Richard Metcalfe, Hydropathist : the man and his work / by an old patient.

Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Richard Metcalfe, Hydropathist : the man and his work / by an old patient. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    See page 34, extract from Pall Mall Gazette. I will here relate three more cases. The first was the case of a Major in the army, who came from Vienna last year during the cold weather. He arrived at eight o’clock in the evening, and was taken with violent shiverings, sickness, and pains in the body, of a most intense spasmodic nature. The pulse was raised and the temperature of the body reached 104 degrees. I put him into a wet sheet pack for half an hour. While hewas in the packhis temperature went down to 103 degrees. I then repeated the pack for another half hour. The temperature remained the same. I gave him a third pack, and in it the temperature went down to 102 degrees, while the pains and spasms gradually subsided. He remained in the pack from 40 to 50 minutes. On taking him out I put a wet compress round his waist, with hot bottles to his feet, and a wet compress to his head. After taking some simple liquid food he slept for five hours. In the morning the fever slightly returned (temperature 100T degrees) and so I repeated the pack. This was followed at mid- day by a mild sweating bath. At bed-time I again repeated the pack, then placed a wet compress on the stomach, hot bottles to the feet, and a wet compress to the head. The patient slept all night, and in the morning there was no vestige of the fever left—only great prostration. The second case was that of a lady who was rather predisposed to irregular action of the heart, and weakness of the chest, with monthly irregularities. She came into the establishment on the second day of attack, screaming with pains on the whole of the right side. Though the lungs were congested, yet the pulse and the temperature of the body was not much raised. At once a strong mustard trunk pack was applied, and frequently changed. After three or four hours the pain was removed. Curiously enough, however, the pain shifted to the other side, which was so intense that I could hardly keep the patient from fainting. I applied the same mustard applications, and after five or six hours the pains subsided. During the continuance of the packs the patient was freely supplied with water and liquid nourishment. When apparently quite out of pain, and her brother was seated chatting by her side, the pain suddenly surprised us by shooting into her legs. I applied the same remedies to the legs. But it was only with great difficulty that I was able to subdue the pain. After twenty-four hours’ intense suffering the patient was perfectly relieved, and all that remained of the attack was bronchial irritation and general prostration. There is one peculiar feature in this case worthy of note, that the temperature of the body was never above 100 degrees, with an absence of feverish skin, and the pulsation almost normal; in fact, F 2