John Locke, 1632-1704, physician and philosopher : a medical biography / with an edition of the medical notes in his journals.

  • Kenneth Dewhurst
Date:
1963
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: John Locke, 1632-1704, physician and philosopher : a medical biography / with an edition of the medical notes in his journals. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Stomachus pp. 203-4 Vomit p. 204 (Latin Puneses p. 204 Renum calor pp. 204-5 Crocus p. 206 such cases convulsions of the hands, espetially the right hand, with pain in the fingers commonly accompanys. This, he says, happend to him self who with a vertigo that lasted him 6 months, when he looked up or downe or lay downe in his bed, which he cured at last with a vomit of gummi gotti. 1 He had accompanying it a flatulent tumor of his right hand, and great pain in his fingers, and after that numbnesse in his fingers. The like happend to a woman who haveing convulsiv fits but without seiseing on her senses, soe that she knew all was donne to her in her fits, but had violent convulsions in her hands was curd at last by vomiting up an impostume which broke in her stomach. For he says he has often observed great sympathy betwixt the stomach and the hands, espetially the right hand, which he imagins to communicate by the great musculus adducans which draws in the arme and extends it self over the breast quite downe to the region of the stomach. Rx. 20 or 30 seeds of Lathyris longa [pea] and 10 or 20 shelled sweet almonds; pound together in a marble mortar; and with sufficient spring water make an emulsion, which promotes gentle vomiting and can be given even to small children. ib. Take the leaves of kidney beans [phaseolus] and put them under your pillow or some convenient place about your bed. They will draw all the puneses 2 to them and kcepe you from being bit. Mr. Labdonicr desired me to see his wife who has had for these 4 or 5 or 6 years, but more of late, a heat about her reignes, 3 which one may cover with a half crown, which give now and then flushes all over her body. It troubles her more in summer then winter, and she cannot endure the least heat of fire or sun on that part without sensible torment. She miscaried some time before of a dead, putrified child, and when this came first had a great flux of bloud and water. She has her stomach good, has had children since, but it hinders her stiring much for exer cise. Wine, spice, salt meat, and every thing that heats increases it and makes her worse. She is commonly bound. Sund. Jul. 1 7. In Poictou where there grows a great deale of Safron those that gather it, if they doe not take care, finde the narcoticall effects of it, and also have tumors on their head. The antidote against these evils is to take about 1 scruple of dried safron in a convenient véhiculé before they goe to gather the safron, and that preserves them, attracting to it self those steames which otherwise would hurt them. Dr. Godfrey. 1 Ghatti gum (gummi indicum) is obtained from Anogeissus latifolia of the family Combretaceae, a large tree indigenous to India and Ceylon. It has excellent emulsifying properties. (T. E. Wallis, op. cit., p. 462.) 2 Fr. Punaise=bug. 3 Kidneys.
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