The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:463] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: [ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN] / Regarding: Mr Fraser (Frazer) (Patient) / 23 September 1772 / (Outgoing)
Reply 'For Mr Fraser'. He is to avoid all excess drinking, and Cullen provides three recipes (laxative and strengthening).
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 463 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/3/46 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 23 September 1772 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Scribal copy ( includes Casebook Entry) |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | Yes |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply 'For Mr Fraser'. He is to avoid all excess drinking, and Cullen provides three recipes (laxative and strengthening). |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:428] |
Case of Mr Fraser, whose 'complaints amount to no formed disease but are merely symptoms of a constitution which by various accident has been a little shaken'. |
1 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:234] | Patient | Mr Fraser (Frazer) |
| [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 |
Normalized Text
For Mr Fraser
Mr Frasers complaints amount to no formed disease but are
merely symptoms of a constitution which by various accident has
been a little shaken. This however does not go far and a
little attention & pains may recover it very entirely.
For this purpose the first step necessary is an attention
to his manner of living. All excess in drinking must be
carefully avoided. He may take a few glasses of a wine or Punch
very safely & it will be better for him to take a little than to
abstain altogether & it is excess only that is to be gaur guarded
against very strictly. When he takes a little only, any drink
is tolerably safe but the most proper is a weak punch
without souring.
In diet he may take any kind of meat, but should
keep his stomach always light. Pork, Bacon, and much fish
are to be avoided. Garden things & especially the more windy kinds
are to be taken very sparingly.
When his appetite falls of very much & his stomach
& bowels are loaded & trouled much with wind a gentle vomit
will be of service.
He must be constantly attentive in preventing costiveness
& for this purpose should employ the Laxative pills ordered below
One or two of them will serve for a dose to be taken a bedtime
They should keep the belly open without purging.
To restore the tone of his stomach and bowels, let him
take for a fortnight together the strengthening medicines ordered
below. After taking them for a fortnight they are to be laid aside
but after some interval they may be taken again for a week or
[Page 2]
two as the state of his stomach & bowels may seem to require.
At all times it will be of great service for him to be
much in the fresh air and in gentle exercise either walking or
riding but he must avoid fatigue and more carefully still he
must guard against cold.
Nothing is more necessary or will be more usefull to him
than the frequent us & almost daily use of Cold bathing
either in the Sea or when that is not convenient by some
proper contrivance within doors.
1772
Take a drachm each of Socotrine Aloes and Gentian Extract, a scruple of Polychrest Salts and enough Common Syrup to make a mass to be divided into five pills of a grain each. Label: Laxative Pills.
Take a scruple of powdered Peruvian Bark, five grains of ground Cinnamon and two grains of Green Vitriol. Mix to make a powder and from this make twenty-one doses. Label: trengthening powders one to be taken in a little water three times a day washing it down with half a gill of the following infusion
Take two drachms each of Gentian Root and Orange peel, half a drachm each of Ginger and Coriander seed. Pour over [four?] ounces of French Brandy and steep for two hours. Then add two pints of hot water and steep again, for twelve hours, and strain. Label: Strengthening Infusion.
Diplomatic Text
For Mr Fraser
Mr Frasers complaints amount to no formed disease but are
merely symptoms of a constitution which by various accident has
been a little shaken. This however does not go far and a
little attention & pains may recover it very entirely.
For this purpose the first step necessary is an attention
to his manner of living. All excess in drinking must be
carefully avoided. He may take a few glasses of a wine or Punch
very safely & it will be better for him to take a little than to
abstain altogether & it is excess only that is to be gaur guarded
against very strictly. When he takes a little only, any drink
is tolerably safe but the most proper is a weak punch
without souring.
In diet he may take any kind of meat, but should
keep his stomach always light. Pork, Bacon, and much fish
are to be avoided. Garden things & especially the more windy kinds
are to be taken very sparingly.
When his appetite falls of very much & his stomach
& bowels are loaded & trouled much with wind a gentle vomit
will be of service.
He must be constantly attentive in preventing costiveness
& for this purpose should employ the Laxative pills ordered below
One or two of them will serve for a dose to be taken a bedtime
They should keep the belly open without purging.
To restore the tone of his stomach and bowels, let him
take for a fortnight together the strengthening medicines ordered
below. After taking them for a fortnight they are to be laid aside
but after some interval they may be taken again for a week or
[Page 2]
two as the state of his stomach & bowels may seem to require.
At all times it will be of great service for him to be
much in the fresh air and in gentle exercise either walking or
riding but he must avoid fatigue and more carefully still he
must guard against cold.
Nothing is more necessary or will be more usefull to him
than the frequent us & almost daily use of Cold bathing
either in the Sea or when that is not convenient by some
proper contrivance within doors.
1772
℞ Aloes socotorin
Extr. Gentian @ ʒi
Sal polychrest ℈i
Syr. commun. q. s. ut f. massa dividenda
in pil. sing. gr. v. ––
Signa Laxative Pills
℞ pulv. Cort peruvian ℈i
––––– Cinnamom. gr v
Sal. mart. gr. ii
ℳ f. pulvis. et f. h. m. dos. № xxi
Sig. Strengthening powders one to be taken in a little
water three times a day washing it down with half a
gill of the following infusion
℞ Rad. gentian. Cort. Aurantior @ ʒii Zingiber
Sem. Coriandr. @ ʒſs. Affunde Spir. vin Gall. ℥[iv?]
Digere per horas duas dein adde Aq. fervent. lb ii
Digere rursus per horas duodecim et cola.
Sig: Strengthening Infusion.
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