Diseases > Domestic medicine

DOMESTIC MEDICINE. 301
present consideration. We shall only observe, that in all
of them mild and gentle applications are the safest, as
strong diuretic medicines, or things of an irritating
nature generally increase the danger. I have known
some persons kill themselves by introducing probes
into the urinary passages, to remove, as they thought,
somewhat that obstructed the discharge of urine,
and others bring on a violent inflammation of the
bladder, by using strong diuretics, as oil of turpen¬
tine, &c. for that purpose,
INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER.
The liver is less subject to inflammation than
most of the other viscera, as in it the circulation is
slower , but when an inflammation does happen, it
is with difficulty removed, and often ends in a sup¬
puration or scirrhus.
Causes.—Besides the common causes of inflam
mation, we may here reckon the following, viz.
excessive fatness, a scirrhus of the liver itself, violent
shocks from strong vomits when the liver was before
unsound, an adust or atrabiliarian state of the blood,
any thing that suddenly cools the liver after it has
been greatly heated, stones obstructing the course of
the bile, drinking strong wines and spirituous liquors,
using hot spicy aliment, obstinate hypochondriacal
affections, &c.
Symptoms.—This disease is known by a painful
tension of the right side under the false ribs, attended
with some degree of fever, a sense of weight, or
fulness of the part, difficulty of breathing, loathing
of food, great thirst, with a pale or yellowish colour
of the skin and eyes.
The tymptomt here are various, according to the
degree of inflammation, and likewise according to the
particular part of the liver where the inflammation