The Sweating Sickness: A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweatyng sicknesse — John Shaqi
The Sweating Sickness: A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweatyng sicknesseCaius, John
History
The Sweating Sickness: A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweatyng sicknesse
Caius, John
Medicine -- Early works to 1800; Sweating-sickness -- Early works to 1800
cause. Therfore euery thing in his kynde muste be remedied,
Wekenes of nature, by drinkes prouokyng sweate: closenes, &
grosenes, by rubbynge, as I said. But be ware neither to rubbe
or geue drinkes, excepte you see cause as beforesayd. For other
wise, the one hindrethe nature, and thother letteth out the
spirites & wasteth y^e strength. Therefore accordyngly, if rubbe
you must, geue to the sicke in to their beddes a newe and
somewhat harde kerchefe, well warmed but not hote, and bydde
theim rubbe all their bodies ouer therewith vnder the clothes,
neither to moche neither to litle, nor to harde or to softe, but
meanely betwene, takyng you hede whiche be aboute them, that by
stirrynge their armes they raise not the clothes to let in the
ayer. This done, if case so require, geue thẽ a good draught of
hote possette ale (35) made of swiete milke turned with vinegre,
in a quarte wherof percely, and sage, of eche haulfe one litle
handfull hath been sodden, wyth iii. sliftes of rosemary, ii.
fenel rootes cutte, and a fewe hole maces. Alwaies remembrynge
here, as in other places of this boke, to heate the herbes in a
peuter dishe before the fyre, or washe theim in hote water,
before you putte them in to the posset ale, and that you putte
their to no colde herbes at any tyme durynge the hole fitte. Or
geue theim posset ale hote with rosemary, dittane, & germander.
Or baie beries, anise seades, & calamintes with claret wine
sodden and dronke warme. Or white wine with hore and wilde tansy
growen in medes sodden therin, and ii. d. weight of good
triacle, dronke hote, or in y^e stede of that, wilde tanesy,
mogwort or feuerfue. These prouoke sweat, may easely be hadde,
& be metest for thẽ which haue al y^e causes beforesayde of
lettyng thesame. But specially if for colde and grose humoures,
or for closenes of the skinne, the sweate commethe not furthe.
If with one draught they sweate not, geue theim one other, or
ij. successiuely, after halfe one houre betwene, and encrease
the clothes, first a litle aboue the meane, after, more or lesse
as the cause requireth, & make a litle fire in the chamber of
clene woode, as ashe & oke, with the perfume of bdellium: or
swiet woode, as Juniper, fyrre, or pine, by theimselues:
remembrynge to withdrawe the fire, when they sweat fully, and
the clothes aboue the meane, by litle and litle as you laide
theim on, when they firste complaine of faintyng. And after xii.
or xiiii. houres, some also of the meane, but one after an other
by halfe one houre successiuely with discrecion, alwaies not
lokyng so moche to the quantitie of the sweat, as what the sicke
may saufely beare. And in suche case of faintynge, suffer
competent open aier to come into the chamber, if the same and
the wether be hote, for smoderynge the pacient, by (36) suche
windowes as the wynde liethe not in, nor openeth to the south.
Put to their noses to smell vinegre and rose water in an
handkercher, not touchynge theim there with so nighe as maye be.
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