ITsometimes, and more than too often, happens, that besides the commonSYMPTOMSof theMonths, theconceiv’d Womanis also suddenly taken with someacute DISEASEor other; upon which I shall offer my sincereOpinion, and according to the best of my Judgment, give a briefAccountofThoseseveralMaladies, with theirDefinitionandCause,NatureandQuality,DangerandCure.
FIRSTthen, the greatGalendefinesacute DISEASESto be such, whoseMotion is swift, attended with sudden and immediateDanger.
THElearnedBrassavolecalls suchDISEASESAcute, as comesuddenly, continue ashort Time, and have very severe or violentSYMPTOMS.
THEingeniousBlancardcalls thoseDISEASES Acute, which areover in a little Time, but not withoutimminent Danger. NowThoseare deem’d eithervery Acute, ormost Acute; thelatteris meant when theDistemperis over the 4thDay; but theformeris that which continues till the 7thDay: For the moreacutetheDISEASEis, the sooner follows itsDetermination, either for Life or Death. Again, a Disease is call’dsimply acute, when it lasts 14 or 21Days; or lastly, it is term’dAcute ex decidentiâ, which lasts 42 Days at least.
ANDaccording to the diligent Dr.Sydenham[82], theDespumationofAcute DISEASEShappens in 336Hours; which he also justly applies tointermitting FEVERS, reckoning 5 Hours and a half for aParoxysm: Because what we callDaysinAcute Fevers, are so manyPeriodsinintermitting Fevers: The only difference ofThoseconsisting in that theoneperfects itsFermentationatonce, which theotheraccomplishes at reiteratedTimes, and diversTurns, by the same Duct ofNature. He farther still, observes thatAutumnal Quartan Feverscontinue six Months; in which Time, if the Number of the recurrentParoxysmsbe summed up, they will exactly amount to the aforesaid 336 Hours, or 14 Days, which is theTermorEndof the regular andcontinual Feversof that Season.
ANDthe wiseHippocratesobserves[83]that as an exquisitecontinual Feverceases within the 7th Day, so an exquisiteTertianhas sevenperiodical Circuits; because everyAccessin the latter, makes up aDayin the former Case. Hence it is manifest that allEpidemick Diseaseshave their due and regularTimes[84]of encreasing, continuing, and decreasing; and that TheseLawsofNatureare so constant and permanent, that howeverFeversdiffer in other Circumstances, they are equal as to the Duration ofTime; counting according to thePeriodsor Fits of theintermitting, and the continued Number ofDaysof the neverintermitting Fever.
GALEN[85]further explainsAcute DISEASES, and calls themTwo-fold: Theoneattended with a continualFever; such as areburning Fevers,Frenzies,Lethargies,Pleurisies,Squincies,Inflammations, &c. Theotherwithout any Fever, such asEpilepsies,Apoplexies,Convulsions,Palsies,Contraction of LIMBS,JOINTS, &c. Now the[86]AccessesandCrisesof allTheseproceed from theInfluenceof theMoon; which in over-ruling terrestrial Things, surpasses all the otherPlanetsandStars, not so much because of herPower, as by herApproximationorVicinity.
THECauseof both theoneand theotherseems to be thesame; tho’ itaffecteth differently, according to the variousRegimenandDispositionof the Woman: And it most probably proceeds either from thevitious Humours, which have abounded in the Body beforeConception; or from suchHumoursas have been congested afterwards by thesuppressedMenses, orMonths: Which being irritated by improper or depravedFood, by bad or negligentRegimen, either before or afterConception; thoseHumours(likeYestinAle) ferment theBlood, to such a Degree, that (all on a sudden) thePatientis violently taken with one or other of thoseAcuteDiseases, which are determined by a certainLunaryCrisis; that is to say, by a certainMotionofNature, accelerated by thePowerof theMoon, to a gradualExpulsionof thepeccant Matterthro’ thePoresof the Body. But thisCrisis, in short, happens always with most Ease and Safety upon theNeworFull-Moon, because the ambientAirdoes not at that time so much affect theSuperficiesof the Body, nor so violently repress theMotionof theFluids.
HOWEVER, this melancholyAccidentcan never happen worse than to theConceiv’d Woman; and thefarthershe is gone in her Time, the moreDangerstill. And that because of theScarcityorWantofpureBlood, which ought to be imbibed by theInfant, either in part or in whole, according to its Age and Strength: Or, because of thePlentyofvitiousBlood, which tends to no other end, than toimbecilitatethe Woman, and render herincapableof suffering theInsultsof suchacuteDiseases. ForNaturemay (perhaps) be able to bear up againstone simple Effect, but when it is joined and aggravated byanother, thePatientis too often obliged tosuccumb, and yield herself up to beoverpower’din the Struggle of Life.
BUT, after all yet,acuteDiseasesare not alwaysmortalto theConceived Woman; for, as Experience teaches,Somehave the good Fortune toescape, tho’ indeed the Odds[87]are very great on the other Side. But of such sharpMaladies,thosewithout anyFeverare reckoned mostdangerous; because they are not onlyAcute, but alsomost Acute: And bythosetheMotheris more immediately endangered than theInfant; whereas bythosewhich come with aFever, the tenderInfantis first and chiefly endangered, because of theMother’s internalCalidityandDepravation, which easily affects, and soon suffocates or stifles it in a short time.
HOWEVER, it is very observable, that aWoman[88], bearing aFemale, is more readily seized, and more easily freed or cured ofacuteDiseases, thanshewho bears aMale: And that becauseFemalesare naturally more obnoxious toDistempers, proceeding from theRetentionof theMenstrua, and consequently morefavourably affected, because of thenatural AffinityandFamiliarityof the Case.
ANDthis is the Reason thatFemales, after thefirst Months, do bear and sustain morePainsthan theMales; as daily Experience confirms, in that aFemale Miscarriage[89]seldom happens after thefirst Months: whereas theMale Abortionis most of all to be feared, after theTimeofMotionorAnimation, because theAcetabula, orCavities, being then moresiccid, are the more easily broken by itsstronger Motion.
INCases ofAcuteDiseases, the worst is, that the necessaryHelps, which such incidentDistempersotherways absolutely require, are not always safe and convenient for theChild-bearing Woman: which Condition, (with respect to theCure) renders theCaseone of thenicest Pointsin theArtofPhysick. Wherefore I would, with Submission, advise, thatnonebut the ablest and well-qualifiedPhysicianshould undertake either theCareor theCureof such aPatient. To whom I am not to prescribeRules, and therefore I shall only refer him to his own moreAcute Judgment, and theCurious Solutionsof (that most learnedPhysician)Daniel Senertus[90], upon thesix following Questions, thus stated by himself,viz.
I.HOWfar slender Diet is convenient for the Child-bearing Woman,labouring under an acute Disease?
II.HOWfar it is convenient to open a Vein or bleed this Woman upon such an Occasion?
III.HOWfar it may be proper to purge her on the same Occasion?
IV.WHETHERVenæ-Sections or Purges are most dangerous in such a Case?
V.WHETHERit is practicable(in such a dangerous Case)to excite Abortion,for the Woman’s Health and Recovery?
VI.HOWfar Clysters,Diureticks,and Diaphoreticks are convenient on such Occasions?
HAVING, thus, now, in fine, briefly hinted upon thesundryHeadsof thisChapter, I shall, in the next Place, offer a few Words uponThat, which (I think)is the most common Consequence of the foregoingEffects,viz.