Poison and Poisoning by Kellett Celia

Author:Kellett, Celia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2012-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

Santonin was traditionally used as a treatment for worms. It is obtained from the dried flower heads of a species of Artemisia and is very toxic, particularly so if it is given in an oily solution, such as with castor oil.

One case of santonin poisoning occurred in 1919 precisely because of this reason: a five-year-old girl was given a dose of santonin in castor oil as a treatment for worms. A large number of threadworms and a few roundworms were expelled, but the child became very ill and weak, and looked likely to die. After three weeks, she had made a good recovery but was now completely blind and remained so for a further three months.

Santonin poisoning mainly affects vision: white objects appear first violet and then later yellow. This effect may continue for several hours. Larger doses may also cause headache, nausea, vertigo, vomiting, diarrhoea and convulsions, followed by coma. Many fatalities have occurred over the years; it was estimated that as little as 60mg could cause severe poisoning and that two such doses could be fatal.

Neem, also called Margosa or Azadirachta, is a gum-secreting tree that grows in the tropics of Eurasia and North Africa. The seeds contain an essential oil, known as neem oil or margosa oil, which was used in these areas as a hair tonic and for skin diseases. It has also been used in India as a remedy taken by mouth for minor ailments. This has caused severe poisoning in many children, resulting in Reye’s Syndrome (see the section on aspirin in the chapter about Malevolent Medicines). Hair preparations – both lotions and shampoos containing neem oil – are in use in the UK today because they are effective at treating head lice infestations, killing both the adult lice and the unhatched eggs. But they should not be used on broken skin, to avoid any absorption.

Naphthalene was used medicinally in the early twentieth century. In 1911, the Pharmaceutical Journal reported the fatal poisoning of a six-year-old child who had been given seven doses of naphthalene by mouth as a treatment for worms. Some years later in 1917, the British Medical Journal carried a novel suggestion for its use in preventing body lice. It was suggested that vests made of butter muslin should be dipped in a solution of naphthalene and sulphur dissolved in benzol. Benzol is better known today as petrol! It would certainly be extremely dangerous for any child encased in such a vest – if he were not overcome by the petrol fumes, he would be liable to ignite at any minute from the coals in the grate.

Ophthalmia neonatorum is an eye infection of the newborn, caused by gonococcal infection from the mother. Gonorrhoea was considered to be so prevalent, even 50 years ago, that treatment of all newborn babies for this condition was considered necessary. Eye drops containing one per cent silver nitrate were used for many years to treat this condition as silver is a very effective antibacterial agent. But

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