There were five others younger who had eaten the seeds, in whom there was dilatation and immobility of the pupils. (TUENRE, Ibid., xlvii, 552.)
22. T. B -, aet. 27, swallowed a large wineglassful of tincture of stramonium at a draught. He was immediately attacked with vertigo, dilatation of the pupils of the eyes, with double and confused vision, nausea but not vomiting, and drowsiness, followed by coma. I did not see him till 2 hours after he drank the tincture. In addition to the above symptoms he was violently convulsed, every muscle in his body appearing to be in violent commotion. He was continually beating his breast with his hands, like a Catholic doing penance. His jaws were set as in tetanus; he moaned continually; his breathing was stertorous, and occasionally there was rattling in his throat. His extremities were cold, his pulse nearly obliterated; he had cold clammy sweats, and his countenance was Hippocratic. I resorted to friction over the whole surface of his body, applied bladders of warm water to his hands and feet, and endeavoured to restore the circulation. I prepared a powerful solution of tartarized antimony, and with great difficulty pressed open his jaws and endeavoured to get a little into his stomach by half a teaspoonful at a time. After unwearied attempts he at length swallowed a little of it, but it almost caused strangulation. This was continued for 2 h. Deglutition now became almost or quite impossible. In about 1/2 hour after he last swallowed he began to vomit it. He threw up considerable matter, having the smell of stramonium; he was then able to swallow without much difficulty. He remained senseless till m., when he woke totally unconscious that anything had happened to him. He still saw indistinctly, and the pupils of the eyes remained dilated, but they gradually returned to their natural state. He recovered in the course of a day (Since the poisoning he has been averse to spirits, in which formerly he indulged freely.) (WILLIAMS, N. Engl. Journ of Medorrhinum and Surg., xii, 253.)
23. A boy, aet. 7, ate some green seeds (the quantity being uncertain) in the afternoon. About 5 p. m. his mother noticed some hesitation in his speech, and that his face was flushed. At it was some 2 hours to dinner she gave him an apple to eat; as he divided it she noticed a peculiar twitching of his fingers, and as he handed his mother a portion there was a movement of his hands like a patient with chorea. On biting the apple, which was quite juicy, he said it was dry like flour, and that it hurt his throat; he threw it aside, and lay down on the lounge. His mother inquired if he were sick, and he replied in tones so loud and violent that it startled her. As the twitching increased she lifted him up to get him upstairs, when she found he staggered so as hardly to be able to walk, and in passing through the door fell against it. An emetic was given at once. I first saw the child at 7 p. m., about 2 1/2 hour after he had eaten the seeds. He was then tossing violently in his father’s arms, with a spasmodic twitching of the hands, like a child agitated and suffering from chorea. The pupil of the eye was enormously dilated, more so than I have ever seen from the full action of belladonna; the face, and especially the mouth, was much swollen; he was perfectly blind, the full flash of the gas failing to produce the slightest contraction of the pupil. There were such violent movements of the hands and subsultus tendinum that it was impossible to count the pulse. The heart’s action was feeble, but not increased in frequency. There was no perspiration in any part of the body. The feet and whole lower extremities were cold and palsied, and hung powerless over the father’s lap, in marked contrast to the rest of the body, which was so much agitated. There had been some emesis from the emetics given, but not free; a tablespoonful of mustard and another of salt were immediately mixed with warm water, and pressing the tongue strongly down I attempted to make the child swallow it; considerable difficulty, however, was found in deglutition, and such severe symptoms of strangulation supervened that the parents would not allow me to repeat my endeavours to make the child swallow. Free vomiting soon followed, consisting of food and seeds. As there had been no action of bowels, a strong soapsuds enema was given. The child now seemed to be going into convulsions, and his head was immediately placed under the cold shower-bath, while his body reclined in warm water, as the coldness of the limbs had increased. Strong coffee was also forced down, though with great difficulty, as the child seemed to choke at every attempt to swallow. 9 p. m. – The child has had no convulsions; is picking at imaginary bodies in the air, and has a violent maniacal action; cannot articulate, but the words he attempts are loud and harsh; the pupil is extremely dilated, and does not respond in the slightest degree to light; the coldness of the extremities and loss of power marked. Coffee continued. 10 p. m. – Hears sounds more distinctly. His brother played on the guitar, and sang a favourite tune; boy noticed the music but turned in an uncertain manner towards him; attempts to sing, but cannot; is very violent in the attempt to articulate; involuntary movements of his hands continue; pupils still dilated; extremities cold and palsied. Continue coffee. 5 a. m. – Pupil still enormously dilated; perfectly blind; hearing good; cannot tell whether the gas is lighted or not; the pupil does not contract in the slightest from the full glare of the light on it; the limbs are still paralyzed; some improvements in his speech, can now articulate more distinctly, but not so that a stranger can understand him; the same fierceness in his speech continues. The bowels now moved for the first time since eating the seeds; choreic movements of hands continued. As he vomited every time the coffee was given it was suspended. 7 a. m. – Swelling of face subsiding; twitching of the fingers continues; the pupil is dilated as before, and he cannot tell whether the light is burning or not, though his face is turned to the gaslight; there is now a more distinct utterance, but the voice continues loud; he has no power over his limbs. Thursday m. – Pupil does not respond to the light, though it is now forty hours since taking the stramonium. Twitching of fingers is much less, and he has considerable fever; he still picks at imaginary objects. Friday m. – Pupil responds better to the light, and he sees more distinctly; the brilliancy of the eye is less marked; power of legs is restored; he wishes his playthings, and has more desire for food. Saturday m. – The pupil responds well to the light though not perfectly. There is some redness of the fauces still remaining, and the child is unusually nervous. (JOHNSON, Amer. Medorrhinum Times, i, 22.)
24. A man and his wife took an enema containing stramonium and papaver nigrum.
24a. D. Sarlandiere found the man in a state of permanent convulsion with commencing symptoms of opisthotonos, the eyes being fixed and open, and the pupils so much dilated that the circle of the iris was scarcely perceptible the limbs were at first convulsively moved in an automatic manner, which movement afterwards gave place to a kind of tetanic spasm. (The woman was likewise affected; she was, however, without the convulsive agitations of her husband; but she had fixed eyes with excessively dilated pupils. Purgatives and acid injections and drinks were given.) At the end of about an hours from the commencement of this treatment the spasmodic rigidity gave way, and he almost immediately placed himself in his bed, in the same attitude as when sitting on high board (he is a tailor, and now the symptoms of somnambulism became completely marked. He was imaginarily engaged in his usual occupation, appeared to be extending or folding up cloth, took hold of something which he supposed to be a needle, appeared to be threading his needle, and made a knot on the imaginary thread. Sometimes, supposing that he had let the thread slip, he renewed the operation of threading; and he appeared to make several unsuccessful attempts at pushing it through the needle’s eye, till at length he seemed to have succeeded. All endeavours to make him hear and see were fruitless. He took not the smallest notice of loud sounds addressed immediately to his ears, nor did he regard any object placed before his eyes, intent only his imaginary occupation. At times he seemed to conceive that some one had entered the room, and his countenance then assumed a smiling aspect, and he moved his lips as if speaking (no sounds, however, were emitted); the motion of his lips then ceased for some time, and he appeared to be listening to the reply of the visitor. He occasionally made the motion as of spitting, though in effect he did not spit. Now he seemed occupied in measuring for clothes, now in arranging and folding his cloth, cutting it with his scissors, and, in fact, doing everything in the way of his calling. He was thus occupied for 15 hours, without eating or drinking anything, excepting a few spoonful of citric lemonade, and this it was difficult to make him take. By degrees he recovered the power of speech; he then commenced a conversation, imagining that he received answers to his remarks. It was not till towards the evening that he actually understood what was said to him, and replied rationally. His sight was not restored till after the return of his speech; he shortly, however, was able to distinguish persons who were about him. His head, notwithstanding, still continued to run upon his business; he preserved in his supposed employ, and actually conceived that he was making use of his trade utensils. At Dr. Sarlandiere’s sixth visit he was under the same delusion; he was conversing familiarly with those about him, but still on the subject of his business; and all endeavours to convince him that he was not on his board, but in his bed, proved unavailing. Dr. Sarlandiere now held a watch to his ear (at midnight), letting him hear it strike the time, and telling him that business had better be abandoned for the present, or it would prove too fatiguing, injure his health, and prevent him working next d. The patient now descended from his imaginary board, undressed, and laid himself down to rest. During the rest of the n. he was calm, with the exception of some involuntary startings; and on the following day his senses returned. A slight fever followed.
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.