THISSymptomis nothing else, than aDistentionorDilatationof theHip,Thigh, andLeg-Veins: Which however chiefly appears about theHam; and it happens most commonly toPlethorick Women, who walk much, or exercise themselves more freely upon any Occasion.
THECauseproceeds only from aPlenty, orSuperfluityof the suppressedBlood, more than theInfantcan consume: which being carry’d by theArteriesto thelower Parts, is thence received by theCruralandSapheneorAnkle-Veins. Insomuch that theWomb, being (by this time) bothPonderousandBulky, so presseth theIliac-Veins, that it hinders theBloodin itsCourse, and obstructs its freeMotionandCirculation; whereby (of consequence) theseinferiour Veinsmust swell and distend themselves proportionably.
HOWEVER, theDangerof theSYMPTOMis not great; because after a safeBIRTH, when the super-aboundingBloodandHumoursare evacuated, these preternaturalTumourssettle, and theVeinsreturn to theirPristine State.
WHEREFOREthe only necessaryReliefof this Malady, consists chiefly in theWoman’sabstaining from too muchWalking, and all other extravagantExercises; upon indulging herinferiour Limbs, by keeping them rais’d upon aCouchorStool, that theBloodmay not settle too much to theselower Parts: Or (which is far better) let her prudently keep herBed; in whichPosture, theBloodcan meet with no suchDifficultyin returning by theseVeinsto theHeart, as it will find when it must ascend by theWoman’sSITTINGorSTANDINGupright; so that consequently it must needscirculatethe more readily and with moreEase.Hence in short, it is, that from this more Free and EasyCirculationinBed, suchWomenare always more easy, or better dispos’d, and far lesspain’dor troubled in theMornings, than atNights, in This Condition.
BUTif, after All, thePATIENT’sConvenience will not permit suchIndulgences, Then a properSwatheof three or four Fingers Breadth, is most adviseable; beginning toswathethisVaricose, orSwelling Part, from theBottom upwards, as far as theVaricesorTumoursextend. But in Case of morePlethorick Marks, at last, in theother Partsof the Body,Phlebotomymay be most safely made Use of.