Treating mastitis in 1815

Early in the nineteenth century James White, veterinary  surgeon of the First or Royal Dragoons in Exeter, UK, published a four volume Treatise of Veterinary Medicine. The books were very popular and the first volume reached eleven editions. The treatise mainly described problems and diseases of horses, but volume 4 (one edition only) dealt also with diseases of cattle. A very small chapter was describing mastitis[1]. It went as follows:

CHAPTER XX.

Inflammation and Swelling of the Udder,

This disease attacks cows about the time of calving, and is sometimes so considerable, as to cause an abscess to form. As soon as it is observed, let the animal be bled freely, and take a pound of Epsom salt [magnesium sulfate], dissolved in a quart of gruel, to which a little castor or linseed oil may be added. The swollen udder should be frequently fomented with a decoction of mallows, elder, or hemlock[2]. The best method of doing this is to dip large woollen cloths in the hot decoction, and, after wringing, let them be applied so as to cover the whole udder: this process should be continued for some time, and repeated several times a day. When, by these means, the inflammation has been removed, some degree of hard, but not painful swelling, may remain: to disperse this, the following liniment may be rubbed on the part once or twice a day.

LINIMENT

Take of linseed oil  4 ½ oz.

Oil of turpentine 1 oz.

Liquor of ammonia ½  oz.

Mix.

That was all.

Is the treatment proposed here rubbish, or quackery? Or is it reliable knowledge?

Reliability of knowledge, all knowledge, should be weighed against its context. The context of this treatment of inflammation of the udder is the background knowledge of (veterinary) medicine of those days, which was based on humoral pathology and herbal and mineral medicine. Veterinarians trusted the knowledge and thought it reliable, partly because of training, partly because of experience, which itself was of course evaluated and interpreted in terms and theories of this same background knowledge. Hence bloodletting to reduce fever.  

But Epsom salt was interesting for two reasons. First I discovered that Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. To find out what it does I consulted PubMed, by searching for the combination of magnesium sulfate and inflammation. To my surprise I found a lot of very recent articles, studying the effect of magnsesium sulfate on inflammatory processes and on the role of cytokines and it may even have immunomodulatory potential. So here seemed to be the modern justification for the use of Epsom salt in the treatment of udder inflammation. But then I consulted White again. The second volume of his Treatment contains the Materia Medica and Pharmacopeia[3] and is in essence a pharmaceutical encyclopedia. Under Epsom salt we find that magnesium sulfate is a common remedy used because of its laxative effect, again according to the old humoral ideas about body fluids.

Is it possible that veterinarians in 1815 treated inflammations of the udder directly, without knowing it? Is it reliable knowledge even to our own, modern standards?

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[1] James White. A treatise on veterinary medicine. London, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown 1815. volume IV, p.71-72

[2] For Dutch readers: gruel is dunne graanpap, castor oil is wonderolie, foment with a decoction of mallows, elder, or hemlock is betten met een afkooksel van malve, vlier of dollekervel.

 [3] James White. A treatise on veterinary medicine. London, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown 1816. volume II. The contents of White's books may be consulted at Google Books.