864
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
vie
the other uses made of it require a more impartial examination ercan form any just estimate of their value. The indications and coindications for its employment are probably similar to those ot *.donna. In persons disposed to apoplexy it is a very dangerous re !'^.jtliIn neuralgia (tic douloureux, sciatica, tyc.) it has been employe'■ ,
considerable success, by Lentin (Bayle, Bibl. Ther. t. ii.), Marcet UChir. Trans, vols. vii. and viiii.), and Begbie (Trans. Med.-Chir- £Edinb. vol. i.) It was given internally in the form of extract. \ j ja5ternal application has scarcely been tried. In rheumatism 1 ^ [Sfrequently proved serviceable from its anodyne qualities (see the re P^ ;of Kirckhoff, Engelhart, Van-Nuffal, and Amelung, in Bayle, 0 ^ -also Eberle, Mat. Med.) In enterodynia (that is, spasmodic pain 0bowels unconnected with inflammatory action or the presence of in' 1 - jsubstances), Dr. Elliotson (Lancet, 1826-7, vol. xii.; and 1827 - 8 , v '° ’found it most successful. . a t
In some cases of spasmodic asthma, smoking the herb has g 1 ' ^least temporary relief (English , in Ed. Med. and Surg. Journ. v ° ’ a u-and Dr. Sims, Ibid. vol. viii.): but the practice requires very gr ea on ,etion, as it has on some occasions proved highly injurious, and in s ^instances fatal. Dr. Bree (Lond. Med. and Phys. Journ. vol. xxvi.tried it in 82 asthmatic cases : in 58 of these it had no permanent b geffect, and in the remaining 24 it acted injuriously. Generalwas instrumental in introducing the practice, fell a victim to it 1 -p. 49). Aggravation of the dyspnoea, paralytic tremblings, e r^eiheadache, and apoplexy, are some of the evils said to have been 111 . uS ,in the cases above referred to. In persons disposed to head aff eCand in aged persons, it is therefore a highly dangerous practice. gjeThe diseases in which stramonium has been principally^ n se ^ t j,e
,ie,
mania and epilepsy. Bayle (Bibl. Therap. t. ii.) has collected fr ()I1 ‘works of Storck, Schemalz, Ilazoux, Reef, Meyer, Odhelius, G lir j
fifty
cases of the first, and forty-five of the latter malady, treated by str j iaV enium: in both diseases a considerable majority of cases are said to ^been either cured or relieved by it. Without denying the occasionnefit of stramonium in these diseases, I believe the cases in whichserviceable to be very rare, while those in which it is calculatedinjurious are very common. Dr. Cullen (Mat. Med.) observes,has no doubt that narcotics may be a remedy for certain cases of hj ^and epilepsy; but he very justly adds, “ I have not, and I doubt u sother person has, learned to distinguish the cases to which such rem eare properly adapted.” ^.
Stramonium has been used to dilate the pupil and to diminish th e ,sibility of the retina to the influence of light; but for both of these yposes belladonna is preferred by British oculists. Wendt (Rust’s 0 .Bd. xxiv. S. 302) used it to lessen venereal excitement, as in ny ia h ^mania. An ointment (made with y. of the powdered leaves, and 3* ’lard) has been used as an anodyne application to irritable ulcers an ^ ee npainful hemorrhoids. The application of the leaves to burns hasattended with dangerous results (Journ. de Chim. Med. t. vi. p- 72 "/ . 0 (
Administration. —The dose of the powdered leaves is one S ral ^j c ethe seeds half a grain. These doses are to be repeated twice or ja-day, and to be gradually increased until some obvious effect is pr°