The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:2331] From: Dr William Hamilton (in Glasgow) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Mr Thomas Alston (Patient) / 5 October 1783 / (Incoming)
Letter from William Hamilton, concerning the case of Mr Alston, who 'has been dayly losing ground' since Cullen saw Hamilton in Glasgow. He now suffers from looseness of the bowels, swollen legs, and coughing up purulent matter, and is too weak for the voyage previously discussed. Hamilton asks about alleviating his symptoms and how much laudanum he can give.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 2331 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/1388 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 5 October 1783 |
| 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 William Hamilton, concerning the case of Mr Alston, who 'has been dayly losing ground' since Cullen saw Hamilton in Glasgow. He now suffers from looseness of the bowels, swollen legs, and coughing up purulent matter, and is too weak for the voyage previously discussed. Hamilton asks about alleviating his symptoms and how much laudanum he can give. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:671] |
Case of Mr Thomas Alston who spits blood and consequently has a poor prognosis and whose case eventually proves fatal. |
13 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:175] | Author | Dr William Hamilton (in Glasgow) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:554] | Patient | Mr Thomas Alston |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:175] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Hamilton (in Glasgow) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Glasgow | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place of Handstamp | Glasgow | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Since I had the pleasure of
seeing you in Glasgow our patient Mr
Alston has been dayly losing ground.
The bad weather & the want of a proper vessel
at first prevented his going to sea & now
he is so weak as not to be able to attempt it.
The looseness has increased of late & is parti¬
cularly troublesome to him as it is
attended with violent Tenesmus. He has
left off every thing that could be supposed to
encrease it, & he has used opiates in
small quantities without much benefit.
I should have had less fear in increasing
the quantity of Laudanum with any other
person, but with him I was affraid of
bringing on the fits with more violence.
His legs are now very much swelled & the
swelling is going up upon his thighs.
They are regularly rubbed, but without
[Page 2]
any effect. His pulse is about 120 & very
small & full. His appetite continues very
good, & was it not for the looseness he
would sleep tolerably thro the night, as he
is always roused three or four times & kept
on the vase each time for half an hour.
I have tried the Expectoration & it is evidently
purulent. I shall be happy to hear from
you, how we may alliviate these
distressing symptoms, & whether the
Laudanum may be given in more
than 30 or 35 drops thro the 24 hours
which is our present dose. I beg my
respectful Compliments to Mrs Cullen
with the highest Esteem
your obliged humble servant
October 5th
1783
[Page 3]
Dr Cullen
Edinburgh
Mr W. Hamilton
Concerning Mr Alston.
October 1783.
V. XV. p. 278
Diplomatic Text
Since I had the pleasure of
seeing you in Glasgow our patient Mr
Alston has been dayly losing ground.
The bad weather & the want of a proper vessel
at first prevented his going to sea & now
he is so weak as not to be able to attempt it.
The looseness has increased of late & is parti¬
cularly troublesome to him as it is
attended with violent Tenesmus. He has
left off every thing that could be supposed to
encrease it, & he has used opiates in
small quantities without much benefit.
I should have had less fear in increasing
the quantity of Laudanum with any other
person, but with him I was affraid of
bringing on the fits with more violence.
His legs are now very much swelled & the
swelling is going up upon his thighs.
They are regularly rubbed, but without
[Page 2]
any effect. His pulse is about 120 & very
small & full. His appetite continues very
good, & was it not for the looseness he
would sleep tolerably thro the night, as he
is always roused three or four times & kept
on the vase each time for half an hour.
I have tried the Expectoration & it is evidently
purulent. I shall be happy to hear from
you, how we may alliviate these
distressing symptoms, & whether the
Laudanum may be given in more
than 30 or 35 drops thro the 24 hours
which is our present dose. I beg my
respectful Compliments to Mrs Cullen
with the highest Esteem
your obliged humble servant
Octr 5th
1783
[Page 3]
Dr Cullen
Edinburgh
Mr W. Hamilton
C Mr Alston.
Octr 1783.
V. XV. p. 278
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