_February_ 12th. Mrs. C----, AEt. 54. A strong short woman of a florid
complexion; complained of great fullness across the region of the
stomach; short breath, a troublesome cough, loss of appetite, paucity
of urine; and had a brownish yellow tinge on her skin and in her eyes.
She dated these complaints from a fall she had through a trap door
about the beginning of winter. From the beginning of January to this
time, she had been repeatedly let blood, had taken calomel purges
with jallap; pills of soap, rhubarb and calomel; saline julep with
acet. scillit. nitrous decoction, garlic, mercury rubbed down, infus.
amarum purg. &c. After the failure of medicines so powerful, and
seemingly so well adapted, and during the use of which all the
symptoms continued to increase, it was evident that a favourable event
could not be expected. However, I tried the infusum Digitalis, but it
did nothing. I then gave her pills of quicksilver, soap and squill,
with decoction of dandelion, and after some time, chrystals of tartar
with ginger. Nothing succeeded to our wishes, and the increase of
orthopnoea compelled me occasionally to relieve her by drastic
purges, but these diminished her strength, more in proportion than
they relieved her symptoms. Tincture of cantharides, sal diureticus
and various other means were occasionally tried, but with very little
effect, and she died towards the end of March.