INFLTTr.vr^A. 



■ :ibout fiTc miles fouth-eaft of Edinburs-''. "n>'l ''"^ 

 loth of June. Again, it was prcva'-nt at Dartmouth 

 ! joncr than at Exeter, and yet i» appeared at Exeter 

 fjoner than at Tinmouth, aWough the laft mentioned 

 ;5 fituated between Darti^vJUth and Exeter. 

 ^ " opinion, that it wa« propagated by perfonal inter- 

 , was alfo favoureiJ by its progrefs in numerous in- 

 . Thus it was frequently obferved, that fomc one 

 .^al in a family was firft attacked, and that tlien fe- 

 :i ore, and fometimes tke whole of the fame family, 

 jry foon afterwards feized with it, in fome inftanccs 

 lee, but in others fuccelhvcly. Very early in June, 

 ' iniilies, conlifting of feventeen perfons, came on the 

 .iv to the hotel in the Adelphi buildings ; they were 

 rfecl health when they ai-rived ; and they were all 

 ■J the next day with the fymptonis of the illnefs 

 tii::i reigning in London. In fome cafes, it feemed to be pro- 

 pagated, like contagious difeafes in general, hj fom'tUt, that 

 is, by articles of clothing or furniture impregnated with the 

 morbiSc efBuvia. One phyfician, Dr. Meal'c of Strabane, 

 in Ireland, fays, " I have no Ihadow of doubt that the 

 diforder was contagious ; and am certain, I myfelf received 

 the infeAion from a fmall trunk of wearing apparel, which 

 came from Dubhn, where it then raged. I may add, that 

 this was the firft ir.troduClion of it into this town." The 

 difeafe appeared to be carried on board two Ihips of war, on 

 their ar.-ival at Gravefend from the Wed Indies, by three 

 cullom-'isufc officers, who were put on board : in a few 

 hours after, the crews of both fnips, till then in good 

 health, were feized with fymptoms of the influenza ; hardly 

 a man in either fhip efcaped, and fome had it very feverely. 

 In fome inftances it was obferved, that the epidemic did 

 not fhew itfelf in certain places, until fome one or more ar- 

 rived at thofe places, either aslually labouring under the 

 difeafe, or coming immediately from other places, whofe 

 inhabitants had been affefted by it for fome days. In ge- 

 neral the difeafe appeared earher in towns, than it did in the 

 fjtrrounding villages, and in villages earlier than in the de- 

 lached houfes in the neighbourhood. 



On the whole, the progrefs of the diforder is perhaps 

 more eafily explained, upon the fuppoiition that it was pro- 

 pagated by perfonal communication, than by any other. In 

 dbjection to this hypothelis, however, it is credibly affirmed, 

 that the crews of feveral fhips were feized with the influ- 

 enza many miles diftant from land, and came into various 

 ports of England labouring under it ; and the fame thing is 

 iaid to have happened to ihips in the Eall Indies, and other 

 parts. But great caution is requifite in admitting fuch 

 ftatements as fafts, from which any fatiifaclory inferences 

 can be deduced. 



A limilar epidemic catarrh, or influenza, is recorded as 

 having vifited Europe, and even other parts of the globe, 

 two or three times in the fourteenth century, and at fe- 

 deral fubfequent periods ; namely, in the year ijic, 157,, 

 and ijrfo, the lalt of which is faid to liave originated, like 

 fcveral of thofe which fucceeded, in Afia ; and again in I59I» 

 in 1658, in 1675, in 1709, in the latter end of 1732, and in 

 the beginning of 1733, in 1743, in 1748, in 1762, in 1767, 

 in 177), in 1782, and in 1803. Thofe who are deiirous of 

 inveitigating the records of thefe epidemics, will find refer- 

 ences to the works in which they are contained, arranged 

 in chronological order, in Dr. Cullen's Synopfis Nofologise 

 Method, under tlie head of Catarrhus, Gen. xl, and fpecies 

 %. C. d contag'to. 



Cure of the InfluttiTut. — Since tiie efTeifts of this difeafe 

 Vox-. XIX. 



were difTcient in ditTerent Individuals, no general method of 

 cure could rationally be followed. Many, indeed, wore fc» 

 (lightly indifpofed, as to require but little or no medicine. 

 Nothing more was wanted for their cure, than to abilain for 

 two er three days from animal food and fermented liquors, 

 and to ufe fome diluting tepid drink. A lenient purgative, 

 given at the beginning of the diieafe, was ufeful in mo- 

 derating the fever ; and nature fometimes feemed to point 

 out the repetition of it afterwards, when there were pains 

 in the (lomach and boweli, and a tendency to a diarrhaa. 

 The fame was obferved in the epidemics of 1732 a;;d 1762. 

 Nothing likewife was obferved fo fuccefsfuUy to mitigate the 

 cough, as to open the bowels with a gentle purgative, and 

 afterwards to give a flight opiate at night. It was obferved 

 by numerous praditioners, that emetics, exhibited upon the 

 iirll attack, were evidently of ufe in relieving the head and 

 bread, and alfo in producing a fpeedyand free perfpiration. 

 All attempts to force much fweating appeared to do Iiarm, 

 efpecially by means of the ftimulating diaphoretics, fuch as 

 contrayerva, ammonia, wine whey, &c. In fad, in moft of 

 the mild and fimpler forms of the difeafe, an early perfpi- 

 ration generally came on fpontaneoufiy, which feldom failed 

 to relieve the fymptoms materially, and it was only neceflary 

 to give tepid aqueous liquors, the neutral falts, or antimoniaU 

 in fmall doles, to keep up a regular and gentle moillure 

 upon the ikiw. 



But in the more fevere forms of the diforder, other re- 

 medies became neeelfary, according to the feverity of the 

 fymptoms. Whenever fymptoms of pleurify or peripneu- 

 mony appeared, the propriety of biood-lelting was com- 

 moiily admitted, notwithitanding the languor and depreflion 

 conncded with tiio difeafe. There was, lipwever, confider- 

 able difference of opinion upon the fubjed of blood-letting. 

 Several learned and experienced phyficians, if called at the 

 beginning of the difeafe to a perfon flrong and plethoric, 

 and labouring under great heat and inquietude, even in cafes 

 where no dired fymptoms of pneumonic inflammation ap- 

 peared, ordered bleeding w ithout hefitation ; and under 

 fnch circumftances, they feveral times obferved, that tlie 

 languor, oppreflion, and fv verirti anxiety, were abated by 

 the lofs of a few ounces oi blood ; that both the head 

 and the breall were relieved ; and that the difeafe proceeded 

 to its termination with fewer difficulties both to the patient* 

 and to rhemfelves, and without any fubfequent inconve- 

 nience. Yet others were of opinion that the blood-letting, 

 although indicated by the fymptoms, and alfo by the ap- 

 pearance of the blood drawn, not only failed to procure 

 that relief, which might have been expeded from it under 

 ordinary catarrhal or pneumonic fymptoms, but in fome 

 cafes even proved prejudicial. Blifters were applied to va- 

 rious parts with good ettec^s : when there was pain in the 

 breall or fide, the application of them to the part affeded 

 was found very beneficial ; and- it was frequently tliought 

 proper to keep them open for fome time. In fome cafes, it 

 was remarked, tl'..-r., a fecond bliiler, applied a few days after 

 the firft, produced great relief, when the firft had failed to 

 do fo. On account of the great debihty, v.-hich feldom 

 failed to accompany or follow the diforder, bark and cor- 

 dials were often deemed iiecefiary, efpecially towards the 

 clofe of the difeafe ; but tuey wojild probably be deemed 

 lefs neceflary by the praditioners of the prefcut day ; for 

 when a difeafed condition is removed, the coiiftitution com- 

 mofily recovers its ftreiigtU with rapidity, when care is 

 taken the food be light and nutritious, and there is a free 

 accefs to pure air. See Medical Tranfad. vol. iii. art. 8.— . 

 Medical Commuaications, vol. i. art. i. — Hiil. de la Soc. 

 P Rovale 



