Milford chronicle., 1904-06-17
HYDRoPHoBIA.
A Cure For It May Perhaps Be Founa
In Stryehnine.

In Strychnine.
Some time ago l was told of a rem
edy for hydrophobia which was used
by the natives in this part of China
1t was said to be a secret in the sole
possession of one family whose ances-
tral home is in Tungchowfu. in the
province of Shangtung. and had been
passed down from mother to daughter
for the last 400 years. The last possess
or of the secret had no daughters and
revealed it to her youngest son. who
now lives in Weihaiwei. The remedy
was said to consist of a powder made
from a certain hard nut grown in the
province, which was sOftened bv boil-
ing in an earthenware pot. no kind of
metal being allowed to touch it. then
grated on the outside of the basin and
reduced to pulp, which was dried and
put up in packets for future use or at
once administered to the sufferer. who.
if necessary, was tied down and the
remedy forced down his throat. The
patient was said to fall into deep
sleep, in which he sweated profuseIy
and awOke cured. No money was
taken in payment, the possessor of the
secret trusting 10 gain merit in the next
world after death.
1 was assured that cures were au-
thentic. My informant, Il Scotch lady
who had lived many years in China.
had a Chinese servant who was bitten
by a mad dog and was treated and re-
covered. A woman bitten at the same
time, not treated. died with all the
| symptoms of hydrophohia. My friend.
at my request, very kindly managed to
procure me an interview with the
| owner of the secret, who brought me
his basin and three powders and three
nuts. l was astOniShed to find that
| they We're the seeds Of Il species of
strychnOs, probably strychnos nux
| vOmica. The cOarsely ground fibrOus
powders gave the tests. as far as l
was able to carry them out, for strych-
nine Each nut was about five-eighths
| of an inch across and weighed nineteen
grains. The powders weighed four
teen, fifteen ANA sixteen grains rcspec-
| lively. 1t would be interesting to know
| what the exact dose of the alkalOid in
each powder is.
can find no account Of the treat
ment of hydrophobia by strychnine in
the books Mt my disposal unless we OK
cept curara. which was at one time
used as remedy in this terrible dis
ease \ species of strychnOs is said to
be potent element in its composition.
The narcotic and sudorific properties
spoken Of above seem also TO be un-
known at the present time; yet, curl
ously enough. the writer of the article
''Nux VOmica" in Chambers Cyclic
! paedia of the year 1TSG. the four vol
umes of which | possess, lays greater
| stress on these than he does on its
| poisonous properties. He states that
'they are of n strong narcotic quality,
so as to be ranked in the number Of
| poisons." l have consulted several
authorities in China. and, though the
drug certainly finds a place among ma
| tive medicines, l can find no reference
to its use in this disease or that it is
at all used by native practitioners. at
| least in this part of China. Some Of
the symptoms of hydrophobia bear a
certain resemblance to those of poison
ing by strychnine, and it would there
fore almost appear as though the prin-
ciDle of similia similibus CurantuT has
been applied by the Chinese in this
case. There is no doubt that in regard
TO other remedies they have firm be-
lief in this doctrine.-F Surgeon v.
! G. Thorpe in London Lancet