(seq. 363)

354

Materia Medica

Stimulants

a young man who was affected with Epilepsy with whoom he used
stramonium with great advantage, the same person was afterward
my patient, but I did not think it a case adapted to the use of
stramonium the pupils of his eyes were much dilated. I however gave the
article to him afterwards with manifest advantage, on the fifth of
July he took 1 gr. [grain] of the extract, bis die, on the ninth I ordered V.S.
℥vij [7 ounces] and gr 1 [1 grain] of the medicine in the morning and three grs [grains] in the
afternoon, increasing gradually, on the third of Sept he was
discharged cured, in another patient it increased the dilation of the
pupil, which I think is an indication of the inflamitory state of
the brain, in another case it diminished the violence of the fits as also
their frequency in a black woman who had laboured for a long time and
in whoom it was produced by an Aura Epileptica it effected a
complete cure, in some cases of Epilepsy bleeding, Purging, &c are verry
necessary and the same observations that are applicable to opium are
applicable to stramonium, where there is a plethoric state of the system
like opium it would be improper in Mania. I have frequently used
the extract of opium in the Pennsylvania Hospital, in the case of Mary
Hill I employ’d it with the happiest effects, on the 23d July 1800
I prescribed two grs [grains], on the 30th grs iij [3 grains] every night and increased it