Some doctors sometimes call this condition torpor. This is not numbness, for numbness is a type of rigor. This is a disease of the Sarsam type, combined from hot and cold Sarsam, for the tumor is formed from both juices together, that is, from mucus and from yellow bile. Its cause is overflow, caused by gluttony, intemperance in eating and drinking, and frequent intoxication. Sometimes both juices are mutually balanced, and sometimes one of them predominates, and then its symptoms predominate. If mucous juice predominates, then the disease is called hibernation with insomnia, and if gall juice predominates, then it is called insomnia with hibernation. It happens that in one disease each of these juices at times overcomes the other. Sometimes mucus predominates, and the mucus causes hibernation, heaviness in the head, and lethargy in the patient; the patient keeps his eyes closed, it is difficult for him to answer when addressed, and he answers slowly, as if thinking. And sometimes bile predominates, and it causes insomnia and delirium in the patient; the patient keeps his eyes open all the time, and the bile does not allow him to plunge deeply into hibernation; on the contrary, his hibernation is such that he easily wakes up when woken up.
When mucus predominates, hibernation becomes severe, and the eyes immediately close if they are opened, but when bile predominates, the patient quickly wakes up, becomes delirious, strives to move, keeps his eyes open, without blinking or closing them, and his upper eyelid is pulled up, like This happens to those suffering from sarsam. The patient tends to lie on his back, but his position is unnatural. His face swells and turns green and red. Although his upper eyelid is most often pulled up and he makes wheezing noises, when he opens his eyes, they are open, like the eyes of those suffering from numbness and rigor, and do not blink. If such a patient speaks, his speech is disordered. He chokes on water, so that water often pours back out of his nostrils; he also chokes on stews, and this is a sign of a serious condition. Often, such patients experience simultaneous retention of urine and feces or their eruptions are insignificant; They also experience shortness of breath. Sometimes this disease resembles many of the symptoms of strangulation of the uterus, but with strangulation of the uterus, the face remains in its usual state and there are other signs of strangulation of the uterus, mentioned in its place. In addition, with this disease it is possible to force the patient to say something and force him to think, but for a woman with strangulation of the uterus this is impossible while the strangulation continues.
This disease is also similar to lithargus, but differs from it in that during hibernation with insomnia, the face does not remain in its normal state, as happens in patients with lithargus, and besides, those suffering from hibernation with insomnia sometimes do not sleep, but keep their eyes open, without blinking. Their fever is stronger.
Hibernation with insomnia is also similar to faranitus, but differs from it in that during hibernation with insomnia there is more hibernation and less delirium. As for the pulse, it is fast and frequent due to the tumor and febrile stupefaction - in this it differs from the pulse with lithargus, and is also wide and short due to mucus and swelling. This differs from the pulse in faranitus, and it is short because it is wide. In addition, it is stronger than the pulse in lithargus, and weaker than the pulse in faranitus. During hibernation with insomnia, the pulse is not tense, spasmodic and rare, as with strangulation of the uterus. Its strength does not turn out to be so significant and the pulse does not go so far beyond the limits of orderliness, as happens with strangulation of the uterus; on the contrary, the strength of the pulse drops and the pulse becomes frequent.
Treatment. The general treatment, as you already know, is bloodletting and then enemas, the severity or mildness of which increases depending on the quality of the matter, which you establish from the mentioned signs when you find out what exactly predominates: bile or mucus. It is especially prohibited if the cause of the disease is food abuse. In this case, induce vomiting in the patient and empty his stomach. When the cause is intoxication, then until the intoxication passes, they do not treat with anything, and then they limit themselves to means that moisturize the patient’s head, and then, finally, they treat as they treat at the end of a hangover.
Common remedies for all varieties of hibernation with insomnia are the above-mentioned waterings, bandages and sneezing medicines, as well as the gentle evacuations with drinking medicines and enemas, which you already know about. For this disease, the medicines should not be as cold as those prescribed for faranitus, and as hot as the medicines prescribed for lithargus, and they should consist of other substances; the medicine that predominates in the combination corresponds to the predominance of either of the two juices mentioned. The general rules of treatment already say everything that needs to be done in such cases. In addition, for watering, if bile predominates, you should use an infusion of willow leaves, violets, iris rhizomes, barley with chamomile, sweet clover and dill. Sometimes the patient is given a poppy drink if there is no fear that mucus will prevail; the goal is euthanasia. If both juices are quantitatively equal, then wormwood and marjoram are added to the medicine; and if mucus predominates, then add bay leaf, rue, mint, hyssop, beaver stream and satar. The same situation applies to medicinal dressings and enemas, and here one must be based on the same rule. You can find medicines for them in the Pharmacopoeia. However, in the final stage of the disease and after the disease begins to subside, remove cold watering from the patient and limit yourself to diluting agents that you already know. Then bathe the patient in hot water and use the convalescent regimen.