Van Deusen/Kosinski Collection


A German, called Christian Pineroot, who was employed in one of the sugar-houses, was brought sick of the fever, but not very bad; I administered electricity freely, and the assistant means; he was restored immediately; the third day, early in the morning, he absconded the hospital, without any discharge; I returned his name to Dr. Bailey, who had not seen him. I used the shock on one more, a young man just arrived from London; he was brought to the hospital extremely bad, exercised with excruciating pain in his head, &c. With the electric shock I gave him immediate relief from pain; but as I directly left the hospital, without pursuing it till I had sufficiently taken off the tension, and induced perspiration, I know not how it terminated with him. I have taken the liberty to make those few brief statements of facts, that the citizens may, if they please, inform themselves of the truth of them, in some instances, at least. I shall now close this paragraph, by observing that the most strict attention must be paid to the patient's temperature of air, or rather an exclusion from air, from every the least degree of coolness for a number of days after the operations of electricity are desisted. After a sufficient evacuation has been made by sweating, the degree of heat must be moderately abated, but not to admit of the least coolness; for this purpose a very careful nurse must attend the patient in sleeping, lest by accident the covering be thrown off, and the patient take cold, which would at least be hurtful, if not endanger life itself. There is no possible case in which it is so difficult to guard against checking the perspiration, or taking cold, as in that of electrifying till perspiration is induced; and, indeed, without even making that perceptible, there is need of particular caution. Being thoroughly convinced that the success of the operation depended very much on the faithful attention of the nurse, and the difficulty of persuading them of this truth, I have ever made it my care to observe their conduct in this particular; or when I could not trust to them, and had leisure myself, or when the repute of medical electricity was suspended on the case, as in that of Mrs. Bower, I have taken the whole business on myself, and have generally had the best success when I have so done. The physician will now understand that electrifying in a propper manner performs nearly every part of the cure, excepting what is performed by emetics, cathartics and tonics. Electricity ought to be used in the first stages of a fever; the patient is better able to bear the operation: if it is neglected in dangerous fevers, some part essential to life may be so impaired or wounded as never to recover by any means. It should be used early in the yellow fever, such as hath prevailed of late at New-York, Philadelphia, and some other places, to reduce the action of the heart and arteries, before their enginery, by pressing too

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FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Title page
2 Preface
13 Chapter 1 - Animal and Vegetable Electricity
26 Chapter 1 - Astronomical
70 Chapter 2 - Of the Conductors
   97 Chapter 3  [Medical Conditions]   People and Links   Theory Links
97 People 97 Links 97 Fever
108 Peripneumony 171 Cholic 210 Involuntary motion
      of the eyelids
111 Pleurisy 174 Asthma 210 Hemmorage
114 St. Anthony's Fire 176 Diabetes 217 Hemorroids
115 Inflammatory Rheumatism 178 Urine suppressed,
  bloody and hot
217 Ulcers and Abcesses
115 Inflammatory Sore Throat 182 Menses obstructed 220 Rickets
122 Madness 185 King's Evil 221 Locked Jaw or Joints
131 Ague 186 Cancers 224 Bruises
138 St. Vitus's Dance 194 Quincy 229 Nerves contracted
140 Hysterics 195 Head-ache 230 Sprain or Strain
144 Epilepsy 196 Deafness 231 Felon or Whitlow
149 Consumption 197 Inflammatory Eyes 231 Pains in different parts
153 Palsy 197 Film 232 Wounds, etc.
158 Dropsy 199 Gutta Serena 234 Drowning
164 Gout 207 Cataract 237 Suppressed Perspiration
166 Dysentery 209 Fistula Lachrymalis 237 Burns and Scalds
242 Chapter 4  [Equipment]   Equipment Links
277 Thoughts on the Times
INDEX
Electricity, or Ethereal Fire, Considered is presented here for historical purposes only, and should not be interpreted as medical advice.





        
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