EXPLOSIVE MEDICINES.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1325, 5 July 1883, Page 4

EXPLOSIVE MEDICINES.

The " New York Times,after citing tnauy mysterious cases of disappear* an.ce during late years, contributes the following suggestions as to their ex* planation :—“ Of late years many additions have been made to the materia inedica, and many of these additions have become very popular There is chlorate of potash, which either alone or in combination with other substances, is constantly prescribed for sore throat. Thousands of people buy chlorate of potash without a prescription, and carry it in their pockets so that they can put it to their lips when they feel bo disposed, heedless of the fact that they may be curing a temporary sore throat at the expense of a permanently ruined stomach. There is glycerine, which is greatly trusted by women, who fancy that it is good for every ill to which flesh is heir. There is the hypo, phosphite of lime, with which count* less people endeavor to re-plaster their interiors in the confident expectation that they will thereby prolong their lives. Tincture of iodine, ammonia, and permaganate of potash are also favorite remedies, and within the last three years, certain doctors have even had the audacity to prescribe nitroglycerine as a remedy for angina pectoris. It was the use of the latter remedy which caused the painful tragedy in Toronto in July, 1881. A small boy, who similated the symptoms of angina expectoris with a view of staying home from church during the trout season, was dosed with nitro-glycerine by the family physician, but being made uncomfortably sick thereby, confessed his deception to his father. The latter, being a strict disciplinarian, took bis son to the woodshed, and in a few moments a violent explosion occurred. The father and son instantly and mysteriously disappeared. The woodshed also diappeared, and the only relic of the three that was ever found was a small piece of the paternal cane. In this case there was no difficulty of explaining the tragedy, which the coroners jury promptly ascribed to nitroglycerine. The affair was widely mentioned in the press at the time, and deterred all careful physicians from prescribing nitro-glycerine. It has, however, been pretty well forgotten by this time, and the medical profession is again using the dangerous drug with reckless carelessness of possible results. We now see what becomes of the men who mysteriously disappear. They are men who have taken some explosive medicine. . A slight shock, such as a collision with a small boy, or an umbrella carried under the arm ef some reckless pedestrian, causes the medicine to explode, and the report is so slight, and the disappearance of the victim so instantaneously and complete, that the whole affair remains unnoticed, Let the doctors look into this matter, as it is one which closely concerns their prosperity. If they are to have the good will and assistance of undertakers, and the confidence of the public generally, they must prescribe no more explosive medicines.