Arsenicum



25 d. “Nearly two years have elapsed since the proving of the arseniate of soda. The symptoms caused by the drug disappeared entirely soon after I ceased taking it, except those of the nose, fauces, and chest. These have been quite persistent since the proving, and are as follows:-The nasal mucous membrane is dry, the nasal mucus becomes tough, hard, and sometimes when dislodged causes bleeding. From the posterior nares there is a dropping of mucus, which at times collects in a tough and very tenacious mass, causing considerable hemming and hawking to dislodge it. The fauces feel dry on inspiration and on deglutition. The dryness worse in the m., and always after a cold. In the right side of chest, beneath the cartilages of the fourth and fifth ribs, where irritation, pain, and soreness occurred when proving the medicine, there is an uneasiness, which on any physical exertion occasions a teasing sensation, producing a dry hacking cough and slight soreness, but never any acute pain. These symptoms are aggravated by deep inspirations, by dust, and a close atmosphere. (Ibid.)

26. J. G. THOMPSON, M. D., made two provings, one of the 10 grs. to 3j solution, which he took in the usual manner for about a week; the other (with 18 day between) of the 8 grs. to the oz. solution, of which he consumed 3j in about 3 weeks.

26 a. On 2nd d. found an effort required for attending to accustomed duties; tries to write, but has to form each word laboriously; dull frontal aching on waking, during day very severe frontal pain, every motion jars brain; conjunctive congested (on waking), eyes sore on pressure; at 5 p.m., feeling of nausea, vomited large quantity of sour water; felt better while lying quiet; odour of food then pleasant to him, but on attempting to eat first bite caused same vomiting; pulse 98; had to lie on face to get to sleep, but slept well through n. On 3rd day, head dull and heavy, with frontal aching; conjunctive of uniform redness; soreness and aching of eyes on moving them; face flushed and hot; through m. occasional pains in umbilical region, with frequent passages of flatus; feeling of fullness and oppression at chest; slept moderately well. On 4th d., feeling of nervousness all through body; head heavy; eyes congested; occasional pains through bowels, with emissions of flatus; lung feel oppressed as if by a heavy weight; lower extremities feel heavy. On 5th d., stupid all day; dull headache, frontal, and at root of nose; eyes as before; face feels puffed up and hot, heavy aching pain in ethmoid bone; heavy, oppressed feeling in chest, requiring quite an effort to draw a full deep breath. On 6th, confused feeling in head; nose stopped up, must keep mouth wide open to breathe during night; after rising, clear watery coryza, very profuse, with constant aching at root of nose; eyes very much congested; oppression in chest, with slight dry cough; on commencing to move pain and soreness in right knee; slept poorly, would start up and be wide awake and much frightened. On 7th, gloomy, wants to sit quiet; head heavy; coryza very profuse and watery, and aching severe; eyes same, looking at anything makes them ache; malar bones feel as if swollen; muscles of mastication feel stiff, and pain on motion; occasional pain through abdomen; dry cough; lungs feel as if filled with smoke; extensor muscles of thigh feel sore; slept better. On 8th, dull frontal headache; still pain at nose, discharge becoming, whitish and thick; oppression at chest; cough looser, but no expectoration. On 9th, dullness only in head (frontal) and nose; discharge from latter tough and yellowish; chest and cough same.

26 b. On 3rd d., very thirsty throughout; and about 10 m. after taking medicine feeling of distress, commencing in epigastrium, and in a few m. extending throughout abdomen, worse on movement. On 4th d., dull and indisposed to study, cannot be interested; more dull of hearing than usual; still thirsty; tongue coated with thin yellowish-white fur; eyes a little irritable and congested, sclerotic slightly yellowish, and orbital region edematous; some reddish irregularly shaped spots over nose, which had remained from former proving, are now irritable and tender; frequent copious discharge of clear watery urine. On 5th d., could not concentrate mind readily; heavy, disagreeably full feeling in orbital region reaching to temple; thirst a little less; tongue as yesterday; eyes sorer, vessels fuller, and they burn as if long irritated by wood smoke; right side of nose and over bridge a little red, spots not so sore but harder; urine rather less; transient pains (3 on right side, 2 on 1.) in front of chest, below 7th rib, about 2 inches from sternum. On 6th d., mind as yesterday; less thirst; smarting and edema of eyes came; no stool for 2 day; urine normal in quantity and quality; chest pain quite frequent (about 20 times). On 7th d., moderately severe aching in forehead and temples, worst in and above orbits; face looks hot and feels flushed; edema in infra-orbital region, lachrymation, and tendency to close eyes, besides the congestion and smarting; a bright-red rash, blotchy and irregular in shape, not elevated, appeared in m. over forehead, and in 1 h. extended over face; natural stool; chest-pains less sharp and frequent, but oppression and soreness on inspiration at their site. On 8th, tongue nearly natural; eyes heavy, smarting, sore on movement, with orbital aching; tenderness of epigastrium; no stool; chest as yesterday; pulse a little irregular, variable in volume, 72 (normally 80-85). On 9th, confusion and want of concentrating power worse; eyes same in appearance, but close and ache more; frequent borborygmus with pain; chest same, with frequent sighing and yawning; pulse still more irregular; on lying down at n. (also previous n) on closing eyes visions of small black animals appeared to pass before him, arousing him from sleep; and while sleeping black objects were dreamed of. On 10th, eyes feel same, conjunctiva looks more congested and swollen; soreness still felt on inspiration, and respiratory sounds not clear; pulse 76 and but slightly irregular. On 11th, still depressed; heaviness in head, but less pain; thickening of nasal mucous membrane; can inhale, but exhales with difficulty; much yellowish consistent mucus from posterior nares; feeling as if some burning or acrid substance had been taken into stomach; two m. stools, rather looser than usual; more or less constant feeling during m. of irritation bronchi, with pain and soreness on right side, and slight dry cough; tenderness on pressure in supra-clavicular region; pain between scapula, quite severe, causing bending forwards for relief, felt at every inspiration; after 1 h. it passed below point of scapula to between 9th and 10th ribs, where there is soreness on deep inspiration; sleep troubled with indefinite dreams. On 12th, mind dull and desultory; less frontal headache than previously; much sneezing and watery coryza; eyes very sore, red, and weeping in open air; epigastrium has been tender since 8th day; chest till 3 p.m. as yesterday, respiratory sounds not clear at base of right lung; pulse 76, but regular; dull pain through right calf and popliteal space for 1/2 hours while lying, passing off on walking. On 13th, again watery discharge from anterior, thick from posterior, nares; eyes looking better; no stool for 2 d.; lungs free from pain or soreness, can breathe deeply without inconvenience; pain again in right popliteal space, followed by frequent cramp in plantar surface of right foot. On 14th, mind as before; fluent coryza with sneezing all day; tongue rather whitish and downy with metallic taste after a drink of water; eyes bad again, and orbital region much swollen; chest also oppressed and irritated as before; pulse 76, full, and regular. On 15th, mind same; awoke with somewhat severe pain from temple to temple across orbits, continuing all day; sneezing on every exposure to cold air, nose discharging or stuffed; hawking as before; eyes as yesterday, feeling as of something granular on lids when moving balls; natural stool; chest sorer than yesterday, and more (dry) cough; some sharp left infra-mammary pains; respiratory sounds at both bases indistinct; pulse as yesterday; heart-sounds heard distinctly all over chest; weary feeling in thighs this afternoon. On 16th, had slept soundly, but was restless and tossed about without being aware of it (on inquiry found that this has been so since pathogenetic effects began); when roused up at any time since taking drug, he wakes nervously as if in affright, which is not usual with him; no headache; tongue still slightly furred, as it has been for several day; eyes same; no stool; chest and cough same; in afternoon aching travelling down anterior lower extremity increasing to a restless uneasiness, lasting till bedtime. On 17th, awoke with very severe aching across brow above orbits, with considerable vertigo on moving about, and sensation of lightness or largeness of head while sitting, continuing severe till 3 p.m., from which hours aching gradually lessened to bedtime; no coryza for 2 day, anterior nares clear, but post. obstructed; hawking more frequent, and mucus more yellow and thick; eyes same; one small stool; cough more severe, but still dry; entire chest feels clogged and full, and sore on any deep inspiration; auscultation gives same results; pulse 76, variable in volume; heart-sounds unusually loud and distinct; about mid- afternoon pain again in right popliteal space for about 1 h.; found it difficult to get to sleep, from annoying nervousness; when attempts were made to rouse him in n. rose up in bed excitedly and lay down again unconsciously. On 18th, supra- orbital headache, constant thought slight; hawking same; on looking into throat tonsils, uvula, soft palate and pharynx are thickened, irregular on surface, swollen, purplish red, with abundance of yellowish-grey mucus; no soreness on swallowing, moderately heavy whitish coat over greater surface of tongue on waking; considerable pain through abdomen all m., with relaxation of bowels, attacks lessening towards 1 p.m., stools rather dark and very flatulent; from 2 p.m. every 1/2 h. dull cutting pain for 5 m. along Poupart’s ligament on either side, on subsidence of which there is for 10 m. sickening sensation in left testicle, as after a blow, -testicle during this time extremely sensitive to touch; chest and cough as yesterday, but pain, then on right side, is now on left; pulse 86, slender, and irregular; frequently-recurring sharp stitches along palmar surface of 4th metacarpal bone, in one or other hand at same time; inguinal pain woke him 3 times in n. On 19th, still unable to bring himself to study; inguinal pain every h. only to-day (till 4 p.m.), but quite as severe; soreness from lower cervical vertebra to angles of both scapula, felt first on getting out of bed in m., becomes stitching pain on deep inspiration, which lasts a long time. On 20th, throat less dark and rough to look at, but feels same; hawking as frequent; eyes same, lower lids distinctly granular in appearance; cough loose at n., but in day tight and more painful; all day sore through whole chest, and at times recurrence of the left pleurodynia; pulse 78, at times slender, at times full, and readily fluctuating on movement of body. On 21st, head as on 18th; eyes same; return of pain of 18th in groin, but less severe; chest as yesterday. On 22nd, three small loose stools before 9 a.m. On 23rd, frontal headache rather more severe; throat painful on empty swallowing only; eyes sore and swollen on waking; swelling going off in an hours chest same. After a good n. woke with severe supra-orbital and temporal pain, continuing very severe till 4-5 p.m., when it passed into orbit and ball of eye posteriorly; it was here very severe, obliging him to lie down; there was much photophobia, whole orbital region very much swollen, and vessels of ball and lids both largely congested; pain began to diminish about 7, and by bedtime had almost ceased; chest same. On 25th, eyeballs sore on pressure, and aching on looking at objects; epigastric tenderness again to-day; anterior coryza has ceased for some day past, but much mucus as before is still hawked in m. from posterior nares; there is dry, stiff feeling in pharynx on waking; whole throat still looks thickened, pale red, and spotted with mucus; no stool for 2 day; some turns of dry cough; pulse 82, full and regular. Nothing now noted till 29th day, when throat remained the same; eyes were sore, smarted and watered on going into open air, orbital region swollen mornings, vessels perceptibly congested, and sight very much weakened; he had lost 5 lb. in weight (since when is not stated); bowels move only every other d.; (dry) only noticed now on exertion; still stuffed sensation at chest, with soreness on deep inspiration; pulse 72, and rather irregular in volume and beat; heart beats violently on making any unusual exertion or continuing a usual one long. He had less strength than when he ceased taking medicine 7 d. ago; and to-night a restless feeling prevented sleep till after 1 a.m. Here the record closes. (Ibid.)

Richard Hughes
Dr. Richard Hughes (1836-1902) was born in London, England. He received the title of M.R.C.S. (Eng.), in 1857 and L.R.C.P. (Edin.) in 1860. The title of M.D. was conferred upon him by the American College a few years later.

Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.