Orbost & District Historical Society
pamphlet, January 1870
... snake-bite australian-medical-journal halford-george... australian-medical-journal halford-george on front - Harry Richardson ...
Liquor ammonie was an antidote for snake bites in the late 19th century. George Halford, a medical professor at Melbourne University promoted ammonia injections to stimulate the heart and reinvigorate the blood. Inspired by experiments in dogs, his suggestion to intravenously dose snakebitten patients with an acknowledged poison was certainly controversial. The prevailing treatments, for doctors and laity, were ligature, cutting and sucking the wound, rest (or vigorous exercise), and prodigious quantities of alcohol. Support for ‘Halford’s injection’ nevertheless grew: Victorian doctors, chemists and citizens extolled its effectiveness in both human and animal patients. (Info. from Spectacular serpents: Snakebite in colonial Australia)This item is a useful research tool.A one sheet tabular list of cases of snake bite treated by the injection of liquor ammonie. There are pinholes in each corner.on front - Harry Richardsonsnake-bite australian-medical-journal halford-george