The cold-water system: an essay : exhibiting the real merits, and most safe and effectual employment, of this excellent system in indigestion, costiveness, asthma, cough, consumption, rheumatism, gout, &c; with cautionary remarks, addressed to people of extreme opinions, and some new cases / by Thos. J. Graham.

  • Graham, Thomas John, 1795?-1876.
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The cold-water system: an essay : exhibiting the real merits, and most safe and effectual employment, of this excellent system in indigestion, costiveness, asthma, cough, consumption, rheumatism, gout, &c; with cautionary remarks, addressed to people of extreme opinions, and some new cases / by Thos. J. Graham. 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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    bringing forward the following case of heart-affection cured by medicine. About ten years since, a lady of my acquaintance suffered extremely from strange sensa- tions about the heart and across the chest, accompanied with violent pain at the top of the head. She felt con- stantly, more or less, a distressing sense of constriction across the chest, extending from one extreme point to the other; the pulse often intermitted twenty times in the course of a minute; she could not draw a deep inspi- ration; and when the affection of the heart was worse than usual, she was liable suddenly to fall down, even if only walking across the room. The pain at the top of the head was very trying,—it seemed as if a tense chord was tied across the front part of the head, and to be frequently in danger of snapping. She had consulted several able medical men, both in London and Berk- shire, without gaining relief. Her professional atten- dants often told her the head-ache never would be cured, but that she might possibly obtain relief for the cardiac derangement. After this, my advice was asked with respect to the best mode of proceeding. I prescribed a very small dose of colchicum wine, twice a day, in water, together with an alterative pill every night, in which there was a considerable proportion of antimony. Her diet and exercises were at the same time regulated. Strange as it may appear to some who are unacquainted with the power of medicine, it is nevertheless true, that this prescription cured the patient^ and was never altered, —at least, so little alteration was made in it afterwards as to render it tantamount to no change. This patient has never had a head-ache since. She is of a very nervous, irritable constitution. The k 2