The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:821] From: Mr Alexander Parlane / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Mr James McCall (Patient) / 17 May 1772 / (Incoming)
Letter from Alexander Parlane regarding a disease which has been prevailing in Glasgow for the past several months, and regarding the case of a James McCall who has suffered from it. The disease produces severe itching, with watery pustules and has not responded to a whole range of treatments. Parlane had enclosed 'two notes' in payment.
- 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 | 821 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/88 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 17 May 1772 |
| 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 Alexander Parlane regarding a disease which has been prevailing in Glasgow for the past several months, and regarding the case of a James McCall who has suffered from it. The disease produces severe itching, with watery pustules and has not responded to a whole range of treatments. Parlane had enclosed 'two notes' in payment. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | Yes |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:380] |
Case of James McCall with 'a kind of Eresipealous affection'. |
1 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:344] | Author | Mr Alexander Parlane |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:343] | Patient | Mr James McCall |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:344] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr Alexander Parlane |
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 |
Normalized Text
We have had a Disease prevailing here for several
months By part I take it to be a kind of Eresipealous affection
which has been the most obstinate I Ever Saw[↑In some↑?] . It appears like
a Rush 1 sometimes over the whole skin like Measles attended
with the most intollerable Itching, in others like small
Watery pustles [when?] Sometimes about the fingers or wrists resembling
the Itch which when Scratched emitt a thin water [after this
itches?] frequently spread all round & turn into little suppurated
pustles whether it is infections or not I cannot precisely Say
but I rather think it is not for one or two of a family have
it while the rest are perfectly free only I observe those that
sleep together are those most that are ↑most readily↑ affected in a family while
the rest of the Children are free altho they play together
constantly. I have been more perplexed with this cursed Itchy
Distemper than with any thing I ever met with I have tried
Spirit Minder, Vinegar, [Spts.?] & water Solut. of Sacch. Saturn. to bath
the parts affected to no pu[rpose?] Earthly have given Physic
Repeatedly, Bark in large quantity, Vinum Antimon. the
anti scorbutic Herbs with
Cathartics to be infused in ale & Continued
Dayly as Diet Drink to as little purpose. bleeding too seems
to have as little Effect as any of them. In some these watery
pustles spread over the whole skin & from the scratching make
the Skin appear as it were flea'd attended at this time with
sharp smarting pain like a new cut blister.
This is the preamble to the Case of Mr. James McCall
merchant in this place who has been in this Situation for
six weeks who & has now Lost all patience the Itching is so
insupportable that he Sleeps very little his wife too is in
the Same Situation & beged me to write you for your advice
I forgot to mention I have tried Butter & Brimestone rub'd on
at night & washed off next morning with warm water & Soap
& this continued for several nights to as little purpose as any
of the former. Now my Dear Doctor if you can put us on any method
to get quit of this Divelish Disease it will be a great relief to
Mr. McCall & a great Obligation to
P.S. receive two Notes.
Enclosed which I received from Mr. McCall
Please write in Course of post.
[Page 2]
To
Doctor William Cullen
Edinburgh
✍[Start of margin text]1772[End of margin text]
Notes:
1: This seems to be the correct reading, though "Rash" may have been intended; if not then this particular use of "Rush" is unrecorded in OED.
Diplomatic Text
We have had a Disease prevailing here for several
months By part I take it to be a kind of Eresipealous affection
which has been the most obstinate I Ever Saw[↑In some↑?] . It appears like
a Rush 1 sometimes over the whole skin like Measles attended
with the most intollerable Itching, in others like small
Watery pustles [when?] Sometimes about the fingers or wrists resembling
the Itch which when Scratched emitt a thin water [after this
itches?] frequently spread all round & turn into little suppurated
pustles whether it is infections or not I cannot precisely Say
but I rather think it is not for one or two of a family have
it while the rest are perfectly free only I observe those that
sleep together are those most that are ↑most readily↑ affected in a family while
the rest of the Children are free altho they play together
constantly. I have been more perplexed with this cursed Itchy
Distemper than with any thing I ever met with I have tried
Spt. Minder, Vinegar, [Spts.?] & water Solut. of Sacch. Saturn. to bath
the parts affected to no pu[rpose?] Earthly have given Physic
Repeatedly, Bark in large quantity, Vin. Antimon. the
anti scorbutic Herbs wt
Cathartics to be infused in ale & Continued
Dayly as Diet Drink to as little purpose. bleeding too seems
to have as little Effect as any of them. In some these watery
pustles spread over the whole skin & from the scratching make
the Skin appear as it were flea'd attended at this time with
sharp smarting pain like a new cut blister.
This is the preamble to the Case of Mr. Jas. McCall
merct in this place who has been in this Situation for
six weeks who & has now Lost all patience the Itching is so
insupportable that he Sleeps very little his wife too is in
the Same Situation & beged me to write you for your advice
I forgot to mention I have tried Butter & Brimestone rub'd on
at night & washed off next morning with warm water & Soap
& this continued for several nights to as little purpose as any
of the former. Now my Dear Doctor if you can put us on any method
to get quit of this Divelish Disease it will be a great relief to
Mr. McCall & a great Obligation to
P.S. receive two Notes.
Enclosed which I received from Mr. McCall
Please write in Course of post.
[Page 2]
To
Doctor William Cullen
Edinr.
✍[Start of margin text]1772[End of margin text]
Notes:
1: This seems to be the correct reading, though "Rash" may have been intended; if not then this particular use of "Rush" is unrecorded in OED.
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:821]
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...
