The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-05
Points Of Modern Hygiene
Po1soNs AND ANTIDoTEs.

POISONS AND ANTIDOTES.
Even in the city cases of poisoning often
prove fatal because a physician cannot
be procured in time to administer the
necessary remedies, and it would be a
wise precaution for every household TO
have some general directions at hand for
an emergency. The New York Society for
instruction in First Aid to the Injured
teaches its classes the symptom and REM
edies for various poisons as follows:
Among the poisons known as irritant
are arsenic in its numerous forms corro-
sive, sublmate sugar of lead. white LEAD.
the strong acids, such as sulphuric or VII
riol, muriatic, nitric, oxahc and caroohc;
the strong alkalies, such as soda, potash
lime and ammonia water. The symptoms
Of poisoning by an irritant are severe
pains in the stomach and abdomen, nau-
sea, vomiting, purging, faintness, ana OF
ten feeble pulse and breathing Inc treat
ment is first to cause vomiting by giving
a tumblerful of warm mot hoO water
with a tablespoonful of gorund dry mus
tard stirred in it; or by pushing the fore
finger as far as possible down the throat
The forefinger is the best possible emetc
After causing the patient to vomit freely,
give large draughts OF milk or the whites
of couple of eggs. not beaten II the
poison were an acid, give also magnesla
or cooking soda OF neutralize- II an al
kali, give lemon juice or tablespoonful
of vinegar.
The systemic poisons are opium, NOR
phia, laudanum, paregoric. belladonna'
atropia, aconite, henbane or hyoscyamus'
stramonium, prussic acid, cyanide OF pot
assium, nuX vomica, strychnia, alcohol'
chloroform and ether. The symptoms dill
fer with the different poisons, but as
rule there is gradually increasing sleepi-
ness, stupor, insensibility or perhaps de-
lirium, and stertorous or puffy breath
ing. In opium poisoning (Which includes
| morphia, laudanum and paregoric) the
pupils of the eyes are contracted to the
size of small pinheads, breathing is very
slow, and the face often extremely pale
| In strychnia poisoning there are convui-
sons, almost like epilepsy, and the jaws
are set firmly together. In belladonna'
| atropia, hyoscaymus and stramonium the
pupils of the eye are dilated, the pulse
| rapid, and the appearance is that OF fever.
In aconite choral and tobacco poisoning
there is great prostration, pulse feeble
and face pale.
The first thing to be done, as in the
other poisons, is to cause repeated vom-
| iting using the same means. After the
emetic has acted freely, give strong
black coffee in frequent doses. If a case
of opium poisoning on no account allow
the patient to go to sleep. Keep him
walking up and down, slapping him on
the back and chest with wet towel,
but he careful not to exhaust him. If
symptoms of collapse appear, pat hot ap-
plications on the abdomen and legs. The
| symptoms are feeble breathing, face pale,
| pinched about the nose and anxious, eye
| lids dropping, eyes dull, pulse feeble and
skin cold. %
| If the respiration becomes slower than
| five or six breaths in a minute, begin arti-
| fetal respiration, and continue until nc
| longer necessary. Artificial respiration Is
produced by laying the patient on his
back, with roll of cloth under the shout
ders. Draw the tongue well out and tie
it against the lower teeth by laying the
center of dry strip of cloth on it, cross
ing the fcloth under the chin, carrying
ends around the neck. Then kneel behind
his head, grasp arms halfway between
elbows and wrists. and draw them up ano
over his head until his hands touch the
floor behind. Hold them there for fully
two seconds then carry them back unit
they rest against the sides of the chest
and press them firmly against the ches
for two seconds. Repeat until natural res
piration takes place. The method is the
same as in cases Of drowning.
Permanganate of potassium is an anti
dote to morphine, but coffee is valuable
in all systemic poisons.
COAL TAR AS A THERAPEUTIC
AGENT.
Coal tar and it's preparations thera
peutic agent are rapidly coming to tn
front. Among the recent valuable add
tions to the materia nedica are various
preparations derived from gas or coal tar
to which a special interest is ATTACHED
from the not unreasonable expectation
that from the same source may be draw
, an efficacious remedy for Asiatic cholera
A prominent American weekly, in refer
ence to the matter, says: In the con
densing vessels of coal-gas works is
gas liquor from which is obtained tn
muriate Of ammonium. This has a whole
some influence on diseased conditions o