DIGITALIS PURPUREA, 247 
striction and sense of suffocation in the chest; hemoptysis, 
cough, and perspiration; great sense of weariness; pain and 
heaviness in the limbs; alteration in the heart’s action; the 
pulse not beating above half its natural beats, or becoming hard, 
small, and quick; palpitation; great sense of chilliness; depres- 
sion of spirits, and fear of death, etc. (vide Hahnemann, 
Materia Medica Pura, pp. 220—223). Pereira (op. cit.) re- 
marks that, from various observations, the influence of Foxglove 
over the circulation is not at all constant. In some cases the 
frequency of the pulse is augmented, in others depressed, 
while in some it remains unaltered, and in a considerable num- 
ber it becomes irregular or intermittent. He also remarks that 
a great deal depends upon the position of the patient; when 
recumbent, the pulse is reduced in frequency much sooner and 
with more certainty than when in the upright position. Shrock 
(Wibmer, Wirk d. Arzneim., vol. ii. p. 311) found that two 
grains of Digitalis produced in himself nausea, headache, small, 
soft, and quick pulse, dryness of the gums and throat, giddiness, 
weakness of the limbs, and increased secretion of saliva; some 
hours after he observed sparks before the eyes; his vision be- 
came dim, and he experienced a sensation of pressure on the 
eyeballs. In larger doses, and when too long continued, more 
serious and more unpleasant symptoms are produced; such as 
nausea, vomiting, and purging; coldness of the extremities ; 
sense of faintness and giddiness; confusion of vision and ideas ; 
external objects appear green or yellow; great sense of weight 
and pain in the head; weakness of the limbs; pulse is slow 
and irregular; and sometimes stupor, delirium, and convul- 
sions. Salivation in one case (Rust’s Magazine, vol. xxv. 
p. 578) lasting for three weeks. ‘These symptoms are not only 
produced by taking too large a dose, but often by repeated 
small doses, owing to the power this drug has of accumulating 
in the system, whereby its poisonous or deleterious effects are 
manifested, after its continued employment as a remedial : 
agent. 
