Chapter 5. The false Courses, or Whites

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_ CHAPTER V

The false Courses, or Whites.

From the womb, not only the menstruous blood proceeds, but many evacuations, which were summed up by the ancients under the title of _rhoos gunaikeios_,[6] which is the distillation of a variety of corrupt humours through the womb, which flow from the whole body or a part of it, varying both in courses and colour.

 

CAUSE.

The cause is either promiscuously in the whole body, by a cacochymia; or weakness of it, or in some of its parts, as in the liver, which by a weakness of the blood producing powers, cause a production of corrupt blood, which then is reddish. Sometimes, when the fall is sluggish in its action, and does not get rid of those superfluities engendered in the liver, the matter is yellowish. Sometimes it is in the spleen when it does not cleanse the blood of the dregs and rejected particles, and then the matter which flows forth is blackish. It may also come from a cold in the head, or from any other decayed or corrupted member, but if the discharge be white, the cause lies either in the stomach or loins. In the stomach, by some crude substance there, and vitiated by grief, melancholy or some other mental disturbance; for otherwise, if the matter were only crude phlegm and noways corrupt, being taken into the liver it might be converted into the blood; for phlegm in the ventricle is called nourishment half digested; but being corrupt, though sent into the liver it cannot be turned into nutriment, for the second decoction in the stomach cannot correct that which the first corrupted; and therefore the liver sends it to the womb, which can neither digest nor reject it, and so it is voided out with the same colour which it had in the ventricle. The cause may also be in the veins being overheated whereby the spermatical matter flows out because of its thinness. The external causes may be moistness of the air, eating bad food, anger, grief, sloth, too much sleep, costiveness.

The signs are bodily disturbances, shortness of breathing, and foul breath, a distaste for food, swollen eyes and feet, and low spirits; discharges of different colours, as red, black, green, yellow and white from the womb. It differs from the flowing of the courses and from too abundant menstruation, in so far as it keeps no certain period, and is of many colours, all of which spring from blood.

If the flux be phlegmatic, it will last long and be hard to cure, but if sickness or diarrhoea supervene, it carries off the humour and cures the disease. If it is abundant it does not last so long, but it is more dangerous, for it will cause a cleft in the neck of the womb, and sometimes also an excoriation of the matrix; if melancholy, it must be dangerous and obstinate. The flux of the haemorrhoids, however, assists the cure.

If the matter which flows out be reddish, open a vein in the arm; if not, apply ligatures to the arms and shoulders. Galen boasts that he cured the wife of Brutus, who was suffering from this disease, by rubbing the upper part with honey.

If it is caused by the brain, take syrup of betony and marjoram. Give as a purgative _Pill. coch._ or _Agaric_; make nasalia of sage, or hyssop juice, betony, flagella, with one drop of oil of _Elect. Dianth. Rosat. Diambrae, diamosci dulus_, one drachm of each, and make lozenges to be taken every morning and evening. _Auri Alexandrina_, half a drachm at night on going to bed. If these things have no effect, try suffumigation and plasters, as they are prescribed above.

If it arises from crudities of the stomach or from a cold, disordered liver, take a decoction of _lignum sanctum_ every morning, purge with _pill de agaric, de hermadact, de hiera, diacolinthis, foetid-agrigatio_; take two drachms of elect. aromet-roses, one scruple each of dried citron peel, nutmeg, long pepper; one drachm of draglanga; half a scruple each of _fantalum album_, ling, aloes; six ounces of sugar, with mint water: make lozenges of it, and take them before meals. If there be repletion besides the rigidity of the liver, purging by means of an emetic is to be recommended, for which take three drachms of the electuary diasatu. Galen allows diuretical remedies, such as _aqua petrofolma_.

If the discharge be angry, treat it with syrup of roses, violets, endive and succory; give a purge of mirabolans, manna, rhubarb, and cassia. Take two drachms of rhubarb, one of aniseed, and one scruple and a half of cinnamon; infuse them into six ounces of syrup of prunes, and add one ounce of strained manna, and take it in the morning as required. Take one drachm each of the following drugs: _diatonlanton, diacorant, diarthod, abbaris, dyacydomei_, four ounces of sugar, and make into lozenges with plantain water. If the gall be sluggish, and does not stir the bowels, give warm injections of a decoction of the four mollifying herbs, with honey of roses and aloes.

If the flow be bilious, treat the patient with syrup of maiden-hair; epithynium, polypody, borage, buglos, fumitary, hart's tongue and syrups, bisantius, which must be made without vinegar, else it will assist the disease instead of nature, for melancholy is increased by the use of vinegar, and both Hippocrates, Silvius and Avenzoar reject it as injurious for the womb, and therefore not to be used internally in uterine diseases. _Pilulae sumariae, pilulae lud. delupina, lazuli diosena_ and _confetio hamec_ are purges of bile. Take two ounces of pounded prunes, one drachm of senna, a drachm and a half each of epithimium, polypody and fumitary, and an ounce of sour dates, and make a decoction with endive water; take four ounces of it and add three drachms of hamesech and three of manna. Or take a scruple each of _pil. indic. foetid, agarici, trochis ati_; one scruple of rhubarb pills, six grains of lapis lazuli, make into pills with epithimium, and take them once a week. Take three drachms of elect. loetificans. Galen three drachms, a drachm each of _diamargaritum, calimi, diamosci dulus_; a drachm of conserve of borage, violets and burglos; one drachm of candied citron peel, seven ounces of sugar, and make into lozenges with rose water.

Lastly let the womb be cleansed of all corrupt matter, and then be strengthened. In order to purify it, make injections of the decoction of betony, feverfew, spikenard, bismust, mercury and sage, and add two ounces each of sugar and sweet almond oil; pessaries may also be made of silk or cotton, softened in the juice of the above mentioned herbs.

You must prepare trochisks, thus, to strengthen the womb. Take one ounce each of mugwort, feverfew, myrrh, amber, mace, storax, ling aloes and red roses, and make lozenges or troches with mucilage of tragacanth; throw one of them on to hot coals and fumigate the womb with red wine, in which mastic, fine bole, malustia and red roots have been decocted; anoint the matrix with oil of quinces and myrtles, and apply a plaster to it, for the womb; and let the woman take _diamosdum dulco_, _aract_, and _slemoticum_ every morning.

A drying diet is recommended as best, because in these cases the body abounds with phlegmatic and crude humours. On this account, Hippocrates advises the patient to go to bed supperless. Her food should consist of partridges, pheasant and grouse, roasted rather than boiled, too much sleep must be prohibited whilst moderate exercise is very advisable.

 

FOOTNOTES:

[6] The female flowing. _

Read next: Chapter 6. The Suffocation of the Mother

Read previous: Chapter 4. Of the Weeping of the Womb

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