Milk sickness

There is no evidence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot) but this plant also has poisonous properties, which are attributed to an unstable toxin called tremetol. Transfer from cow s milk to humans can produce a condition known as milk sickness, including trembles, weakness, nausea and vomiting, prostration, delirium, and even death. 

The hot infusion in quantity can cause vomiting otherwise, there are no side effects. It has been reported that the fresh plant contains trematol, which causes "milk-sickness" in cows and in people who drink infected milk. My research shows that trematol is confined to Eupatorium rugosum, white snakeroot, and does not occur in boneset. A significant number of clinicians feel that as a tincture, fresh boneset is best, and that the dried herb should be used for tea. 

Compounds with similar structure have been implicated in cases of livestock and human poisoning by Eupatorium rugosum, white snakeroot, in the eastern United States (Beier and Norman, 1990 Beier et al., 1987). This plantpoisoning syndrome was once a major problem and was considered an illness, often called milk sickness (Beier and Norman, 1990 Kingsbury, 1964). The lipophilic compounds of white snakeroot are excreted by lactating animals, usually cattle. In the southwestern United States, where white snakeroot does not grow, another species. Isocoma wrightii (syn. Haplopappus heterophyllus), has... 

The toxin is readily passed in milk and may poison nursing animals or babies. Early setders in the eastern United States died as a result of "milk sickness" caused by white snalterooL... 

No doubt, men watched their livestock get sick or die after eating certain plants. Stories of the Old West have made loco-weeds famous because of their effects on animals. When eaten by dairy cows, White snakeroot transfers its poisonous alcohol, tremetol, to their milk. During the 19th century, this created the outbreaks of milk sickness in the Appalachians and the Midwest, and resulted in the loss of numerous lives. 

Milk may be a carrier of diseases from animals or from other sources to humans. To avoid contamination before pasteurization, healthy animals should be separated from sick animals or those with infected udders. The animals should be clean, kept in clean housing with clean air, and handled by workers and equipment under strictly sanitary conditions. Post-pasteurization contamination can occur as a result of improper handling, due to exposure to contaminated air, improperly sanitized equipment, or an infected worker. 

I was pretty sad about this. When he became sick, I took him home to my bachelor apartment for two weeks and fed him milk with an eyedropper, as he lay curled up on a blanket in the bathtub. Penicillin cured the local abscess, but my kitty never regained full neurological function. 

Amiodarone is contraindicated in patients with sick sinus syndrome and may cause severe bradycardia and second-and third-degree atrioventricular block. Amiodarone crosses the placenta and will affect the fetus, as evidenced by bradycardia and thyroid abnormalities. The drug is secreted in breast milk. 

Cole and four children, age 5 to 10 felt "sick and miserable", each suffering from one or more maladies, e.g., "extreme lethargy, severe headaches, stomach discomfort, and stiff or swollen joints". Their illness was attributed to pork from pigs fattened on PBB-contaminated grain, obtained from their local Farm Bureau elevator in Chippewa County. A fat sample taken from the elder Cole showed 0.15 ppm of PBB contamination and the pork eaten was reportedly only lightly contaminated. No mention is made of milk consumed—particularly by the children. 

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