Morning journal and courier., 1890-02-11
ANTIPYRINE.
The Dangers OF Its Bse-Views Of Many
Medical Men.

The Dangers of Hts Bse-Views of Many
Medical Men.
From The Boston Transcript
A medical gentleman writing to the Tor
onto Empire, sounds note of warning in
regard to the too free use of the compara-
lively new medicine. He says-Peeple are
rushing like mad to the druggist for antipy-
rine hoping to "head off" Ia grippe, little
thinking of the dangers they are incurring.
Professor Peabody, NJ. D., of New York, writes
of the use of antipyretics in general as being
most peraicious, In many cases reducing the
temperature to point below normal, and
thereby bringing about degree of prostra-
tion and feebleness of the heart that il
alarming in itself, and, as he declares, "for
which the drug and the doctor are respon-
sible."
The editor of the Medical Weekly, st.
Louis, says: "Within the past year q num-
ber of cases of poisoning have been reported
In medical journals In which grave symptoms
of poisoning have followed the administra-
use Of the drug as household remedy is
sanctioned by many medical men,"
DR.. William P. Northrop of New York
adds the report of TWO more cases In the
Medical News, which clearly prove that the
drug should be given by physicians only and
with great caution to those on whom its
effects are not known. In one of the above
other only five grains of the drug. In both
the symptoms were very serious and alarm
| ing, from which the first did not fully re-
cover in month. The writer states that
these patients wore clearly susceptible to
the poisonous influences of antipyrine, and
he also declares that s'it is only by expert
ment that we car learn who has this idiosyn-
Grassy or peculiar susceptibility and who has
| not; the only safe plan to pursue is always
| to give the first doses of the drug in small
quantities"
Another physician writes: "I had three
| typhoid patients with temperature ranging
from 1899 to 1869. To these I gave five
grains of antipyrine, to be repeated at inter-
walls of six hours Within two hours of the
first dose in each of these cases there was
extreme weakness, pallor, profuse sweating
i'm fact, impending collapse. The dose
was not repealed. Soon after this" )" he adds,
| ST tried the same dose in another case with
even worse results" In conversation with
other physicians he found that he was not
alone in this experience.
Another physician, after lauding antipy-
| rine for the good it has seemed to do, has,
however, by way of warning to his brethren,
| to declare the need of caution in it's use, as
death has resulted from it's administration.
One woman, after taking large dose, col
] lapsed, and died in few hours.
DR.. May, in the Lancet, 1885, reported
| threatened death from rs grains, willis DR..
Walsh goes to the other extreme, and re~
ported case of collapse after taking 10
| grains.
DR.. Mason, in the Boston hospital report,
says that out of 100 cases suffer collapse
after repeating doses of 20 to 30 grains.
In the Therapeutical Gazette are also some
valuable warnings of the danger of antipJ-
rine. In an editorial in their number Of
August, 1887, they give some cases in which
death was undoubtedly caused by antipyrfne,
and that not only in large doses, or the doses
of 35 to 70 grains recommended by the dis.
coverer, Filehne, but in one case of Gut
mann's, q dose of Is grains nearly caused
death.
Surely the above facts ought to startle the
people and tend to deter them from the reck-
physician does not know, before he has ex-
perimented, how large a dose his patient may
take aud not be injured.
Points About Wearing Black.
From New York Letter to Chicago Herald.l
Mr.. Russel gave me one or two points in
| regard to the wearing of black which may be
useful to my feminine readers. ga woman
| under twenty or over fifty can wear black
| well. Between those limits she should avoid
it. Women wear it thinking 1t makes their
| skin look white. A woman has black even
ing gown. She looks at her neck ard bosom.
at her arms above her black gloves and
thinks how fair and white they look. Very
true. But at the same time every line and
wrinkle in her face is accentuated. Let her