SECT. LIX.—ON CERUSE.
Ceruse, owing to its colour, cannot be mistaken, and when taken voluntarily it whitens the palate, tongue, and the intervals between the teeth. It also brings on hiccup and cough, dryness of the tongue, and coldness of the extremities, with disorder of the intellect and difficulty of moving. In this case it will be proper to give honied water or the decoction of figs, or of mallows, or hot milk, or sesame triturated with wine, or the lye of vine-shoots, or the oil of marjoram, or of iris; also the bones of peaches, with a decoction of barley or frankincense, or the gum of prunes, or the juice of the elm which is contained in its follicles, along with tepid water; but let them immediately vomit. The juice of thapsia will also be proper for them, or three oboli of the juice of scammony, when drunk with honied water.
Commentary. Nicander compares the colour of ceruse to frothy milk. The symptoms of poisoning by it are constriction of the palate and gums, asperity of the tongue, singultus, a dry cough, nausea, heaviness of the head, unnatural vision, and torpor. His remedies are emetics of oil, thin milk, decoctions of mallows, sesame triturated with wine, prunes or elms, which are to be given partly as emetics, and partly with the intention of their being digested; for which purpose the patient is to be put into the warm bath. See the Paraphrase of Eutecnius; also Dioscorides, Aëtius, Avicenna, and Rhases, who recommend similar treatment. Aëtius, like our author, directs us to give scammony, evidently to counteract its astringency. Alsaharavius recommends emetics of the decoction of figs with mead or common oil, the infusion of wormwood as a diuretic, scammony with hydromel, and hot milk. Rhases recommends emetics of the decoctions of figs and oil, with drastic purgatives and diuretics. (Ad Mansor. viii, and Contin. xx, 2.) Avicenna’s principles of treatment are quite similar, that is to say, he trusts to emetics, diuretics, and clysters, and prevents the patient from sleeping. (iv, 6, 1.) Haly Abbas recommends an emetic consisting of honey with hot water, vinegar and salt; he also gives diuretics, such as the infusion of parsley, fennel, anise, and southernwood. (Pract. iv.)
Dr. Alston says, “our white lead is certainly the ψιμύθιον of Dioscorides and the cerussa of Pliny.” It was prepared by exposing the carbonate of lead to the vapours of vinegar. See Milligan (Ad Cels. p. 112.)