Important: Safety Warning
This page gives first-aid or emergency advice that predates modern medicine and can make an emergency worse. Do not follow it. In any medical emergency, call emergency services and follow current first-aid guidance.
In addition, this page presents medical treatment from an era before modern medicine. The remedies described are ineffective against the conditions named, and some of the ingredients or doses are harmful. Do not use them to treat any illness; consult a qualified medical professional.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Aconitine
or ACONITIA, a powerful vegetable alkaloid, prepared from the root of the aconitum napellus (aconite).
It is one of the most virulent of poisons, but, at the same time, a very valuable medicine. An ointment containing aconi tine is often used in cases of neuralgia, acute rheumatism, and diseases of the heart. Its narcotic action is so active that a fiftieth of a grain may endanger the life of an adult. The most effectual antidote in case of poisoning is warm water, administered till it produces vomadministered till it produ iting, after which stimulant remedies should be applied internally and externally.