CASE CXXII.
September 7th. Mr. L——, Æt. 43. After several severe attacks of ill formed gout, attended for some time past with jaundice and other symptoms of diseased viscera, the consequences of intemperate living, was sent to Buxton; from whence he returned in three weeks with ascites and anasarca. Under this complicated load of disease, I prescribed repeatedly without advantage, and at length gave him the Digitalis, which carried off the more obvious symptoms of dropsy; but the jaundice, loss of appetite, diseased viscera, &c. rendered his recovery impossible.
1784.
CASE CXXIII.
February 12th. Mrs. C——, Æt. 54. A strong short woman of a florid complexion; complained of great fullness across the region of the stomach; short breath, a troublesome cough, loss of appetite, paucity of urine; and had a brownish yellow tinge on her skin and in her eyes. She dated these complaints from a fall she had through a trap door about the beginning of winter. From the beginning of January to this time, she had been repeatedly let blood, had taken calomel purges with jallap; pills of soap, rhubarb and calomel; saline julep with acet. scillit. nitrous decoction, garlic, mercury rubbed down, infus. amarum purg. &c. After the failure of medicines so powerful, and seemingly so well adapted, and during the use of which all the symptoms continued to increase, it was evident that a favourable event could not be expected. However, I tried the infusum Digitalis, but it did nothing. I then gave her pills of quicksilver, soap and squill, with decoction of dandelion, and after some time, chrystals of tartar with ginger. Nothing succeeded to our wishes, and the increase of orthopnœa compelled me occasionally to relieve her by drastic purges, but these diminished her strength, more in proportion than they relieved her symptoms. Tincture of cantharides, sal diureticus and various other means were occasionally tried, but with very little effect, and she died towards the end of March.