o was made sick by the slightest bit of
nutmeg. Tissot observed vomiting in one of his friends after the
ingestion of the slightest amount of sugar. Ritte mentions a similar
instance. Roose has seen vomiting produced in a woman by the slightest
dose of distilled water of linden. There is also mentioned a person in
whom orange-flower water produced the same effect. Dejean cites a case
in which honey taken internally or applied externally acted like
poison. It is said that the celebrated Haen would always have
convulsions after eating half a dozen strawberries. Earle and Halifax
attended a child for kidney-irritation produced by strawberries, and
this was the invariable result of the ingestion of this fruit. The
authors personally know of a family the male members of which for
several generations could not eat strawberries without symptoms of
poisoning. The female members were exempt from the idiosyncrasy. A
little boy of this family was killed by eating a single berry. Whytt
mentions a woman of delicate constitution and great sensibility of the
digestive tract in whom foods difficult of digestion provoked spasms,
which were often followed by syncopes. Bayle describes a man who
vomited violently after taking coffee. Wagner mentions a person in whom
a most insignificant dose of manna had the same effect. Preslin speaks
of a woman who invariably had a hemorrhage after swallowing a small
quantity of vinegar. According to Zimmerman, some people are unable to
wash their faces on account of untoward symptoms. According to Ganbius,
the juice of a citron applied to the skin of one of his acquaintances
produced violent rigors.
Brasavolus says that Julia, wife of Frederick, King of Naples, had such
an aversion to meat that she could not carry it to her mouth without
fainting. The anatomist Gavard was not able to eat apples without
convulsions and vomiting. It is said that Erasmus was made ill by the
ingestion of fish; but this same philosopher, who was cured of a malady
by laughter, expressed his appreciation by an elegy on the folly. There
is a record of a person who could not eat almonds without a scarlet
rash immediately appearing upon the face. Marcellus Donatus knew a
young man who could not eat an egg without his lips swelling and purple
spots appearing on his face. Smetius mentions a person in whom the
ingestion of fried eggs was often followed by syncope. Brunton has seen
a case of violent vomiting and purging after the
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