WHAT INFLUENCE DO STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS EXERT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD?.
Authors: E. STUVER
Journal: JAMA (1898)

cessfully treat the nervous system, especially to that extent to obviate deformities produced by or through the nervous system, to know thoroughly, not only the nervous system, but the entire human system, and everything that would hinder or augment its normal development.Unless we have such knowledge, we will still find ourselves treating apparent poliomyelitis for soorbutis, rachitis for paralysis, torticollis for cervical adenitis, trismus for an erupting wisdom tooth, and the " knee jerk " for morbus coxarius.these being deformities produced by abnormal changes in the nervous system.However, there are some " made to order " ovarian deformities, if I may be pardoned for mentioning the fact, which do not come under the scope of this paper, or any other, in many instances, and would not occur if a better knowledge of the nervous system and its influence over each component part of the human system ex- isted.In many instances poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis in its various forms could be obviated if the functions and disorders of the nervous system were better understood.The remark once made by Prof. Jenner that more mistakes are made by " not seeing than by not knowing," is not without a lesson, and helps to confirm the fact that more mistakes are made in diagnosing than in treatment.Next to the deformities produced by poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis, are those produced by hysteria, which the consensus of opinion of modern writers on the subject has placed among the diseases of the nervous system, which by no means is the most easily handled.I believe, the nervous system being well understood, that a line of general treatment may be used that will lessen the chances for such deformities and militate against existing ones.For this, the con- stitutional treatment must be looked after first, and the disease will always indicate same, after which the special treatment can be prosecuted and the drugs used indicated by the specialization of the disease.All kinds of talipes, or club foot, wrist drop, rotary lateral curvature of the spine, and, in fact, nearly all the muscular deformities known to orthopedic sur- gery may be produced by some nerve disease, and to undertake to correct the deformity with surgical means without first endeavoring to ascertain the real cause which produced the deformity, and treating the same medicinally, would not be in keeping with the modern medical and surgical science of the day.To more fully illustrate how easily we may be mistaken in the cause and results of deformities produced by diseases of localized nerves, or the nervous system, I will report the following case which has recently come under my observation: December 7, 1897, Mr. B. brought his little three- year-old girl to me for examination, stating that she had a crooked back, which the doctor said was caused by the rickets.Upon a careful examination, I found that the child had a decidedly neuropathic family history, and a typic spasmodic rotary lateral curva- ture, which had been diagnosed and treated for rach- itic curvature, and as the diagnosis was incorrect, the treatment must have been, because there had been no change for the better, but rather for the worse, after about six months' trial.The further history of the case showed that any kind of excitement or fatigue would increase the deformity, and when in a state of repose or sleep, the spasm of the muscles seemed to lessen.This convinced me that it was a case for medicinal treatment.I gave her a good general tonic, strychnin internally, and locally used inunction and massage, and put on a crinoline jacket to support the spine and lessen the fatigue caused by the effort of the child to stand erect.Six weeks later I put her on three-drop doses of fluid extract of conium, in- creasing gradually to thirty drops, and hypodermic injections of atropin.These two drugs have always given good satisfaction in such cases.One month after this treatment began, a marked improvement was noticed, which continued, and soon the amount of medication was gradually diminished, and time for same increased, until a little over three months from the time treatment first began, the jacket was removed and treatment stopped, as the spasm of the muscles was a thing of the past, and she could walk erect without support.