An Essay on the Treatment of Consumptions.

£950 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

Rare. OCLC records physical copies at BL, Cambridge and John Rylands only; Yale Medical and National Library of Medicine only in the USA. A privately printed essays proposing a new treatment for tuberculosis (commonly known as consumption) involving the application of liniment or milk directly to the skin as well as a largely milk and vegetable based diet. Richard Charles, in his short introduction notes that he has written the present essay with a view to minimising the risk of the deadly disease, “that often seized on the most beautiful part of the creation, that snatches the early hope of the fond parent; and tears from society man of its greatest ornaments” (p.4) The author stresses that the disease has long been considered incurable, but proposes - based on practical experience and the reading of authorities such as John Fothergill - that the disease is related to the lymphatic system in the body and that through the application of liniment or milk applied directly to the skin (through application or a “waistcoat” device) it might be absorbed into the lymphatic system and help to cure tuberculosis. This treatment should also be accompanied by a diet consisting primarily of vegetables and milk: “Rice and milk, or barley and milk, boiled, with a little sugar, is very proper food, ripe fruits roasted, baked, or boiled, are likewise proper, as goose or currant berry tarts, apples roasted or boiled in milk, c. The jellies, conserves, and preserves, c. or ripe subacid fruits,

• Year: 1787

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