The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:773] From: Anonymous / To: [ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN] / Regarding: Anonymous (Patient) / 27 February 1765 / (Incoming)
Letter from an unnamed correspondent about his(?) own case. He has suffered from an assortment of complaints since a night of drinking freely some time before, and now says that '[t]he above Complaints have reduced me so much that I cannot easily go up a Long Stair or up a Brae & my body is sensibly decayd from what it was'. Has been attended by a Mr Inglis [a surgeon?].
- 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 | 773 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/41 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 27 February 1765 |
| 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 an unnamed correspondent about his(?) own case. He has suffered from an assortment of complaints since a night of drinking freely some time before, and now says that '[t]he above Complaints have reduced me so much that I cannot easily go up a Long Stair or up a Brae & my body is sensibly decayd from what it was'. Has been attended by a Mr Inglis [a surgeon?]. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:213] |
Case of an unnamed correspondent who has been ill since a night of excessively free drinking. |
1 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1151] | Author | |
| [PERS ID:1151] | Patient | |
| [PERS ID:1150] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr Inglis |
Places linked to this document
No places linked to this Document.
Normalized Text
About the begining of January last, after drinking pretty freely a
night or two before, I felt myself very much out of Order, a violent
headach attended with a sickishness at my heart, this Continued some
days & I keept my Bed & sweated plentifully, sent for Mr Inglis, told
him of my Complaints, which by this time were, a Swimming & diziniss
in my head, a shortness & irregularity of Breathing, which was somtimes
pretty full at other times scarcely heard, & when falling asleep found
myself forgetting to breath at all, which made me apprehensive, I Complaind
of a [gruing?] in different parts of my body & a starting sometimes of my
whole body & at other times of particular [fit and?] starting for some considerable
time. Mr Inglis bade me encourage the sweating, which weakned me greatly
tho I found myself the Better of it, I had likeways Rheumatick pains in
my shoulders, which I thought the sweating lightened a good deal,
I took a Vomit or two; & a doze or two of Rubarb, some time after I
complained to Mr Inglis of a Wind on my stomach, which made me sick
When I could not get it off, Mr. Ingis gave me some Bitters I believe
Stockton & peppermint water mixt to take thrice a day & I Continued the
Rubarb Bitters to keep me open, I left off drinking beer & drunk nothing
but wine & water which made me Costive, I was desired try porter which I
did & tho windy I thought it keept me open & set off the wind much easier
that formerly. The Doctor will please to observe that I have for many years
had an excessive Wind on my stomach, which I threw up almost regularly at
evening when I was going to bed & in the morning, but it gave me no
trouble thro the day, nor was my body any way out of order by it & I
observed that when I began to fall bad this year, it did not come off my
[Page 2]
Stomach as usual which I imagine made me dizy & [puke?], my Sleep was
broken & I was obliged to sit up on my Elbow & sometimes rise altogether at
night & belch up wind, after which I was easier & would often get a sleep
when I began to Complain the first thing I noticed wrong about me was a
change & hollowness of my voice; & I would often take something like a
heartburn, & could not be 2 minutes without spitting, & would have spitt in
that way a whole forenoon, I observed that I was particularly inclined to
that heartburn & Spitting after eating honey to my Breakfast, which I
did for a sore (↑to ease my↑) Breast. But what most of all alarmed me & what I
think I have the greatest reason to dread is a Rattling or Cracking at
my Breast regularly as I draw my Breath, when I found such a Rattle
at first I [hostid?] 1 or Cough in order to dispel it but I found the Cough rather
increased or diminished it & since the begining of this year it has attended
me constantly all night, tho I seldom hear it thro the day & I have no
great Cough with it either. I have frequently observed my mouth quite dry
at night, when I lay with my mouth open, which I was obliged to do
for want of Breath, which dryness I imagine was owing to something
noxious in my breathing proceeding from the Lungs, tho there is often a
watery substance gathers about my gums which I am obliged either to swallow
or spit out. I observe I am considerably better when it is Clear weather
& have my Stomach pretty well.
The above Complaints have reduced me so much that I cannot easily go
up a Long stair or a Brae & my body is sensibly decayd from what it was
I observe too that my skin sits looser on me & my Cloathes are turned wider
[Page 3]
Case
27 February 1765.
Notes:
1: This appears to be a phonetic variant of "hoisted", a Northern English dialect term for "cough", more commonly applied to cattle.
Diplomatic Text
About the begining of January last, after drinking pretty freely a
night or two before, I felt myself very much out of Order, a violent
headach attended with a sickishness at my heart, this Continued some
days & I keept my Bed & sweated plentifully, sent for Mr Inglis, told
him of my Complaints, which by this time were, a Swimming & diziniss
in my head, a shortness & irregularity of Breathing, which was somtimes
pretty full at other times scarcely heard, & when falling asleep found
myself forgetting to breath at all, which made me apprehensive, I Complaind
of a [gruing?] in different parts of my body & a starting sometimes of my
whole body & at other times of particular [fit and?] starting for some considerable
time. Mr Inglis bade me encourage the sweating, which weakned me greatly
tho I found myself the Better of it, I had likeways Rheumatick pains in
my shoulders, which I thought the sweating lightened a good deal,
I took a Vomit or two; & a doze or two of Rubarb, some time after I
complained to Mr Inglis of a Wind on my stomach, which made me sick
When I could not get it off, Mr. Ingis gave me some Bitters I believe
Stockton & peppermint water mixt to take thrice a day & I Continued the
Rubarb Bitters to keep me open, I left off drinking beer & drunk nothing
but wine & water which made me Costive, I was desired try porter which I
did & tho windy I thought it keept me open & set off the wind much easier
that formerly. The Doctor will please to observe that I have for many years
had an excessive Wind on my stomach, which I threw up almost regularly at
evening when I was going to bed & in the morning, but it gave me no
trouble thro the day, nor was my body any way out of order by it & I
observed that when I began to fall bad this year, it did not come off my
[Page 2]
Stomach as usual which I imagine made me dizy & [puke?], my Sleep was
broken & I was obliged to sit up on my Elbow & sometimes rise altogether at
night & belch up wind, after which I was easier & would often get a sleep
when I began to Complain the first thing I noticed wrong about me was a
change & hollowness of my voice; & I would often take something like a
heartburn, & could not be 2 minutes without spitting, & would have spitt in
that way a whole forenoon, I observed that I was particularly inclined to
that heartburn & Spitting after eating honey to my Breakfast, which I
did for a sore (↑to ease my↑) Breast. But what most of all alarmed me & what I
think I have the greatest reason to dread is a Rattling or Cracking at
my Breast regularly as I draw my Breath, when I found such a Rattle
at first I [hostid?] 1 or Cough in order to dispel it but I found the Cough rather
increased or diminished it & since the begining of this year it has attended
me constantly all night, tho I seldom hear it thro the day & I have no
great Cough with it either. I have frequently observed my mouth quite dry
at night, when I lay with my mouth open, which I was obliged to do
for want of Breath, which dryness I imagine was owing to something
noxious in my breathing proceeding from the Lungs, tho there is often a
watery substance gathers about my gums which I am obliged either to swallow
or spit out. I observe I am considerably better when it is Clear weather
& have my Stomach pretty well.
The above Complaints have reduced me so much that I cannot easily go
up a Long stair or a Brae & my body is sensibly decayd from what it was
I observe too that my skin sits looser on me & my Cloathes are turned wider
[Page 3]
Case
27 Febry 1765.
Notes:
1: This appears to be a phonetic variant of "hoisted", a Northern English dialect term for "cough", more commonly applied to cattle.
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