Useful hints to those who are afflicted with ruptures : on the nature, cure, and consequences of the disease, and on the empirical practices of the present day / by T. Sheldrake.

  • Sheldrake, Timothy.
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Useful hints to those who are afflicted with ruptures : on the nature, cure, and consequences of the disease, and on the empirical practices of the present day / by T. Sheldrake. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    of the truss, but these were overcome by proper apphca- tions, and the parts soon becomhig accustomed to the ac- tion, have never since been hable to the same accident: he never takes off his truss except for the purposes of cleanh- jiess, and as his age and unwieidiness incapacitate liim from doing this himseh, it is done by me when he is in town, and by some medical gentleman when he is in a different situa- tion : his ruptures never come down, he feels nothing that he thinks inconvenient, he takes every exercise that is consistent with his age and situation, and enjoys the best state of health that can be expected at his time of life ; ia this state he has now continued more than two years. This is undoubtedly the worst case I have had, in. winch 1 could boast of complete success; every circum- stance of tiie disease was unfavourable, but there was no caprice or frewardness on the part of the patient, he was willing to submit to every thing that could possibly be tried for his relief, and therefore, we at length succeeded in re- lieving him effectually. In the following case, where the leading circurnstances were very similar, but the conduct of the patient extremely different, the consequences have been such as might be expected from that conduct: Soon after the gentleman, whose case I have just re- lated, came under my care, .1 was applied to by a butcher, who was equal in height and bulk, whose ruptures were as bad, but who was not so far advanced in life : this man had had his ruptures for several years, had wandered from one empirical truss-maker to another, each of them had told him that his ruptures might certainlj'^ be kept up by their trusses which were so easy that he would scarcely be sen- sible of an}- restraint or uneasiness; as each of them had failed of performing his promise, the patient was convinced that they were unable to perform it, but was convinced that some other might do that which they were unable to perform. As a previous step, I thought it necessary to convince him that ruptures so large, existing in a man so corpulent, and who was perpetually called upon to make violent exer- tions, could not be kept up without the application of considerable force, and this could not be applied without being felt. I ventured to promise, however, that his rup- tures might he properly kept up, and when he had gra- ^lually accustomed himself to tb.e pressure of his truss, any inconvenience he might feel, on that score, would be over- balanced