1S24.] Morbid Ajfeciion of ihe Eye? 



CTen in cancer, this medicine promises semblin 



to fulfil very important indications. I 



refer, of cotirse, to the disease in its 



first stage ; liere I anticipate the most 



gratifying results from iodine ; but, in 



the second stage, it is equally una- 

 vailable with every other expedient. 



Even an operation in this stage is 



worse than useless, siuce it never fails 



to accelerate the fatal termination of 



this dreadful complaint. Cancer has 



surprisingly increased in these king- 

 doms of late years ; and it is of conse- 

 quence for the public to know, " that 



there is no operation in the whole 



range of surgery more unsuccessful 



than that of the excision of the occult 



cancer, more especially that of the 



breast." Dr. Monro, the elder, says, 



that, of sixty cases in which the opera- 

 tion was skilfully performed, only two 



remained free from the disease at the 



end of two years; and Scarpa, whom 



all will acknowledge to rank among 



the most distinguished surgeons in 



JEurope, remarks, that in a long and 



extensive practice, he has operated 



for this malady but three times with 



success ! This arises from the patients 



not submitting to the knife in proper 



time, from which neglect, many lives 



are annually lost, that would have been 



saved by its early employment ; and it 



proves the propriety, and duty, of im- 

 mediately acceding to its use, if the 



iodine, and Mr. Young'* plan, Iiave 



been resorted to in vain, because no 



other treatment has auy claim to our 



confidence here. 



Iodine is a peculiar vegetable pro- 

 duction, obtained from the different 



species of fuci. Sponge, and bladder- 

 wrack, or sea-weed, is of this species. 

 The former, we know, will sometimes 

 disperse the enlarged thyroid gland 

 situated in the neck ; and the latter, 

 applied externally as a poultice, has in 

 a very imperfect manner the same 

 clfect in scrofulous glands. It is now 

 ascertained that iodine is the active 

 principle in these substances. A late 

 author has strongly recommended the 

 fucus helminthocurton in that disease, 

 as capable of removing it in the occult 

 stage. He relates cases of suspicious 

 tumours in the breast that have been 

 dispersed under its administration, 

 which ouu^Iit to strengthen our confi- 

 denee in the iodine, for it is contained 

 in all kinds of fuci, and is, no doubt, 

 the only active ingredient in every 

 species. 

 Sorofjilii, ranccr, and diseases ro- 



21 



cancer, are so common, and 

 the value of iodine is at this time so 

 little known to the medical profession, 

 especially in the country, that it may 

 be of inestimable advantage to persons 

 afflicted with either of these maladies 

 to be made acquainted with the dis- 

 covery of such remedy. I know 

 where it has been used with results 

 highly gratifying, and believe few will 

 resort to it without deriving striking 

 permanent benefit. But the physician 

 who first introduced it to the profes- 

 sion, says, " I dissuade every person 

 from employing it without consulting 

 his medical attendant," and I am 

 induced to notice it here, that the 

 public may be apprised of its exist- 

 ence, and value, rather with a hope 

 thart the afflicted will be led to take it 

 under the direction of their physician 

 or surgeon, than of themselves. There- 

 fore it would be superfluous to say any- 

 thing in this place respecting its dif- 

 ferent preparations, and the manner of 

 using them ; and I shall only remark, 

 that, in one form, the medicine is used 

 externally as an ointment, with almost 

 an equal power in curing scrofulous 

 thickenings, swellings, and tumours, 

 as when given internally. 



T. J. Grakam. 

 German Place. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 

 SIR, 



PERMIT me, through the medium 

 of your widely-circulated Mis- 

 cellany, to request the favour of some 

 of your intelligeni correspondents for 

 information concerning a morbid 

 affection of the human eye, causing an 

 indistinctness or confusion of sight, 

 somewhat of the nature of double 

 vision. The person on whose ac- 

 count the enquiry is made, has for 

 years oeeasionally been subject to 

 inflammation of the eyes and eye-lids, 

 more especially the latter, for which he 

 has been recommended by the cele- 

 brated oculists, the late Mr. Ware and 

 Mr. Phipps, the application of warm 

 water. The latter gentleman also 

 furnished him with a liquid prepara- 

 tion, (consisting principally of vinum 

 opii,) to be occasionally dropped into 

 the eyes. The above-mentioned per- 

 son has for some years been also 

 accustomed to see objects floating 

 before his eyes resembling flies or 

 tadjxiles, the effect of a complaint 

 which, he understands, is generally 

 classed under the tiead of nervou.s 

 affections. 



