FEB′RIFUGES

Syn. Febrifuga , L. In pharmacy, substances or agents which cure or alleviate fever. The term is more particularly applied to medicines used against the ague, as CINCHONA BARK and ARSENIOUS ACID , and their preparations. The extreme value of cold water, as a drink in ardent fever, has been known in all ages. In 1723 Dr Hancocke published a work entitled—‘Febrifugum Magnum, or Common Water the best Cure for Fevers, and probably for the Plague,’ which in a short time ran through several large editions, but appears to have been overlooked by the hydropaths of the present day.