Lectures on electricity / by James Ferguson, F.R.S.

  • James Ferguson
Date:
1825
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on electricity / by James Ferguson, F.R.S. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    G5 put on the flannel, went away, and returned the next day; when I found the swelling was so nearly gone, that I thought it needless to repeat the operation. 87. I wras once, at Bristol, seized with a sore throat, so that I could not swallow any thing. Mr. Adlam of that city, who is a fine electrician, came and drew many electric sparks from my throat, and in about half an hour after, he did the same again. He staid with me about an hour longer, and before he went away, I could both eat and drink without pain ; and had no return of that disorder. I have relieved several persons in such cases, but never in so short a time as Mr. Adlam cured me. 88. A young man, who had well nigh lost his hearing, so that thoso who spoke to him were obliged to speak very loud, came twice to be electrified. I only drew sparks from his ears, and at the second time he heard very wrell, and continued to do so afterward. But, since that time, I have tried the experiment on three persons, without the least success; although, after finding no good from the sparks, I sent gentle shocks through each ear alternately, to the opposite side of the throat. 89. In rheumatic cases, I have generally found elec- tricity successful; only by continuing to take sparks from the pained places, till the skin has been red and pimpled, and the patient felt a glowing warmth where the sparks were drawn off. And I have found the same method efficacious in old sprains 90. I was once deceived by a man who had the vene- real distemper, (as I afterward found out) who came several times to be electrified, as he said, for the rheu- matism ; but, on finding him grow worse and worse, I suspected the cause, and questioned him. He strongly denied the fact, even though I told him that if he had that complaint, electrifying would not only hurt him greatly, but might even kill him: and so I sent him away, telling him that he need not come any more.