The modern practice of physic, which points out the characters ... and improved method of treating the diseases of all climates / [Robert Thomas].

  • Robert Thomas
Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The modern practice of physic, which points out the characters ... and improved method of treating the diseases of all climates / [Robert Thomas]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    101/1054 (page 79)
    Order IL] INOCULATION OF THE SMALL-POX, 115 introduced into Britain from Turkey, by Lady Mary Wortley Montague, about the year 1721, whose son had been inoculated at Constantinople during her residence there, and whose infant daughter was the first that underwent the operation in this country. Some letters, however, of Dr. Williams, Mr. Owen, and Mr. Wright, which may be seen in the Philosophical Trans¬ actions for the year 1722, assert that inoculation was well known in the south of Wales at that time, and had been of long standing. It seems likewise to have been practised in the High¬ lands of Scotland before its introduction into England. Mr. Mungo Park, in his travels into the interior of Africa, found that inoculation had long been practised by the negroes on the Guinea coast, and nearly in the same manner, and at the same time of life, as in Europe. Where inoculation really originated is a matter of doubt, although it has been ascribed to the Circassians, who employed it as a mean for preserving the beauty of their women. It is more than probable that accident suggested the expedient among the different nations to whom the small-pox had long been known, independently of any intercourse they had with each other; and what greatly adds to the probability of this conjecture is, that in most places where inoculation can be traced back for a considerable length of time, it seems to have been practised chiefly by old women before it was adopted by regular practitioners. Many physicians held the practice of inoculation in the greatest contempt at first, from its supposed origin ; others, again, discredited the fact; while others, on the testimonies of its suc¬ cess in distant countries, believed in the advantages it afforded, but still did not think themselves warranted to recommend it to the families they attended; and it was not until after the experi¬ ment of it had been made on six criminals, (all of whom recovered from the disease, and regained their liberty), that it was practised in the year 1726 on the royal family, and afterwards adopted more generally. About the year 1766, the Suttonian practice was in¬ troduced, and a change in the ideas of the world concerning the value of inoculation rendered its adoption general. To ensure success from inoculation, the following cautions should strictly be attended to :— 1st, That the person should be of a good habit of body, and free from any disease, apparent or latent, in order that he may not have the distemper and a bad constitution, or perhaps another disorder, to struggle with at the same time. 2dly, To enjoin a temperate diet and proper regimen; and, where the body is plethoric or gross, to make use of gentle purges, together with mercurial and antimonial medicines, as hereafter mentioned. 3dly, That the age of the person be as little advanced as possible ; but not younger, if it can be avoided, than four months.