A new guide to health; or, botanic family physician. Containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan enitrely new; with a description of the vegetables made use of ... to cure disease. To which is added a description of several cases ... attended by the author ... / [Samuel Thomson].

  • Samuel Thomson
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new guide to health; or, botanic family physician. Containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan enitrely new; with a description of the vegetables made use of ... to cure disease. To which is added a description of several cases ... attended by the author ... / [Samuel Thomson]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    NUMBER SIX. Rheumatic drops, to remove pain,prevent mortification, and promote a natural heat. The principal articles used in this preparation, are high wines, fourth proof brandy, gum myrrh, and cayenne ; for external ap¬ plication, spirits of turpentine is added, and sometimes gum camphor. The manner of prepraing will be hereafter given. GUM MYRRH. This is a gum obtained from a tree which grows in the East Indies, and is brought to this country and sold by the apotheca¬ ries for medical use. There is nothing sold by them that pos¬ sesses more useful medicinal properties than this article ; though the doctors seem to have but little knowledge of its virtues. All those whom I have heard express an opinion upon it, consider it of very little value. When I obtained my patent, Dr. Thorn¬ ton, the clerk at the patent office, said it was good for nothing. All this, however, does not lessen its value. The first know¬ ledge I had of it was when I was laid up with my lame ankle at Onion river, as has been before related in my narrative. An old man from Canada, passing that way, and hearing of my case, called to see me, and observing the putrid state my wound was in, told my father that gum myrrh would be good for me, as it was an excellent article to prevent mortification. He immedi¬ ately obtained some of the tincture, and not having a syringe, he took some in his mouth and squirted it through a quill into the wound; the smarting was severe for a short time. By tast¬ ing it himself, and finding it a pleasant bitter, he gave me some to take ; by using it, there was a favourable alteration, both in my bodily health and in the state of my wound. After this I had great faith in this article, and was seldom without it. Wlien I came to have a family, I made use of myrrh ; it was one of the principal articles used in restoring my wife, when given over by the midwife, as related in my narrative. In several cases of had wounds and old sores, it afforded great relief; and in what the doctors call worm complaints in' children, by giving the tincture when such symptoms appeared, it removed them. I used it at that time by making a tincture with spirit; but after having a knowledge of cayenne, I put some of this with it, which made it much better. I found out by accident, that boiling it would pre¬ vent the fumes of the spirit from rising to the head, which otherwise, in some cases, produce bad effects, particularly in such as were subject to hysterical affection. This was the origin of my rheumatic drops, a preparation which has proved more generally useful than any other compound I make use of. In selecting myrrh for use, take that of a light brown color, some¬ what transparent, and of a bitter taste, a little pungent. It should be reduced to a fine powder,'by being pounded in a mor¬ tar before used. SPIRIT OF TURPENTINE. This article is too well known to need any description, being
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