4a. From exposure to n. ac. fumes (which proved fatal in another case) a young man suddenly felt exhausted and pressed for breath; fell, and began spitting green slimy mater, having t same time pains as if prodded with some sharp instrument in head, face, and body. Going home drank freely of cold milk, and next day went to business. Was soon seized with violent vomiting, with pricking pains in head, face, lips and gums, and sharp aching in jaws. Returned home and went to bed; had sense of horrible constriction across lower chest, with dyspnoea and incessant cough, bringing up greenish, slimy sputa; great nausea, with unquenchable thirst, drinking causing increase of pricking pains in stomach, and vomiting; sensitive to slight noises, which cause shocks in head; swelling of lips with burning pain; dull pain in bones of head; painful, raised papillae on tongue; aching in limbs; delirium, fancying himself suddenly rich, &c.; ugly raving. On 3rd days, patient was beside himself with fancies; angry at attendants; slightly delirious; there was constant spitting of green mucus, and about every 15 minutes vomiting of same, followed by neuralgic pains in gums, teeth and jaws, and throat raw, with smarting senate down oesophagus; burning in chest, and sense of severe constriction; catching of breath at every attempt at a full inspiration; muscular soreness through intercostal spaces; severe pain in hypochondria in morning, passing up walls of thorax, coming together at upper third of sternum, causing a terrible fit of coughing after about 20 minutes, lasting some 10 minutes, with bursting headache, and pricking pains in face and temples, &c.; sharp cutting pains all through abdomen, centering at stomach-pit; about once an hour terrible cramps in abdomen, not relieved by stools of black fluid, which occurred about every 15 minutes.
4b. I was called to the patient on the evening of this, the 3rd days, and finding the vomiting and purging to be accompanied by feeble and irregular pulse, cold moist surface, and symptoms of oedema of the lungs, I gave veratrum viride lx in water, a teaspoonful every 1/2 hour, except when sleeping, throughout night. September 19th, which was the 4th day after the accident, I found diarrhoea controlled when I called in morning and by noon vomiting had ceased, he continuing the veratrum viride as before. At this time he presented several objective symptoms of interest: lips swollen to twice their naturalize; blisters and swollen papillae on the dry, brownish-hued tongue; pallid, bluish- coloured face which was pinched; eyes wild and staring, with dilated pupils; great restlessness, patient tossing and rolling about in the bed, and frequently getting out of bed to sit or walk the floor; gait weak and staggering. There was ringing in ears, with stopped-up feeling, and for a few moments, after trying to sing, marked deafness; after cessation of vomiting belching of great quantities of gas, accompanied by aggravation of sharp, pricking pains in stomach; constant sour taste in mouth; violent pains in face, pricking on lying down, better on rising; drawing pains under both scapulae, with constriction of chest as by a rope drawn tightly around lower part of it; coughing violent, spasmodic, ineffectual, ending in gagging; great weakness and languor; first appearance of pain in the lumbar region; urine like brandy, but not strong in odour; later, and after several days more, it became somewhat more abundant than normal, and straw coloured, with only occasionally an hippuric odour, scarcely noticeable; sp. gr not taken; ravenous hunger, dissatisfied with milk and gruels; horrible thirst. 5th days. – Unconquerable drowsiness all day, waking with canine hunger; thinks he is going to die; frightened feeling; lips somewhat swollen still; some epistaxis; eyes smart; severe lachrymation; small ecchymoses and papulae appear here and there and disappear again; crawling sensation all over the body, with sticking pains. 6th days. – Symptoms of convulsions, such as subsultus, twitching of facial muscles, with distortion of visage; slight wandering of mind; tossing about in bed; insatiable thirst; bursting headache, with soreness of scalp, as from ulceration; relief of head symptoms by tying head up tightly; constipation, with pricking, cutting pains at anus during stool, which was hard and dry. On this and the two preceding days the patient received bryonia 3x in water every hour. 7th day – General improvement in all symptoms except those of lungs. Great distress for breath, front, with dullness of respiratory murmur; considerable raising of frothy mucus, with rawness of chest on coughing. 8th day. – Raised about an ounce of bright blood this afternoon while coughing, after which he breathed with more ease. Thirst nearly gone; appetite more normal; flatulence gone; less pain about the head and body. 9th day. – No especial change, except a gradual subsidence of symptoms on bryonia 3x. 11th day. – Patient rapidly improving; went out to walk this afternoon; raised about an ounce of blood while coughing; soreness of chest declining, and cough loose and easier. 15th day. – The patient called at the office, and seeming to feel relieved in all respects, he was discharged from treatment, with bryonia for a few more days and general advice as to exposure, &c.
4c. There was at no time any icterus. But his employer, Mr. Codman, who died in a few hours after exposure to the fumes of the acid, grew yellow in less than 3 hours. He complained of general malaise, oppression of the chest, drowsiness, and, after eating a little fruit for his noon lunch, gradually sank, and died with his lungs filled with frothy mucus, as shown by the necropsy. (HEBER SMITH, N. Engl. Medorrhinum Gaz., September, 1884.).
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.