The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:459] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: [ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN] / Regarding: Miss Elizabeth Johnstone (Betty; Mrs Betty; Johnston; of Westerhall) (Patient) / February 1772 / (Outgoing)
Reply, 'For Miss Johnstone of Westerhall'. There is no obvious reason why the first part of this entry was left blank, with the text starting in mid-sentence on following page (p.67), but the transcription process was obviously disrupted.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 459 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/3/42 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | February 1772 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Scribal copy ( includes Casebook Entry) |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply, 'For Miss Johnstone of Westerhall'. There is no obvious reason why the first part of this entry was left blank, with the text starting in mid-sentence on following page (p.67), but the transcription process was obviously disrupted. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:170] |
Case of Miss 'Betty' Johnstone of Westerhall who is recovering from a serious condition which had rendered her unable to walk. Cullen advises a trip to Bath or a course of sweating. |
2 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:1087] | Patient | Miss Elizabeth Johnstone (Betty; Mrs Betty; Johnston; of Westerhall) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Mentioned / Other | Bath | South-West | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
For Miss Johnston of Westerhall
[Page 2]
it 1 was more owing to the dryness than the cold of the air
which I am certain is unfavourable to such a↑i↑lments
she may possibly find herself worse upon the first coming
in of fresh weather but she will be better when that
has continued for some time and especially when the
warmth of the season is a good Deal advanced
I think there is nothing will contribute more to Miss
Johns.' entire recovery than going to Bath to make use
of the baths there, but I think she should not go there till
the beginning of summer which I think is the only safe
season for ↑her↑ using the bath. As she is at present tolerably
easy I would not have recourse to any other remedy
than the Earth 2 she is drinking and to be in no haste
in attempting motion till the season advances
as she lies abed or upon he couch she will do well
to try frequently some gentle motions of the affected part
but must not try standing upon her limbs and much
less walking till she finds her motions abed pretty free
and easy and when she does try farther it must be with
great caution and much help for here is nothing so
likely to bring back her pains & any effect that is a little
too much with regard to her diet I see no occasion for any
nicety according to her appetite she may take what
she likes best only avoiding what she knows from her
own experience is either liable to ly heavy on her stomach
and therefor to heat her or to give disturbance to her bowels
[Page 3]
As she has been liable to feverish heat and on that account
to want of sleep her diet should be plain and rather light and
cooling but as her sleep is now better I hope her restraint
on that account may be less and the present state of her body
requires what nourishment she can easily bear. The looseness
which formerly happened was certainly hurtfull to her but
too much costiveness would also be so and I suppose that
experience has now taught her how to regulate this matter
and she should give attention to it.
If M J goes on recovering and particularly to
to recover the use of her limbs so far as to have a prospect
of being easily transported to bath I would leave her cure
entirely to be effected by that remedy but in the course
of the spring if she shall have any return of her pains
or even if a month hence she does not find some progress
towards recovering the use of her limbs I would have
her about the end of next month to try a sweat or two
with Dovers Powders. This properly managed will be
very safe and I hope of great service to her but the
management of it requires some skill which is not
commonly understood.
Wednesday
February
1772
Diplomatic Text
For Miss Johnston of Westerhall
[Page 2]
it 1 was more owing to the dryness than the cold of the air
which I am certain is unfavourable to such a↑i↑lments
she may possibly find herself worse upon the first coming
in of fresh weather but she will be better when that
has continued for some time and especially when the
warmth of the season is a good Deal advanced
I think there is nothing will contribute more to Miss
Johns.' entire recovery than going to Bath to make use
of the baths there, but I think she should not go there till
the beginning of summer which I think is the only safe
season for ↑her↑ using the bath. As she is at present tolerably
easy I would not have recourse to any other remedy
than the Earth 2 she is drinking and to be in no haste
in attempting motion till the season advances
as she lies abed or upon he couch she will do well
to try frequently some gentle motions of the affected part
but must not try standing upon her limbs and much
less walking till she finds her motions abed pretty free
and easy and when she does try farther it must be with
great caution and much help for here is nothing so
likely to bring back her pains & any effect that is a little
too much with regard to her diet I see no occasion for any
nicety according to her appetite she may take what
she likes best only avoiding what she knows from her
own experience is either liable to ly heavy on her stomach
and therefor to heat her or to give disturbance to her bowels
[Page 3]
As she has been liable to feverish heat and on that account
to want of sleep her diet should be plain and rather light and
cooling but as her sleep is now better I hope her restraint
on that account may be less and the present state of her body
requires what nourishment she can easily bear. The looseness
which formerly happened was certainly hurtfull to her but
too much costiveness would also be so and I suppose that
experience has now taught her how to regulate this matter
and she should give attention to it.
If M J goes on recovering and particularly to
to recover the use of her limbs so far as to have a prospect
of being easily transported to bath I would leave her cure
entirely to be effected by that remedy but in the course
of the spring if she shall have any return of her pains
or even if a month hence she does not find some progress
towards recovering the use of her limbs I would have
her about the end of next month to try a sweat or two
with Dovers Powders. This properly managed will be
very safe and I hope of great service to her but the
management of it requires some skill which is not
commonly understood.
Wednesd
Feb
1772
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:459]
Please note that the Cullen Project team have now disbanded but your comments will be logged in our system and we will look at them one day...
