Consumption, part three

Deborah Madden has written a wonderful chapter on John's recommendations for consumption -- "Pastor and Physician" (in "Inward and Outward Health," cited previously).  I quote her here extensively to explain the differing types of treatments for the differing types of consumption.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a micro-organism that can infect many different sites in the body.  In the 18th century, these manifestations had individual labels:
The King's Evil, also called scrofula, caused swelling in the neck, since the TB affected the lymph glands there.
Pott's Disease was TB of the spine, perhaps explaining the large number of hunchbacks of the time.
Tabes mesenterica was TB of the small intestine ("tabes" is Latin for "wasting").
Lupus vulgaris was TB erupting on the skin (Madden, "Pastor," 124).

Thus, John had many different suggestions, all based on the medical understandings of his time. Let me quote Madden:


Chamomile [camomile]
Old Operating Theatre
and Herb Garret,
15 October 2012

"We know [William] Buchan [author of Domestic Medicine] believed that the cure of consumption resided chiefly in a proper regimen, though he also suggested drinking 'bitter' plant decoctions, in 'constrict' the body and its organs, such as ground-ivy, camomile, and comfrey-root.  ... Primitive Physic lists several 'constricting' medicines designed to alleviate or even cure consumption.  These included the juice of watercress, used to treat inflammatory and intestinal disorders, especially the lungs, in the Georgian period, as well as ground-ivy or hyssop infusions, which were recommended by John Hill in his Family Herbal for coughs and obstructions of the breast.  Hyssop has fever-reducing qualities and, indeed, is still used in 'complimentary' medicine today to alleviate bronchitis.  In the eighteenth century it was used to treat inflammatory disorders.


Hyssop
Old Rectory, Epworth, UK
9 October 2012

"Due to its poisonous nature, ivy has a very powerful effect on the internal organs, blood circulation and heart.  As such, it was used by Georgian physicians to treat many different diseases.  In common with the current medical thinking Wesley prescribed a number of inhalations and vaporizations for relieving pulmonary consumption.  It was thought that inhalations acted as a 'balsam' for the lungs and eased a patient's restricted breathing and rasping cough.  He suggested inhaling burning frankincense, steam of 'white rosin' and steamed 'spirit of vitriol', the latter of which was recommended by [John] Fothergill.  Physicians believed that vitriol 'braced' the body and Wesley argued on a number of occasions that it was the best bracer available.

Sir Richard Blackmore, MD
(1654-1729)
(Wellcome Library)

John Fothergill, MD
(1712-1780)
(Wellcome Library)

"The remedy which required his patient to 'cut up a little turf of fresh earth' and inhale its healing properties might now seem quite a strange prescription, though Wesley's direction here was not as eccentric as it appears.  It had been put forward by [Sir Richard] Blackmore in his Treatise of Consumptions: turf was considered valuable for treating this disease because of its sulphurous odour.  Blackmore argued that sulphur was particularly useful and explained how the 'chymists' had styled it a 'balsam' for 'the lungs' and blood.  Turf was remarkable because it 'eminently contributes to the cure of those that are obnoxious to that distemper.'" (Madden, "Pastor," 123.)