The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-06-19
INDIGESTlBLE.
A Philadelphia Artisans Trouble with
Pins.
philadelphia Special

philadelphia Special
Herman Kolb, middle-aged German,
was discharged to-day from the GONZALES
cent ward of the Homeopathic Hospital.
During the eight weeks he has been under
medical and surgical treatment no less
than FIVE ordinary round-headed steel pins
have been removed from his body by sur
gical operations. Mr.. Kolb was found by
a reporter this evening in his house on
Baird street. "My trade,' said he, sis that
of a cutter and filter of furniture cover
ings. During the early spring and sum
mer [ was continually employed in cut
ting and fitting linen slip-cOvers, such as
are used to cover parlor furniture during
the summer months. OF course, L used
large quantities of pins, and in order to
work more rapidly l held the pins in my
mouth while adjusting the cover to the
sofa or chair. After time this caused
me no Inconvenience, and could talk with
my mouth full of pins as easily as you
can without them. / naturally became
careless. One day l swallowed about
half dozen as | raised my head suddenly
to speak to a fellow-workman. At
first | was terribly frightened. L took all
sorts of medicine for day or two, but L
soon found that the pins caused me no ap-
parent Inconvenience, and then became
as careless as ever. After that L suppose
| swallowed as many as a dozen, In lots
ranging from a single pin to three or four
at a time. Early in July L began to feel
severe pains and sharp, twitching spasms'
| thought it was dyspepsia or cholera NOR
bus. and secured treatment accordingly,
but without relief. The pains grew more
intense, and some days L was in agony for
I I1uf oil
from being a healthy man weighing one
hundred and eightysix pounds wasted
away in month to one hundred and thir-
tv-eight pounds August , l succumbed
entirely and went to the hospital. They
appeared to he puzzled by my symptoms,
but began treating me for acute dyspepsia.
All this time it never occurred to me that
the pins were at the root of the trouble, but
soon began to feel sharp pains in my back
and lust above my right thigh. Then l
was treated for inflammatory rheumatism
I did not relish any food, and l made
M NV mind that / was hoplessly sick
and certain to die. / was in this despond-
ent mood one day when l detected on
my back, about two inches to the right of
the spinal column, a small swelling just
where l had felt the sharp pains. All at
once | thought of the cases L had heard OF
where needles had worked through pOr-
tions of the human body and finally been
removed Then for the first time l told the
doctors about the pins 1 had swallowed.
The lump on my back indamed rapidly
and swelled up like boil. Ten days after
1 discovered it the swelling increased until
it resembled a carbuncle. Then the doctor
lancet and pulled out one of the little
steeI-n. .ded pins. The next day, after
removing the dressing, two more pins
made their appearance, and were readily
removed by the aid of small lancet. The
other two pins worked out in precisely the
same way three weeks later, only this time
they appeared just above my right thigh,
and had to endure the poulticing and cut
ting process all over again in new place.
I feel much better now, and my appetite IS
gOOd.O