Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

129

Diaphoretics

with great and unexpected prostration, the vital powers being almost suspended, the temperature of the body alternately cold & hot, skin dry and pale, forehed smooth, eyes glassy, the pulse at first full and after a little depressed and tremulous, delirium and fatuity, stupor and lethargy, which symptoms occurred in rapid succession and ended in death, unless early arested. Another form in which it appeared was pulmonic congestion, chill succeeded by a fever, during which there was a great determination to the lungs evinced by labored respiration, flushed face, red eyes, and vertigo, the pulse was full, voluminous and strong, seeming to require depletion, from this stage the patient sunk into almost utter prostration, Anictas precordia, tension of the forehead loss of muscular motion, pulse extremely quick even to 140 in a minute

228

Materia Medica

Tonics

and stimulant, that it possesses considerable tonic powers may be inferred from its preventing the recurrence of paroxysms of intermittants in the same way as the Cort. Peruvianus. Dr Lewis observes that pure copper is soluble in the gastric juice, many facts prove this, one of which I shall mention. A child swallow'd a copper coin and four days after it was ejected by stool, the letters were entirely obliterated and the coin was considerably corroded the first I think is decisive; the perniceous effects of copper when taken into the stomach are, loss of appetite, great nausea, vertigo, pain in the head, convulsions, paralysis, apoplexia, delirium, colic pains, costiveness, but often a laxative bowels the stools are bloody and the pulse is weak with a general weakness and langor of the system, exanthelmatic eruptions and salivation instances of which happened in this city, such are its dreadfull effects. But they are not all met with in the same person, copper is universally allow'd to be a deleterious metal, yet it is a well known fact, that those who labour in copper mines are as long lived as any class what ever but they strictly adhere to the Old Jewish Law of washing their hands before they eat,

280

Materia Medica

Stimulants

vertigo. In three hours I vomitted and continued stupid during the balance of the day, to me these experiments are conclusive yet they are not so complete as to have further investigation unnecessary. Dr Haller has given striking proofs of the stimulus of opium, he was under the necessity of using it himself and after using it in injection his pulse was varied from 30 to 36 and sometimes to 100 I think the primary effects of this article is to make the pulse more frequent and at the same time fuller, those authors who entertain a different opinion probably have not attended to the effects of our medicine, in such experiments we should attend to the pulse the verry minute at which the opium was taken, the same observation was applicable to experiments with other substances since many articles act almost immediately. Dr Bard wrote an essay upon opium in order to prove it produced a sedative effect but his experiments are verry unsatisfactory, he was quite unattentive to its primary effects he took half a grain of opium his pulse being at 71, in 1 hour it was at 69 and in 2 hours at 60 but he gives no accout of its operation during the first 35 minutes, and consequently did not suppose the medicine would have so instantaneous an effect. I believe that these experiments convinced Dr Cullen of the

288

Materia Medica

Stimulants

in the perspiration, and this would lead us to believe it would enter the course of the circulation, which is my opinion. A nephew of Dr Booerhave gave opium to a dog and upon killing him found a preternatural accumulation of bile in the duodenum and gall bladder, the liver was also tinged with bile. Of the effects of opium on the animal functions, I shall now proceed to treat as brief as the subject will alow, it produces hilliarity and if be taken in large quantities, intoxication takes place, this however is an agreeable intoxication, it likewise occasions priapismus and a propensity to venerial pleasures, and this even in old people, of this Dr Haller and some others have been proofs, after sometime the effect subsides and is succeeded by weariness &c. And if the dose has been too large, rigors, vertigo, and convulsions succeed, such are the common though not the uniform effects of opium, death has been brought on by the use of Laudanum without being preceded by convulsions, I have seen two cases of persons having destroy'd them selves in this manner without having convulsions, it is said by some authors that when these convulsions are induced by an over dose of opium, they are of a peculiar kind, they are said in

414

Materia Medica

Stimulants

without depending on laudanum. I have kept of [off] paroxysm of epilipsy by this about two hours before the expected paroxysm. I have apply'd synapisms to the neck and found them better than blisters, in Scarlatina Anguinosa, they produce a separation of the gangrenous parts, they have been supposed to have some effect on the genital organs, restoring the venerial power, there are some cases of deafness in which these cataplasms to the ancles have done some good, they were cases of arthritic kinds and are sometimes relieved by cupping &c. But synapisms are of greater use in cholera Morbus we generally give laudanum with safety, but lately where the disease has been more violent I have apply'd synapisms and give opium in other forms, since adopting this practice I have never lost an adult patient in this disease. In vertigo I have used them with great advantage, and have experienced their good effects in my own person for I have frequently kept off the vertigo by this means, they are however often however precarious remidies especially when apply'd to parts which are affected with pain. I one saw a case of a violent pain in the kidneys which by the application of these to the seat of the disease was transplanted to the bladder, it was however entirely removed by applying them to the ancles, this may be said of blisters. In Arthritic Stranguary blisters are verry serviceable, but when stranguary is induced