calf towards tendo Achillis. All the symptoms since 4 p. m. occurred while seated. 6:30 p. m., on walking slowly pressive pain in pectoralis major muscle, then in left chest and intercostal muscles, not affecting breathing, then in left knee, right forearm, radial side of right wrist, and dorsal aspect of roots of right fingers. 7 p. m., frequent flushes of heat as from hot water over back extending to head and feet, and in upper arms; feeling as of hot water in chest, followed by pain in muscles on posterior aspect of right thigh when seated; moisture on back and forehead; twitching in left toes; pressure in various muscles of lower extremities; no more symptoms. – 7th. After profound sleep, great weak feeling on rising; urine yesterday and last night scanty and dark; towards morning erection and emission without voluptuous thoughts or dreams. Urine scanty and very dark, stools at usual time but soft. – 28th Many and tiresome thoughts about human conditions; great appetite. Inclined for work, but weak in body.
Feb. 29th, 6:30 a. m. 200 dr. Soon pupils dilated. 6:45 weight and heat in sinciput; aching and weary in legs; ears very hot inwardly and outwardly, though the room is not heated; for one hour. Pulse 60, small, soft. 7:45 a. m., burning and redness of face; black points before eyes interfere with reading; prickling in muscles of legs; discharge of flatus; great itching in fossa navis. heaviness and pain in forehead; painful pressing in calves; pain in lumbar muscles; frequent chill through back; peculiar sensation that goes from occiput through back into posterior part of lower extremity, like what one feels on lying down after a long tiresome walk, when seated; creeping under skin of left upper arm; frequent urging to urinate; pupils contracted; frequent chills, cold extremities, bluish nails; pulse 60, tense, ears cold; fine shooting in throat; painful pressure in right knee; shooting in urethra; tearing pain in sides of right tendo Achillis; chill all through body lasts till 10 a. m. 12 noon, sudden tearing in gastric region, and feeling of a fluid stool in rectum (he had a soft stool at 9:30) which lasts long with urging to urinate, and dull painful undefined feeling in abdomen. 12:30 p. m., 200 dr. Sudden sharp stitch from navel to neck of bladder; feeling of coolness courses through legs and arms, with alternate light and heavy feeling in these parts, frequently. IN 3 trials there is, while sitting, slight shooting pain in a small corn that never before gave pain; pressure in calves, pupils very contracted; great discharge of wind; black points and stripes
before eyes; pricking as with needles in right sole; bruised feeling and weight felt alternately in one or other leg and becoming fixed in knee; creeping in left toes; pain in lumbar muscles frequently; pressing on right trochanter; pressive pains in various parts of sinciput, beneath the skull; sudden pressing in skin over right testicle; pain and weight in left elbow; dryness and scraping in throat; slight chilliness through back from 2 to 3:30 p. m. 3 p. m., prickling in left big toe; painful pressure in various muscles of the extremities, later chiefly in the legs, with prickling in the toes; all day thoughts confused and springing unconnectedly from one subject to another often of a torturing character and taking a dismal view of things; yesterday and to-day loves to be alone and to be silent, with want of resolution 5 p. m., painful tearing in left sole; soft stool, much urine; burning in anus; painful pressing in right temple betwixt skin and bone; when walking suddenly a peculiar feeling as if the heart stopped; tearing pain deep in abdomen, continued and increased by pressure; great appetite at 2 and 6:30 p. m. which is soon satisfied; sleep sound; the following morning (1st March) weary feeling, no other symptoms. (Allg. hom. Ztg., Li, 109, 114).
Poisonings
I. In May several persons ate of the root of C. at 5 p. m.
1 a. A healthy man, aet. 26, 1/4 hour afterwards had vertigo, obscuration of sight, shooting headache, anxiety, oppressed breathing, vomited with difficulty but felt better after it; but soon all the symptoms returned with thirst and dryness of throat; he again vomited after drinking and again with relief to the symptoms. A third attack was also allayed by vomiting. Later he complained only of burning in stomach, thirst, heaviness of head and chest, which disappeared next day.
1 b. A healthy man of 20 who had eaten more, was soon ill; he went out and was soon afterwards found stretched on the ground and as if dying; his face was congested, the eyes protruded, he foamed at the mouth, he scarcely breathed; soon there occurred a violent elliptic attack, during which all the limbs in succession were horribly contorted, and the breathing interrupted; he never recovered consciousness and soon died. P. M. – L. left lung spotted blue and yellow, the blood fluid, red, stomach reddened here and there.
1 c. A girl of 15 who had taken little, had some anxiety and stupefaction; fell down insensible and motionless and ground here teeth; soon epileptic fits came on, which recurred all night and caused horrible contortions. They continued till the evening of the following day., and she woke as from a deep sleep and slowly recovered.
1 d. Two boys and 3 girls, between 8 and 9 years of age, ate of the root in the afternoon; they soon became giddy, fell down and had the most violent convulsions. They all vomited more or less of the root, but the convulsions lasted long; all night they were weak and delirious; next day they were weak. (WEPFER, Ephem. Nat. Cur. Dec. ii, Ann. 6, p. 221.)
2. Two boys and 6 girls ate shortly before noon a quantity of the root of C.
2 a. Jacob M -, aet. 6, soon complained of pain in praecordia; hardly had he told this, when he fell to the ground, and passed urine with great force. He looked fearfully ill, all his senses left him, shut his mouth so strongly that it could not be opened, ground his teeth, the eyes were much distorted, blood gushed from his ears, a large swelling was formed about the precordial region. Frequent hiccup; he seemed to wish to vomit but nothing came up. He threw the limbs about and contorted them, the head was often thrown back, and the whole back bent in the form of a bow. The convulsions ceased, he cried to his mother for help, but they returned with renewed intensity, he could not be roused by calling to him, and in half an hour he died exhausted. The belly and face swelled after death, green slime often flowed out of the mouth.
2 b. Kath. M -, elder sister of the foregoing, began after her brother’s death to complain. After 1/2 hour she vomited some of the root; she was seized with convulsions, with loss of all the senses, and frightful distortion of the head, limbs, and whole body. Her mouth was forced open and some theriac poured in, whereupon she again vomited. After this she lay for 24 hours as if dead on her bed, without moving hand or foot; sometimes she ground her teeth and called to her mother to help her; but when her mother spoke to her she did not answer, as though she was deaf. For 9 hours she was thought to be dead, for the face was like that of a corpse, the breathing imperceptible, the extremities cold. After 24 hours she came to herself, complained of pain in praecordia, and was very weak for 4 days.
2 c. Maria M -, aet. 2.1/2, ate but little of the root, but was attacked by epilepsy; a swelling in the stomach shook the diaphragm violently; hiccup, cries, redness of face, trismus, loss of sense, and distortion of limbs ensued. She vomited after theriac, was well after 8 hours.
2 d. Matthias G -, aet. 8, went home after the death of his friend Jacob; was attacked by vertigo in the street, fell forward on his face, got up and hurried home as if intoxicated. Soon he had convulsions and fell to the ground. he got up again, staggered about, fell again, got frightful convulsions, trismus, opisthotonos, some of his teeth were removed but he could not swallow on account of constriction of throat. A swelling in praecordia knocked violently against diaphragm with hiccup. This epileptic fit lasted uninterruptedly 1/2 hour, until his strength declined, and he died without having passed urine or stool and without vomiting. The whole abdomen and body swelled after death, the face was blue around eyes, green froth welled out of his mouth.
2 e. Christine G -, aet. 9 ate but little of the root, became sick towards evening, complained of shooting and burning pains in praecordia, then had convulsions. After taking an infusion of tobacco she got well.
2 f. Three other girls, who had eaten little of the root, had slight epileptic fits. (IBID., Hist. Cicutae aquat.; Lugd. Bat., 1733, p. 6).
3. Post-mortem examination of 3 children who died with convulsions after taking C. The bodies were flecked with bluish- red patches, the abdomen moderately distended. The upper extremities of the body of a girl aet. 5 were flexible, the lower extremities stiff, the nails blue, the fingers covered with red spots, the eyes dim, sunken, pupils dilated, conjunctiva injected, lips blue. The lungs were reddish blue, with red spots here and there, contained much dark blood, their veins and blood- vessels generally very much distended. Heart not flaccid, the right ventricle contained fluid and coagulated blood, the left ventricle nearly empty. Stomach and bowels distended with gas; stomach empty, externally it showed injected vessels, its m. m. spotted with brown, cardia and pylorus red, bowels not inflamed, epiglottis and pharynx red, trachea full of mucus and somewhat inflamed, the sinuses and vessels of brain filled with dark blood. (MERTZDORF, Horn’s Archive, 1825, ii, 44.).
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.