THEENGLISH PHYSICIANAND FAMILY DISPENSATORY.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Culpeper, Nicholas
7. Infusion, is to steep a gross body into one more liquid.
8. Decoction, is the liquor in which any thing is boiled.
As for the manner of using or ordering the body after any sweating, or purging medicines, or pills, or the like, they will be found in different parts of the work, as also in the next page.
The different forms of making up medicines, as some into syrups, others into electuaries, pills, troches, &c. was partly to please the different palates of people, that so medicines might be more delightful, or at least less burdensome. You may make the mixtures of them in what form you please, only for your better instruction at present, accept of these few lines.
1. Consider, that all diseases are cured by their contraries, but all parts of the body maintained by their likes: then if heat be the cause of the disease, give the cold medicine appropriated to it; if wind, see how many medicines appropriated to that disease expel wind, and use them.
2. Have a care you use not such medicines to one part of your body which are appropriated to another, for if your brain be over heated, and you use such medicines as cool the heart or liver, you may make bad work.
3. The distilled water of any herb you would take for a disease, is a fit mixture for the syrup of the same herb, or to make any electuary into a drink, if you affect such liquid medicines best; if you have not the distilled water, make use of the decoction.
4. Diseases that lie in the parts of the body remote from the stomach and bowels, it is in vain to think to carry away the cause at once, and therefore you had best do it by degrees; pills, and such like medicines which are hard in the body, are fittest for such a business, because they are longest before they digest.
5. Use no strong medicines, if weak will serve the turn, you had better take one too weak by half, than too strong in the least.
6. Consider the natural temper of the part of the body afflicted, and maintain it in that, else you extinguish nature, as the heart is hot, the brain cold, or at least the coldest part of the body.
7. Observe this general rule; That such medicines as are hot in the first degree are most habitual to our bodies, because they are just of the heat of our blood.
8. All opening medicines, and such as provoke urine or the menses, or break the stone, may most conveniently be given in white wine, because white wine of itself is of an opening nature, and cleanses the veins.
9. Let all such medicines as are taken to stop fluxes or looseness, be taken before meat, about an hour before, more or less, that so they may strengthen the digestion and retentive faculty, before the food come into the stomach, but such as are subject to vomit up their meat, let them take such medicines as stay vomiting presently after meat, at the conclusion of their meals, that so they may close up the mouth of the stomach; and that is the reason why usually men eat a bit of cheese after meat, because by its sourness and binding it closes the mouth of the stomach, thereby staying belching and vomiting.
10. In taking purges be very careful, and that you may be so, observe these rules.
(1.) Consider what the humour offending is, and let the medicine be such as purges that humour, else you will weaken nature, not the disease.
(2.) Take notice, if the humour you would purge out be thin, then gentle medicines will serve the turn, but if it be tough and viscous, then such medicines as are cutting and opening, the night before you would take the purge.
(3.) In purging tough humours, forbear as much as may be such medicines as leave a binding quality behind them.
(4.) Have a care of taking purges when your body is astringent; your best way, is first to open it by a clyster.
(5.) In taking opening medicines, you may safely take them at night, eating but a little supper three or four hours before, and the next morning drinking a draught of warm posset-drink, and you need not fear to go about your business. In this manner you may take Lenitive Electuary, Diacatholicon, Pulp of Cassia, and the like gentle electuaries, as also all pills that have neither Diagrydium nor Colocynthus, in them. But all violent purges require a due ordering of the body; such ought to be taken in the morning after you are up, and not to sleep after them before they are done working, at least before night: two hours after you have taken them, drink a draught of warm posset-drink, or broth, and six hours after eat a bit of mutton, often walking about the chamber; let there be a good fire in the chamber, and stir not out of the chamber till the purge have done working, or not till next day.
Lastly, Take sweating medicines when you are in bed, covered warm, and in the time of your sweating drink posset-drink as hot as you can. If you sweat for a fever, boil sorrel and red sage in your posset-drink, sweat an hour or longer if your strength will permit, then (the chamber being kept very warm) shift yourself all but your head, about which (the cap which you sweat in being still kept on) wrap a napkin very hot, to repel the vapours back.
I confess these, or many of these directions may be found in one place of the book or other, and I delight as little to write tautology as another, but considering it might make for the public good, I inserted them in this place: if, notwithstanding, any will be so mad as to do themselves a mischief, the fault is not mine.