The principles of midwifery; including the diseases of women and children / [John Burns].

  • Burns, John, 1774-1850
Date:
1820
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The principles of midwifery; including the diseases of women and children / [John Burns]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    107/788 (page 81)
    SI is often found afterwards to be turned a little out of its proper direction, and the patient complains much of irregular pains, about the hypogastrium and back. When she is in bed, some of the urine collects in the vagina, and comes from it ' when she. rises; after she is up, it comes from the urethra alone, which distinguishes this from the complaint last described. Time sometimes cures this disease. The cold bath is useful, unless it increase the pain ; and in that case, the warm bath should be employed. It may be proper to use the bougie daily, and also tincture of cantharides, and pressure. The bladder may descend, in labour, before the uterus, producing much pain ; or it may prolapse for some time pre- vious to labour, attended with pains resembling those of par- turition, and sometimes with convulsive or spasmodic affec- tions*. When the prolapsus vesicas takes place as a tempo- rary occurrence during labour, or antecedent to parturition, we must be careful not to mistake the bladder for the mem- branes, for thus irreparable mischief has been done to the woman. The bladder, when protruded, is felt to be connected with the pubis. It retires when the pain goes off. If the patient be not in labour, the uneasiness is to be mitigated by keeping the bladder empty, and allaying irritation with opiates, and taking a little blood, if feverish or restless. If labour be going on, the bladder must likewise be kept empty^ and may, during a pain, be gently supported, by pressing on it with two fingers in the vagina, by which the bladder is preserved from injury. In the unimpregnated state, it some- times descends betwixt the vagina and pelvis, so as to form a tumour within the vagina, or at the vulva. It produces a procidentia of the vagina, but the tumour is formed at the anterior part of the vulva, instead of the back part, as in the ordinary procidentia. There is some degree of bearing-down pain in walking, particularly when the bladder is full. Some * In a case related by Sandifort, the suppression of urine was always attended with convulsive cough. Lib. I. cap. 5. And in a case related by Dr. J. Hamilton, where prolapsus took place before parturition, the muscles of the body were spas- modically agitated. Cases, &c. case 9. L