The new treatment of snake-bite : with plain directions for injecting / By George Britton Halford, M.D.

  • Halford, George Britton
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The new treatment of snake-bite : with plain directions for injecting / By George Britton Halford, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    (Hoploce]3halus curtus) at two p.m. By 4 o'clock it was incessantly purging iand vomiting, and b^^ the next morning was nearly dead, the breathing being slow and the heart's action scarcely to be felt; in fact, it was questionable to some whether life had not pas^sed away. I now slowly injected 10 minims of the strongest liquid ammonia, mixed with 2<5 minims of water, into a vein of the neck—the external jugular. Immediately the dog improved; the heart beats were more evident, and the breathing fuller and more natural. The next day he was still better, but paralysed. On the following morning, Oct. 26,, I repeated the injection, but this time into the vein on the opposite side of the neck; from this he at once improved, and by the 31st could run about and eat well. Experiment 2.—Oct. 28, at 10.40 a.m., I pressed the whole contents ol^one poison gland beneath the skin of a small dog. At 11.5 a.m., vomiting, purging, and staggering came on. I at once injected into one external jugular vein the same quantity of diluted ammonia as in the first case; but the vomiting continued. At 12.15 p.m., I injected half the former quantity into another vein. Immediately the dog became quite easy; the vomiting, purging, and staggering ceased, and by 4 p.m., was quite well, eating and drinking. Experiment 3.—Nov. 2, at 10.30 a.m., I inoculated in five or six separate places a middling-sized dog with the contents of two poison glands of a large tiger snake. Vomiting, purging, and staggering were very severe and constant by 11.30 a.m. The same quantity of ammonia was injected, but into separate veins, owing to spilling some when operating on the first vein. Immediately all symptoms of snake poisoning ceased, although, from the severity of the inoculation, large sores prevented the dog running about for days. Experiment 4.—Nov, 2, at 10.45 a.m., I inoculated a middling-sized dog with the contents of one poison gland. Vomiting, purging, and staggering commenced at 11.30 a.m. At 11.45 a.m., I injected 20 minims of the solution. The dog at once recovered. Experiment 5.—Nov. 4, at 9 a.m., I placed a small dog in my box, in which were two large vicious tiger snakes. After he had remained in the box one hour and a half, during which time the snakes seemed afraid of biting, although occasionally, when irritated, they attacked him, but I could not be certain, though I fancied one had pricked him in the ear, I removed him, and to make certain, inoculated him with the contents of one poison gland. From what followed I believe he had been bitten. At 10.50 a.m., excessive vomiting, bloody purging, and staggering came on. I then injected 20 minims of the solution, which caused a strong spasm all over the body, and in one minute every bad symptom had ceased, and after waiting nearly an hour with two friends I left, satisfied of the dog's recovery, but in my absence, which lasted one hour, the dog became worse. My duties did not permit me to stay and repeat the injection, as I should otherwise have done, and in a few hours the dog died. But now commences a new chapter in the history of snake-poisoning. Five days after the publication in The Argus of the exi)eriments on dogs— that is, on the 11th of November 1868—Dr Dempster, of Beechworth, first used the new method upon a human being. He thus wrote me : An adult male came under my care for treatment for the bite of a black snake. He was bitten about 8 a.m., and after several minutes had elapsed he pricked and incised the wound. Prior to this however, he had felt very giddy. I did not see him for more than an hour afterwards, and treated him in the usual way, with brandy and ammonia, and scarifying the wound and applying ammonia. The man, how- ever, fell into a state of stupiu*, and when I was called to him at mid-day we could not rouse him. I therefore injected liquor ammonise fortior B. P. into the saphena vein, and also hypodermically. This afi'ected him at once, and after the second injection he woke up, and became sensible; his pupils, which had before been very sluggish, acted well; and his pulse rose from fifty-six to