An essay on syphilis : submitted ... to the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh ... / by George Ballingall.

  • Ballingall, George, 1780-1855.
Date:
1820
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on syphilis : submitted ... to the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh ... / by George Ballingall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “ tion of this invaluable article ; because I believe, “ that, if impartially estimated, it will be found to “ be, like small-pox inoculation, though occasionally “ productive of inconvenience, yet the preventative “ of infinitely greater mischief from the spontaneous “ course of the disease which it is intended to miti- “ gate * I am still far from being disposed to un¬ dervalue the labours of those eminent men who have recently written in favour of the non-mercu¬ rial treatment of Syphilis : I fully appreciate the benefits accruing to scrophulous and phthisical pa¬ tients, from the proof which has been given of the possibility of curing the disease without mercury; and I am most ready to admit, that the recent dis¬ cussions upon this subject have been of infinite ad¬ vantage, both to the profession and the public, by restricting the use of so powerful a remedy, which, like all others, in the same proportion that it is use¬ ful under judicious administration, is capable of doing mischief by its unnecessary, ill-timed, or in¬ judicious employment: to recur once more to the language of Dr. Curry, “ I am ready to grant, that, “ like antimony, opium, and every other active reme- “ dy, mercury would probably do little good, if it * Curry’s Examination of the Popular Prejudices against Mer« cury, page 40#