DEP/DUA/1/29/43 (Transcript version)

James Young

(1782)

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James Young.

With regard to case of this patient must own am very much at a loss.

And have not before in my own pract met with any simil inst.

Affect consist almost entirely in one sympt.

viz pecul & severe thirst.

At least of all compl. this the most distress.

And highly probab. that other symp as want of sleep. weakness, weariness & the like are merely conseq of thirst.

Thirst every day occurrs as sympt of other affect.

And in fever, dropsy, Diabetes & like often one of most distress.

For when occurs to any great degree always in intolerab sensat.

But besides being sympt, sometimes also consid to occur as an idiopath affect.

Accordingly in syst of Sauv. Sagar & others genus formd of Polydipsia.

This however repres as being a very rare occurr.

And indeed has app. so much so to Dr Cullen that has not given it place in his syst.

In my own pract, pres only case in which had any reason to susp. such an affect

And by no means improbab that here symptom of some circum which has escaped observat.

As hitherto however have not been able to [detect] this, endeav directed to mitig the affect itself.

Sensat of thirst, in gener. immed arises, either from state of mouth & fauces, or of stomach.

And depends on want of due [secret.] at either place.

Here from moist app. no reason to suspect that former concerned.

Became object therfore to encrease secret in latter.

And is with this intent that have had recourse to Cream Tart.

From which among other effects very consid influ. as encreas. flow of water by excret, both into mouth & stom.

While at same time has very powerful influ as allaying in stomach sense of heat, with which thirst often connected.

Under this med has now cont for space of some weeks.

And although no very remarkab. change for better yet affect upon whole dimin.

Is therefore, if circum shall contin [easy], intent to persist in it till at least shall know something farther as to nature of affect.

May however during that period be necess to vary form.

And may either combine it with some other artic of refrig tribe as nitre or give it perhaps in fluid state.

But in these partic, conduct will be entirely regulated by circum & occurrences.