Take of rose-water, six ounces; syrup of clove July-flowers, half an ounce; spirit of vitriol, a sufficient quantity to give it an agreeable sharpness. Mix them.
This gargle, besides cleansing the tongue and fauces, acts as a gentle repellent, and will sometimes remove a slight quinsey.
Detergent Gargle.
Take of the emollient gargle, a pint; tincture of myrrh, an ounce; honey, two ounces. Mix them.
When exulcerations require to be cleansed, or the excretion of tough viscid saliva promoted, this gargle will be of service.
Emollient Gargle.
Take an ounce of marsh-mallow roots, and two or three figs; boil them in a quart of water till near one half of it be consumed; then strain out the liquor.
If an ounce of honey, and half an ounce of spirit of sal ammoniac, be added to the above, it will then be an exceeding good attenuating gargle.
This gargle is beneficial in fevers, where the tongue and fauces are rough and parched, to soften these parts, and promote the discharge of saliva.
The learned and accurate Sir John Pringle observes, that in the inflammatory quinsey, or strangulation of the fauces, little benefit arises from the common gargles; that such as are of an acid nature do more harm than good, by contracting the emunctories of the saliva and mucus, and thickening those humours; that a decoction of figs in milk and water has a contrary effect, especially if some sal ammoniac be added; by which the saliva is made thinner, and the glands brought to secrete more freely; a circumstance always conducive to the cure.