When two of his slaves were affected by yaws, Thistlewood gave them mercury pills on his doctor's advice. When Abba suffered from boils, Thistlewood followed the doctor's advice, and plied her with mercury pills. When Coobah suffered from venereal disease, she was given mercury pills. She took them "till her mouth begun to be sore". Not satisfied with the European doctors, Coobah resorted to myal prescriptions, for which Thistlewood reprimanded her. Franke was also given mercury pills as a cure for the "clap". In 1770, when Jimmy developed a "violent itching", the doctor prescribed brimstone, grease, salts, and mercury pills. In 1771, Phoebe's leg broke out into sores, after which the doctor gave her mercury pills. That experience must have been unpleasant, because when her leg broke out into sores the following year, she hid it from Thistlewood, instead opting for obeah remedies. When Thistlewood found out, he had her flogged and "put in the bilboes". Similarly, that same year, Damsel was bitten by a dog, but dreaded the European medical practices, and tried to hide the injury from Thistlewood, who, when he discovered it, "flogged her well & put her in the bilboes". Damsel instead put her trust in a slave named Will, who was owned by a Mr Wilson, and happened to be an obeah man. Many slaves had more confidence in creole "doctresses" than in European medicine. In 1772, when Pompey had a fever, the doctor first bled him, then "dosed" him with a mercury pill. In 1779, when Sukey had a fit, she was given burnt wine and a mercury pill. These treatments did little to arrest the death rates among the enslavers or the enslaved.