AmMlZ'*Xm'}    Poisoning  by  Chlorate  of  Potassium.  iij 
the  upper  portion  of  the  house,  playing,  while  the  father  and  mother 
were  in  the  lower  part,  attending  to  their  regular  household  affairs. 
The  child  called  Nellie  took  the  tin  box  from  the  bureau,  containing 
the  chlorate  of  potassium  in  the  crystalline  form,  and  began  playing 
"  Doctor,"  in  imitation  of  her  father.  She  gave  the  salt  to  her  brother 
and  sister,  and  at  the  same  time,  as  near  as  can  be  estimated,  ate  about 
half  an  ounce  herself.  It  is  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  child  only  two 
and  a  half  years  old  could  eat  so  much  of  the  salt,  as  it  is  anything 
but  pleasant  to  the  taste  in  such  quantities  ;  but  being  accustomed  to 
its  use  and  in  a  state  of  excitement,  playing  "  Doctor,"  she  ate  it  with- 
out observing  its  taste.  Towards  the  last  the  children  were  perfectly 
quiet,  making  no  alarm  until  little  Nellie  began  to  vomit  ;  but,  as  the 
parents  had  no  idea  as  to  the  quantity  taken,  and  as  no  dangerous  or 
serious  symptoms  were  exhibited,  and  the  doctor  was  not  aware  of  the 
fatal  case  of  poisoning  on  record,  there  was  no  occasion  to  feel  alarmed. 
About  an  hour  subsequently  the  doctor  administered  diluents  freely, 
with  the  object  of  dissolving  the  salt ;  the  child  began  to  vomit  vio- 
lently, throwing  off  about  one  drachm  of  potassium  chlorate,  appar- 
ently in  the  same  crystalline  form  as  when  taken,  and  continued  vom- 
iting until  death  ensued,  about  5.30  P.  M.,  making  precisely  seven 
hours  from  the  time  the  salt  was  taken.  Beside  the  emetic  also  hydro- 
cathartic  effects  were  observed,  the  child  dying  of  gastritis,  or  inflam- 
mation of  the  stomach,  notwithstanding  Dr.  Dreher  and  the  father  did 
all  in  their  power  to  save  poor  little  Nellie. 
This  case  teaches  us  to  be  very  careful  in  using  chlorate  of  potas- 
sium, keep  it  out  of  the  reach  of  children,  and  even  under  lock  and 
key  ;  under  no  circumstances  whatever  should  it  be  given  in  the  crys- 
talline form,  as  it  seems  to  be  a  violent  irritant  to  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  stomach,  and  by  not  being  readily  soluble  (it  requires 
sixteen  parts  of  water,  at  6o°F.),  cannot  easily  be  discharged,  as  was 
proven  in  this  case.  The  child  was  given  as  much  water  and  cream 
as  she  could  drink,  and  to  the  last  she  vomited  crystals  of  the  chlorate. 
Another  peculiarity  of  the  case  was  the  strong  inclination  of  the 
child  to  slumber,  it  being  in  a  lethargic  condition  from  the  time  it  was 
first  noticed  until  she  expired.  She  gave  no  indications  of  pain,  but 
was  apparently  in  a  stupor  all  the  time.  She  had  taken  no  other  med- 
icine for  months,  neither  was  she  laboring  under  any  disease,  but  was 
a  fine,  hearty  and  well-developed  child.    There  was  no  other  medicine 
8 
