OPIUM. 
guid pulfe, lownefs of the fpirits, fome difficulty of breath- 
fenf ht a about the breaft, a flight giddi- 
3 of the mouth and fauces, and 
h con- 
the ftomach. 
mule in the firft eallepee is fappreli ed - it, great fick- 
nefs and uneafinefs are generally complained of, till the falu- 
tary difcharge either takes place again fpontaneoully, or is 
promoted by art. 
An oni occafions either immoderate mirth or ftu- 
of the joints, vertigo, deep fleep, sei esr drea d 
alan Oe convulfions, and cold fw _ Geoffr oh iaaca 
that t 
and bleeding, are acids an neutral mixtures. 
fays, he has given, with pene | pone repeated 
dofes of a mixture of falt of wormwood and lemon juice. 
The firft thing to be done ye coin eee the injurious 
effects of too large a dofe, is the exhibition of a powerful 
emetic: and for this purpofe, 9 i of fulphate of zinc, or 
habit pee by brandy, sees, and ey als. The 
fufferer fhould be kept cece an if poffible, in continued 
motion. he drow- 
or He 
long continued ufe of opium is e of great re- 
laxation and. debility, fluggithnefs, are ists 
ere are many -inftances of 
terrible ee oms, aaa death itfelf, caufed by narcotics, 
before they went out of the ftomach, and without inflamin 
it, or caufing any vifible change in it, far lefs vitiating the 
mafs of blood; and alfo the fame fymptoms being remove 
and death prevented by vomiting. Dr. Alfton is alfo of 
epinion, 1. That the anodyne and hypnotic virtues of opium 
do not depend on its action on the brain or on the blood. 
z. That it affects firft and principally the nerves to which it 
more than 
cult o it to account for ad as se ee effets. 
For by relaxing oe a certain egret it pe prove anodyne, 
cordial, diaphoretic, hypnotic, &c aufe flagnations, 
deliriyme, lethargies, al are sada death. 
niequeatly = 
The particular Figen in which the ufe of opium. has 
been recommended the following. In moft 
ere 1S, at 
the beginning, more or lefs of an inflammatory diathefis; 
and while this continu, opium would generally aggravate 
the fymptoms, and e dangerous. Its ufe is likewife 
forbidden in the more ed ftage of this fever, whenever 
topical inflammation of the brain is afcertained, which fo 
ceptibility of thofe mor impreflions which occafion 
watchfulnefs, dei. tremors, and {ubfultus tendinum. 
It fhould be area ieee bide bal with ca 
the heat of - body be 
and the fkin dry, epium Geile thefe ae aaa augments 
thirft, and sad lee reftleffnefs. But if m 
medicines, was m the ancients; but fince the 
introdution of the Peruvian bark, it is feldom confided in 
for the cure of thefe abe rs. It has » however, been 
ftrongly recommended as an effectual means of flopping the 
recurrence of the febrile fymptome; and een given, be+ 
ore the fit in the cold ftage, in the hot ftage, and during 
the interval, with — ang effects 5 produci jate re- 
lief, and ert curing the ately without leaving 
ey abdominal obftruétions lar hav n afcribed to 
e bark. Berryat, who, in “© Mem. prefentés 
re 
Acad. Royal. des Sci. 1755, ii.’ Beate 24 recommends 
the ufe of opium in intermittents, and advi iven 
t i eafes in which 
bleeding is neceflary.”” ‘This principle, ever, has been 
much difputed ; and it is liable to numerous ia ipe- 
cified by Dr. n his ‘ Materia 
en opium is fo managed as to rocure {weat, it will 
n ove an infla flate of the fyftem, and 
ay prove generally ufeful, of which we have a notable in- 
ftance i e of acute rheumatifm by means of Dewer’s 
powder. In ra a serge it is ee united with ipeca- 
ae and always gives relief, 
For 
