containing three grains of the extract of belladonna. The
dermal manifestations, such as urticaria and eruptions resembling the
exanthem of scarlatina, are too well known to need mention here. An
enema containing 80 grains of belladonna root has been followed in five
hours by death, and Taylor has mentioned recovery after the ingestion
of three drams of belladonna. In 1864 Chambers reported to the Lancet
the recovery of a child of four years who took a solution containing
1/2 grain of the alkaloid. In some cases the idiosyncrasy to belladonna
is so marked that violent symptoms follow the application of the
ordinary belladonna plaster. Maddox describes a ease of poisoning in a
music teacher by the belladonna plaster of a reputable maker. She had
obscure eye-symptoms, and her color-sensations were abnormal. Locomotor
equilibration was also affected. Golden mentions two cases in which the
application of belladonna ointment to the breasts caused suppression of
the secretion of milk. Goodwin relates the history of a case in which
an infant was poisoned by a belladonna plaster applied to its mother's
breast and died within twenty-four hours after the first application of
the plaster. In 1881 Betancourt spoke of an instance of inherited
susceptibility to belladonna, in which the external application of the
ointment produced all the symptoms of belladonna poisoning. Cooper
mentions the symptoms of poisoning following the application of extract
of belladonna to the scrotum. Davison reports poisoning by the
application of belladonna liniment. Jenner and Lyman also record
belladonna poisoning from external applications.
Rosenthal reports a rare case of poisoning in a child eighteen months
old who had swallowed about a teaspoonful of benzin. Fifteen minutes
later the child became unconscious. The stomach-contents, which were
promptly removed, contained flakes of bloody mucus. At the end of an
hour the radial pulse was scarcely perceptible, respiration was
somewhat increased in frequency and accompanied with a rasping sound.
The breath smelt of benzin. The child lay in quiet narcosis,
occasionally throwing itself about as if in pain. The pulse gradually
improved, profuse perspiration occurred, and normal sleep intervened.
Six hours after the poisoning the child was still stupefied. The urine
was free from albumin and sugar, and the next morning the little one
had perfectly recovered.
There is an instance mentioned of a robust
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