Medic's account is one of more than 1,000 Royal Navy journals made accessible to the public from today
The Guardian, Thursday 30 September 2010
A 12-year-old girl required medical treatment after vomiting a 220cm-long worm as she sailed to a new life in Canada in the 19th century, documents revealed today.
Ellen McCarthy was a passenger on board the Elizabeth ship taking emigrants from Cork in Ireland to Quebec when she fell ill, expelling three worms in total.
Her unusual case was described by the ship's surgeon, P Power, in June 1825. The medic's account is one of more than 1,000 Royal Navy medical officer journals made accessible to the public after a two-year cataloguing project at the National Archives in Kew.
Power's notes state: "Complained yesterday evening of pain in the bottom of the belly increased on pressure, abdomen hard and swollen, picks her nose, starts in her sleep, bowels constipated, pyrexia, tongue foul, pulse quick, skin hot, great thirst. Her mother brought me a lumbricus [worm] this morning 87in long which the patient vomited."
The naval surgeon treated the girl with a range of syrups and injections including barley water and brandy punch. But he singled out oil of "terebouth" (thought to refer to the turpentine tree) for having the greatest effect. Two days later, on 15 June, she was "very ill and feverish" and Power gave her a laxative which he said prompted the patient to pass a "great quantity of slimey matter".
Her condition gradually improved in a "pleasing" manner and on 29 June, Power stated she was "convalescent".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/30/girl-vomited-two-metre-parasitic-worm
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)
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