Absinthium

Authority. Dr. Th— Ch. Phelland, Etude expel. et din. sur. L’Absinthisine et L’Alcoolisine, Paris, 1871; 2, general statement; 3 to 13 detailed cases.

Mind

Delirium, with trembling of the hands and feet

After drinking Absinthe began to scream, called out, with frothing from the mouth ; convulsions, with tetanic spasms like electric shocks

Terrifying hallucinations

Hallucinations

Terrifying hallucinations of persons pursuing him

Terrifying hallucinations, he sees all kinds of animals, cats and rats of all colors, grotesque animals, fancies that he is pursued by soldiers, etc.,h

Hallucinations of vision and of hearing, that he is pursued by imaginary enemies; hallucinations of various kinds, of naked women, etc.,®.

Visions of animals

Fear of assassination;'®.

Loquacity

Irritability

General mental incoherence

Memory feeble

Unconsciousness in convulsions

Coma, followed by death,®.]

Head

Frequent vertigo

Eyes

Eyes brilliant

Dilated pupils

Pupils unequally dilated

Face

Pallor of the face

Mouth

Trembling of the tongue

Fibrillar twitching of the tongue

Incoherent speech

Stomach

Loss of appetite

Symptoms of indigestion, with at times vomiting

Oppression of the epigastrium and chest

Liver enlarged

Stool

Constipation

Urinary Organs

Urine red, albuminous

Respiratory Organs

Cough, with some expectoration and crepitant rales (due very likely to some oedema of the lungs dependent, on the albuminuria)

Voice feeble, speech hesitating

Heart and Pulse

Beat of the heart irregular

Pulse rapid

Upper Extremities

Trembling of the hands; especially in the morning

Pain along the sciatic nerve

Generalities

Attacks resembling hysteria

Hysterical spasms; general rigidity of the limbs, followed by irregular convulsions, accompanied by acute sensation of oppression, obliging the patient to put the hand to the chest, as though there was a heavy weight there; at the same time he tossed about, cried out, and wished to die; the convulsive spasm was generally succeeded by a momentary calm, and so on in alternations for more than an hour

Epileptiform spasms, followed by delirium

The effects observed from intoxication by Absinthe are dependent upon disturbance of motility. These are convulsive phenomena. The epilepsy develops itself in a relatively short time, the reverse of which is true of the effects of Alcohol. The epilepsy of Absinthe differs again from the epilepsy of Alcohol in its character. While the epilepsy of Alcohol becomes analogous to true epilepsy only at a very advanced stage of the disease, that of Absinthe assumes at once and completely all the characteristics of that disease. The person becomes pale, loses consciousness, falls. sometimes utters cries, the face is convulsed ; this is followed by tonic convulsions, with tetanic rigidity of the limbs and of the trunk, which is raised up, followed by clonic convulsions of the limbs; the face becomes violet and cyanotic, respiration rapid, irregular, stertorous, froth from the lips, sometimes bloody, the individual bites the tongue, at last falls into a comatose state, with stertorous respiration, which lasts a longer or shorter time. After the person recovers consciousness he seems stupid, dazed, and recollects nothing of what has passed. Sensibility is very obtuse, and during the attack anesthesia is complete. Sometimes the epilepsy of Absinthe is not characterized by a complete attack, but has only vertigo or loss of consciousness ; symptoms which are found in true epilepsy. The third characteristic of the epilepsy of Absinthe is its short duration. The violent attacks cease completely as long as the patient remains sober, but when he begins to drink again he has new premonitions of an attack, which is not slow in coming on. There may be one attack or several during the day or following days, but usually there are three or four. Is this epilepsy of Absinthe the effect of acute or chronic intoxication? We believe that it is an acute symptom manifested during the course of chronic intoxication, found more often in those who drink to excess habitually ; its appearance is never delayed after the person has begun to drink Absinthe to excess. After drinking for six months or a year, some day the person drinks to excess and the spasms come on. Acute alcoholic mania or delirium tremens is equally an acute symptom during chronic alcoholism, and the epileptiform spasms of alcoholism show themselves at a very advanced period. Persons who are attacked by the epilepsy of Absinthe, drink generally eight, twelve, or even twenty glasses of Absinthe a day. Others drink three or four, and are awaiting the attacks. A circumstance of great importance is the predisposition. We find a large number of drinkers who have never had spasms, or only slight symptoms. There are others, on the contrary, who are attacked on their hist excess. A large number of person habitually sober, who drink occasionally a glass of Absinthe, become affected by a kind of intoxication, with pains in the head and sensation of constriction in the temples, and they therefore rarely drink Absinthe. Such persons tolerate, without the least trouble, a large quantity of Alcohol, and experience no symptoms from it. This is a very common occurrence, but difficult to explain, unless we admit the presence of a special agent in Absinthe. Dr. Voisin, in Nov Diet, de Med. et de Chir. Prat., art. Epilepsie, 1870, p. 604 et 628, says that the epilepsy produced by wine, alcohol, etc., is usually characterized by long intervals between the attacks, the epilepsy of Absinthe by the very large number of attacks in a very short space of time. I have reported a case of epilepsy of Absinthe in which there were from one hundred and fifty to two hundred attacks in twenty-four hours. Drs. March and Mangan have observed the same effects

Epileptic spasms, with cyanosis, frothing from the mouth, etc.,’®.

Epileptic attacks, lasting twenty or thirty minutes, after which the hallucinations continue

Epileptic spasms repeatedly

Was suddenly seized with a convulsion, during which he lost consciousness; there were convulsive movements of the limbs, face distorted, frothing from the mouth, biting the tongue

Convulsions and violent color of the face, frothing from the mouth, etc.,®.

Irregular intermittent spasms, without absolute loss of consciousness

Very great agitation

Trembling,b

General trembling

Trembling of the lips, hands, and tongue

Trembling of the limbs, lips, tongue

Symptoms of general paralysis,®.-

Very marked anaesthesia

General exaltation of sensibility

General anaesthesia

Skill p. 244

Eruption of furuncles over the whole body

Fever p. 244

Feverish

Profuse sweat

Very profuse perspiration upon the face

Footnotes

† The autopsy demonstrated subpericranial ecchymosis, very recent meningeal haemorrhages, blood black, liquid, very abundant false membranes on the inner surface of the dura mater, superficial inflammation of the left hemisphere of the brain, pulmonary emphysema, heart fatty, flabby, etc.