Guide to Herbal Remedies

It is well to known which snakes are poisonous. All poisonous snakes have in the upper jaw two long, large teeth; all those which have in the upper and lower jaw each two rows of teeth, are not poisonous. The bite of a venomous snake is generally attended with violent shooting and sometimes burning pain.
When the serpent is not venomous, rub some salt or gunpowder into the wound, as such wounds have often become troublesome. But if it is venomous, tie a ribbon, cloth, strap, rope, or the like, tightly around the limb, two or three inches above the wound, to prevent the blood returning from the wound to the heart, and leave it as long as the patient can bear it, or until the danger is past. Every endeavor should be made to extract the poison; for this end, the best means is the application of cupping-glasses frequently renewed till nothing more exudes from the wound. A cupping-glass may easily be extemporized in the following way: take a small glass tumbler, dip a piece of paper or cotton into brandy, whiskey, or other spirits, spirits of wine, eau de cologne, any toilet perfume will answer the purpose; set fire to this, throw it into the tumbler, and immediately apply the mouth of the tumbler over the wound, taking care to press it close upon the skin so as to allow no air to enter. If the materials are not at hand, or the wound is so situated as to prevent the employment of cupping-glasses, the wound should be sucked. This can be done without danger, provided the person who sucks has no sore on his lips or in the mouth; it would be well to take salt or garlic into the mouth. The sucking must be strong and continuous, and the wound must be drawn well open. Whilst sucking press your hand firmly towards the wound over the adjoining parts, particularly from the side next to the heart. After everything has thus been drawn from the wound, the best external remedy is heat. Whatever can be had soonest, red-hot iron or coals — if nothing better, a lighted cigar — must be brought as near to the wound as possible, without causing violent pains, and without burning the skin. Cauterizing, or burning with a hot iron, is useless, because it destroys the smaller vessels. Apply, therefore, the hot iron or coals as close to the wound as the patient can bear it. As soon as the iron or coal cools, have another ready. Place several pieces of iron at once in the fire, and change them frequently; and take care that there is a sufficient supply of red-hot coals. The heat should only operate upon the wound, and on the parts immediately around it, and not on too large a space. Do not blow the coals which you apply, this would cool the skin too much. If you have oil or fat at hand, smear it around the wound for three or four inches and when absorbed, renew it. If you have no oil or fat, take soap or saliva. Whatever oozes forth from the wound must be carefully wiped away. Continue to apply heat until the patient begins to shudder and to stretch; if this should occur soon, continue the application for an hour if he can bear it, or until the symptoms of the poison give way. If these symptoms return, renew the application. After the would has been thus treated, rub into it salt and gunpowder, cigar ashes or wood ashes, whichever is at hand, but fine salt is best. At the same time the patient must be kept as quiet as possible, the less motion or agitation he is subjected to the better.

1. Spanish Flies - Spanish flies (cantharides) or plasters made thereof, contain virulent poison, which not infrequently produces very serious symptoms, especially if it gets into the stomach or into the eyes. It causes violent burning, which is aggravated by oil, fat, milk, etc. The best antidotes to be used, both inwardly and applied to the eyes, are the white of eggs and tepid, slimy substances, such as gruel, etc. Apply these plentifully to the eyes, or if you have nothing else, use flour, and do not wash and rub too much. The poisonous substance may often be extracted with a narrow strip of linen or paper rolled into a point.
For all bad consequences arising from taking cantharides, or from their application in blisters, and for similar poisoning from other insects, camphor is the chief remedy. Let the patient smell it very frequently, or take a small piece of camphor, put it into a small bottle of water, shake it until the water retains the smell; give a spoonful of this at a time, and rub with spirits of camphor the parts most affected. For headache rub the temples; for violent pains in the kidneys or bladder, rub the loins; if camphor should afford no relief, give Apis.
2. Poisonous Honey - For the injurious effects of poisonous honey, camphor is also most to be recommended. It should be frequently smelt, and spirits of camphor rubbed into the skin. Inwardly give warm tea or coffee without milk.
3. Hair of Caterpillars - The hair of caterpillars is apt to cause violent inflammation. Do not rub, for it will only make it worse; but apply handkerchiefs which have been moistened with spirits of camphor.
4. Shell-fish and other poisonous fish, etc. - Among shellfish, such as clams, muscles, cockles, etc., we sometimes find some which are poisonous and produce troublesome complaints. If there is an inclination to vomit, encourage it; give charcoal with sugar and water, or in, molasses; let the patient smell camphor and afterwards drink coffee without milk, for eruptions and swelling of the face, give Belladonna.
If poisonous fish produce bad symptoms, give finely powdered charcoal with brandy, and if this affords relief, some hours after, coffee without milk; if it does not afford relief, give quantities of sugar to eat or to drink in water; if this also proves ineffectual, give weak vinegar internally and apply it externally.

Pot and pearl-ash, caustic potash, lye, carbonate of potash, soda, ammonia, hartshorn, salvolatile, smelling salts, burnt and unslaked lime, may be known by their alkaline, urinous, acrid taste; and in vomiting caused by them there is no fermentation of the substances ejected; litmus paper which has been turned red by acids becomes blue again by being dipped into them; the symptoms are nearly the same as from acids, with the exceptions mentioned above, and what is vomited is not sour.
1. Stir two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in a glass of water, warm, if you can, and give a tumbler full of it every five minutes.
2. Lemon juice or other acids, but greatly diluted — or sour fruit bruised in water.
3. Sour milk or butter-milk.
4. Mucilaginous drinks and injections.
5. Oil, particularly that of sweet almonds.
6. Tartaric acid lemonade, when potash has been taken.
Emetics are dangerous, and vomiting should only be excited by the above-mentioned drinks, and by tickling the throat with a feather.
In poisoning with carbonate of baryta (a peculiar kind of heavy, white earth, which is sometimes sold as ratsbane), pure vinegar is injurious; in this case give merely mucilaginous drinks and oil, and endeavor to excite vomiting, until you can procure Glauber’s salts (sulphate of soda)1,-or Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia), which should be dissolved in lukewarm water and freely taken much diluted. Afterwards let the patient occasionally smells of camphor, or if this is of no use, sweet spirits of nitre. After poisoning from potash, give Carbo vegetabilis; after hartshorn, Hepar.

(a) Poisonous Mushrooms. These fungi do not generally produce any perceptible effect until several hours after they have been taken. The abdomen then becomes enlarged, with a cutting pain in the region of the stomach; vomiting and purging preceded by thirst, nausea, hiccough, agitation; coldness of the limbs, small pulse, stupefaction, incoherent talking and convulsions. If these symptoms appear, promote vomiting and let the patient drink freely of cold water, as cold as it can be had; from time to time give finely powdered charcoal, made into a sort of paste with sweet oil. Give also Glauber’s or Epsom salts. Should these means not afford sufficient relief, let the patient smell slightly of spirits of hart shorn. The remaining symptoms may be removed by Pulsatilla.
(b) Blighted Corn, Ergot. Blighted corn, or those thick, black grains in Indian com, rice, wheat, rye or other grains; also the sweet or black rusty taint in grain is very injurious to man and beast. The ill-effects of it, however, can be counteracted by the common black nightshade, bruised in cold water, and then hot water poured on it. Inhale the vapor of this or wash the cattle with it.
(c) Intoxicating Plants. For plants which are intoxicating in their effects, making the person who takes them drunk, or depriving him of consciousness, making him delirious and raving, the principal antidote is coffee, drunk in large quantities and given in injections. For some of these substances, such as aconite, henbane, and thorn-apple, vinegar answers very well. Vomiting should, however, be first excited, and afterwards large injections of soap-suds be given to clear the intestines of poison. If the patient has a red face, and eyes, looks wild and stares, cold water poured over him is very useful. Give him an occasional does of Belladonna. For parts of plants which smell of bitter almonds, and consequently contain that virulent poison Prussic acid, such as bitter almonds, peach kernels and peach leaves; also for cordials prepared with them, such as cherry brandy, persico, and noyau, and many medicinal compounds into whose composition it enters, in all of which it is easily detected by the peculiar smell and bitter taste and by its effects : Heaviness, giddiness, oppression, particularly on the chest, first a quick, afterwards a slow pulse, paralysis or a feeling as if paralysis were about to ensure : for all these strong coffee without milk is the chief remedy, and in very dangerous cases, spirits of hart shorn, of which the patient may smell a little from time to time, or mix a few drops in a tumbler of water, and give a teaspoonful every ten or fifteen minutes. When the symptoms are very violent, the cold effusion to the spine, described under Prussic acid, will be requisite.

Vomiting, or an inclination to it, is always a most important symptom, and especially so when occurring during, or soon after meals. It is right to promote vomiting, and this should be attempted at first, without having recourse to irritant substances. A good and a harmless emetic is lukewarm water, without oil, grease or butter. Let the sufferer swallow as much of it as he possibly can; at least half a tumbler full, every minute and more if possible. Try to induce children to take it, first by kindness, then by threats, if neither will avail, by force, and if the latter has to be resorted to, open the mouth by inserting a finger between the jaws behind the teeth, and pour it in. Or you may, after the child has made expiration, suddenly shut its nose and pour the water into its mouth; but beware of doing this while the child is breathing in.
At the same time let the patient put his finger down his throat, or take a feather, put it into the throat, and turn it around until it excites vomiting. Let the patient incline forward, place your hand on his stomach, support his head, and beat him gently between the shoulders. Let him rinse his mouth after he has vomited, and remain undisturbed for a few minutes. As soon, however, as he feels another attack of pain, or other symptoms, such as retching, hiccough, or uneasiness, let him drink again until it appears probable that every thing has been ejected.
If he cannot be made to vomit, or if he cannot swallow, at least not sufficiently, or if he retches in vain, does not throw up as much as he drinks, or should he absolutely refuse to drink, and you cannot introduce enough, or should he swallow again what has come up: give him a tablespoonful of mustard-seed, finely powdered, mixed with a teaspoonful of table salt in a tumbler of water.
In case the sufferer can get nothing down, is quite confused, cannot swallow, his jaws being tightly closed, blow some tobacco smoke into the rectum. To do this if the proper apparatus cannot be obtained, take a pipe filled with tobacco, light it, grease the point of its mouth-piece with oil or fat, insert it within the anus, not deeper than about an inch, turning it carefully; then place on the bowl of that pipe the bowl of another larger, empty one, and blow through this into the other, propelling the smoke inward. After blowing three or four times, stop, and then begin again, and so continue until relief is obtained.