120

OF THE MILIARY FEVtR.

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the shavings of hartshorn, and the same quantity of sarsaparilla;boil them in two English quarts of water. To the strained decoc-tion add a little white sugar, and let the patient take it for his ordi-nary drink.

When the patient's spirits are low, and the eruption does not risesufficiently, his drink must be a little more generous; as wine-whey,or small negus, sharpened with the juice of orange or lemon, andmade stronger or weaker, as circumstances may require.

Sometimes the miliary fever approaches towards a putrid nature,in which case the patient's strength must be supported with generouscordials, joined with acids; and if the degree of putrescence begreat, the Peruvian bark must be administered. If the head be muchaffected, the body must be kept open by emollient clysters.

In the Commercium Literarium for the year 1735, we have thehistory of an epidemical miliary fever which raged at Strasberg inthe months of November, December, and January; from which wtlearn the necessity of a temperate regimen in this malady, and like-wise that physicians are not always the first who discover the pro-per treatment of diseases. "This fever made terrible havoc evenamong men of robust constitutions, and all medicine proved in vain.They were seized in an instant with shivering, yawning, stretching,and pains in the back, succeeded by a most intense heat; at the sametime there was a great loss of strength and appetite. On the seventhor ninth day the miliary eruptions appeared, or spots like flea-bites,with great anxiety, a delirium, restlessnesss and tossing in bed.Bleeding was fatal. While matters were in this unhappy situation,a midwife, of her own accord, gave to a patient, in the height of thedisease, a clyster of rain water and butter without salt, and for hisordinary drink a quart of spring water, half a pint of generous wine,the juice of a lemon, and six ounces of the whitest sugar, gentlyboiled till a scum arose, and this with great success; for the bellywas soon loosened, the grievous symptoms vanished, and the patientwas restored to his senses, and snatched from the jaws of death."This practice was imitated by others with the like happy effects.

MEDICINE.------If the food and drink be properly regulated,

there will be little occasion for medicine in this disease. Should theeruption however not rise, or the spirits flag, it will not only be ne-cessary to support the patient with cordials, but likewise to applyblistering-plasters. The most proper cordial, in this case, is goodwine, which may either be taken in the patient's food or drink; andif there be signs of putrescence, the bark and acids may be mixedwith wine, as directed in the putrid fever.

Some recommend blistering through the whole courst of this dis-ease ; and where Nature flags, and the eruption comes and goes, itmay be necessary to keep up a stimulus, by a continual succession otsmall blistering-plasters; but we would not recommend above one aftime. If however the pulse should sink remarkably, the pustule-fall in, and the head be affected, it will be necessary to apply sevesral blistering-plasters to the most sensible parts, as the inside of theiir>;F* and thighs, Sic.