In the Spring of 1874, a lady, aged about sixty, came to consult me. She said that her teeth were so bad she could not eat any ordinary food; had disease of the lungs; was forbidden to take chloroform. After an examination, I told her she had eight teeth in the upper jaw that could not possibly be made useful, and she had better have them extracted. She said she had never had one extracted without fainting dead away. She could not think of having more than one out at a time. Her temperament, nervous sanguine, emaciated hands cold, pulse very feeble. I told her if she would follow my directions I would take them all out and she would not mind it more than one, and guaranteed she could not faint if she tried. I explained the effect of the wintergreen, and said it would do no more harm than a glass of good wine. I administered the article, as before described, until her face flushed, tears ran down her cheeks, then extracted the eighth teeth without her closing her mouth. She asked if they were all out, and I said yes. She said, "Is it possible?" I gave her a glass of water. It did not show the least tremor of the nerves. She left, giving me many thanks, saying that she felt much better than when she came into the office.
I could relate many more similar cases, but do not deem it necessary. My object is to show what may sometimes be done to advantage in cases of syncopy, and also the means of preventing it while performing a painful operation.
As before said, the brain is the seat of all sensation; and our patients, no matter how nervous they are, if the brain is properly stimulated, cannot faint--caused by the extraction of teeth. When my patients are known to be pregnant, I always use the stimulant above described before performing any painful operation; it always prevents any severe shock of the nervous system when in this condition. If any one wishes to know how to prepare the Essence, it is as follows: To one pint of alcohol add one ounce of the Oil of Gaultheria, commonly called Wintergreen. Shake it well and it is fit for use.
In passing from a conscious to an unconscious state, all the Clairvoyants I have questioned on the subject say it is affected by a change of polarity of the sensatory organs, and the principle is the same whether caused by animal magnetism, syncopy or anæsthetic agents, and if only the voluntary organs are affected thereby, there is no danger to life, but if polarity in the involuntary is reversed, the heart ceases to beat and death is instantly the result. I was the first in this city to administer ether for the purpose of extracting teeth without pain. In a few cases it developed paroxysms of hysteria; otherwise no harm was done. I have administered ether, chloroform and gas to over two thousand persons. With chloroform, I had three cases that barely escaped death in my chair; with gas, some after deleterious effects followed in two cases.