The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1386] From: Dr Walter Riddell / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Sir William Carr (of Etal; Kerr, Carre) (Patient) / 26 March 1777 / (Incoming)
Letter from Dr Walter Riddell concerning the case of Sir William Carr of Etal, who is diabetic. His condition is getting worse: his weakness is increasing and he has developed some urinary incontinence. Riddell has written to Lady Erroll, Sir William's daughter, at his request.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 4 images for this document.
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1386 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/482 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 26 March 1777 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Authorial original |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Letter from Dr Walter Riddell concerning the case of Sir William Carr of Etal, who is diabetic. His condition is getting worse: his weakness is increasing and he has developed some urinary incontinence. Riddell has written to Lady Erroll, Sir William's daughter, at his request. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:579] |
Case of Sir William Carr [Kerr] of Etal [Etall] with urinary retention and a suspected diabetes. |
14 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:561] | Author | Dr Walter Riddell |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:1717] | Patient | Sir William Carr (of Etal; Kerr, Carre) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:561] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr Walter Riddell |
| [PERS ID:931] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Countess Isabella Hay (Lady Erroll, Lady Hay) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Berwick-upon-Tweed (Berwick) | North-East | England | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place of Handstamp | Berwick-upon-Tweed (Berwick) | North-East | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
I have just been with our
patient Sir William Carr, whom I was sorry to find
much worse that than I had ever seen him before;
his weakness is prodigiously increas'd since you saw
him, insomuch that it is now with difficulty he can
walk up or down stairs and the lowness of his spirits
keeps pace with the weakness of his body. - His
disorder is not at all abated, the quantity of his
urine, which is very sweet, still exceeding that
of his drink, and his thirst continuing very trou¬
blesome; his appetite too is very much impair'd, -
and his pulse more frequent. -- Finding him in
this situation, apparently dissatisfied and earnestly
[Page 2]
asking if nothing cou'd be done to prevent his growing
weaker, I thought that some attempt was to be made
to restore and, if possible, to support his strength,
and therefore ventured to intermit the use of the Chaly¬
beate powders and return to the Bark in substance;
and tho' perhaps much less is to be expected from Allum,
particularly in this species of Diabetes, than is commonly
imagin'd, yet as I think it is not improbable that
in every case of the disorder which has continued
for any time some degree of relaxation may have
taken place in the [factory?] vessels of the kidneys,
and as, at any rate, I apprehend a direct astrin¬
gent can do no mischief, I have advised the re¬
petition of the allum-whey, especially as Sir
William seem'd to think he receiv'd benefit from
it before. -- I shou'd be glad to know if you approve
[Page 3]
of this alteration, or if you can think of any thing
else that is more likely to afford relief, as I think
he is at present in a very [suffering?] situation --
I forgot to mention another symptom of Sir Willia[m's],
which is new; at least, he has not been tro[bled]
with it for some time, that is some degree of [in]¬
continence of urine; it does not com[e upon]
him without his being sensible of it;
when he [feel]s a call that way, he sometime[s]
he canno[t] retain his water til he gets
to the pot. -- I have written to Lady Erroll
tonight by Sir William's desire, to acquaint
her with his situation, and I suppose she and
my Lord will be with him soon. -- I am
expectfully
[Page 4]
Dr. Cullen
Edinburgh
Dr Riddell C
Sir Wm Carr
24 March 1777
Diplomatic Text
I have just been with our
patient Sir William Carr, whom I was sorry to find
much worse that than I had ever seen him before;
his weakness is prodigiously increas'd since you saw
him, insomuch that it is now with difficulty he can
walk up or down stairs and the lowness of his spirits
keeps pace with the weakness of his body. - His
disorder is not at all abated, the quantity of his
urine, which is very sweet, still exceeding that
of his drink, and his thirst continuing very trou¬
blesome; his appetite too is very much impair'd, -
and his pulse more frequent. -- Finding him in
this situation, apparently dissatisfied and earnestly
[Page 2]
asking if nothing cou'd be done to prevent his growing
weaker, I thought that some attempt was to be made
to restore and, if possible, to support his strength,
and therefore ventured to intermit the use of the Chaly¬
beate powders and return to the Bark in substance;
and tho' perhaps much less is to be expected from Allum,
particularly in this species of Diabetes, than is commonly
imagin'd, yet as I think it is not improbable that
in every case of the disorder which has continued
for any time some degree of relaxation may have
taken place in the [factory?] vessels of the kidneys,
and as, at any rate, I apprehend a direct astrin¬
gent can do no mischief, I have advised the re¬
petition of the allum-whey, especially as Sir
William seem'd to think he receiv'd benefit from
it before. -- I shou'd be glad to know if you approve
[Page 3]
of this alteration, or if you can think of any thing
else that is more likely to afford relief, as I think
he is at present in a very [suffering?] situation --
I forgot to mention another symptom of Sir Willia[m's],
which is new; at least, he has not been tro[bled]
with it for some time, that is some degree of [in]¬
continence of urine; it does not com[e upon]
him without his being sensible of it;
when he [feel]s a call that way, he sometime[s]
he canno[t] retain his water til he gets
to the pot. -- I have written to Lady Erroll
tonight by Sir William's desire, to acquaint
her with his situation, and I suppose she and
my Lord will be with him soon. -- I am
expectfully
[Page 4]
Dr. Cullen
Edinburgh
Dr Riddell C
Sir Wm Carr
24 March 1777
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