LOBELINUM [Lobin].
Introduction
Alkaloid obtained from Lobelia inflata.I. 1. Dr. Ott took m 1/192 of acetate at 2:25, 2.56 and 3:10 p. m. Before experiment, pulse was 74, resp. 17, temp. (in mouth) 99 o. At 2 m. there was tickling and dryness in throat; pulse was 73, resp. 19. At 7 m. pulse 70, resp. 17, temp. unchanged. At 13 m., pulse 69, resp. 17, temp. 99.5 o. At 17 m., pupils dilated; uncomfortable feeling in stomach; pulse 68, resp. 18. At 22 m., pulse same, resp. 17. At 30 m., pulse 72; resp. 18; temp. 99 1/4 o. After 3rd dose, retching and vomiting. At 38 m., pulse 74; resp. 19. At 42 m., pulse 76; resp. 18. At 47 m., pulse 77. At 54 m., pulse 72, resp. 20. At 61 m., pulse 70, resp. 18; temp. (hitherto same as at 30 m.) 99 o. At 78 m., pulse 65; resp. 19; temp. again 99 1/4 o. At 92 m., pulse 68, resp. 18; temp. same. At 100 m. there was headache, prostration, and disposition to sleep. (Chicago Journ. of Mental and Nervous Diseases., xi, 68.)
III. 1. Same, in experimenting on the frog, traced to action of left a progressive paralysis which finally stopped respiration, and was connected with, if not wholly due to, paralysis of motor nerves, for they were found insensitive to stimuli. (Ibid.)
MAGNESIA PHOSPHORICA.
There are some provings of this salt in the Medical advance for Dec., 1889; but as they were all made with the dils. from the 30th to the 200 the must (according to our rules) remain thus simply noted until confirmed by provings with lower attenuations.
MERCURIUS (see vol.iii, p.201)
II. 51. a. A young man of 21, of delicate constitution, had (for the first time) a chancre. It is doubtful whether it was indurated or not. He took M., and under this medicinal influence the chance inflamed and became almost phagedaenic. The mercurial treatment was nevertheless continued, and the case became still more serious. The patient became much emaciated, lost strength, and grew pale and very feeble. There were enlarged inguinal glands, which did not suppurate. About a mo. after the appearance of the chancre, an eruption came on the scalp. This, at first erythematous, changed rapidly into ulcers covered with thick crusts. The scalp was almost entirely covered with them. Soon, the same cutaneous manifestations shewed themselves on the back and right arm; and, less freely, on the right leg. Then the throat became sensitive, and on the tonsils were formed symmetrical ulcers with a greyish base. The mercurial treatment was continued and the condition grew worse and worse. The secretion from several of the ulcers became more copious, so that crusts of several layers formed, more or less conical (rupia). About 2 mos. after the appearance of the chancre and 1 m. after the cutaneous symptoms had begun, the patient changed his medical attendant and began a new course of treatment. The M. was discontinued, and replaced by K. iod. and iron. A marked improvement immediately took place. The worst ulcerations began to heal, and the chancre itself was affected for the better; the general health was proportionately ameliorated.
51 b. I saw the patient 10 day after the change of treatment. He was thin, of delicate appearance, and extremely pale. On the ulcerations of face and arms rupia – like crusts were still present; but I was informed that these ulcers were rapidly healing, some of them were indeed nearly cicatrized. A new eruption had appeared for some day past on left arm, chest &c.; it consisted of pustules only. The ulcerations in the throat, though deep, were limited to the tonsils. The eruption on the body, though on both sides, was not strictly symmetrical. (Hutchinson, On Syphilis, 1889, Obs. lii.)
52. On the 19th July, 1890, an inquiry was held at the Coroner’s Court, St. Luke’s, N., respecting the death of Horace Chandler, a carman, of Bunhill Row, St. Luke’s. Mary Ann Chandler, the widow, deposed that about 3 weeks ago her husband complained of a pain in his throat, and he said he thought he had inhaled poison from using blue ointment for his horse. He had a dirty habit of eating his meals without washing his hands, and witness had warned him of the danger several times. Lately his face began to swell, and his mouth became very bad, and at last he was obliged to go to a doctor. After being under treatment a fortnight he died. Dr. Lathbury, of 36, City Road, said he attended the deceased, who suffered from intense thirst, and would drink a gallon of milk a day. Since death witness had made an autopsy, and found the spleen and the kidneys almost eaten away. The stomach was blackened with a pigment of mercury. The cause of death was chronic mercurial poisoning. Verdict accordingly. ( Chemist and Druggist, July 28th, 1890.)
53. Mr. Charles T -, aged 23, the subject of this paper, took half a grain of blue mass at a dose till he had taken five doses, at intervals of one month (?). This was by his own prescription, ” for biliousness.” Soon after taking the last dose his neck became stiff; his throat assumed a dark – red colour and felt hot and contracted; deglutition difficult and accompanied with a ” cracking ” sensation; tongue rapidly enlarged, salivation, followed by thick sordes on the tongue and a slimy appearance as far down as he could see, and a sense of suffocation, especially when attempting to lie down. He also felt nocturnal bone pains, and perspired freely when warm in bed or when making slight exertion. The tongue was not so large as to force the mouth open. These symptoms had become fully developed 36 hours after invasion. Though hardly able to be dressed, and advised by friends to quit business, he stuck to his post – the cashier’s desk, where he could sit constantly – and employed no remedies. The next day while sitting at the desk, he suddenly began to spit out mouthfuls of thick, salty, yellowish green pus, mixed with blood. This caused a panic, and consequently I saw the case. My attention was immediately drawn to a had, glistening, nipple – shaped aperture in the centre of the upper surface of the tongue, its altitude and diameter each being about two lines. The aperture connected with a cavity in the midst of the muscle, and had given vent to the pus. In consequence of the discharge, the tongue had subsided to near its proper size, and the patient felt relief from the sense of suffocation. Aside from the unusual symptoms recorded above, the case was then apparently one of ordinary mercurial poisoning. (Carleton, Hom. Times, 1880, p.
81.
MERCURIUS CORROSIVUS (see vol.iii, p.236)
II. 29. a. A patient who had been delivered 3 months previously, and had been in continual ill health since, came to Dr. H – on 15th Jan., complaining of pain in the throat, rhagades at angles of mouth, specific – looking papules on face, breasts, and axillae, large papules on genitals, and enlarged lymphatics. He prescribed K. iod. internally, and on 17th, about 3 p. m., applied a sol. of corrosive sublimate (sol. Plenckii) to genitals by means of cotton wadding, and painted chest and mouth with it. On her return home, she complained of great pain about body, and suddenly fell to ground, unconscious. An hours after she was found in a helpless state by the neighbours, and was conveyed to hospital, where, at 6 p. m., she was registered as suffering from peritonitis. On 18th she was anaemic and fainting. There was inflammation and vesication wherever the sol. had been applied. On 19th vomiting returned, of greenish character, with threatening collapse. The cauterised parts appeared leathery and dry. In evening she had several brown – coloured watery stools. 20th. – Collapse increased; large deposit in urine; abdomen painful to pressure. 21st. – Profuse diarrhoea mixed with blood and matter, and great pain all over body. 22nd. – Collapse imminent; hyaline casts in urine. 23rd. – Vomiting returned; hiccup, of which there has been more or less since 19th, is now troublesome; diarrhoea still present; cauterised surfaces are granulating. 25th. – Pulse scarcely perceptible, and at noon the increasing collapse ended in death.
29 b. The autopsy showed among other changes the intestines congested throughout; in ileum and large bowels inner surface was congested and discoloured, with diphtheritic ulcers on upper part; mucous membrane swollen and ecchymosed. Extensive peritonitis, small intestines glued to pelvic organs. Left Fallopian tube was distended, and contained pus. Slight parenchymatous degeneration of kidneys. ( Medorrhinum Press and Circular, June 11th, 1890.)
30. A young woman, 24 years of age, after a violent emotion, aborted at the third month of her pregnancy. Two days later she had a rigor, and the lochia (abundant at first) became scanty and foetid. She was ordered irrigations containing 1/2000 of corrosive sublimate. Instead of calling in the nurse to give the injection, the patient’s sister took upon herself to inject into the rectum 1/3 of a litre of the solution, containing 17 centigrammes (about 2 1/2 gr.) of the sublimate. In the course of a few m. the patient was seized with an intense general tremulousness, more marked in the upper extremities; her voice became feeble and consciousness dull. On the arrival of the doctor, who was immediately sent for, half an hours had elapsed since the injection had been administered. The patient’s face was pale, and her skin cold and clammy. She was unconscious; pulse 130, small and feeble; respiration 56, shallow and irregular. The tremors had disappeared, but the tonus of the muscles was increased to such an extent that the limbs preserved the position in which they were placed for more than a minute. Attempts to induce the patient to swallow gave rise to attacks of dyspnoea. A solution of albumen was injected into the rectum, together with hypodermic injections of tincture of musk. The skin was rubbed with hot cloths and alcohol. Notwithstanding this treatment, the breathing became more and more embarrassed, and it was found necessary to resort to artificial respiration. The pulse became imperceptible, and the face cadaveric. Death appeared imminent; but, as the heart still pulsated feebly, the treatment was persisted in for upwards of 3 h. The patient then began to show signs of returning life, and she recovered consciousness 1 1/2 hours later. She was convalescent in about 4 d. The patient had never shown any symptoms of hysteria, and everything pointed to the sublimate as the direct cause of the attack. (Lond. Medorrhinum Record, Nov. 15th, 1886.)
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.