
For external Application—Make use of a fomentation of Milk and Water, in which Camomile Flowers had been boiled and let that be succeeded by a Pultice of White Bread and Milk.
The Patient must be ever mindful that the Cancer must be preserved with all imaginable Care from every Impression of the cold Air, on which, for that Purpose, ought constantly to be spread a little of the Sperma Ceti Ointment, which salutary Practice ought to be renewed every Day two or three Times.
We cannot conclude the present Section with a more essential Advice to all labouring under this Distemper, than to bid them avoid dealing with ignorant Quacks, or Nostrum Retailers for a Cure, because the taking such a step must lead to certain Danger.
SECT. XVIII.
Ulcer of the Womb.
THE principal and determining Sign by which this Malady may be known is by a Discharge of stinking and purulent Matter that is streaked all over with Blood and the greater the Quantity oozing from it is, the deeper you may pronounce the Ulcer to be: But when the flowing Matter is not distained with Blood, then no more than the serous and lymphatic Vessels are affected; but when it is of a reddish colour, then, to a certainty, the Blood Vessels are attacked.
The following Injection is recommended: Let an Ounce of Honey of Roses in half a Pint of Water be heated to a proper Degree, to wit, such as can be borne without exciting a Sense of Pain, which, by means of a Sponge, is to be applied through the Vagina on the ailing Part several Times in the Day. Half a Tea Spoon-full of the Tincture of Myrrh may be added to each Injection.
But in order to correct the Acrimony of the Blood, a Milk Diet is the most effectual, which may be relieved, from Time to Time, by the Use of Herb Soups, light Broths, as of Veal, Chicken, &c.
I have now treated sufficiently of all those Distempers incidental to the Fair Sex; and which every Individual, either through their own Sagacity, or with the assistance of some intelligent Female Friend, may safely undertake the cure of.—There are no cases omitted, but those quite out of their Reach to bring any Help to, and that require both the Inspection, as well as Operation, of a skilful Surgeon.
There are, indeed, a few slight Diseases, or rather Deficiences of Nature in the married State, that obstruct the Propagation of the Species; but Decency forbids me to mention any thing about them, lest Libertinism should make a vicious Use thereof.
FINIS.