Cures.—The womb being naturally placed between the strait gut and the bladder, and now fallen down, ought not to be put up again, until the faculty, both of the gut and of the bladder, be stirred up. Nature being unloaded of her burden, let the woman be laid on her back, her legs higher than her head; let her feet be drawn up to her hinder parts, with her knees spread; then mollify the swelling with oil of lilies and sweet almonds, or with the decoction of mallows, beets, fenugreek, and linseed; when the inflammation is dissipated, let the midwife anoint her hand with oil of mastic, and reduce the womb into its place. The matrix being up, the situation of the patient must be changed, let her legs be put out at length, and laid together; six cupping-glasses to her breast and navel; boil mugwort, feverfew, red roses, and comfrey in red wine; make a suffumigation for the matrix; and at her coming out of the bath, give her syrup of feverfew one ounce, with a drachm of mithridate. Take laudani, mastic, of each three drachms, make a plaster of it for the navel; then make pessaries of asafœtida, saffron, comfrey, and mastic, adding thereto a little castor.
The matrix seated in its natural abode, the remote cause must be removed. If the body be plethoric, open a vein; prepare with syrup of betony, calamint, hyssop, and feverfew. Purge with pil. hierac, agaric, pil. de colocin. If the stomach be oppressed with crudities, unburden it by vomiting; sudorifical decoctions of lignum sanctum, and sassafras, taken twenty days together, dry up the superfluous moisture, and consequently suppress the cause of the disease.
Let the air be hot and dry, your diet hot and attenuating; abstain from all motion, both of body and mind; eat sparingly, drink little, sleep moderately.
CHAPTER XIII.
OF THE INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB.
The inflammation of the matrix, is a humour possessing the whole of the womb, accompanied with unnatural heat, by obstructing, and gathering of corrupt blood.
Cause.—The cause of this effect is suppression of the menses, repletion of the whole body, difficult child-birth, vehement agitation of the body, falls, blows, &c.
Signs.—Anguish, pain in the head and stomach; vomiting, coldness of the knees, convulsion of the neck, trembling of the heart; a straitness of breath, by reason of the heat which is communicated to the midriff, the breasts sympathising with the womb, pained and swelled. If the fore part of the matrix be inflamed, the privities are grieved, the urine is suppressed, or flows forth with difficulty. If the after part, the loin and back suffer, the excrements are retained on the right side, the right hip suffers, the right leg is heavy and slow to motion; and so if the left side of the womb be inflamed, the left hip is pained, and the left leg is weaker than the right. If the neck of the womb be refreshed, the midwife shall feel the mouth of it retracted, and closed up with a hardness about it.
Prognostics.—All inflammations of the womb are dangerous, if not deadly; and especially if the total substance of the matrix be inflamed; but they are very perilous if in the neck of the womb.
Cure.—Let the humours flowing to the womb be repelled, for effecting which, after cooling clysters, open a vein in the arm, if she be not enceinte; the day after strike the saphena on both feet, fasten ligatures and cupping-glasses to the arm, and rub the upper part. Purge gently with cassia, rhubarb, and senna two drachms, aniseed one scruple, barley-water a sufficient quantity; make a decoction. At the beginning of the disease anoint the privities and reins with oil of roses and quinces; make plasters of plantain, linseed, barley-meal, white of eggs, and, if the pain be vehement, a little opium; ferment the genitals with the decoction of poppy heads. In the declining of the disease, use incisions of sage, linseed, mugwort, pennyroyal, horehound, and fenugreek; anoint the lower part of the belly with the oil of camomile and violets.
Take lily roots and mallow-roots, of each four ounces; mercury one handful; mugwort, and feverfew, camomile flowers, and melilot, of each a handful and a half; bruise the herbs and fruits, and boil them in a sufficient quantity of milk; then add fresh butter, oil of camomile, and lilies, of each two ounces; bean meal a sufficient quantity; make two plasters,—one before, the other behind.