Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-14

Inc use OF qu1llIne, particularly Id all
great excess. is said to be filling the asy-
lums with lunatics. and to be causing .
great many cases Of partial deafness and
dimness OF vision.
The st. Louis "Gl0be-D Democrat with
the aid of a regular physician, has been
investigating this quinine habit, with
some startling results. After referring to
the fact that Police Officer Marshall Sap
pingtsn, of the Central district, died al
the Insane Asylum recently. where he
has been confined for the past six
months, the excessive use Of quinine
having deranged his mind, a reporter OF
the "Globe-D Democrat" discovered somer re-
markable facts concerning the use of the
drug. A visit was paid to the office Of a
well-known physician just as q patient
was leaving. The physician was just
saying: young man, you have an ag-
gravated cast OF amaur0sis, and you'll
kill yourself if you don't let quinine
alono." The patient was a drummer,
and started to work Egypt about three
weeks ago, just when the last cut in the
price Of quinine was made, and, think
ing it a cheaper and less exhilarat-
ing malaria preventive than "Old Robin
son County," he dropped 60 cents worth
pills Of two grains each-into his
valise, and had been taking t%wenty-four
grains a day, until his return home last
Saturday night. His return was caused
ny a mysterious dimness of vision, which
attacked him on his second week out,
and which increased day by day until he
was unable to recognize his best GUS
toner across a room. A dull, persistent
headache and increased temperature
were accompanying symptoms, but Tin
other respects he wa feeling very WELL"
and consumed two of the four-grain pills
just before each meal. Strangely, enough
he did not connect his symptoms with
his consumption of ozark" and supposed
the quinine was a necessary substi-
tute for the half-pints of malarial pre-
he had been using before when
On the road. But.the doctor quickly un-
deceived him. and told him that he
might correctly gauge his capacity for
but not for quinine, and if he
wanted to stay in business he must leave
his little bark pills at home.
"And is there much misuse of
luinine Z" queried the "Globe- Democrat
representative who overheard the re-
mark.
BLESS you, yes. Between amaurosis,
and blindness which afiicts this young
nan, and cinchonism, or quinine deaf
hess. general practitioners are getting
my amount Of business out of the ride
llous uses to which this really valuable
is being put by ignorant laymen.
to forty grains, taken within say
len hours, are sufficient to cause amau-
'osis, and the regular use Of quinine in
much smaller quantities daily for a few
weeks is almost sure to produce deaf
hess, which sometimes is permanent. A
atal case of the alleged misuse of quiz
line by a policeman is reported from the
insane asylum, and there is good reason
o believe the diagnosis in his case was
orrect."
Inquiry among oculists and aurists de-
statements that quinine blind
ess and deafness prevail in St. Louis to
n alarming extent, thesediseases having
ever been heard of-certainly
OF under their present name until the
ecent shrinkage in value of this drug.
A pharmacist states that within a few
ears quinine in bulk brought 81 an {
lnce at retail, the retail price now for !:
andard brands being So cents to 60 f,
'nts per ounce. This deterioration in I
ice was due partly to the removal of !,
10 tariff from quinine and partly to the
eat improvement in machinery for t
'oducing it. Formerly a bark had to :
'ntain about 5 per cent. of quinine be- {
re it could p~roftably be worked for b
is popular alkaloid, but now if the 2
lrk contains l per cent. it is paying
Lrk,