To restore the warmth and nourishment of the body, general
frictions must be made with hot cloths, above, below, to right,
to left, and around, to draw the blood and the vital spirits from
within outward. ... For the bedsore, he must be put in a fresh,
soft bed, with clean shirt and sheets... Having discoursed of the
causes and complications of his malady, I said we must cure them
by their contraries; and must first ease the pain, making
openings in the thigh to let out the matter. ... Secondly, having
regard to the great swelling and coldness of the limb, we must
apply hot bricks round it, and sprinkle them with a decoction of
nerval herbs in wine and vinegar, and wrap them in napkins; and
to his feet, an earthenware bottle filled with the decoction,
corked, and wrapped in cloths. Then the thigh, and the whole of
the leg, must be fomented with a decoction made of sage,
rosemary, thyme, lavender, flowers of chamomile and melilot, red
roses boiled in white wine, with a drying powder made of oak--
ashes and a little vinegar and half a handful of salt. ...
Thirdly, we must apply to the bedsore a large plaster made of the
desiccative red ointment and of Unguentum Comitissoe, equal
parts, mixed together, to ease his pain and dry the ulcer; and he
must have a little pillow of down, to keep all pressure off it.
... And for the strengthening of his heart, we must apply over it
a refrigerant of oil of waterlilies, ointment of roses, and a
little saffron, dissolved in rose-vinegar and treacle, spread on
a piece of red cloth. For the syncope, from exhaustion of the
natural forces, troubling the brain, he must have good
nourishment full of juices, as raw eggs, plums stewed in wine and
sugar, broth of the meat of the great pot, whereof I have already
spoken; the white meat of fowls, partridges' wings minced small,
and other roast meats easy to digest, as veal, kid, pigeons,
partridges, thrushes, and the like, with sauce of orange,
verjuice, sorrel, sharp pomegranates; or he may have them boiled
with good herbs, as lettuce, purslain, chicory, bugloss,
marigold, and the like. At night he can take barley-water, with
juice of sorrel and of waterlilies, of each two ounces, with four
or five grains of opium, and the four cold seeds crushed, of each
half an ounce; which is a good nourishing remedy and will make
him sleep. His bread to be farmhouse bread, neither too stale nor
too fresh. For the great pain in his head, his hair must be cut,
and his head rubbed with rose-vinegar just warm, and a double
cloth steeped in it and put there; also a forehead-cloth, of oil
of roses and water-lilies and poppies, and a little opium and
rose-vinegar, with a little camphor, and changed from time to
time. Moreover, we must allow him to smell flowers of henbane and
water-lilies, bruised with vinegar and rose-water, with a little
camphor, all wrapped in a handkerchief, to be held some time to
his nose. ... And we must make artificial rain, pouring water
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