The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-04
THREE PUPlL-o,LATrNe polsoNs.
characteristics of "A Peculiar Group
The SYMPTOMS They Produce-Rem-

Characteristic of Peculiar Group
edies.
There IS a peculiar group Of poisOus
whose action Is 10 dilace the pupils in
stead of contracting them, ike opium, 20
arrest the seCretions Of the skin, to stimu-
late the brain, causing delirium, and par
alyze the ends Of the nerves of motion; TO
stimulate the spinal cord and then paral-
we it; to increase the action Of the heart
and then TO bring 1t TO a stand-stilL
These drugs are beuadonna Cthe deadly
night shade, hyoscyamus, (henbaneJ, and
stramOnium crimson weed or thorn
APPLE. These all act alike, but vary in
strength, the order in which they have
been named being that Of their destructive
qualities. They aIlay pain, but not TO
the same extent as opium, and induce
sleep TO some degree.
The symptoms produced are alike, an ,
are as follows, when given in poisonous
doses: Heat and dryness of the mout h a-i
throat, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, ind,
tinct or double vision, delirium, great e.
element, commissions followed by stuCr-
and uncOnsCiOusnesS. The pupils OF
eyes are dilated to their utmost, and liz
does not affect them. The face is r
dened with an eruption similar to thU; O.
scarlet fever; the eyes are fixed "a,
brilliant; the gait is lettering; and the tlc
Irium is such as to cause silly talk ? G,,
frequent bursts of causeless laughter.
The berries, root and leaves of belladonua
have each caused fatal poisoning. The
active principle, atropine, is an extremely
powerful drug, producing the same ef-
fectS when taken in very minute doses.
Poisoning may result from applying 81
belladouna plaster to the skin, especially
If the surface is broken. NEST cases oi
belIudonna poisoning result from mi
takes IN prescri bing or administers
remedies. Its use By criminals is rare.
SiamOnjum, or "iimsOD weed" i sue
common plant and accessible TO cyr
one that pOisouin5 from the c&v,..
swallowing of ITS seeds is not
all uncommon. Scarcely a y:
passes but Some child dies from I"
cause in our city. The authorizes ;,'s
certainly responsible for such accident,
as it would be an easy matter to cans"
every plant of the kind to be deStroye,!
before the seeds have matured. In In Tia
a similar plant is often made use of by
the Thugs TO reader their victims help
less. The symptoms are the same as those
Of belladOnna poisoning 1t is likely that
some Of the "drugGing" employed by the
professional thieves in this country IS
utttS W tIh PIGPdl dCtOLS VI Sll dLlOiiANiA
seeds.
HenDane (hyoscyamus) is poisonous IN
every part. Leaves, roots ald seeds pro
duce effects ike those observed after
poisoning By belladonna, but the dose :,
CURED to produce such results is mU":
larger. Twenty Of the seeds have br''
known to produce poisoning, and the sam
may be said of the 'jimsOn weed"
The treatment of poisoning by any o
these three plants is to- remove all thu.
may remain in the stomach by the III"
prompt and effective emetics; in case tn"
do not act. the stomach tube must
brought into use. Then give castor oil e.
remove any of the poisonous mateTi:!
that may have passed beyond the stoia
acn, AS there is no trustworthy chemiCa
antidOte, morphine may be given Can
tiously on account of its action being @,
posed in most particulars to that of thcs
pOisGns. Coffee and alcohol should h
given if the heart becomes very weak,
shown by the pulse. Animal charcot
and tannin have been given, althOuGi
there do not appear to be any very goo
reasons for administering them.-Cor
Globe-DemOcrat.