Part 4
Another method of cure:-Taking a very slender thread of raw lint,
and uniting it into five folds of the length of a span, and wrapping
them round with a horse hair; then having made a director (specillum)
of tin, with an eye at its extremity, and having passed through it
the end of raw lint wrapped round as above described, introduce the
director into the fistula, and, at the same time, introduce the index
finger of the left hand
per anum; and when the director touches the
finger, bring it out with the finger, bending the extremity of the
director and the end of the threads in it, and the director is to
be withdrawn, but the ends of the threads are to be knotted twice
or thrice, and the rest of the raw threads is to be twisted around
and fastened into a knot. Then the patient is to be told that he may
go and attend to his matters. The rest of the treatment:-Whenever
any part of the thread gets loose owing to the fistula becoming putrid,
it is to be tightened and twisted every day; and should the raw thread
rot before the fistula is eaten through, you must attach another piece
of raw thread to the hair, pass it through, and tie it, for it was
for this purpose that the hair was rolled round the raw lint, as it
is not
[p. 347]liable to rot. When the fistula has sloughed through, a soft
sponge is to be cut into very slender pieces and applied, and then
the flowers of copper, roasted, are to be frequently applied with
a director; and the sponge smeared with honey is to be introduced
with the index finger of the left hand, and pushed forward; and another
bit of added, it is to be bound on in the same manner as in the operation
for hemorrhoids. Next day, having loosed the bandages, the fistula
is to be washed with hot water, and cleansed, as far as possible,
with the finger of the left hand by means of the sponge, and again
the flos aeris is to be applied. This is to be done for seven days,
for generally the coat of the fistula takes that time to fistula takes
that time to slouch through. The same mode of bandaging is to be persevered
in afterwards, until the cure be completed. For in this way, the fistula
being forcibly expanded by the sponge will not fill up and heal unequally,
but it will all become whole together. During the treatment, the part
should be bathed with plenty of warm water, and the patient kept on
a spare diet.
