A practical essay on the use of the nitrate of silver in the treatment of inflammation, wounds, and ulcers / by John Higginbottom.

  • Higginbottom, John, 1788-1876.
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A practical essay on the use of the nitrate of silver in the treatment of inflammation, wounds, and ulcers / by John Higginbottom. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    and head I shall give was to myself of particular interest, and I think may ultimately lead to a prin- ciple of great importance. It occurred in an elderly female, labouring under typhoid fever, and who suf- fered from cerebral symptoms before the erysipelas appeared. The application of the nitrate of silver had not the least control in arresting the progress of the inflammation; and from its failure in this case, I was led to think that the inflammation originated in the membranes of the brain, and spread thence to the scalp. The patient was reduced to a state of the utmost debility, attended with involuntary evacuations and retention of the urine, from which she ultimately recovered. From the successful issue of the case, I was led to think, although the nitrate of silver had no control in preventing the progress of the inflamma- tion, yet its application on the inflamed scalp might in some degree relieve the inflammation of the mem- branes of the brain. From the results of the above, I should be induced to apply a very free and decided application of nitrate of silver, instead of a cantharides blister, in some severe affections of the head, where instant relief might be obtained. I have seen such relief afforded by saturating a towel with boiling water, and placing it immediately on the scalp, previously pressing out the superfluous water to prevent its running down the face. There was a fatal epidemic of erysipelas in Notting- ham in the year 1825, two years before the intro- B 2