Poisons, Their Effects and Detection: A Manual for the Use of Analytical Chemists and ExpertsBlyth, Alexander Wynter
Science
Poisons, Their Effects and Detection: A Manual for the Use of Analytical Chemists and Experts
Blyth, Alexander Wynter
Poisons
From a study of 121 recorded cases of phosphorus poisoning, I believe
the relative frequency of the different forms to be as follows:--The
common form 83 per cent., hæmorrhagic 10 per cent., nervous 6 per cent.,
anomalous 1 per cent. The “anomalous” are probably over-estimated, for
the reason that cases presenting ordinary features are not necessarily
published, but others are nearly always chronicled in detail.
§ 280. =Common Form.=--At the moment of swallowing, a disagreeable taste
and smell are generally experienced, and there may be immediate and
intense pain in the throat, gullet, and stomach, and almost immediate
retching and vomiting. The throat and tongue also may become swollen and
painful; but in a considerable number of cases the symptoms are not at
once apparent, but are delayed from one to six hours--rarely longer. The
person’s breath may be phosphorescent before he feels in any way
affected, and he may go about his business and perform a number of acts
requiring both time and mental integrity. Pain in the stomach (which, in
some of the cases, takes the form of violent cramp and vomiting)
succeeds; the matters vomited may shine in the dark, and are often
tinged with blood. Diarrhœa is sometimes present, sometimes absent;
sleeplessness for the first night or two is very common. The pulse is
variable, sometimes frequent, sometimes slow; the temperature in the
morning is usually from 36·0° to 36·5°, in the evening 37° to 38°.
The next symptom is jaundice. I have notes of the exact occurrence of
jaundice in 23 cases, as follows:--In 1 within twenty-four hours, in 3
within thirty-six hours, in 3 within two days, in 11 within three days,
in 1 within four days, in 1 within five days, in 1 within nine days, in
1 within eighteen days, and in 1 within twenty-seven days; so that in
about 78 per cent. jaundice occurred before the end of the third day.
Out of 26 cases, in which the patients lived long enough for the
occurrence of jaundice, in 3 (or 11 per cent.) it was entirely absent.
In 132 cases recorded by Lewin, Meischner, and Heisler, jaundice
occurred in 65, or about 49 per cent., but it must be remembered, that
in many of these cases the individual died before it had time to
develop. The jaundice having thoroughly pronounced itself, the system
may be considered as not only under the influence of the toxic action of
phosphorus, but as suffering in addition from all the accidents
incidental to the retention of the biliary secretion in the blood; nor
is there from this point any special difference between phosphorus
poisoning and certain affections of the liver--such, for example, as
acute yellow atrophy. There is retention of urine, sleeplessness,
headache, frequent vomiting, painful and often involuntary evacuations
from the bowels, and occasionally skin affections, such as urticaria or
erythema. The case terminates either by acute delirium with fever,
followed by fatal coma, or, in a few instances, coma comes on, and the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account