338

OF THE JAUNDICE.

may be wrought off with weak camomile-tea, or luke-warm water. The body must likewise be kept openby taking a sufficient quantity of Castile soap, or thepills for the jaundice recommended in the Appendix.

Fomenting the parts about the region of the stomachand liver, and rubbing them with a warm hand or flesh-brush, are likewise beneficial; but it is still more so forthe patient to sit in a bath of warm water up to thebreast. He ought to do this frequently, and shouldcontinue in it as long as his strength will permit.

Many dirty things are recommended for the cure ofthe jaundice; as lice, millepedes, &c. But these domore harm than good, as people trust to them, andneglect more valuable medicines; besides, they areseldom taken in sufficient quantity to produce anyeffects. People always expect that such things shouldact as charms, and consequently seldom persist in theuse of them. Vomits, purges, fomentations, and ex-ercise, will seldom fail to cure the jaundice, when itis a simple disease-, and when complicated with thedropsy, a scirrhous liver, or other chronic complaints,it is hardly to be cured by any means.

Numberless British herbs are extolled for the cureof this disease. The author of the MedicinaBritan-nica mentions near a hundred, all famous for curingthe jaundice. The fact is, the disease often goes offof its own accord; in which case the last medicine isalways said to have performed the cure. I have, some-times, however, seen considerable benefit, in a veryobstinate jaundice, from a decoction of hemp-seed.Four ounces of the seed may be boiled in two Englishquarts of ale*, and sweetened with coarse sugar. Thedose is half an English pint every morning. It maybe continued for eight or nine days.

I have likewise known Harrowgate sulphur-watercure jaundice of very long standing. It should beused for some weeks, and the patient must both drinkand bathe.

The soluble tartar is a very proper medicine in thejaundice. A drachm of it may be taken every night