One strange morning when I was about 10 years old, I awoke to find my mother and father on either side of me, looking intently at me. I had my own bedroom and was very surprised to see them beside me. Before I could speak, my mother asked,”Are you all right? How do you feel?” I said I was fine and what were they doing on my bed? What was going on?
They unwound what seemed a totally fantastic tale but I believed them and my grandparents’ corroboration of the story. It turned out that my mother had taken me to the eye doctor the day before. As usual, my pupils were dilated for the examination. This had been done once or twice a year since I was three so everyone was used to the routine. I am not sure what was used to cause the dilation most of the time but this time, my mother was told that they were using belladonna drops and she should be sure to give me lots of water. She forgot about the instruction.
Later in the day, I began hallucinating and telling others what I was seeing. My mother became very upset. She didn’t know what to do or who to call. She took me to her mother’s so her parents could see what was going on. By the time, we got over there, my grandfather was home and had gone upstairs to change clothes. When he came downstairs, I pointed at him and said,”Look at that bear!” My voice and action showed I thought I was seeing a bear and of course, that didn’t not make them feel any easier.
After consultation with each other, the adults decided I might have somehow lost my mind or been poisoned by some chemical. They called the physician who had attended my mother during pregnancy and my birth. He was very concerned and made an appointment for them to bring me to him in the morning. He assured them that he would immediately make an appointment for my admission to a respected hospital for children with mental illness after he saw me.
So, you can see why my parents were concerned and very eager to see how I was after a night’s sleep. I woke up in fine shape and was amazed to hear the story of my weird behavior, of which I have zero memory. Both appointments were canceled with much relief. I have not had belladonna since and of course, I don’t intend to, either.
The drug is made from a plant by the same name. The wikipedia link goes to an article that begins:
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane alkaloids.[1] These toxins include scopolamine and hyoscyamine which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations.[2] The drug atropine is derived from the plant.
It has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Before the Middle Ages, it was used as an anesthetic for surgery, and it was used as a poison by early men, ancient Romans, including the wives of two Emperors, and by Macbeth of Scotland before he became a Scottish King.
The genus name "atropa" comes from Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology, and the name "atropa bella donna" is derived from an admonition in Italian and Greek meaning "do not betray a beautiful lady".[3][4][5]
The words “bella donna” mean “beautiful woman”. Women used the drops, carefully I hope, to dilate their pupils for enhanced eye beauty.
