Materia medica and special therapeutics of the new remedies / [Edwin M. Hale.

  • Hale, Edwin M. (Edwin Moses), 1829-1899.
Date:
1880-1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Materia medica and special therapeutics of the new remedies / [Edwin M. Hale. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    AMYL NITRITE. treatment. He says: The first sniff produced, after an interval of a few seconds the characteristic flushing of the face and sense of fulness of the head • the heart gave one strong beat, and then he passed from the state of agony to one of perfect repose and peace, and at his usual bedtime slept naturally. This expe- rience has, I am happy to say, been repeated on several occasions, and with this fortunate result, that so confident now is the patient of being able to cut short the paroxysm that he has discarded all use of Ether, and greatlv reduced his allowance of stimulants. Dr. Talfourd Jones also finds it very useful in angina. Since the previous edition of this work, Nitrite of amyl has been largely used in angina, and with considerable success. Indeed, in most cases no other remedy affords so much relief. As might be expected, it is not uniformly suc- cessful. Thus, in one case due, as we discovered after death, to aneurism of the heart immediately below the aortic valve, an inhalation always arrested the pain, but it returned after a few seconds or minutes, even if the administration were several times repeated, and was as severe and lasting as when no Amyl was used. In another case, whilst it gave great relief, always arresting the par- oxysm, it took ten minutes to effect this, and was in no way superior to a full dose of Ether, which the patient preferred, as the Amyl produced so much gid- diness and sensation of fulness in the head. In three other cases, however, it proved strikingly successful. In one desperate case the slightest exertion brought on intense pain; but by the aid of Amyl the patient could always at once cut short the attack, so that now he can walk several miles, though he is obliged during his journey to employ the Amyl several times. It has appeared to me that by at once checking the paroxysm the attacks come on less frequently and less severely, and after a time a much smaller quantity sufiSces to control the pain; so that Amyl really contributes to the prolonged relief of these un- happy patients. Dr. Talfourd Jones found it remarkably successful in very severe attacks of asthma, removing the dyspnoea immediately and averting its return. Others have found it very useful in asthma. He found it useful also in a case of cardiac dyspnoea, accompanied by extreme anasarca, due to a dilated and hypertrophied heart. Dr. Sanderson suggests that it may be a relaxer of spasm generally, and Dr. Anstie has used it with success in cases of spasm of the stomach. Dr. Talfourd Jones advises inhalation of the Nitrite in syncope, and thinks it should be of service in the paroxysm of whooping-cough. It is useful in neu- ralgia, at least in neuralgia affecting the fifth nerve. It often eases the pain at once, and in some cases a single administration has averted further attacks, but so signal a result as this is probably exceptional. Dr. Eichardson finds that Nitrite of amyl arrests in frogs the convulsions due to Strychnia, and in this way he has saved their lives; and he advises a trial of the Nitrite, either by inhalation or subcutaneous injection, in strychnia poisoning and tetanus. In the foregoing diseases it is better to administer this remedy by inlialation, for, according to Brunton, it will not answer with anytliing like the same certainty when given by tlie stomach ; for, in the striking case of angina pectoris just cited, he gave ten minims in brandy by the stomach, with tlie effect of staying the pain for only a short time, but a single inhalation afforded perfect and permanent