Aconitum Ferox

Authority. 2, C. D. Schopf, article entitled “ An Extremely Dangerous Adulteration of Jalap,” Zeit. des Allg. Apothek. Ver., 3, p. 173, 1865.

German Aconitine (from Aeon, napellus) always causes headache and faceache, which occur not only on the day of the proving, but during the succeeding weeks, and even for a whole year after the experiment; aggravated by every excitement in consequence of mental effort or by emotional disturbance; it also causes depression of mind, both on the day of the proving and on the succeeding days, leaden heaviness of the head, weakness, prostration, and a diminution of the frequency of the pulse lasting a long time. Dyspnoea and formication are entirely wanting. The symptoms experienced from the extract of the root of Aeon, ferox were different, namely, the headache and faceache were entirely wanting; mental activity was greatly increased, and depression followed as a secondary effect after sometime, and was so great that not the slightest mental work could be performed. In addition there were the following symptoms, especially marked ; excessive dyspnoea, accompanied by a distressing feeling of anxiety; sensation of formication over the whole body; outbreak of perspiration accompanied by calor mordax ; high degree of vertigo and muscular weakness; enormous increase of diuresis; extremely sharp burning taste; violent burning in the mouth and throat in spite of the fact that the extract was enveloped in a capsule; inclination to vomit, and actual vomiting; diarrhoea accompanied by pain. However small the dose of English Aconite it was able to irritate all the parts experimented upon. On frequently bringing it near the nose and taking a deep breath, in order to get the odor of the English Aconitine (Aeon, ferox), there occurred frequent sneezing and a disagreeable boring feeling in the nose. After a few hours there developed violent burning on the tongue, throat, and palate, associated with inclination to cough, and especially on the lips, where it was particularly violent when anything hot was drank ; these latter symptoms were observed on the day when I was working with the drug, but had not voluntarily brought it near the nose or lips. Once a particle happened to get into the eye; it very soon caused profuse lachrymation, violent burning, swelling and burning of the upper lid, photophobia, so that I could read only with the greatest effort, and was soon obliged to give up the attempt to look at anything; the pupils were not remarkably affected; cold applications relieved the symptoms, which returned as soon as the applications were removed ; hence I was obliged to continue their use for several hours. On the next day ihe upper lid -was red and somewhat swollen, and also the conjunctivse of the lids and ball were red, vision was unaffected, and on the third day the symptoms had disappeared,^