The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:919] From: Anonymous / To: [ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN] / Regarding: Mr G C (Patient) / 21 October 1774 / (Incoming)
Document entitled 'An account of a violent & obstinate nervous Cough, which was cured by the Flowers of Zinc'. Concerning the case of 'Mr G. C', an unnamed young man of about eighteen' and dated at the close 'Liverpool'. This isolated document was presumably sent to Cullen by a practitioner in Liverpool, but it has not been possible to link it to any other items.
- 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 | 919 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/182 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 21 October 1774 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Authorial original |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | Yes |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Document entitled 'An account of a violent & obstinate nervous Cough, which was cured by the Flowers of Zinc'. Concerning the case of 'Mr G. C', an unnamed young man of about eighteen' and dated at the close 'Liverpool'. This isolated document was presumably sent to Cullen by a practitioner in Liverpool, but it has not been possible to link it to any other items. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:468] |
Case of 'Mr G. C.', a young Gentlemen about eighteen years of age, who 'began to be affected with a very singular cough'. |
1 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1322] | Author | |
| [PERS ID:437] | Patient | Mr G C |
| [PERS ID:1322] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | |
| [PERS ID:870] | Other Physician / Surgeon | Dr Allcock |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Liverpool | North-West | England | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
An account of a violent & obstinate nervous
cough, which was cured by the Flowers of Zinc.
M.r G. C. a young Gentlemen of a thin habit
of body & about eighteen years of age, began to be
affected with a very singular cough in the spring
of the year 1773, which gradually became more
& more troublesome, & was extremely violent dur¬
ing the whole summer & the following winter.
The cough was loud & {illeg} hoarse, &
resembled more the rough bark of a dog than the
ordinary sound of a cough. It was generally
quiet during the night, but was so constant thro'
the day that he was seldom free from it more
than two or three minutes; & every effort to
cough was accompanied with a convulsive jerk
of the chin towards the left shoulder. There was
no pain or difficulty on drawing in a full in¬
spiration; but there was frequently a severe pain
about the region of the stomach, which might
proceed in part from the violent exercise of coughing.
The pulse varied little from it's natural state; the
Blood was not inflamed; neither did he waste much in
[Page 2]
his flesh.
Bleeding, Vomits, Blisters, Bark, Cicuta
Opiates, had been tried without the least ad¬
vantage. Nothing seemed either to alleviate or
aggravate the disease: Blisters indeed has this
very unusual effect, they {illeg} occasioned an op¬
pressive tightness upon the breast.
I first saw the Patient in March 1774; & {illeg}
directed gentle purgatives, æther, Ipecacoah in small
doses as a sedative, Antimonials with Tincture
Thebaica, Asa fœtida with opium, & mercurials
till the mouth was made sore & ↑a↑ slight salivation
produced; but the disease was not in the least de¬
gree subdued. I determined therefore to try the
Flowers of Zinc; & he had already taken two or
three doses of this medicine, when D.r Allcock
a Physician of eminence in this neighbourhood
was consulted; & I acquieseed in his proposal to
omit the Flowers of Zinc & to adopt a different
plan. Two issues were made between the shoulders
& the following remedies prescribed.
Take twenty four grains of Nutmeg, eighteen grains each of Camphor:, Sal Succinate, Asafœtida, Russian Castor, a sufficient quantity of Balsam of Peru to let twenty four pills be made. Let him take four three times a day, and afterwards drink six tablespoonfulls of the following decoction:
Take three ounces of [Viscous?] Quercin, boil [out?] of sufficient quantity spring water to [two fluid ounces of strained liquor?] when the boiling has nearly finished add one ounce of Root of Wild Valerian And Strain add three ounces of Tincture of valerian and mix.
After the Patient had given these medi¬
cines a fair trial without the least benefit, &
the stomach began to nauseate them, I resolved
to have recourse again to the Flowers of Zinc; &
soon experienced their good effects; for the cough
in a short time became much more moderate,
& was entirely removed is less than six weeks.
The dose never exceed three grains, was mixed
with a little sugar & administered three times
[every?] (↑a↑) day.
There can in this case be no doubt of the effica¬
[Page 4]
cy of the Flowers of Zinc. The Patient took no
other medicine; the issues were healed soon after
the Flowers were ordered; & on omitting them
for about ten days when the cough was con¬
siderably abated; it was again exasperated &
{illeg} returning to it's former violence.
M.r C. has now continued perfectly well
for {illeg} three months.
Diplomatic Text
An account of a violent & obstinate nervous
cough, which was cured by the Flowers of Zinc.
M.r G. C. a young Gentlemen of a thin habit
of body & about eighteen years of age, began to be
affected with a very singular cough in the spring
of the year 1773, which gradually became more
& more troublesome, & was extremely violent dur¬
ing the whole summer & the following winter.
The cough was loud & {illeg} hoarse, &
resembled more the rough bark of a dog than the
ordinary sound of a cough. It was generally
quiet during the night, but was so constant thro'
the day that he was seldom free from it more
than two or three minutes; & every effort to
cough was accompanied with a convulsive jerk
of the chin towards the left shoulder. There was
no pain or difficulty on drawing in a full in¬
spiration; but there was frequently a severe pain
about the region of the stomach, which might
proceed in part from the violent exercise of coughing.
The pulse varied little from it's natural state; the
Blood was not inflamed; neither did he waste much in
[Page 2]
his flesh.
Bleeding, Vomits, Blisters, Bark, Cicuta
Opiates, had been tried without the least ad¬
vantage. Nothing seemed either to alleviate or
aggravate the disease: Blisters indeed has this
very unusual effect, they {illeg} occasioned an op¬
pressive tightness upon the breast.
I first saw the Patient in March 1774; & {illeg}
directed gentle purgatives, æther, Ipecacoah in small
doses as a sedative, Antimonials with Tincture
Thebaica, Asa fœtida with opium, & mercurials
till the mouth was made sore & ↑a↑ slight salivation
produced; but the disease was not in the least de¬
gree subdued. I determined therefore to try the
Flowers of Zinc; & he had already taken two or
three doses of this medicine, when D.r Allcock
a Physician of eminence in this neighbourhood
was consulted; & I acquieseed in his proposal to
omit the Flowers of Zinc & to adopt a different
plan. Two issues were made between the shoulders
& the following remedies prescribed.
℞ Mosch: gr. xxiv.
Camphor:
Sal: Succin:
[Page 3]
Asæ fœtid.
Castor: Russ. @ gr. viij
Bals: Peruv. q. s. f. Pil: №. xxiv.
Cap: iv ter die, et super bib: Coch: vj. Maj.
Decoct sequent.
℞: [Visc:?] Quercin. ℥iij
Coque ex Aq. fontan: q. s. ad Col: lb ij sub
finem coction: adde
Radi Valer: sylv. ℥j. Et Col:
adde Tinct: Valer. ℥iij: ℳ
After the Patient had given these medi¬
cines a fair trial without the least benefit, &
the stomach began to nauseate them, I resolved
to have recourse again to the Flowers of Zinc; &
soon experienced their good effects; for the cough
in a short time became much more moderate,
& was entirely removed is less than six weeks.
The dose never exceed three grains, was mixed
with a little sugar & administered three times
[every?] (↑a↑) day.
There can in this case be no doubt of the effica¬
[Page 4]
cy of the Flowers of Zinc. The Patient took no
other medicine; the issues were healed soon after
the Flowers were ordered; & on omitting them
for about ten days when the cough was con¬
siderably abated; it was again exasperated &
{illeg} returning to it's former violence.
M.r C. has now continued perfectly well
for {illeg} three months.
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