Arguments against the treatment practices of Cnidus; Regimen in Acute Diseases, Hippocrates

 Why you might read Regimen in Acute Diseases?

This is Hippocrates' first work that systematically lays out how to treat disease. As such it gives us a better understanding of his cases studies.

It is in my  Self Education project because it informs how to understand other works in the corpus.

Content of Regimen in Acute Diseases

Hippocrates starts with how he does not agree with the Cnidus school of medicine. Especially about how to treat diseases. He states that their diagnosis is too simplistic. As well as their treatments being wrong. They are too simplistic because they miss things the physician could ascertain. These things cannot be gotten from asking the patient.

He spends the rest of the book giving his version of what to give as a treatment in what situation. He covers, barley meal or barley water and when to use each. As well as when to use fasting and when it only makes things worse. He covers drink as well when to give wine and what type. As well as when to use only water though he recommends this for very little.

At one point he recommends cutting a vein in the elbow and bleeding a patient. This is the only reference to that in this work. Hippocrates is more focused on food and drink as treatment.
Reflection on Regimen in Acute Diseases

Hippocrates was against taking just water in most cases. It is interesting that today water is the one thing we are told to consume when sick. Though Hippocrates is talking about Acute diseases i.e. those that might end in death. So maybe it isn't reasonable to compare those with a cold or flu. Also, he was not talking about treated water. Maybe that is also the reason for the difference.

The single reference to bleeding a patient is odd. It is offhand enough to think it was part of the common practice. And yet it is the only mention of it in the work. He also does not discuss its use but rather just adds it in as an afterthought.

It is also interesting that for gruel Hippocrates is focused on barley meal. Today when I think of gruel I would think of oats or wheat.

What others have to say about Regimen in Acute Diseases

"The main Hippocratic concepts on four still common acute and urgent respiratory diseases −pneumonia, pleurisy, thoracic empyema and upper airway obstruction− were identified and most of them were found to be in agreement with contemporary medical thinking and practice." From BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Comparisons with other texts

Like we see in Epidemics Hippocrates very rarely prescribes bloodletting. Though it is not common in his texts he is offhanded enough about it that it must have been common at the time.

Like Prognosis he deals with the acute diseases where there is a chance of death. But unlike prognosis where he is focused on survival this work is focused on treatments.

Conclusion
Hippocrates in refuting another school covers how to treat Acute Diseases. He is focused on food and drink. This includes how often to administer them. His philosophy of treatment could be summarised as; don't shock the body any more than you must. Hippocrates very rarely suggest bloodletting as a treatment. And this is the first book we have seen that is systematic about how to treat people rather than specific cases.

Have you read Regimen in Acute Diseases? If so what did you think of it? 
 
Want to read Regimen in Acute Diseases but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of Regimen in Acute Diseases.