The brother of this patient was seized with violent convulsions of the whole body, in consequence of a cut on his foot; the skunk cabbage was administered, and he was speedily restored to perfect health.
A woman was affected with violent spasmodic pains, twenty-four hours after parturition; six doses of skunk cabbage entirely removed her complaints.—American Modern Practice, p. 530.
Barton.—The smell from spathe and flowers is pungent and very subtle. Experience leads me to believe they possess a great share of acridity; having been seized with a very violent inflammation of my eyes (for the first time in my life), which deprived me of the use of them for a month, by making the original drawings of these plates. The pungency of the plant was probably concentrated by the closeness of the room, in which many specimens were at the time shut up.—Veg. Mat. Med., 1, 128. [The italics are not in the original text.]
The seeds are said to afford more relief in asthmatic cases than the root; and this I believe very probable, for they are remarkably active, pungent, and, as has before been mentioned, exhale the odor of Asafœtida.—Op. cit., p. 131.
The bruised leaves are frequently applied to ulcers and recent wounds, and, it is said, with good effect. They are also used as an external application in cutaneous affections; and I have heard of the expressed juice being successfully applied to different species of herpes. The leaves are also used in the country to dress blisters, with the view of promoting their discharge. * * * For this purpose I can recommend them where it is desirable to promote a large and speedy discharge, and no stimulating ointment is at hand.
Colden recommends the skunk cabbage in scurvy.—Op. cit., p. 132.
Bigelow.—The odor of the Ictodes resides in a principle which is extremely volatile. I have not been able to separate it by distillation from any part of the plant, the decoction and the distilled water being in my experiments but slightly impregnated with its sensible character. Alcohol, digested on the plant, retains its odors for a time, but this is soon dissipated by exposure to the air.
An acrid principle resides in the root, even when perfectly dry, producing an effect like that of the Arum and the Ranunculi. When chewed in the mouth, the root is slow in manifesting its peculiar taste; but after some moments a pricking sensation is felt, which soon amounts to a disagreeable smarting, and continues for some time. This acrimony is readily dissipated by heat. The decoction retains none of it. The distilled water is impregnated with it, if the process be carefully conducted, but loses it on standing a short time.—Amer. Med. Bot., 2, 45.
To insure a tolerably uniform activity of this medicine, the root should be kept in dried slices, and not reduced to powder until it is wanted for use.—Op. cit., p. 49.
A number of cases have fallen under my own observation of the catarrhal affections of old people, in which a syrup prepared from the root in substance has alleviated and removed the complaint.—Op. cit., p. 48.