An inquiry into the effects of ardent spirits upon the human body and mind : with an account of the means of preventing, and of the remedies for curing them / by Benjamin Rush, M.D.

  • Rush, Benjamin, 1746-1813.
Date:
1811
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the effects of ardent spirits upon the human body and mind : with an account of the means of preventing, and of the remedies for curing them / by Benjamin Rush, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    have occasionally survived these effects of ardent spirits on the skin, the face after a while becomes bloated, and its redness is succeeded by a death- Eke paleness. Thus the same tire which produces a red colour in won, when urged to a more intense degree, produces what has been called a white heat. ' 7- A fetid breath composed of every thing that is offensive in putrid animal matter., 8. Frequent and disgusting belchings. Dr. Haller relates the case of a notorious drunkard, having been suddenly destroyed in consequence ©fthe vapour discharged from his stomach by belching, accidentally taking fire by coming in contact with the flame of a candle. &. Epilepsy. 10. Gout in all its various forms of swelled limbs, colick, palsy, and apoplexy. Lastly, 11. Madness. The late Dr. Waters, while he acted as house pupil and apothecary of the Pennsylvania Hospital, assured me, that in one third of the patients confined by this terrible dis- ease, it had been induced hy ardent spirits. Most of the diseases which have been enumera- ted are of a mortal nature. They are more cer- tainly induced, and terminate more speedily in death, when spirits are taken in such quantities, aiid at such times, as to produce frequent intoxication; but it may serve to remove an error with which some intemperate people console themselves, to remark, that ardent spirits often bring on fatal diseases without producing drunkenness. 1 have known ma- ny persons destroyed by them who were never com- pletely intoxicated during the whole course of their lives. The solitary instances of longevity which are now aud then met with in hard drink-