"Heart Action Had Stopped When Surgeon Injected Fluid."
Baltimore, Md., July 22, 1925.—A new-born baby, given up for dead, now lives, and is thriving as a result of an injection of lobelin solution.
Dr. Walter Cox, of the Franklin Square Hospital, injected the drug, the operation being described as involving great risk. Lobelin is derived from Lobelia inflaia, a form of a large common blue flower which, for a century, has been known as a heart stimulant.
"We could not start the baby's breathing," Dr. Cox said. "Finally, we concluded it was dead. There seemed to be no
78 THOMSONIAN SYSTEM
way to revive life. Its heart had stopped beating. "Since I was convinced the baby was dead there was nothing to fear in using the drug. I plunged the hypodermic into the baby and almost immediately it started to breathe, and heart action was restored. This marks the opening of a new avenue in obstetrics."
There is nothing new in this. Dr. Samuel Thomson used Lobelia—in the infusion form—for the same purpose (restoration of suspended animation) almost in the very beginning of his practice, and was wholesomely condemned for using such a "deadly poison." Eclectic and Physio-Medical physicians have used Lobelia consistently and persistently in the powder, tincture and hypodermic form and without a single recorded fatality.
TABLETS: 1 to 60 grains. In chronic conditions, 1 to 5 grains with an equal amount of Capsicum is the approved dosage. In acute cases, 15 to 60 grains may be safely given and repeated in from 30 to 60 minutes. The larger doses should not be given except in an emergency when the aid of a physician is not to be had, or by the physician.
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