An essay on fevers : to which is now added, A dissertation on the malignant-ulcerous sore-throat / by John Huxham, M. D. fellow of the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, and of the Royal Society at London.
- John Huxham
- Date:
- [1785?]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: An essay on fevers : to which is now added, A dissertation on the malignant-ulcerous sore-throat / by John Huxham, M. D. fellow of the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, and of the Royal Society at London. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.
62/148 page 54
![ConflitutTon of the atmofphere difpo- feth to indammatory fevers, another to the flow nervoui,, remittents, in- terinittents, &c. and a third to tlie putrid, malignant, or petechia]. • hJow where the contagion coincides and co-operates with fiich or fuch a conftitution, it will Ix: produftive of fuch or fuch a kind of fmall pox ; or rather of fuch or fuch a kind of fcver with the fmall-pox. For furely vrc many times obferve a very unto- ward fever to accompany the fni .11- pox, where very few, and very dif- tinft, though of an ill kind. Indeed I think I have frequently obferved the common epidemic fever mani- feftly concurring; with the fmall-pox, and that the variolous c ontagion only diverfified the difeafe ; or rather the tepidemic fever was coincident with the fmall-pox on the fame fubjecl. This was the cafe very often in 1740, I74r, and 1745', when a violent epi- demic fever, of the peftiiential kind, raged here, chiefly among the failors, foldiers and prifoners (efpecially in the lalt of thofe years) who had com- monly the moft evident fymptoms of the malignant fever M'ith the fmall- pox, which therefore proved exceed- ingly fatal among them; whereas manyperfons in the neighbourhood, that had no communication with the hofpitals, and were otherwife tolerably healthy, had a very favour- able kind. And probably this ma- lignant fever was chiefly owing to the high fcorbutic ill habit of body, inanner of life, confinement, &c. to' which the above fet c»f people were .fubjeft. Though I think the fever * in 1740, was from another original. It Ihould feem then, could we pie- ferve, or produce, a certain peculiar flifpofition of the blood and humours, we might elude the force of tlie in- feftion. And this indeed is talked of by fomc, but I think upon a very flight foundation. Some particular preparations of the bark and mercu- • Vid. hujus hirtoriam, Obf. noftr. de Acre, &c. YoJ, 11. menfc Junio J740. rials, by way of antidote, have been thought fuccefsful, and I have known feme initances that inclined me to thi:ik fo; but I am far from being fatlsHed fo far as to advife, or depend 0.1 chem. In truth, in different conftitutions, the very fame medicine lhall have very different effect;; and it would be madnefs to give the bark and cordial corroborants to one of very ftrong rigid fibres, and a very denfe vifcid blood, by way of prophyladlic, or preparative ; though they might be of much f'er/ice in a weak lax flate of veflTels, and a poor watery blood.— Would mercurials be proper in a too loofely coliering dilfolving flate of the blood ? Verily fome bad effedb have been fometimes noted on the ufe of them, particularly petechiae, haemor- rhages, and profufe diarrhoeas in the enfuingpox, though I am fenfible, in other circumftances, they may be very ufeful. In fum, then, whatever can be done rationally in this wayi muft be with a view to mend what is f iulty, or fupply what is defeiflivej in the conltitution ; fo as eitlier to fortify it againll the attack of the difeafe, or to prepare it the better to cope with it, when it afluaily feizcs. Perhaps thefe few hints may not be altogether unworthy the conGderation of thofe efpecially, who have the preparation and management of per- fon to be inoculated. I am perfuaded, if perfons, regu- larly prepared, were to receive the variolous contagion in the natural way, far the greater part would have them in a mild manner; for undoubt- edly a very bad fort of fmall-pox many times arifcs from an over-fulnefs of blood, acrimony of homour, or gre.it loads of foul matter in the firlt paf- Aiges; and xciy frequently errors are committed in diet, exercife, &:c. after tlie infeftion is firit taken, which often prove of fatal confequence in the event. From thefe, thofe that are inoculated are and fhould be guarded, and hence the great fuccefs of that operation.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21441960_0062.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
