Belladonna for medicinal purpose

[gary]

I know that Belladonna, a nightshade, is poisonous. Capt. Applegate of the 54th Mass had trouble sleeping for two nights. He had his molar removed (Dec. 4, 1863) and still had pain in his face (infection?) on Dec. 9. On Dec 10 the surgeon gave him a dose of belladonna. (See page 124-7) of Waging War for Freedom With the 54th Massachusetts.

Was it for pain relief, and/or as a sedative?

 

[Rhea Cole]

Deadly Nightshade / Belladonna [ Beautiful Lady] is medicinal in small doses & deadly in small doses.

An Ecuadorian curendaro ( native healer ) told me…

… that one knuckle of the belladonna stem brewed into a tea will cause a pleasant drowsiness & sleep.

A second knuckle of the stem will kill.

Inhaling the sweet bouquet of the flowers will get you stoned. Any part of the plant can be deadly. The beautiful berries are especially dangerous for children. Read more here.

Link:

Solanaceae: Belladonna

www.fs.usda.gov

Note: Black Nightshade produces a delicious eatable berry,

Link:

Black nightshade vs deadly nightshade

Black nightshade [Published annually, since 2016, with occasional updates.] Late, late summer, and the black nightshade is ripe, on cue....

66squarefeet.blogspot.com

 

[rebelatsea]

When we moved into our second house , the whole of the back fence down one side was covered with nightshade, we spent ages getting rid of it and burning it, my grandmother told us not to breathe the smoke as it made you feel funny LOL.

 

[Rhea Cole]

When we moved into our second house , the whole of the back fence down one side was covered with nightshade, we spent ages getting rid of it and burning it, my grandmother told us not to breathe the smoke as it made you feel funny LOL.

Poison Ivy & oak are the same. The oil that causes the irritation makes for a toxic smoke.

 

[gary]

"Poor Lieut. Grace is a little sick and mourned the absence of Bella-donna. I got out my neglected box, and alternated it with accounts every hour since. Grace better, but a little crazy.

"Since I came back to the Regiment, I have used as medicine about 8 globules of Nux Vomica, and a little quinine."

Nux Vomica is also poisonous. Above is from page 132.

 

[Rhea Cole]

"Poor Lieut. Grace is a little sick and mourned the absence of Bella-donna. I got out my neglected box, and alternated it with accounts every hour since. Grace better, but a little crazy.

"Since I came back to the Regiment, I have used as medicine about 8 globules of Nux Vomica, and a little quinine."

Nux Vomica is also poisonous. Above is from page 132.

Strychnine Tree / Nux Vomica

You can buy Nux Vomica pellets online. It is an herbal remedy for erectile disfunction. Sounds like a way to give the medical examiner something to joke about. Read more here.

Link:

Nux Vomica - LiverTox - NCBI Bookshelf

Link:

Nux Vomica: Uses, Dosage, and Side Effects

Nux vomica can affect the nervous system, and is most often used to treat conditions that are acute, or develop rapidly and have a short course.

www.healthline.com

 

[gary]

You can buy Nux Vomica pellets online. It is an herbal remedy for erectile disfunction. Sounds like a way to give the medical examiner something to joke about.

Indeed.

 

[Library Lady]

I knew B&O was something other than a railroad. Belladonna and opium rectal suppositories were used to relieve pain from ureteral spasm (if you've ever passed a kidney stone, then you know what they mean). B&O suppositories were available until November 2022 when the only company manufacturing them discontinued the product line due to ingredient supply issues (by that, they mean belladonna and opium powder). It was assumed that compounding pharmacies (they make their own) would have the same issue. The Mayo Clinic still has a drug information page for the product, however.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/belladonna-and-opium-rectal-route/description/drg-20075097

 

[Rhea Cole]

I knew B&O was something other than a railroad. Belladonna and opium rectal suppositories were used to relieve pain from ureteral spasm (if you've ever passed a kidney stone, then you know what they mean). B&O suppositories were available until November 2022 when the only company manufacturing them discontinued the product line due to ingredient supply issues (by that, they mean belladonna and opium powder). It was assumed that compounding pharmacies (they make their own) would have the same issue. The Mayo Clinic still has a drug information page for the product, however.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/belladonna-and-opium-rectal-route/description/drg-20075097

Sounds like a do it yourself weak end project that could go very, very wrong.

 

[gary]

@Library Lady - I have had a kidney stone and when it passed, it was painless. Thanksgiving fare was meager but it was the BEST Thanksgiving ever.

 

[John Winn]

I remember a kid I knew who actually ate some Asthmadore (belladonna cigarettes sold as an Asthma treatment) because he heard you could get high. He survived but had a very bad experience to say the least. Back then you could just go into a drug store and buy that; no age limit or anything.

 

[gary]

American Indians used mullien leaves for asthma. Burn itt and inhale tthe smoke.

 

[Rhea Cole]

American Indians used mullien leaves for asthma. Burn itt and inhale tthe smoke.

My granddad had asthma as a small child. Dr. treated it with smoking cigars… it is a wonder anybody survived 19th Century medicine. Emphysema finally got him at 96…

 

[gary]

Concur. Amazing people survived despite medicinal practices of time. Regimental Surgeon, "Take the blue/red pill."

One of the keys to health is proper nutrition. The food of the 19th Century was not highly processed, sugar coated, corn-syrup enriched and made with bioengineered plant life. They didn't drink sodas all day either. The soil wasn't chemically fertilized or treated with harmful pesticides (today's rice from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas are grown in fields that were used for cotton AND treated with an arsenic compound as a weed killer --- the arsenic is in the soil and ergo, in the rice). With proper nutrition the human body can recover from a lot of ailments. Furthermore, our soil was depleted by the 1930s (and the Midwest topsoil lost thanks to the lack of rain and duststorms). Thus our produce today, even if "organically grown", doesn't have the nutrition as that same produce that our grandfathers/mothers atee.

I bet that had a lot to do with people surviving.

Maj. Appleton, whose book I just finished, ventured into various business pursuits and also made money by becoming a homeopathic doctor, like his father.

 

[gary]

My granddad had asthma as a small child. Dr. treated it with smoking cigars… it is a wonder anybody survived 19th Century medicine. Emphysema finally got him at 96…

Smoke a cigar and charge the parents for the cigar!

 

[SWS]

With proper nutrition the human body can recover from a lot of ailments.

It's no wonder how the Confederate hospitals were able to return so many convalescents to the field, since I believe the best food and sundries were reserved for said facilities.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

The tomato is also in the nightshade family.
(A plant/fruit that was initially shunned by Europeans as deadly).

And to think ...100 years after introduction from the "New World", the tomato was a common ingredient in
many continental recipes.

 

[Rhea Cole]

The absence of quinine / Jesuit's Bark in the Confederacy was due to quirk in the market. All of the labs that processed the bark from South America were in the New York City area. US QM's bought every scrap that was available. Entire regiments at Vicksburg were incapable of forming up due to malaria.

In response to wartime shortages & great demand, an official how to book of home remedies & herbal remedies was compiled. It is a doozie.

Standard Supply Tables For Indigenous Remedies For Field Service & For The Sick In General Hospitals.

Compiled by the Surgeon-General's Office

You have to read this for yourself. You will never take a walk in the woods quite the same way again. Read more here.

Link

Confederate States of America. Surgeon-General's Office. Standard Supply Table of the Indigenous Remedies for Field Service and the Sick in General Hospitals.

 

[gary]

It's no wonder how the Confederate hospitals were able to return so many convalescents to the field, since I believe the best food and sundries were reserved for said facilities.

HGH is higher in young men and thus they have a faster recovery rate.

Standard Supply Tables For Indigenous Remedies For Field Service & For The Sick In General Hospitals.

Compiled by Surgeon-General.

You have to read this for yourself. You will never take a walk in the woods quite the same way again. Read more here.

Link

Confederate States of America. Surgeon-General's Office. Standard Supply Table of the Indigenous Remedies for Field Service and the Sick in General Hospitals.

Hemlock is listed! Thanks for an interesting link.

 

[Rhea Cole]

HGH is higher in young men and thus they have a faster recovery rate.

Hemlock is listed! Thanks for an interesting link.

It is a fascinating read. Folklorists & herbalists consider it a seminal source.