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46 ~~ ~——~-« BOTANIC PHYSICIAN. 
: “As an_antispasmodic. os 
, Among the 
rise t ydisputes. Some ascribing its efficacy to the evacuation 
it ns; Others considering it as an antidote to the venereal 
Te 
le most satisfactory solution. For the cure of syphilis, mercury is 
dministered until the gums are affected, or until moderate salivation 
_ is excited ; and this is kept up for some time, longer or shorter, ac- 
cording to the kind and violence of the symptoms. Cold is to be 
guarded against, as tending to induce profuse salivation, rheumatic 
pa and other distressi ssing effects. When profuse salivation takes 
y be moderated by gargling with wild indigo decoction, 
+5 ush, or black Stetlg sapethas with a brisk cathartic. 
Me: ecasionally attacks the bowels and causes violent purg- 
ing, even of blood. This effect is remedied by intermitting the use 
of the medicine, and by exhibiting opium, &e. = 
At other times it is suddenly determined to the mouth, and pro- 
duces inflammation, ulceration, and an excessive flow of saliva. In 
this case, too, the mercury must be discontinued for a time ; while, 
according to Mr. Pearson’s advice, the patient should be freely ex- 
posed to a cold dry air, with the use of wild indigo, and other anti- 
septics as recommended above, and occasionally, cathartics. On the 
other hand, the sudden suppression of salivation is not without dan- 
ger. It is most frequently caused by cold liquids being taken into 
the stomach, or exposure to cold air and moisture, while under the 
niluence of mercury. ‘The danger, (they say) is to be obviated by 
the quick introduction of mercury so as to affect the gums, with the 
occasional use of the warm bath. 
Often, also, a morbid condition occurs during a mercurial course, 
and which tends to a fatalissue. It is characterized bya great de- 
pression of strength; a sense of anxiety about the heart ; frequent 
ng ; trembling, partial or universal : a small, quick pulse ; some- 
times vomiting ; a pale contracted countenance ; a sense of coldness, 
while the tongue is seldom furred, or the vital or natural functions 
1 ar power will sometimes prove fatal. —- 
_ ‘To prevent dangerous consequences, (they say), the mercury must 
be discontinued, whatever may be the stage, extent, or violence of 
the disease for which it has been exhibited, and the patient must ex- 
pose himself freely to a dry, cool air, in such a manner as shall be 
attended with the least fatigue; and in the course of ten or fourteen 
days, he will sometimes be so far recovered that he may safely re- 
of mercury. Re 
sume the use of n 
My method, however, of preventing the dangerous consequences 
_ of mercury, and the only one which can be confided in with certain- 
-_ In this state a violent or sudden exertion of the ~ 
in 
