Table of the several Chapters, and their principal Contents.

Introduction —— Page 1

The first Cause of Depopulation, Emigrations —— ib.

The second Cause, Luxury —— 6

Third Cause, Decay of Agriculture —— 10

Fourth Cause, the pernicious Treatment of Diseases —— 12

Means for rendering this Treatise useful —— 15

Explanation of certain physical Terms, and Phrases —— 26

Chapter I.

The most common Causes of popular Sickness —— 31

First Cause, excessive Labour —— ib.

Second Cause, the Effect of cold Air, when a Person is hot —— 33

Third Cause, taking cold Drink, when in a Heat —— ib. & 34

Fourth Cause, the Inconstancy and sudden Change of the Weather —— 35

Fifth Cause, the Situation of Dunghills, and Marshes, near inhabited Houses, and the bad confined Air in the Houses —— 37

Sixth Cause, Drunkenness —— 38

Seventh Cause, the Food of Country People —— 39

Eighth Cause, the Situation, or Exposure of Houses —— 42

Concerning the Drink of Country People —— 43

Chap. II.

Of Causes which increase the Diseases of the People, with general Considerations —— 47

First Cause, the great Care employed to force the Sick to sweat, and the Methods taken for that Purpose —— ib. & 48

The Danger of hot Chambers —— 49

The Danger of hot Drinks and heating Medicines —— 50

Second Cause, the Quantity and Quality of the Food given sick Persons —— 53

Third Cause, the giving Vomits and Purges at the Beginning of the Disease —— 57

Chap. III.

Concerning what should be done in the Beginning of Diseases, and the Diet in acute Diseases —— 61

Signs which indicate approaching Diseases; with Means to prevent them —— 62

The common Regimen, or Regulations, for the Sick —— 64

The Benefits of ripe sound Fruits —— 68

Cautions and Means to be used, on Recovery —— 73, 74

Chap. IV.

Of the Inflammation of the Breast —— 77

The Signs of this Disease —— ib. & 78

The Advantage of Bleeding —— 81

Signs of Recovery —— 85

Of Crises, and the Symptoms that precede them —— 86

The Danger of Vomits, of Purges, and of Anodynes —— 88

Of the Suppression of Expectoration, and the Means to restore it. —— 89

Of the Formation of Vomicas, or Imposthumes in the Lungs, and the Treatment of them —— 90

Of the Danger of Remedies, termed Balsamics —— 103

The Inefficacy of the Antihectic of Poterius —— 104

Of an Empyema —— 105

Of a Gangrene of the Lungs —— 106

Of a Scirrhus of the Lungs —— ib.

Chap. V.

Of the Pleurisy —— 108

The Danger of heating Remedies —— 112 to 115

Of frequent, or habitual, Pleurisies —— 116

Of Goats Blood; the Soot of a stale Egg, and of the Wormwood of the Alps, in Pleurisies —— 117, 118

Chap. VI.

Of Diseases of the Throat —— 119

Of their proper Treatment —— 124

Of the Formation of an Abscess there —— 127

Of swelled Ears, from the Obstruction of the parotid and maxillary Glands —— 131

Of the epidemic and putrid Diseases of the Throat, which prevailed in 1761 at Lausanne —— 132

Chap. VII.

Of Colds —— 139

Different Prejudices concerning Colds —— ib. & 140

The Danger of drinking much hot Water, and of strong spirituous Liquors, &c. —— 146

Means for strengthening and curing Persons very subject to Colds —— 148

Chap. VIII.

Of Diseases of the Teeth —— 150

Chap. IX.

Of the Apoplexy —— 158

Of sanguine Apoplexy —— ib. & 159

Of a serous, or watery, Apoplexy —— 162

Means to prevent relapsing into them —— 164 & seq.

Chap. X.

Of morbid Strokes of the Sun —— 167

Chap. XI.

Of the Rheumatism —— 177

Of the acute Rheumatism, attended with a Fever —— ib.

Of the flow, or chronical, without a Fever —— 186

The Danger of spirituous and greasy Remedies —— 191, 192

Chap. XII.

Of the Bite of a mad Dog —— 194

Chap. XIII.

Of the Small Pocks. —— 207

Of the preceding Symptoms of this Disease —— 209

—The Danger of sweating Medicines —— 217

—The Treatment of the benign distinct Small Pocks —— 220

—The Use of Bleeding —— 222

—The Fever of Suppuration —— 223

—The Necessity of opening the ripe Pustules —— 226

—The Danger of Anodynes —— 228

Of the striking in of the Eruptions —— 229

Preparations for receiving it favorably —— 230

Chap. XIV.

Of the Measles —— 235

Of their Treatment and the Means to prevent any of their bad Consequences, to —— 243

Chap. XV.

Of the hot, or burning, Fever —— 244

Chap. XVI.

Of putrid Fevers —— 248

Chap. XVII.

Of malignant Fevers —— 257

The Danger of applying living Animals in them —— 267

Chap. XVIII.

Of intermitting Fevers —— 269

—Spring and Autumn Intermittents —— 272

Method of Cure by the Bark —— 275

Method of treating the Patient in the Fit —— 277

Of other Febrifuges, besides the Bark —— 278

The Treatment of long and obstinate Intermittents —— 279

Of some very dangerous Intermittents —— 284

Of some periodical Disorders, which may be termed, Fevers disguised —— 285

Of Preservatives from unwholesome Air —— 286

Chap. XIX.

Of an Erisipelas, or St. Anthony's Fire. —— 288

Of a frequent or habitual Erisipelas —— 295

Of the Stings or Bites of Animals —— 296

Chap. XX.

Of Inflammations of the Breast, and of Bastard and bilious Pleurisies —— 298

—Of the false Inflammation of the Breast —— 300

—The false Pleurisy —— 303

Chap. XXI.

Of Cholics —— 306

Of the inflammatory Cholic —— 307

—the bilious Cholic —— 312

—the Cholic from Indigestion, and of Indigestions —— 314

—the flatulent, or windy, Cholic —— 317

—the Cholic, from taking Cold —— 319

Chap. XXII.

Of the Miserere, or Iliac Passion, and of the Cholera Morbus —— 322

The Miserere —— ib. & 323

The Cholera Morbus —— 327

Chap. XXIII.

Of a Diarrhœa, or Looseness —— 332

Chap. XXIV.

Of a Dysentery, or Bloody-Flux —— 335

The Symptoms of the Disease —— 336

The Remedies against it —— 338

Of the beneficial Use of ripe Fruits —— 341

Of the Danger of taking a great Number of popular Remedies in it —— 345

Chap. XXV.

Of the Itch —— 347

Chap. XXVI.

Directions peculiar to the Sex —— 352

Of the monthly Customs —— 353

Of Gravidation, or going with Child —— 365

Of Labours or Deliveries, —— 367

Of their Consequences —— 371

Of a Cancer —— 373

Chap. XXVII.

Directions with Regard to Children —— 375

Of the first Cause of their Disorders, the Meconium —— 377

—the second, the souring of their Milk —— 379

—the Danger of giving them Oil —— ib.

—Disorders from their Want of Perspiration, the Means of keeping it up, and of washing them in cold Water —— 381 & 382

—the third Cause, the cutting of their Teeth —— 386

—the fourth Cause, Worms —— 387

Of Convulsions —— 391

Methods necessary to make them strong and hardy, with general Directions about them —— 396 & seq.

Chap. XXVIII.

Of Assistances for drowned Persons —— 403

Chap. XXIX.

Of Substances stopt between the Mouth and the Stomach —— 411

Chap. XXX.

Of Disorders requiring the Assistance of a Surgeon —— 435

Of Burns —— 436

Of Wounds —— 437

Of Bruises, and of Falls —— 444

Of Ulcers —— 454

Of frozen Limbs, or Joints —— 458

Of Chilblains —— 462

Of Ruptures —— 474

Of Phlegmons, or Boils —— 480

Of Fellons, or Whitlows —— 481

Of Thorns, Splinters, &c. in the Skin or Flesh —— 486

Of Warts —— 488

Of Corns —— 490

Chap. XXXI.

Of some Cases which require immediate Assistance —— 491

Of Swoonings, from Excess of Blood —— 492

Of Swoonings, from great Weakness —— 494

Of Swoonings, occasioned by a Load on the Stomach —— 497

Of Swoonings, resulting from Disorders of the Nerves 500

Of Swoonings, occasioned by the Passions —— 504

Of the Swoonings, which occur in Diseases —— 506

Of Hæmorrhages, or Fluxes of Blood —— 508

Of Convulsion Fits —— 512

Of suffocating, or strangling Fits —— 514

Of the violent Effects of great Fear —— 516

Of Accidents produced by the Vapours of Charcoal, and of Wine —— 519

Of Poisons —— 526

Of acute and violent Pains —— 529

Chap. XXXII.

Of giving Remedies by Way of Precaution —— 531

Of Bleeding —— 532

Of Purges —— 540

Remedies to be used after excessive Purging —— 544

Reflections on some other Remedies —— 546, &c.

Chap. XXXIII.

Of Quacks, Mountebanks, and Conjurers —— 551

Chap. XXXIV.

Questions necessary to be answered by any Person, who goes to consult a Physician —— 579

The Table of Remedies —— 584

Notes

Transcription note

Old and variant spellings, like surprising / surprizing, Buttermilk / Butter-milk, Blood-vessels / Blood-Vessels, Faltranc / Faltrank, wholesome / wholsome, fetid / fœtid, public / publick, Physic / Physick, etc. have been preserved in the present transcription.

In some cases of doubt, the present edition has been compared with scans of the 1766 edition printed by Donaldson, which differs slightly in setting, for instance having all names not capitalized, and corrects many typographic mistakes.

Corrections listed in the Errata at the end of the book have been carried into this transcription (excepting those which are not relevant for the transcription, like those in running titles).

Typographic errors, occurring at the following pages and lines in the original, have been corrected (negative numbers indicate lines from the bottom of the page):

p. 23, note *, l. -6 their Druggs —> their Drugs

p. 29, l. 12 thorough Attentention —> thorough Attention

p. 39, l. 2 btutal Souls —> brutal Souls

p. 48, l. 12-13 thick, and and that —> thick, and that

p. 55, l. -5 increases our Horrour —> increases our Horror

p. 61, l. 3-4 deserves a Patients Confidence —> deserves a Patient's Confidence

p. 62, l. 16 Drink and Glisters —> Drink and Glysters

p. 87, l. -8 the loosening Glyster No. 5 —> the loosening Glyster Nº. 5

p. 106, l. 1 Inflammamations —> Inflammations

p. 148, l. 21-22 Perspiraration —> Perspiration

p. 182, l. 19 Applications N. 9 —> Applications Nº. 9

p. 189, l. 1 the Powder No. 29 —> the Powder Nº. 29

p. 223, note *, l. 4 without the least peceiveable —> without the least perceiveable

p. 226, l. 17-18 Relax-tion —> Relaxation

p. 244, l. 4-5 Dis-seases —> Diseases

p. 261, l. 15 Hæmmorrhages —> Hæmorrhages

p. 283, l. 14-15 Pre-Precription —> Prescription

p. 344, note †, l. -2 missing closing quote conjecturally inserted after instead of stumming or sulphurizing it,’

p. 353, l. 1 stance constitutes —> Circumstance constitutes

p. 355, l. 18 not pregant —> not pregnant

p. 383, l. 6 the back Bart of the Head —> the back Part of the Head

p. 485, l. 13 checks it Progress —> checks its Progress

p. 495, l. 19 strong swelling Herbs —> strong smelling Herbs

p. 506, l. 15 Weakness is an Obstable —> Weakness is an Obstacle

p. 506, l. 19 an Evacution supervenes —> an Evacuation supervenes

p. 525, l. -2,-1 Never-vertheless —> Nevertheless

p. 560, l. -7 Villians —> Villains

p. 573, l. 6 some Evacution —> some Evacuation

p. 608. l. -7 Temparrament —> Temperrament

p. 611, col. 2, l. 4 Of a Diarrhæa —> Of a Diarrhœa

So has been corrected the punctuation:

p. xxii, last line, note published at Lyons. [missing period]

p. xxix, l. 10 Infusion Nº. 1; [missing dot]

p. xxix, l. 13-14 Numbers 1. 2, and 4 —> Numbers 1, 2, and 4

p. 63, l. 15 of the Ptisans Nº. 1 [missing dot]

p. 84, l. -7, note the Mixture, Nº. 10 [missing dot]

p. 88, l. 21 the purging Potion Nº. 11 [missing dot]

p. 89, l. 12 and drink plentifully of the Ptisan Nº. 2 [missing dot]

p. 89, l. -7 should drink plentifully of the Ptisan Nº. 12 [missing dot]

p. 117, l. 12-13 or some of those Diet-Drinks Nº. 1, 2, 4; [dots instead of commas]

p. 118, note *, l. 3 it in his late Materia Medica. K. [missing period]

p. 173, l. -8 in Hunting in 1658. [additional comma]

p. 198, l. 16 3. The Bites —> 3, The Bites

p. 203, note, l. 5 in many other Places. [missing period]

p. 231, note, l- 1 and the Note there. [comma instead of period]

p. 233, l. 10 sound and hearty Children). [missing period]

p. 265, l. -6 12, As soon as the Distemper [period instead of comma]

p. 320, last line of the note or for suspending it. K. [missing dot]

p. 371, l. 7 2, An Inflammation [period instead of comma]

p. 531, l. -6 or wrong. [missing period]

p. 538, l. -9 Powder Nº. 20 [missing dot]

p. 601, first line of the note The Prescriptions Nº. 54, 55, 56 [missing dot after Nº and periods instead of commas]

The footnotes, marked in the text mostly by asterisks, symbols and alphabetic letters on a page by page basis, have been renumbered progressively throughout the book. The footnote * on page 256 does not appear to be referenced at any specific point on the printed page, and has been treated as footnote to the last word of the paragraph.

Italics markup of abbreviations like &c., K., which was not always consistent in the original, has been retained as printed.

The Greek letters {alpha}, {beta}, {gamma} enumerating the prescriptions of § 214 have been replaced by the Latin letters a, b, c for better character set portability.