River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-06-11
THE MAGICAL DRUG.
Which Takes From the Knife of Sur
gerry Its Pain Wonderful Success of the
New Anasthetic-A Great Demand fol
Cocaine


patient at the Post Graduate School of
Medicine recently when Tribune re-
porter entered the room and asked,
aDo you still use cocaine as an annsthet
ic?"
well, / should say so. In operations
upon the eve | feel now that | could not
get along without IT. In general practice
it has driven ether and chloroform out of
the field 1t is not only wonderful
discovery, but it is astonishing how rap
idly it has risen into favor Even the
most conservative in my profession, who
look with disfavor upon anything new,
will acknowledge that they have at least,
heard OF it..
"What is cocaine?"
1t IS the alkalOid of the leaves of
shrub, originally Wild but now largely
cultivated, known as the crythroxy lon
coca 1t grows in South America, prin
cipalIy in Peru and Bolivia, and looks
much like the ordinary tea leaf. DR. \.
Neimann, of Gosktr, Germany, gave it
its present name in 1860. But little
was then wn of the properties OF
the drug. IN some experiments it was
found that dogs could be killed by it
when given IN large doses. Its effect
was to paralvze the respiratory organs.
Experiments have been made from time
to time with it since but it has never
been looked upon as of much value as a
therapeutic agent That it would pro-
duce local ansusthesia was unkn own un
til it was accidentally discovered by
Young medical student named Roller,
at Vienna, last September. Its merits
have since been thoroughly tested and
discussed all over the civilized world. /
think that it has been tried in more
cases III this country than in any other.
and believe that the palm for bold eX-
perimeutatiOn and demonstration of
its auWsthetic properties in many
branches Of minor surgery should he
awarded to America. There is hardly
7 field in which 1t has not been used with
success. Too much cannot be said in
its praise in surgical operations upon
the eve, ear and nose. Almost every
conceivable operation has been tried in
these parts with cocaine, and III cases,
the first the patient knew-sO far as
feeling went-that any cutting had been
done, was when the wound was being
] bandaged. 1t is much easier to tell
where it has not been used than where
ii has been 1t has brought sleep to
ewes that would not close, sOothed an
grv wounds so that they were painless,
stopped acute hemorrhages and distress
ing asthmatic spasms, has allayed the
irrtability Of the mucous lining Of the
mouth, SO that laryngoscopic examna-
tions could he made without distress,
and food could he given IN the last
stages Of consumption, and has made
+ the boring Of the dental engine almost
pleasure, and the pulling of teeth
+ painless. Its value is incalculable in
/ gvuWcology and genitO-urinary sur
gerry.
/ rs 1t true, as reported, that injurious
effects have been found to follow the
use of cocaine in some cases :"
So far as my experience goes and l
have treated hundreds of cases in which
it has been freely used 1 have yet to
report the FIRST case Of injurious conse-
Quenccs l have heard of ore case of
+ historical paralysis and a number Of
/ cases Of nervous prostration following
! its use. | 10 not believe these condi-
| tions were the results ofthe cocaine, but
/ think they grew out Of another cir
cumstance that appears IN all the opera
tions IN which it is used. 1t is only a
/ local anaSthctic; the senses remain per-
fectly active. and the operations of the
mind normal. Although no pain
! is felt when the knife or other
/ instrument enters the patients flesh,
yet the ghsteuiGg knife and tho
squirting blood can be seen, and if the
/ patient has not strong nerves the sight
Of these things VIII awaken horror in
the mind and rapidly exhaust the vital
/ energy. 1t is fear more than cocain
| that produces an i'll effect. There are
/ also special cases in which cocaine can
/ not be used to advantage. Take, for
/ instance person of delicate nervous
I organization, troubled with squint or
/ some other eve difficulty where an OPP
/ Grafton is necessary. The eve could be
anesthctized, hut not the mind and the
! patient would become exceedingly
/ Troublesome, and twist and squirm
I from purely mental Impressions. and
render the surgeon liable to iuflict an
i injury that might be fatal to the eye.
In cases Of this nature the old anms-
/ thctics must be used.
Is cocaine made in this cOuntry?"
"les, It Is made b. a number of firms.
/ When first used last fall it was put up
only bv Merck, a German chemist, was
very scarce. and worth more than its
weight IN gold. 1t was made by a
/ secret process. American chemist, as
soon as there was a demand for it, how
ever, began to experiment, and after
months Of patient trial and the destruc-
ton of large quantity of coca leaves,
have Mt last gwen us an alkaloid as
good, and many think better, than
4 Nierck's imported preparation. The
price, though it has been reduced some
what. is still exorbitant and has lot
reached a normal basis. The demand
has increased beyond the supply. 1t
Will take probably two years to bring
cocaine to its proper position as com
mercjal article. The demand for coca
/ leaves has been so great that the market
t has been cleaned out of all those OF
good quality, and chemists will have to
wait until the plants grow to get their
material The plants are raised III
comparatively small section of country,
/ but on account Of the prospects of the
/ future, preparations are being made to
! raise them on an extended scale.
How does cocaine compare with ether
in price,"
1T is difficult to make comparison.
Quantity for quantity, cocaine will
oyertop ether enormously. Ia actual
use | think cocaine the cheaper
While it may take six ounces of ether to
auusthetize person, the same practi
cal result can be attained with a few
drops Of solution that contains only
four per cent. Of cocaine, this differ
encc in quantity makes the actual cost
for a gwen operation about the same,
and in time the advantage will be large
/ II on the side of cocaine. The future
of cocaine IS q matter.of suppostion,
+ but | believe that its uses are vet in the
infancy Of development, and it will bc
a greater bocr to suffering humanity
than We have any idea of at present.
That portion Of the population of
London known as ''socicty" IS at pres