2 b. At 4 she fell asleep, and slept quietly till usual time of waking in morning. When she rose she felt constant aching soreness in jaw, with pain under left breast, also such weakness in legs that they shook under her. She was hardly able to walk across floor, and had to return to bed in middle of day. Between 7 and 8 p. m. she felt a sensation as if symptoms of preceding night would return, but it went off. I saw her the day following, and found her with still the soreness in the jaws, and her limbs so weak that she could hardly walk to the dispensary. [A subsequent experience with a medicinal dose of hyoscyamus proved this woman to be extremely sensitive to the action of such drugs. – EDS.] (DYCE BROWN. M. H.R., xiii, 708.)
3. In the case of two children who had swallowed only a small quantity of the leaves of the shoots of young hemlock, face was pale and livid, pupils dilated, heart’s impulse weak and slow, pulse hardly perceptible; both complained of general lassitude and somnolence; all their movements resembled those of one much fatigued. There was no paralysis. The action of a stronger dose was seen in two other children; the aspect was cadaveric, face pale and livid, pupils largely dilated and immovable, cornea glazed and shining eyelids completely passive, jaw and tongue equally so. Only respiration (which was itself very slow) showed that life was not extinct; radial pulse could no longer be felt; heart’s impulse and sounds were so feeble that observer even felt doubtful of their existence. Recovery was easy in the former cases, difficult – under the strongest measures – in the latter. In no case was there delirium, or convulsions, or vomiting, or diarrhoea. (SKINNER, Liverpool Medorrhinum – Chir. journ., July, 1858.)
4. My brother ate by chance some eggs dressed (through error of the cook) with fresh leaves of hemlock instead of parsley. After a short time he staggered, his sight became dim, he wept and smiled, vomited spontaneously, then swelled up so that his belly threatened to burst; he could not pass urine nor could he speak or raise himself up, but lay as one intoxicated, until copious droughts of milk and almond oil relieved the symptoms, and purgatives and roborants finally restored th health. (EHRHART, cited by Imbert Gourbeyre, De la Mort de Socrates par la Cigue, 1876.)
5. Dr. COMOZ was called at 8 p. m. to a family of 3 adults who, since dinner at noon, had been strangely ill. All had been seized from about 1 with nausea and an indefinable malaise. The symptoms increased; the patients became much agitated; they were attacked with hallucinations and delirium, and went out of doors. The neighbours, much alarmed, thought they had gone mad; they laid hold on them, and were obliged to employee force to compel them to return home, where they watched them closely. Patients were mirthful all the time. About 3 – 4 p. m., one of them–a brother-in-law–vomited copiously, and from the steam steadily improved. At time of doctor’s visit he had nearly recovered; but the others (man and wife), who had eaten most freely of the dish found to contain the hemlock root, and had not vomited were much agitated; pulse 110-120; tongue dry and reddish; intermittent delirium; always mirthful; hallucinations. The husband, who was somewhat addicted to liquor, saw all sorts of animals dancing upon the bed; had a little subsultus tendinum; his facial muscles seemed somewhat contracted; slight risus sardonicus. Delirium was more marked in his case than in that of his wife. In both eyes were somewhat congested and wild; lips slightly cyanotic. They had nausea but no vomiting. There was dull burning, of no great intensity, at epigastrium. Emetics brought speedy improvement. ( Ibid.)
6. A medical student, of Castleton, in the course of experiments on himself with narcotic drugs, took as much as 2 grm. of extr. without experiencing any peculiar symptoms except diplopia and muscular contractions. He now chewed and swallowed 15 grm. of root. In 1 1/2 hours his head became affected, as if it would wander, and his eyes very sensitive to light. Delirium supervened, during which he at first took to walking about. Two hour after swallowing poison he was seized with an epileptiform attack, which lasted 4 – 5 morning, with contractions of all muscles. Before convulsions pulse was 52, of ordinary force; after these it became weak and frequent; then ensued spontaneous vomiting. He was now dosed with opium, ammonia, alcohol, and capsicum. A second and still more violent attack came on, leaving him as if dead. Five hours after poison he came to himself again, but was unable to move his limbs; he felt inclination to vomit as often as he tired to rise. After 16 hours he vomited 3 or 4 times; 4 hours sleep completely restored him. ( Boston Medorrhinum and sur. journ., vol. x.)
7. HAAG was one evening called to a soldier said to be dying. He found him unconscious; pulse small, hard, only 30; extremities cold; face bluish, congested, like one strangled. He found that he with some comrades had partaken of soup in which hemlock had been mixed, he most largely. About 1 1/2 hours after supper all felt as if intoxicated, and had pain in head and throat; this man had gone to bed, where they noticed him groaning and breathing with difficulty. An emetic was given, with cold to head, and warmth to extremities; but efforts to vomit were fruitless, and his state grew minutely worse. He spoke, and complained of feeling very cold, but soon again lost speech and consciousness, constant palpitation in chest and precordia being the only manifestation of his feelings. He died 3 hours after the fatal supper. Autopsy showed great congestion of brain. ( Journ, de Medorrhinum de Leroux, xxiii, 1813.)
8. A young man, with two phagedenic buboes, was treated with extr.; 3j was taken in course of day for some time, later 3iss, 3ij, and even 3iiss. It produced indistinct vision and blindness, loss of the pain, falling of lower jaw, temporary palsy of the extremities, once or twice a loss of sensation; but nutrition did not suffer, and ulcers improved. After laying drug on one side for some time he returned to it, taking in course of one morning 3x. It produced great restlessness and anxiety; he dropped insensible from his chair, fell into convulsions, and expired in 2 hours. (J. HUNTER, Works, ed. Palmer, left 379.)
9. In 1871 a man was knocked own by a brick. The injury he received is supposed to have caused the contortions of his face for which he took con. He dictated this to wife: At 4:10 p. m., 50 min. Squibb’s extr. of con. 4:40 p. m., dizziness and relaxation of muscles of limbs; 50 min. more then taken, immediately difficulty of walking and want of power to control movements, forced to lie down, no mitigation of spasm, limbs weak, unable to hold up head, speech thickening, some pain and heaviness in top and back of head, pulse 56. 5:15 p. m. took 50 dr. Some nausea, some tremor at base of clavicle and in muscles across chest, no diminution of spasms about eyes [the symptom he took the con. for], more photophobia. 5:20 p. m., drowsiness. 5:40 p. m. eyes difficult to open, speech difficult, difficulty in throat, prostration nearly complete, diplopia vastly increased. 6:10 p. m., nausea, twitchings on right side, unable to articulate, eyes closed, fulness almost to suffocation in throat, pulse 60 in past six –Water! water! water!” These were his last words. His wife ran to get some coffee; and when the same back he was dead. ( Medorrhinum Times and Gaz., May, 1875).
10. An actress was troubled for several months after her confinement with excessive fulness of her bosom, and a superabundant secretion of milk. A weak infusion of hemlock was administered for 2 day. Lactation suddenly stopped, and the breasts wasted away. She became pregnant shortly afterwards, but no activity of mammary glands appeared. There was a slight fulness during the confinement, and a few drops of milk elicited, but this soon ceased for ever. (Prof. D’ OUTREPONT, of Wurzburg, Lond. Medorrhinum, Gazette, viii, 125.)
11. The mother of four children had given suck to youngest for fifteen months. On weaning it the flow of milk continued to the extent of 8 1/2 paints a day. The menses were suppressed. This condition continued for 4 years, the health not suffering. A grain of ext. of hemlock was given tear die. In 7 days discharge of milk altogether stopped, the breasts were reduced in volume, and th menses recurred at the regular period. On their cessation in galactorrhoea returned. The lady took 7 gr. of ext. a day. The breasts became emaciated to baggy flaccid skin, and never returned. ( Ibid.)
12. a. In a case of chorea treated with 3iij doses of succus for 17 days, on 8th days a severe attack of urticaria came on, and lasted 24 hours.
12 b. The application to an auxiliary cancer of lint saturated first with the pure succus, then with equal parts of this and water, produced a dry, scaly eruption of the cuticle in crescentic patches, and a dark copper-coloured very irritable condition of the cutis, identical in appearance with the
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.