A letter to a friend, concerning the epidemic fever of April and May, 1778, in York and its neighbourhood. Containing the history of the disease, and the author's method of treatment, with a few useful hints how to prevent it / By Thomas Withers, M.D.

  • Thomas Withers
Date:
[1778?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to a friend, concerning the epidemic fever of April and May, 1778, in York and its neighbourhood. Containing the history of the disease, and the author's method of treatment, with a few useful hints how to prevent it / By Thomas Withers, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    % / t 18 ] Befides this, there are feveral other Rages and con¬ ditions of the Fever, in which the bark is found ufefuh If the Fever be inflammatory at the beginning, and ner¬ vous or putrid in its prog-refs, the bark, as foon as the inflammatory fymptoms are removed, and the nervous or putrid make their appearance, is frequently of great fervice,, When the Fever is putrid, I generally prefer the bark in fubftance, as being the moft powerful anti- feptic ; and in thefe cafes the dofe is a dram every three or four hours, if the patient's ftomach can bear it. If the hark were given while any inflammatory fymp¬ toms remained, although there were fome evident re- miffions of the Fever, it feldom or never had a good ef- fe£L But if there were evident intermiflions towards the latter ftage of the Fever, when there were no inflam¬ matory fymptoms, the powder of the bark, in large quan¬ tities, anfivered very welb If it purged, three or four drops of the thebaic tindlure were added to each dofe. If my patient, as I have had feveral examples, lived in a low marfhy country, and the Fever became remit¬ tent and intermittent, and at the fame time did not yield to the bark, a change of air was infilled upon as abfo- Jutely neceffary; and in feveral cafes of extreme weak- nefs, it was found highly beneficial. As foon as the pa¬ tient was removed to a dry and elevated fttuation, the bark, which before did not agree, was taken in large quantities, without either purging or vomiting, and the cure was compleated in a fhort time* Thefe are the cafes in which the bark may for the moil part he given with advantage; but truth obliges me to add, that I have met with feveral cafes during this Epidemic, in which there were no inflammatory fymptoms remaining, and which feemed* from the weak- nefs