19. A man, aet 58, had been employed for 3 years in making Ph. matches. Though his working room was also his living – room, he never felt any bad effects until one day a quantity of Ph. took fire, and in his efforts to extinguish it he inhaled so much of the vapour that he felt suffocated and fainted. Soon after this he felt extremely weak in back, as though he should fall in a heap; thereafter weakness of limbs, so that he tumbled when he walked or attempted to grasp anything; later, sensation as if something twitched under skin or was creeping betwixt skin and flesh. The genitals were more excited than usual at first, but after a few months he was unable to have erections. Functions in other respects normal. On coming into hospital his state was: – On standing his limbs trembled and knuckled under him, he could only walk a few steps, staggering and uncertain; his arms trembled when he grasped anything or held them extended. When he lay quite still the muscles of all the body, especially those of the extremities, appear to twitch up and down under the skin; but the whole muscle does not twitch, only single bundles of fibres at different times, like playing on a piano. If they are quiet for an instant the slightest touch suffices to set them going again. It is these movements that cause the feeling of something creeping under the skin. The weakness of the back is such that he cannot sit upright. The tongue when speaking often refuses to move, so that he stammers. Pulse 112. Sulphur vapours and alcoholic baths, strychnine, &c., did no good. (HUSS, Schwedische Hygea, 1884; A.h. Z., xxxiii, 58.)
20. A tradesman was engaged in unpacking large quantities of Ph. matches. He became suddenly so ill that he had to abandon his work. He had much nausea and vertigo. He had to lie in bed for several day; whenever he attempted to rise, the vertigo made him fall back in bed. Thereafter he became emaciated, and his skin became yellow. Even after he recovered his skin retained a yellowish hue. For a long time he had anorexia and sleeplessness. (GOULLON, Intern. hom. Press, x, 496.)
21. Philip S -, aet 2 1/4, was suddenly attacked by weakness and exhaustion, complained of violent pains in stomachic region, slept restlessly, lost appetite, had occasional vomiting, perspired profusely, and grew perceptibly thinner. These symptoms had lasted 11 d. It was found that the child had been in the habit of playing with Ph. matches, which he sucked. The patient’s skin was very pale, as also the mucous membranes; he was very weak and faint, but he could sit up and sometimes was about. Tongue white, furred; he had frequent retching without vomiting, complained of pains in umbilical region; he was constipated. Slight catarrh of chest. Very emaciated, perspired also by day, chiefly on head and chest. These symptoms increased day by day, especially the pain, sleeplessness, and weakness. On the 8th day of treatment the gums appeared swollen and had a dirty brown coating; they bled readily when touched, and also spontaneously; the teeth had become grey, the m. m. of cheek showed several haemorrhagic erosions, the breath was very fetid. It was now discovered that all this time he occasionally sucked the matches. On keeping the matches from the child and giving appropriate treatment he gradually recovered. (KRAUS, Allg. Wiener med. Ztg., 1857, 5; in Sorge.)
22. A girl, aet. 3 1/2 ate some Ph. paste. At first slight sickness, little or no pain, no fever, but constant thirst, apathy, then convulsions and coma, jaundice with white stools, dribbling of coffee – grounds – like fluid from mouth, death on 5th day – P. M. Liver much enlarged, and in a state of acute fat degeneration. Heart and kidneys felt greasy on section. On 3rd day no albumen, but some sugar was found in urine. (GROSE, lanct, Nov. 2nd, 1889, p. 302.)
23. CONCATO relates a case of poisoning with Ph. matches which terminated fatally on the 11th d. Soon after taking the person there was pain in the throat and oesophagus. Stomach symptoms came on much later, there was never any increase of temperature or of the velocity of the pulse till shortly before death, when it ran up to 146; peculiar odour of breath, urine and sweat, constant green colour of stools, though there was great icterus. P. M. showed destruction of m. m. of oesophagus, of anterior wall of pharynx, and of epiglottis; m. m. of stomach and duodenum intact, gall – bladder and gall – passages empty, increased size of the Brunner’s and mesenteric glands, trophy of liver, increase of white blood – corpuscles, and diminished size and change of shape in red corpuscles hematoidin crystals in liver, fat cells and margarine crystals in softened spleen. The urine contained biliary acids. (Virchow and Hirsch’s Jahresbericht, 1868, i, 311.)
24. A child of between 2 and 3 had been caught in the act of sucking and swallowing the heads of lucifer matches. 2 day afterwards she appeared unwell; there was some feverish excitement, but no active symptoms – no pain, vomiting, or diarrhoea. 5 hours after she was first seen she became violently convulsed, and died 3 hours later. On inspection a quantity of mucus mixed with blood, of a coffee – ground colour, was found in the stomach. The mucous membrane of the organ was very vascular throughout, and for the space of 2 in. it had a florid red colour, and was covered with mucus. There were no less than 10 vegetations in the small intestine, many of which included 2 – 3 in. of intestine, which was inflamed at the invaginated parts. There was no appearance of strangulation, and the bowels were empty. (SHEPHARD, Lancet, Dec., 1843.)
25. VIRCHOW says that he does not agree with those who deny gastritis as an ordinary effect of Ph. poisoning. Sometimes it is unaccompanied by redness or hyperaemia, or extravasation, and there is complete paleness of the parts after death. The m. m. is moderately thickened and of a peculiar muddy appearance, opaque whitish, or greyish or yellowish white. This swelling has its seat in the mucous glands, which are enlarged; their epithelium fills the gland – ducts almost completely, and each single cell is larger, duller, filled with a fine granular mass, which by refracted light appears yellowish grey, by reflected light whitish. Later fat globules appeared, the cells became soft, broken down, and only granular detritus remained. There is here serious disease of the stomach glands, a gastritis glandulosa, or gastroadenitis. (Virchow’s Archiv, xxxi, 400. 1864.)
26. A scrofulous girl of 7 used to p lay a great deal with lucifer matches, lighting them, &c. Gradually a red swelling appeared upon under part of chin; at first size of a four penny piece, it quickly enlarged till it extended over face as far as eyes, becoming pale and doughy, however, as it left the chin. Upon original spot a group of pustules formed, from which – on their breaking – resulted an ulcer, size of a sixpence. At same time parts beneath became disorganised into a thin, slightly discoloured, offensive, purulent mass. A disagreeable smell emanated from mouth. Teeth, especially front ones of both jaws, became loose, and salivation set in. The child from the commencement complained much of toothache and headache. Within 8 day ulcer had destroyed soft parts even to the bone. After removal of cause and suitable applications, in 10 day 3 thin pieces of bone, size of a bean, came away, and on following days other small, very thin fragments of bone were observed upon the dressing. Upon this sanious discharge ceased, and ulcer in 3 weeks had cicatrized. (PLUSKAL, Oest. med. Wochenschr., July, 1846.)
27. Since the establishment of the phosphorus – match manufactories, workpeople have occasionally been received in the hospital (de la Pitie) from them. All these patients agree in saying that since they went into the manufactory they have been affected with cough; they only seek admission when the cough has become habitual, grows worse, and is complicated with all the symptoms of acute bronchitis. In its nature this bronchitis does not differ from the ordinary kind; but the array of symptoms with which it is continued is different, inasmuch as functional derangements of other organs are present at the same time. Even those patients who are affected in a slighter degree are in a state of excessive weakness; they complain of want of appetite, which they allege occurs to them at the very commencement of their work, and at the same time as the cough. Others suffer at the same time from diarrhoea; the greater number from fever, even though there is no inflammatory chest affection present. Those who have been often affected with inflammatory pulmonary catarrh (and these constitute the majority) are strikingly emaciated, and sometimes suffer from palpitation of the heart, although neither heart nor large vessels are diseased. There recovery from the attacks is very slow, and emphysema of the lungs often remains behind. (GENDRIN, in v. Bibra and Geist, Krankh, d. Arb. in den Phosphorzund – Holzfabriken. 1847.)
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.