Remarks on a Case of Suicidal Poisoning with Burnett's Fluid
Authors: H. M. Tuckwell
Journal: BMJ (1874)

A 1MAID-SERVANT, aged 21, was brought from a village near Oxford to the Radcliffe Infirmary on the afternoon of February 2nd, 1874.The person who brought her stated that she had taken Condy's fluid* about six hours before.An emetic was at once given, and vomiting encouraged by draughts of warm water.The girl was put to bed, and ordered to take nothing but cold milk.I saw her on the following morning.The body was plump and well nourished.She lay on her back, with an anxious and depressed face; was quite sensible, and answered all ques- tions clearly and readily; but her voice was feeble, almost whispering.She stated that on the previous day, about noon, in consequence of a quarrel with her fellow-servant, the cook, she resolved, in a fit of desperation, to destroy herself.She went to a cupboard where was a bottle labelled " poison", containing a wlhite fluid ; she uncorke(I the bottle, poured out about three-parts of a teacupful, and drank it off.As the fluid passed down into the stomach she felt no pain, but directly aftervards she was seized with a violent burning pain at the pit of the stomach, and vomited the contents of the stomach.She was now suf- fering from a feeling of great faintness, and a burning pain at the epi- gastrium and under the left ribs.Her throat was sore, and she had some difficulty in swallowing.She had retched frequently since ad- mission, but there had been no action of the bowels.The lips, mouth, and tongue, were unhurt; but the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and pharynx, were inflamed.There was much tenderness on pressure at the epigastrium.Pulse 144, very feeble.She was ordered to suck ice, and to con- tinue the cold milk.February 4th.She had severe pain in the epigastrium and left hypo- chondrium.There was less vomiting, but still a little retching, with which she brought up a little mucus.She felt very faint if she attempted to raise herself in bed.The mucous membrane of the soft palate was covered with a white film, not unlike diphtheritic membrane.A slough was separating from the right tonsil and uvula.She had had no action of the bowels.There was no albumen in the urine.February 8th.The vomiting had stopped for three days.The pain was relieved.The soft palate was covered with a yellowish slough.February 12th.The vomiting had begun again last night, when she brought up a potful of black fluid, with much mucus, some shreds of tissue, and much clotted milk.The sloughs in the throat had not yet separated.Pain was constantly felt in the left hypochondrium, and was increased by food.She was ordered to continue milk-diet, and to have an enema of warm water.February 20th.A copious black pitchy stool followed the enema.She had had no more sickness.The throat had healed.March 9th.The pain and sickness, which had abated for awhile, had returned.She had suffered occasionallyfrom attacks of tetanic spasm in the right forearm and hand, which lasted for a few minutes and then passed off, being unattended with loss of consciousness.March 23rd.She was in much the same state.Yesterday she had passed, after an injection, another copious dark pitchy stool.April 2nd.The vomiting and pain had both increased, and she was rapidly losing flesh.She was ordered to take nothing but ice by the mouth, and to have four times in the twenty-four hours an injection of strong beef-tea and brandy.April 9th.She had continued vomiting, though nothing but ice had been taken.The vomited matters contained a considerable quantity of altered blood.April i 8th.She had become steadily thinner and weaker.The vomit- ing had continued quite uninflutenced by remedies, of which prussic acid and morphine had been the chief.The vomited matters were whiteybrown in colour, with a dark sediment.The gums were becoming spongy, and bled.