[CHAPTER X.]
SALTS OF THE METALS: ZINC—SILVER—TIN—BISMUTH—CHROME—IRON.
Two preparations of ZINC must be noticed:
Sulphate of Zinc (White Vitriol, White Copperas.)—This is a very mild irritant, resembling in its appearance Epsom salts and oxalic acid. It is very useful as an emetic in scruple or half-drachm doses, dissolved in any thin fluid.
In one case an ounce was accidentally taken. Great pain in the stomach, vomiting, and prostration, soon set in. Subsequently there was gastritis, and recovery only occurred after a prolonged convalescence.
Treatment.—Vomiting is to be encouraged by milk or albuminous fluids; after which remedies containing tannin (strong tea, decoction of oak bark, or tincture of Peruvian bark) are to be given.
Chloride of Zinc.—A solution of chloride of zinc forms a valuable disinfectant, but is also a dangerous irritant, or, if sufficiently strong, a corrosive poison. Sir William Burnett’s Fluid consists of gr. xxv of this salt to the drachm of water. It has been taken in mistake for fluid magnesia, pale ale, &c., and has caused death.
Symptoms.—A burning sensation in the mouth and throat is immediately produced. This is followed by nausea, vomiting, and signs of collapse. Death has occurred in less than four hours.
Post-mortem Appearances.—The mucous membrane of the throat and stomach has been found corrugated, hard, and leathery. In the case of a sailor who died from about half a pint of Burnett’s solution, the body was livid, the neck swollen, the cerebral vessels were engorged, and the lungs were congested. The mucous coat of the stomach was of a purple red, and partially corroded, while the pyloric orifice looked as if caustic had been applied to it. There were patches of congestion in different parts of the small intestines.