A text-book of practical therapeutics : with especial reference to the application of remedial measures to disease and their employment upon a rational basis / by Hobart Amory Hare.

  • Hare, H. A. (Hobart Amory), 1862-1931.
Date:
1897
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A text-book of practical therapeutics : with especial reference to the application of remedial measures to disease and their employment upon a rational basis / by Hobart Amory Hare. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    51/782 (page 49)
    ACONITE, OR MONKSHOOD. once, and lasts while the alcohol is being absorbed, and the alcohol sup- ports the heart until the digitalis, which is the physiological antagonist of aconite, but slow and prolonged in its effects, asserts itself. Atropine, because of its stimulating effect on the vaso-motor system, may also be used. If the breathing fails, artificial respiration is to be employed, or if the heart seems about to cease its action, a whiff of the nitrite ot amyl may start it going again, but only a few drops of the nitrite should be used, as large amounts depress this organ. Full hypodermic doses of strychnine, such as ^ to (0.003-0.006) of a grain, may be given to stimulate the respiration and heart. Untoward Effects.—Aconite may cause in susceptible persons a vesicular, or even a pustular, eruption, or instead intense itching of the skin may be developed. Therapeutics.—The employment of aconite in disease is one of the most universally recognized procedures in medicine. It fulfils indi- cations which nothing else can, and lends itself to the control of a large number of morbid processes, its effects being uniformly explaiii- able by its known physiological action. It is used chiefly for its influence as a cardiac and circulatory sedative, for its effects on the peripheral sensory nervous system, as in the vomiting of pregnancy, and in those states in which, through inflammation elsewhere, the nervous system needs a sedative which will simultaneously reduce arterial tension. In the early stages of all acute inflammations aco- nite is of service. It may be applied locally over superficial nerves in neuralgia in the form of an ointment (2 grains ' [4.0 100 0.1] to 1 drachm of the oleate to or as the oleate of aconitine, 2 grains [0.1_ 6.0] of sweet oil). In the earlier stages of gonorrhoea aconite in small doses frequently repeated is a most valuable remedy, and later in the disease tends to prevent chordee by its influence on the nervous centres. It is useful in croup, quinsy, sore throat, severe colds, bronchitis, and asthma due to exposure, in their early stages. When suppression of menstruation follows an exposure to cold, this drug, given with a hot drink and a hot sitz bath, will often restore the normal flow. In pericarditis it is valuable to allay the inflammation and quiet the excited heart, and it is also of great value in the earliest stages of sthenic pneumonia if great arterial excitement is present. Aconite is by far the best circulatory and nervous sedative for children suffering from sthenic fevers, particularly of the irritative type. It ought not to be used in adynamic, asthenic affections. Aconite is use- less and harmful in prolonged acute diseases, such as scarlet fever, if constantly employed. In persons who suffer from asthma which is preceded by coryza aconite does good if given in the earliest stages. In nervous palpitation of the heart and in the palpitation of exces- sive cardiac hypertrophy aconite is very valuable. In many cases of this character where there is not only hypertrophy, but irregular inner- vation, the use of a prescription containing aconite and digitalis proves of service, for the minute doses of digitalis stimulate the vagus nerves, and the aconite not only steadies the heart, but also counteracts the stimulant effect of the digitalis on the heart muscle: 4