HOW YELLOWNESS OR JAUNDICE WAS TREATED IN 1764
T. E. C. Jr. M.D.
Dr. John Theobald in his book entitled The Young Wife's Guide in the Management of Her Children, published in London in 1764, and compiled at the command of His Royal Highness The Duke of Cumberland, had this to say about the treatment of jaundice in children:
Many children are afflicted with this disorder, soon after birth, and some are born extremely yellow, when the mother has had the jaundice during her pregnancy: if the child is costive, once in two or three days, give it a little syrup of rhubarb, sufficient to purge it once, or twice, and on the intermediate days, give it night and morning the following powder in a spoonful of its mothers or nurses milk. Take bezoar mineral, and saffron, each one grain; powder of red coral three grains, mix them together for one dose. The nurse must be sure not to neglect this distemper, for if proper care is not taken, the child will fall into the watery gripes, which commonly carries it off.1
