CASE XVIII.
October 28th. R—— W——, Æt. 33. Ascites and universal anasarca; countenance quite pale and bloated; appetite none, and the little food he forces down is generally rejected.
R. Fol. Digit. purp. siccat. ʒiii.
Aq. bull. ℔i. digere per horas duas, et colat. adde aq. junip. comp. ℥iii.
He was directed to take one ounce of this infusion every two hours until it should make him sick. This was on Wednesday. The fifth dose made him vomit. On Thursday afternoon he vomited again very freely, without having taken any more of the medicine. On Friday and Saturday he made more water than he had done for a week before, and the swellings of his face and body were considerably abated. He was directed to omit all medicine so long as the urine continued to flow freely, and also to keep an account of the quantity he made in twenty-four hours.
These were his reports:
| October | 31st. | Saturday, | 5 half pints. |
| November | 1st. | Sunday, | 6 |
| 2d. | Monday, | 8 | |
| 3d. | Tuesday, | 8 | |
| 4th. | Wednesday, | 7 | |
| 5th. | Thursday, | 8 |
On Wednesday he began to purge, and the purging still continues, but his appetite is better than he has known it for a long time. No swelling remains but about his ancles, extending at night half way up his legs.
Omit all medicines at present.
| 7th. | Saturday, | 7½ half pints. | |
| 8th. | Sunday, | 8 | |
| 9th. | Monday, | 6¾ | |
| 10th. | Tuesday, | 6½ | |
| 11th. | Wednesday, | 6 | |
| 12th. | Thursday, | 6¼ |
On Tuesday the 17th, some swelling still remained about his ancles, but he was in every other respect perfectly well.
He took a few more doses of the infusion, and no other medicine.