OF THE PLEUMSY.
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lioned by voiolent exercise, as running, wrestling, leaping, or bysupporting great weight, blows on the breast, &c. A bad conform-ation of the body renders persons more liable to this disease, as a nar-row chest, a straitness of the arteries of the pleura, &c.
SYMPTOMS.------This, like most other fevers, generally begins
with chilliness and shivering, which are followed by heat, thirst, andrestlessness. To these succeeds a violent pricking pain in one of thesides among the ribs. Sometimes the pain extends towards the back-bone, sometimes towards the fore-part of the breast, and at othertimes towards the shoulder blades. The pain is generally most vio-lent when the patient draws his breath.
The pulse in this disease is commonly quick and hard, the urinehigh coloured; and if blood be let, it is covered with a tough crust,or buffy coat. The patient's spittle is at first thin, but afterwards itbecomes grosser, and is often streaked with blood.
REGIMEN.------Nature generally endeavours to carry off this dis-ease by a critical discharge of blood from some part of the body, byexpectoration, sweat, loose stools, thick urine, or the iike. Weought therefore to second her intentions by lessening the force of thecirculation, relaxing the vessels, diluting the humours, and promot-ing expectoration.
For these purposes the diet, as in the former disease, ought to becool, slender, and diluting. The patient mast avoid all food that isviscid, hard of digestion, or that affords much nourishment; as flesh,butter, cheese, eggs, milk, and also every thing that is of a heatingnature. His drink may be whey, or an infusion of pectoral and bal-samic vegetables; for which see the Appendix.
Barley-water, with a little honey or jelly of currants mixed with it,s likewise a very proper drink in this disease. It is made by boilingan ounceof pearl barleyin three English pintsof water to two, whichmust afterwards be strained. The decoction of figs, raisins, barley,recommended in the preceding disease, is here likewise very proper.These and other diluting liquors are not to be drank in large quan-tities at a time; but the patient ought to keep continually sippingthem, so as to render his mouth and throat always moist. AH hisfood and drink should be taken a little wann.
Tlie patient should be kept quiet, cool, and every way easy, 'isdirected under the foregoing disease. His feet and hands ought dailyto be bathed in lukewarm water; and he may sometimes sit upm bed for a short space, in order to relieve his head.
MEDICINE.------Almost every person knows , when a fever is at-tended with a violent pain of the side, and a quick hard pulse, that'deeding is necessary. When these symptoms come on, the sooner*his operation is performed the better; and the quantity at first mustbe pretty large, provided the patient is able to bear it. A largequantity of blood let at once, in the beginning of a pleurisy, has amuch better effect than repeated small bleedings. A man may losetwelve or fourteen ounces of blood as soon as it is certainly know*that he is seized witl -a pleurisy. For a younger person, or one o.<< delicate constitution, the quantity must be less
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