Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1883 — The Perils of Chloral. [ARTICLE]

The Perils of Chloral.

Itia impossible to say too much against the use of chloral, which is as fatal and more terrible in its ultimate results than opium. The pangs of the opium-eater have been set forth with appalling vividness in the prose of De Quincey, but physicians assure us that the results of chloral are more agonizing and deadlier still. One of the most eminent English surgeons has called it “crystallized hell.” It poisons the mind as well as the* body;- and- so softly, so gently, so gradually does it enchain the victim who resorts to it, that he only realizes its power when it is too late to break the bonds which bind him. Some facts concerning its action were stated to a reporter of the New York Tribune by a distinguished physician, rec-, ntly. —’ —— - —" Chloral is resorted to for an ordinary attack of sleeplessness, and perhaps small doses are taken for a few days, -the result being sound, refreshing sleep, with none of the evil results common to our narcotics. When the period of sleeplessness, is past, all gees well for a time. Sooner or later, however, sleeplessness returns, chloral is again resorted to, kept up for a longer time and taken in larger doses. It is again abandoned, only to resume its sway, and thus the habit is formed ttjat renders sleep impossible without chloral, which, 1i k e all narcotics, must be increased in quantity as the system becomes habituated to its poisonous effects. The largest class of victims of the chloral habit are men who lead sedentary lives, and those who from temperament and the nature of their work are peculiarly liable to suffer from sleeplessness. One of the most notable examples of the baneful effects of the chloral habit was ’ tlie as tist poet, I)ante C> al 1 Bosse! t', who, during the hitter years of his life was accustomed to take enormous doses, reaching a total of nearly 180 grains daily. For many years he took chloral regularly, at first in small quantities,,, but he gradually increased the-dose until his power of resistance was gone. His life*was darkened by a power lie fought against in vain. His latter days were 1 spent in solitude. He became a recluse I and a hypochondriac, filled with groundless fearS for himself, cherishing unfounded suspicions against his best friends and admirers. Unlike opium, there are, as a rule, i no unpleasant effects, no reaction following the use of chloral. It simple produces perfect sleep, or the best possible imitation of dreamless rest, with no headache or sickness as a reminder that the slumber has been purchased and. the debt must be paid for. The debt is paid later, and th** interest demanded is health, hope, and often life.— Youth’s Companion.