UNUSUAL IDIOSYNCRASY TO ASPIRIN

The following case is reported because it seems unusual, and because of the violent reaction to an extremely small dose of aspirin. Judging from reports in the literature, poisoning from large doses of aspirin is relatively more frequent than that from small doses, which alone can show a distinct idiosyncrasy to the drug. History. —On June 20, 1910, the patient, a woman aged 40, on complaining of slight frontal headache, was given, at 10 a. m., 5 grains of aspirin and 1/60 grain strychnin sulphate, with instructions to take a similar amount of each at the end of one hour, if the headache persisted. Symptoms of Poisoning. —Fifty minutes later I was called and found the patient very nervous, excited and frightened. She complained of feeling queer and dizzy. The headache was worse and pain in the inner corner of the right eye was intense. Both eyes were puffy and