Crotalus Horridus

C. Horridus, Linn. Order , Crotalidae of the Ophidian family of serpents. Common names , Rattlesnake, Boiquira. Preparation , Trituration of the virus with sugar of milk.

Authorities. 1 , effects of bite, taken from Hering, Wirkungen des Schlangengiftes, 1837; 2 , C. Hering, effects of 1st and 2d triturations, from ibid.; 3 , Kummer, from ibid.; 4 , Lingen, ibid.; 5 , Schmoler, ibid.; 6 , Wallace, ibid.; 7 , Gross, ibid.; 8 , Dr. Wilson, Am. Hom.

Obs., 1872, p. 73, effects of bite; 9 , Dr. Horner, Am. J. of Med. Sci., 8, p. 397, effects of bite; 10 , Dr.

Phillips, Am. J. M. S., vol. 8, effects of bite; 11 , Chicago Med.

J., 1866 (N. Y. Med. J.), effects of bite; 12 , Dr.

Stokes, proving on an unmarried lady aged thirty-five, with the 3d dil., three doses first day, repeated on the third day, also a dose of the 4th on the tenth day; 13 , Dr. Rivers, Southern Med. Record (from Lond. Med.

Rec., Dec., 1874), effects of bite; 14 , Dr. Piffard, N. Y. Med.

Rec., Jan. 1875, chronic, recurrent effects of bite; 15 , Sir G. Lefevre, "On the Nerves," p. 329 (Month. Hom. Rev., 14, 194), Mr.

Wallace, of Va., took all the poison from both fangs of a rattlesnake, made it into pills, "bags, venom, and all," and swallowed them, sometimes at the rate of four a day.

*Delirium at night , [1] .

Delirium at night, from time to time (seventeenth day), also the whole night, [1] .

Delirium, with convulsions, [1] . For several days, a certain dread of selecting remedies, which usually is an agreeable occupation, [5] .

Depression, [1] . Depression and indifference to everything, [1] . [10.]

Melancholy; misanthropic and indifferent, with sudden weakness, headache, heartache, and excessive diarrhoea, [1] .

Anxiety, with restless heat, [1] . Apprehensiveness, [1] .

Indifference, with sudden weakness, [1] .

Most heavenly sensation; melancholy was quickly changed into gay anticipations, [15] . [Followed by S. 349.]

Remarkable indifference, seems only half alive; lasting fourteen years (chronic result of the bite), [1] .

Confused speech, [1] . His answers are disconnected, with cold skin, [1] . [20.]

Disconnected answers, with coldness of the skin and rapid pulse , [1] .

Remarkable weakness of memory , [4] .

Loss of senses, [1] .

Confusion and Vertigo.

Dull confusion of the whole head, [4] .

Vertigo, [13] .

Vertigo, with nausea, [3] . Vertigo, with sopor, [1] .

Vertigo; headache in the forehead above the eyes, in the temples, worse in the right; with nausea, vomiting of bile; is obliged to lie down; together with constipation; better from walking in the open air, [2] .

Dizziness before the eyes, even to falling down, with dilated pupils, earthy paleness, of the face, and blue rings around the eyes (first day), [5] . General Head.

Rush of blood to the head, with convulsions, followed by death, [1] . [30.]

Feeling of lightness in the head, with pressure in the temples, especially in the left which makes him bite the teeth together, [5] . Dull sensation in the head, [5] .

Pains through the whole head (immediately), [1] .

Headache, gradually increasing and decreasing, [5] . Headache, extending into the eyes , [5] .

Headache, extending into the left teeth, [5] .

Headache, shortly before going to sleep; especially very severe on undressing, but disappearing in the morning after a good night's sleep, [5] .

Headache, with melancholy, [1] . Forehead.

Pains in the forehead, [2] . Pains in the whole forehead, which became steadily worse, and at last intolerable; afterwards they were somewhat relieved, although they continued till towards evening (after half an hour), [5] . [40.]

Tension in the muscles of the forehead and nape of the neck, [5] .

Pressive frontal headache, followed by sensation of nausea (after three hours), [3] . Temples.

Muscular twitches in the temples, [4] .

Pains in the temples, [2] .

Several times, a drawing-pinching pain in the right temple, [5] .

Pressure in the temples, especially in the left, which makes him bite his teeth together, with a feeling of lightness of the head, [5] .

Stitches in the left temple and whole left side of the head, lasting five minutes (after three-quarters of an hour), [5] .

Aching difficult to describe in the right side of the head, as though he would be seized with a violent headache, without its amounting thereto (after two hours), [5] . Shaking and wavering in the left upper part of the head, especially on ascending steps or walking rapidly, [5] .

Alternations of various kinds of pains in the left side of the head, as for example, drawings, pressure, pinchings, tension, and bruised pain, which extends into the teeth and orbits, [5] .

Occiput. Dull headache in the occiput, [4] .

Violent itching of the scalp, with a large quantity of dandruff, [4] .

Eye.

*Yellow color of the eyes ; frequently of the whole body , [1] .

Blue rings about the eyes, with pale face, [5] . Blood exudes from the eye , [1] .

Pressure above the right eye, nausea and vertigo, repeated for several days, at different times, [3] . [70.]

Pressure above the left eye, with vertigo and sensation of nausea on moving; the pain is especially felt over the eyes, particularly the right, not continuous, paroxysmal, jerklike, [3] .

Pressure deep in the orbits, behind the ears, and in the nasal bones, so that, as with the pressure in the temples, he is obliged to bite the teeth together, [5] . Fine prickling and stinging above the left eye, as with fine needles, [5] .

Lids.

Dark redness of the left upper lid, with dryness and burning within the eyes and redness of the canthi, [5] .

Pain in the eyeball on moving the eye, like a pressure, and as if the eye were too dry internally, [5] . Vision.

Dimness of vision, [13] . Momentary disappearance of vision, with profuse lachrymation, especially in damp weather, [7] . [80.] Vanishing of vision, while reading, [5] .

Ear.

Bruised feeling in the lobules of the ears, [5] . Internal.

Heat in the ears, [5] . Heat in the right ear, with bruised sensation in the lobules of the ears, [5] .

Stopped sensation in the right ear, and drawing within both ears, painful in the right, with heat and sensation as though earwax would run down into the mouth, [5] . Drawing in both ears, with stoppage of them, [5] .

[90.]

Violent sneezing, once at a time; with a stitch in the right side of the chest, near the shoulder-joint, followed by pains in the bones of the chest, [5] . *Bleeding from the nose and all the orifices of the body , [1] .

Sickly yellow color of the face (chronic result), [1] . Face leaden-colored, immediately , [1] .

Leaden color of the face, lasting during life, [1] . Swelling of the face, of the whole head, and body, [1] . [100.]

Face somewhat bloated, next morning, [9] .

Trembling lips, with weakness and faintness, [1] . Lips and throat dry, without thirst, [12] .

Jaws.

Cramp in the jaws, [1] . Spasmodic contraction of the jaws, with swelling of the hand and arm, and other dangerous symptoms, [1] .

Bruised pain in the whole right lower jaw and in the teeth, [5] .

Sudden, very transient pain shooting into the right lower back teeth; it shoots up and down in them several times, and then disappears (first day), [5] .

Violent shooting downward, almost like a blow, in an upper back tooth; immediately disappearing (second day), [5] .

Teeth and jaws seem bruised, [5] .

Gums. Gums white (fourth and subsequent days), [12] .

*Bleeding of the gums , [1] .

Tongue. Tongue red and sore (fourth and subsequent days), [12] .

Brown tongue, [1] . Tongue brown and swollen, so that it closes the throat, [1] .

*Swelling of the tongue , [1] .

*Swelling of the tongue till there is no more room in the mouth, with inflammation of it , [1] . [120.]

*Tongue swollen to nearly twice the normal size, [11] . *Tongue tumid (after twenty-six hours), [10] .

Accumulation of saliva, obliging him to swallow, [5] .

Sourish taste in the mouth, after the usual breakfast, [5] . Speech.

Unable to speak; it seems as though the tongue and whole throat were tightly constricted, [1] .

Dryness of the throat, with great thirst (after one hour), [1] . [130.]

*Throat dry, with thirst (fourth and subsequent days), [12] .

Sensation in the throat as though earwax were running down, with heat in the ear, [5] . Sudden attack of sore throat, and bronchial catarrh, in the evening, which went away the next morning, and returned at night, [12] .

Painful rawness in the throat, [5] .

Tickling in the pit of the throat, as if in the trachea, provoking cough without expectoration; after some days simple tickling without cough, [4] .

Frequent swallowing of saliva, with sensation as though the neck were compressed, without dyspnoea, [5] .

Deglutition impeded to some extent (after twenty-six hours), [10] .

External Throat. Larynx is painful to touch (second day), [5] .

Appetite bad (first and second days), [12] . Thirst. [140.]

Thirst during the fever, [1] .

Great thirst was an attendant symptom from the first, so much so that previous to my arrival she had allayed it with an immoderate quantity of water, [10] . *Unquenchable burning thirst , [1] .

Rancid eructations the whole afternoon (fourth day), [5] . Scraping rancid sensation, extending down the oesophagus to the stomach, with pressure in the pit of the stomach, [5] .

Heartburn. Heartburn after the usual light supper, [5] .

Heartburn at 4 P.M., lasting the whole evening, [5] . Heartburn the whole day, especially in the afternoon, with a feeling as if the whole oesophagus up to the mouth were full of rancid food, with eructations tasting of the food, [5] .

Nausea and Vomiting. [150.]

Nausea, [14] .

Nausea, relieved by vomiting, [1] .

Nausea, soon after taking it, coming on by paroxysms, lasting till noon, especially while walking or standing, relieved by sitting, [3] .

Nausea, with a sensation as though something rancid rose in the oesophagus, and remained in the upper part of the chest, [5] . [160.] Nausea with coldness of the body, [1] .

Nausea with cold skin, [1] . Extreme nausea and vomiting on the least exertion (after twenty-six hours), [10] .

Vomiting preceded the faintness, [1] .

Vomiting follows violent pains in the forehead, [1] .

Vomiting of a green fluid, with great pain in the chest, [1] .

Vomiting of very bitter bile, [2] .

Vomiting of blood, [1] . Stomach could retain only jellies, brandy, and coffee (fifth day), [1] .

*Stomach so irritable that it is unable to retain anything , [1] .

*Intolerance of the clothing about the epigastric region and beneath the hypochondria, not noticed previously or subsequently with the same clothing , [5] . [180.]

*Painfulness in the pit of the stomach , [1] .

Fulness and pressure in the stomach were relieved by the medicine (first day), [12] .

Pressure in the stomach, with discomfort in the epigastric and praecordial regions, as though he had eaten too much, similar to the sensation experienced before fainting (after a few minutes), [5] . Weight on stomach and chest (third and subsequent days), [12] .

Breakfast lies heavy all day (third day), [12] .

Sticking in the pit of the stomach, [4] .

Stomach sore and tender on rising in the morning (fourth and subsequent days); worse after food (eleventh day), [12] . [190.]

Soreness returned in the epigastrium, extending upwards under the sternum (fifteenth day), [12] . Throbbing at the pit of the stomach, with rancid sensation in the stomach, [5] .

Pain in the left side of the abdomen, like cuttings through the spleen after violent running, aggravated by deep inspiration (first day); the same pain remains on the second day after a larger dose, but is not so severe, [5] . Umbilical.

Pains internally in the umbilical region, like a violent burning (first day), [5] .

Inflammation of the viscera of the abdomen, [1] .

Flatulency and eructations (third and subsequent days), [12] .

Violent pain in the course of the colon at 11 1/2 A.M.; (next day), [9] .

Burning pains in the abdomen, lasting several days, with great sensitiveness especially to touch, [1] . [200.]

Violent burning pain in the abdomen, [1] .

The inguinal glands on that side were much enlarged (after twenty-six hours), [10] .