4. I was called to see a man aet. 35, who had taken within 24 hours about Zij of china in small doses. He was complaining of heat. I found temp. of 101 o, and a slightly flushed face. Next day, temp. was 104 o, and a papillary eruption had appeared all over the body; there was no itching, but a burning sensation; pulse irregular, 85. The fever subsided in 3 day, and rash faded without desquamation. (Finch, N. Engl. Medorrhinum Gaz., xxiii, 270.)
CHININUM ARSENICOSUM
II. 22. A woman, aet. 23, having taken ordinary doses of quinine for a week, took a large unknown quantity. 8 hours later, there was pale face; pinched, bluish nose which was cold to touch; respiration diminished; pulse slow and feeble; mild delirium; unable to recognise faces or voices, but would answer questions intelligently, she thought there was a moving steamboat in her head. Pupils dilated, and eyes without expression and sunken. A tendency to become frightened at persons or objects, attributing frightful shapes and appearances to innocent objects. Imagined that her left eye had become too large for its socket and lay on the rim of its orbit, and that any movement of the head would cause it to roll out on cheek. This distressed her, until she had replaced the eye in orbit. Urine scanty; dark red, nearly brown, with much burning pain on micturition. Later a shooting pain developed, radiating from left eyeball and left hip joint as centres (relieved by Spigelia). Patient recovered but remained very anaemic for weeks. (Honan, N. Am. Journ. of Hom., April, 1890.)
23. A young married lady, recently from Indiana, summoned me for a severe attack of ” chills and fever.” She told me almost at first that she could not take quinine; that her father – giving the name of an Indianapolis physician, whom I knew by reputation – had despaired of using it in her case. She said, further, that it poisoned her; ” it is as if every drop of blood and every tingling nerve were in my skin.” There was great heat, oedema in some places, especially in face and hands, great increase of cutaneous sensitiveness; all followed in a few days by desquamation of the cuticle. With these accidents were associated more or less of gastric disturbance, and, upon one occasion, violent and repeated vomiting, headache, and delirium. Altogether, the suffering was so great, she said she preferred the ” chills and fever,” and that her father had no resources for her except the imperfect and slowly – acting arsenic and strychnia. As my patient was intelligent, I related to her the course I had pursued in several similar previous cases, and proposed it for herself. It consisted in giving quinine in greatly lessened doses. She accepted my proposition, but evidently with fear and reluctance. Four to five grains for the 24. acted with full therapeutic power, but still produced a light attack of the skin disease – enough to suggest alarming results should the usual one to three gramme doses be prescribed. She made a satisfactory recovery (Henry M. Field, N. Y. Medorrhinum Record, Nov. 30th, 1878.) 24. L., gentleman of 34, full habit, dark hair and eyes, dark complexion. Had a history some 10 years ago, of which, however, there have been no traces for six years past. On Sunday, Jan. 28th, 1883, the patient took 4 gr. of bisulph. quinine. Twenty – four hours after there came bright red patches over wrists, forearms, knees, and ankles, varying in diameter from 1/2 in. to 2 in. They were surrounded by a colourless border, about 1/4 in. in width, and were attended by severe burning sensation, m though no itching. The entire appearance resembled very greatly the result of a bee – sting. In 48 hours the spots came to have a mixture of bluish and yellow colours, and with some of them very considerable sacs of fluid had collected beneath the epidermis. The fluid was amber in colour, alkaline in reaction, and contained about 25 per cent. of albumen. On Wednesday inflammation had materially disappeared, and the unopened bullae began to shrivel. During the first 2 day the temp. of the patient, under the tongue, made slight variations from 101 o F. On the 3rd day, it fell to 99 1/2 o. The pulse was at no time much above the normal. During the first 2 day there was also some nausea, and a little inclination to diarrhoea. On the 4th day the places were rapidly drying; temperature and the various functions quite normal. Friday, the 5th day, the spots of raised cuticle peeled off. The foregoing is a fair epitome of what had occurred seven or eight different times before, always distinctly attributable to the use of quinine, and on two different occasions the amount taken was a half grain. The dark, bruised look does not disappear from the skin short of full 3 months. (E. P. Fowler, N. Y. Medorrhinum Times, xi, 34.)
25. Miss M. P., aet. 46, never married. Dark eyes, hair and complexion, slight build. Have attended her in three different attacks, the last one being in 1879, commencing upon May 15th. She had been twice poisoned from the effects of quinine before she became my patient. 25 a Shortly after she first came under my professional care, I one day gave her 2 gr. of the bisulphate before each meal. The next day there appeared over upper part of breast, upon arms and about knees, patches of angry – looking inflammation, studded with little watery yellow vesicles. There was a sharp fever – I have no record of the exact temperature – and some diarrhoea. In point of time the eruption pursued the same course as in the case just detailed, and the eruption continued for some weeks. At this time the patient did not inform me that she had twice before been affected in a similar manner, and I therefore did not associate the eruption, &c., with the taking of the quinine.
25 b. The next fall I again one day gave her 6 gr., with a repetition, essentially, of the results just described. She then told me that she had undergone two similar experiences before she came under my treatment, and I, of course, advised her against any future use of quinine. The last time, in May, 1879, she was again affected in the same manner. She said she had taken no quinine, and it was only after some investigation that I fell upon the fact that she had, just before the trouble appeared, taken some elixir of calisaya. I was sufficiently interested to visit the druggist where the calisaya was obtained, and was confidentially informed that it contained sulphate of quinine. Since that time I have, upon several different occasions, given to the patient tinct. of cinchona, but with no similar results. ( Ibid.)
26. Mrs. J. G. F., aet. about 60; has had several children, has gray eyes, dark hair (now gray), and complexion inclined to brunette. Father and two aunts were asthmatic. She herself has always had more or less eczema of eyes, nose, s, hands and abdomen. The lady became a patient of mine about 20 years ago. A year or two after that time, she took, of her own accord, some quinine, for the purpose of breaking up what she supposed to be fever and ague. She was at that time in the country, and I did not see her; but she described the effect as a ” chicken – pox, or a poison – ivy eruption all over the body, especially upon the arms and legs, which lasted the greater part of a week.” The patient was so firmly convinced that it was due to the quinine that nothing would afterwards induce her to take it. Some four seasons ago she was in the country, and had occasion to call in medical aid. The doctor was told that she could not take quinine, but regarding it as a whim, he gave her 6 or 8 gr. without her knowledge. A few hours after she was taken with severe vomiting, and the next day blotches came out over various parts of the body, more especially upon the arms and legs. Some of them were vesiculated, and two at least formed blisters containing fluid. The recovery was much the same as in the other cases I have given, only it occupied some 8 or 9 day (Ibid.)
27. Mr. J. H. This case is that of a gentleman who was under the professional care of the late Dr. John F. Gray many years ago, and who is now deceased. From his brother I obtained the following particulars: The gentleman was a spare man, middle aged, blue eyes, brown hair, dark eyebrows and beard; with a clear, white complexion. He was a Southern planter, and had repeatedly resorted to the use of quinine for intermittent fever. The poisonous results in the way of eruption and asthma were invariable, and they had often been endured because the quinine would break the ague promptly, and the unpleasant effect of the drug would never last longer than 6 – 10 d. In this case, the eruption and asthma would not appear before 48 hours after commencing the quinine. The following is an extract from a letter written by his brother: ” I have to rely altogether on my memory about Jerry’s case, and so you must not expect it to be very full or satisfactory. I know that he used to take quinine to break up the chills and fever, and every time he did so it brought out an eruption like blisters all over him, and gave him bad asthmas. I thought the cure was worse than the disease, but he did it because the quinine would stop the ague, and the blisters and asthma would go away in about a week or so. He never had the salt rheum or tetter, nor the asthma at any other time; but I have had a kind of moist tetter – so the doctors call it – almost since I can remember, and our father had both tetter and phthisic. I do not now think of anything more that I can say about brother J., only that blue spots would remain for a long time when the blisters came.
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.