6. Great anxiety, during which she cannot take a deep enough breath, increased palpitation of heart, pain betwixt shoulders, heat and pain in sacrum, feeling of heat and burning in liver and spleen, heat and then sweat on knees, trembling (3/4 hours after taking 1/10000 gr. of acetate). (HELBIG, Heraklides, i, 51.)
7. Dr. SPENCE began by taking gr. 1/4 of the acetate 3 times a day, gradually increasing dose till at end of 3 weeks he was taking 8 gr. daily, His symptoms were costiveness, spongy gums, a livid appearance around the incisors, diminished saliva, foetid breath, looseness of teeth without soreness of mouth, and blackened faeces. Neuralgic pains now affected upper and afterwards lower extremities, appetite failed, and an attack of lead colic supervened, with loss of muscular power in limbs. Pulse fell from 80 to 60. (Philad. Medorrhinum Trans., 1805 from Stille.)
8. Mr. LAIDLAW, in good health, took 60 gr. of acetate [Some opium and gentian were combined with the lead in the pills taken, but do not seem to have influenced the result EDS.] in course of 4 d. The symptoms developed were – metallic taste in mouth, some tenderness of gums, diminished frequency with feebleness of pulse, and, on taking last 10 gr. at a single dose, weakness of knees, increasing pain at epigastrium, with nausea. A dose of salts put an end to these symptoms, and no subsequent disturbance occurred. A month later experiment was repeated, and 70 gr. were taken in 8 d. Metallic savour began to be perceived on 2nd, tenderness and swelling of gums on 3rd day; bowels were constipated and urine high coloured. On 4th day a purge caused abatement of symptoms, but on 6th day, medicine having been continued, they returned, accompanied by constriction of thorax and abdominal pains. By 9th day they had increased, and in addition to them there was ptyalism, and sensation of tightness or numbness of hands and feet, especially in fingers and toes. Pulse was slow and week as before, and respiration proportionately retarded. (Lond. Medorrhinum Repose., 1828, vi, 36, 292.).
Poisonings
1. A man, aet. 28, took, before going to bed, 1 oz. Pl. acet. Soon afterwards he had violent pressure in stomach, dry mouth, great oppression of breathing, and anxiety. After 6 hours, having drunk much water, he vomited with some relief. Next m., after some slight convulsions, the previous symptoms returned. A physician, not knowing what he had taken, ordered bloodletting and an emulsion with extr. hyosc. Next day, the doctor having been told what the patient had taken, found him suffering from anxiety, great mental uneasiness, the stomach painful, the chest oppressed, dryness and sweet taste, slight convulsions, abdomen distended, liquid stools after much oil had been taken. Emulsion with magnesia; complete recovery in 4 weeks. (ZOPPENFELD, Casper’s med. Wochenschr., 1835, NO. 38, 615, in Fank’s Mag., i. 276.)
2a. A labourer, aet. 46, took, on 4th Nov., 1835, m., 1/4 lb. of Pl. acet. dry. Immediately nausea and vomiting, which was kept up by drinking copiously of milk. At noon he was brought into hospital. Head confused, giddy, face fallen in, tongue thickly coated, thirst moderate; pressive, tensive, and constrictive pains in gastric region; umbilical region drawn in, very sensitive to pressure, skin covered with cold sweat, pulse 60, contracted; constipation and persistent vomiting. An emetic brought away lumps of mucus and Pl. acet. In afternoon inflammatory symptoms came on. Bleeding, calomel, opium castor oil, sulphur, sulphuric acid, alum, and baths of hepar sulph. were administered. The sensitiveness of stomach went off, except at pylorus, which was moderately swollen. Chronic vomiting ensued, which brought away food or brown fluid. He emaciated to a skeleton, got paraplegia, and died on January 4th, 1836.
2b. P. M. Cranium 4 – 6 lines thick, compact, dura mater thickened, with effusion of lymph in sinuses, arachnoid opaque, pia mater firmly adherent to it, under the latter and in cerebral cavities a moderate quantity of serum; the grey substance all over brain changed into a greasy tallow – like mass, the white substance unusually firm. Thorax normal; heart small and firm; umbilical region drawing in; peritoneum dry; stomach distended to 5 times its normal size, reaching from one hypochondrium to the other, and pushing the liver up to the 5th rib; its contents were partly air, partly a brownish – green flocculent fluid; its walls at the patent cardia and in their whole extent to the pylorus dilated, thickened, the m. m. without corrugations, and of a brown lardaceous consistence, in many parts entirely absent, the underlying cellular tissue traversed by numerous varicose veins and livid spots; the pylorus quite closed up, its surrounding walls to the extent of several lines thickened, adherent to the extent of an inch, and changed into a cartilaginous tissue; the duodenum contracted to the calibre of a quill, with thickened walls; the jejunum throughout contracted to the smallest calibre, in some parts extremely narrow; the colon, down to the extremely contracted sigmoid flexure, distended with gas, the m. m. everywhere easily detached; liver and spleen very small, firm; pancreas and kidneys normal, bladder walls moderately thickened. Dura mater of spinal cord imbibed with dark fluid blood, arachnoid opaque with a little serous effusion, the substance of the cord much softened and defective in parts, the nerves of the cauda equina much diminished in size. The extremities showed a want of fat; the muscular substance dark – coloured, easily torn, the nerves with very little marrow. (HORNUNG, Med, Fahrb. day k.k. osterr. States, Neunte Folge, xii, S.4, 606, 1837, in Frank’s Mag., i. 800.)
3. A young woman, aet. 24, March 6th, 1841, took instead of Glauber’s salts 1/2 oz. Pl. acet. in a glass of water. Immediately violent burning in stomach, nausea and incessant vomiting. After 1/4 hours she was seen, and had suffused face, carotids beat violently, epithelium of whole mouth white, tongue thickly coated; internal nausea and vomiting, violent burning pains in stomach; epigastric region very sensitive, skin dry, pulse rapid, small and weak. Ipecac. in large doses was given. After vomiting more than 10 times she got violent diarrhoea 20 times in the n., with slight rumbling in bowels. Next m. great debility, anorexia, pasty taste and slight burning in stomach; epithelium of buccal cavity white, stools less frequent, pulse not so quick. Milk was given her to drink, and in a few day she was quite well. (MELION, Prager Vierteljahrsch. f. day prakt. Heilk., ii, 5, 85, in Frank’s Mag., iii, 612.)
4. A young girl took by mistake 3iij Pl. acet. in a cup of beef tea at 10 a. m. After 2 hours violent pains in belly, then continued vomiting till evening, latterly bilious. After 3 days, as the abdomen was much distended and the bowels constipated, she took epsom salts without effect. She then got castor oil, a dose daily for a fortnight, and only gruel for food. This caused a daily evacuation, the abdominal pains disappeared, and she quite recovered. (OTTO, Oppenheim’s Zeitsch. f. d. Ges. Medorrhinum, xxy, 4, 576, in Frank’s Mag., iii, 887.)
5. A drummer drank by mistake a lotion of Pl. acet. on April 22nd. – The next day he was extremely pale, and complained of constipation, anorexia, great weakness of limbs, and general prostration. – 24th. These symptoms increased. – 25th, m., colic, sinking in of abdomen, nausea, frightful convulsions, cold clammy sweat, aphonia and trismus. He died at 6:30 p. m., having been unable to take the medicine prescribed on account of the trismus. – P. M. Body pale yellow, belly hard and drawn in. Stomach highly inflamed, its vessels distended with blood, its m. m., especially towards pylorus, softened; oesophagus near the cardia, duodenum, ascending and transverse colon, pancreas, part of mesentery and of jejunum, concave surface of liver and spleen considerably inflammed; gall – bladder distended with bile. In stomach nearly 3ij of reddish – brown fluid. (KERKHOFFS, Journ. univ. d. Sc. med., xx, pt. 3, 351, in Frank’s Mag., iv, 677.)
6. M. A -, aet. 41, was admitted into Guy’s Hospital, May, 1846, labouring under symptoms of poisoning by sugar of lead. It was ascertained that 2 hours previously she had swallowed about 3iss dissolved in some water. She felt ill almost directly; had nauseous metallic taste in mouth, with burning heat in mouth, throat, and stomach. She took some more water to wash down the taste. This made her vomit, and thus she was detected by her friends. Her mouth became very dry; she had great pain at pit of stomach, and excessive vomiting. On admission, i. evening about 2 hours after the poison had been taken, she felt sleepy and stupid, alternately perspiring and shivering. Complained of violent twisting pain in the abdomen, but this was relieved by pressure; with this there was a sensation of sickness. She felt exceedingly weak and languid; complained of a feeling of cramp in the thighs, and numbness all over the body, with giddiness. The gums felt the patient to be in lumps, and there was apparently a blue line on the edge; they were very tender. The saliva seemed rather in excess, and the breath was foul. Magnesia mixture and sulphate of zinc were given to encourage the vomiting, followed by some castor oil, which acted 2 hours afterwards. The pulse was hurried and the tongue coated; countenance anxious and excited; skin dry, cold and hot alternately. The urine passed very freely. Was menstruating at the time, and this stopped the discharge. The next day there was pain all over the body, with numbness and sickness. On the 3rd day she was very sleepy, but in less pain. For several days the abdomen was excessively painful on the slightest pressure. She left the hospital in 5 day (TAYLOR, Poisons, Ist ed., p. 431.)
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.