POISONING OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES – CAUSES 2
The possibility of poisoning greatly occupied my mind when I myself fell victim to it and had to stay in bed as a result. One day I had been in search of certain herbs and while in the woods I crossed a clearing in which there were some wonderful specimens of deadly nightshade {Atropa belladonna). As the ground just there was very steep and slippery I involuntarily held on to the strong plants. Later, I came upon some poisonous prickly lettuce (Lactuca scariola), which I broke off and examined more closely. Shortly afterwards I found some wild strawberries under a luxurious growth of herbs and, forgetting I had not had the opportunity to wash my hands, I began to eat the delicious fruit. And then, to crown it all, on my way home I picked some poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron) and held it in my hands. I remembered all these details later that night when I woke up with violent abdominal pains and tried to puzzle out their cause. On the whole I am not particularly sensitive to poisons, and I am sure that the poison ivy had little to do with my discomfort since it usually causes a rash in sensitive people, but I had no such symptoms. I had also eaten vegetables which we had bought from a store, since those in our own garden were late due to inclement weather and a late spring. This, too, could have contributed to the disturbance. Whatever the actual cause, the results were most disagreeable!
*404/28/1*
