Morning journal and courier., 1885-11-20
ARSENIC INEBRIETY.
Peculiarfties of a Man Who Took From Twelve to Twenty Grains of the Drug Daily.

PeculiarftieS of a Man Who Took
 From Twelve to Twenty Grains of
 the Drug Daily.
 A typical example of class of cases not
 we'll understood by the general public-cases
 in which arsenic, like alcohol or opium, is
 taken as narcotic or stimulant-is de
 tailed by Dr. T. D. Brothers in the Quarterly
 Journal of Inebriety for October. An Eng
 fish veterinary surgeon and trainer, who had
 greatly exaggerated fear of death, had com
 menced the taking of arsenic in the belief
 that it would protect him against levers. He
 had continued it on account of it's stimula-
 tive properties, and consulted the doctor only
 after the i'll effects of the habit had manifest
 ed themselves. Up to 1880 he was in good
 health and did his work well, although he
 was then taking from one to two drachms
 of Fow1er's solution of arsenic every day or second day on account of exhaustion and
 ssbad feeling" For four years he wandered from place to place, doing service as train CT and horse doctor, and during this time the use of arsenic had steadily increased, until he was taking three ounces of Fowler's solu- tion in a day. The ordinary dose of the drug is five drops three times day. He oft en found it difficult to procure so large quantity of solution, 50 he commenced to ] use the powder, of which he ate hfteen or twenty grains day.
 His appearance at that time was that of a man in good health. His face was full and the skin clear and white. The eyes were ! brilliant, though somewhat unsteady, and when talking the facial muscles moved 1nor- dinately. His countenance showed no wrln- kles or marked lines. His walk had become | deliberate and hesitating and the sensibility of his skin was diminished. He complained of rheumatic stiffness, which was very pro 1 nounced when he was deprived of his usual | dose of arsenic. At times he ate an lnord1' nate amount of food, and then he would ab- stain from eating for week or more For year his sleep had been broken by bad dreams; he would wake up covered with precipitation and his mind was filled with vague and depressing fears. When he awoke I in the morning he felt sense of exhaustion l and pressure all over the body, which stead1- ly grew worse until the arsenic was taken. One hour after taking the drug all this bad feeling passed away and sense of quiet | hilaration prevailed, which formerly had | been marked but at last was shorter and less | distinct Breathing became difficult through any general exertion before taking the drug, but after taking it no such trouble was ob- served The heart was disturbed functional 1 ly, and he complained of failure of memory | and general indisposition to work. He was 1 always in doubt as to what course of action l would be best for him to pursue, and was ! ull6O WlGn IeaTS auQ OredO OI Iulstdkcs, par | ticularly when the effects of the arsenic wore I away. Even after taking the usual dose the | indisposition to work continued. He could not concentrate his mind long on any topic | at any time. At times he would be very
 emotional, laughing and crying at unimpor- l tant incidents; then he would become oblivi-
 ous to all emotion. Pride in dress and ap- pearance seemed to furnish the only pleasure | of his life. He would dress himself with great care and then pass his time in stable
 or on a hotel stoop gazing out into space in silence. As the effect of the drug wore off l he would become boastful and excitable. At such times his judgment was bad, but when
 he had recently taken the drug his judgment was generally correct
 l He was very methodical in his habits, l taking the drug twice day in secret. He
 bathed very often to take away strong odor of the skin, which was evidently caused by l the elimination of the arsenic. He was
 known to his companions as very changea
 ble, eccentric man, who, early in the morn ing and late in the afternoon, was sshalf era
 zy." These and other symptoms indicated a
 general failure of both body and mind, rap
 idly approaching dementia. At times he was alarmed and wished to give up the use of the