CANTHARIS


Proving Symptoms of homeopathy medicine Cantharis, described by Richard Hughes in his book, A Cyclopedia of Drug Pathogenesis, published in 1895….


Introduction

Cantharis vesicatoria, Geoffr. Spanish fly. Nat. Ord., Coleoptera.

Provings

I. a. HAHNEMANN proved tinct. of powdered flies, subjects and manner unknown. Results reported are – frequent micturition; urine distilling guttatim; pressive darting pain in neck of bladder; formication and pruritus in urethra after micturition; stinging pain there between acts of micturition; constrictive pain in limbs, almost paralytic; tearing pain in back; sense of stinging in eyes, as if salt had been put in; want of appetite; debility; prostration of strength; moroseness; colic; diarrhoea without colic; incarceration of flatus in hypochondria; sleeplessness; itching in skin; slight night sweat. ( Fragmenta de Viribus, 1805.)

1b. In first hours, feeling of weakness in genitals. After some hour, at night heat of whole body, especially anus and genitals. After 2 hours, incarceration of flatus under short ribs, very fetid flatus. After 3 hours drawing pain in spermatic cord when urinating. After 4 hours, at night painless itching, at one time in head, at another in foot. After 6 hours, smarting pain in palate, especially after eating; drawing pain in spermatic cord when urinating. After 10 hours, large stitches from orifice of urethra to anus, evening and night. After 12 hours, urethra painfully sensitive. After 18 hours, drawing pain in bones of hand and forearm. After 20 hours, anxiety in morning as if expecting something important. After 24 hours, urethra intensely irritated and contracted, hence the urine flows in a thin stream; burning at the orifices of the seminal vesicles in urethra during and after coitus. After 72 hours, drawing pain in penis, in back and in thighs, relieved by discharge of wind upwards or downwards. First days, across sacrum, on moving, pain as if from an injury. After 3 days, on going uphill he loses his breath, ebullition in chest, he becomes sick. Much perspiration when walking. After 4 days, bloody blenorrhoea. After 9 days, slimy and bloody stool.

Without note of time, – Some hour after rising, morning, very exhausted in mind, many thoughts come into his head, which he cannot get rid of; night confusion of head, with pulsation in forehead for many hour. Giddy and weak in head. On stooping immediately very red in face, the blood shoots forcibly into head; face hot when seated, not when walking. Headache, squeezing and tearing, only when moving; when stooping and turning head feeling as if something came up nape and pressed head forwards, when everything seems to come out at forehead. Cutting – shooting in head that wakes him up. He wakes at night with headache; an out – pressure in forehead, relieved by sitting up in bed. itching on forehead. A pimple on cheek near corner of mouth, with tensive pain when not touched, burning pain when touched. Smarting in eyes as from salt in them. Water runs out of his eyes in open air, must close them; on opening them the edges of the lids feel sore, as if raw. Dimness of vision, must strain eyes much in order to see well for near or distant objects. A pimple deeply seated in cheek, itching when touched. Pustules on chin, burning when touched. A pimple on side of neck, with burning pain. Constrictive sensation in larynx. Dislike to tobacco. Bad taste in morning. Nausea and loathing of food. Anorexia. No appetite evening and morning, nothing is relished. colic, single rapid pinches in right side of abdomen, more externally, when standing. Diarrhoea, without griping. Burning and twisting in abdomen, until he has been twice to stool, morning. Burning pain above navel when coughing, sneezing and blowing nose, with great heat in abdomen; corresponding to this pain are some yellow spots externally, which, touched, prick rather than burn. Frequent call to stool, with scanty evacuation of faeces. Four ordinary stools during day. Two liquid yellow stools during day, and cutting in abdomen after each stool, smarting pain in anus without tenesmus. Frequent call to stool. Thin stool with much irritation in rectum. In an hour seven stools of white thick mucus, like scrapings from the bowel, with streaks of blood. Itching above anus in coccyx. Frequent call to urinate. Much irritation to urinate The urine passed by drops. Must rise twice at night to urinate. At night a strong erection, during which there is contractive and sore pain throughout urethra. Orifice of urethra inflamed. Urethra swollen internally. Penis swollen. Swelling of fraenum preputii. The urine flows in a smaller and a divided stream and with difficulty, especially at 9 a. m. Every time he passes water he has a sensation in glans part of urethra as if the urine stuck there and could not come out, and pressive pain at that part, and yet the urine flows unhindered. After the urine has been passed some drops of watery blood follow. Sometimes shooting in urethra and burning in it when urinating. When he has a call to urinate it is preceded by a pressive shooting pain in neck of bladder, and only a few drops are passed during constant urging. The urine seems to him to be acrid. Formication and itching in urethra after urinating. Smarting pain in urethra whilst urinating. Cutting pain from back and abdomen through urethra. Yellow gonorrhoea, which stains the linen yellow. When the gonorrhoea discharges there is each time pressure in urethra. Nocturnal emission. Stiff erection of penis, night Sweat of genitals. When he passes water he is obliged at same time to go to stool, and yet nothing passes, but this urging to stool ceases when the urine is evacuated. Before the menses burning when urinating, and white sediment in urine. After menses for three days bloody mucus is passed from vagina. Hoarseness on chest. Sensation of dryness in throat for several days. A pimple on sternum that pains like a sore when touched. Cough morning on rising, with difficult expectoration. Cough with pain in abdomen. Betwixt shoulders downwards, on every movement, a rather persistent stitch, as if something had been dislocated. Tearing pain in back, especially morning. Pricking tickle in axilla. In bend of both elbows formicating itching. On natis large pimple, with burning pain when touched. In proximal phalanx of finger an itching swelling. Drawing pain in houghs. Shaking of knees when coming downstairs. Just above ankle-joint on tibia, as if flesh and skin were detached from bone, not observed on touching, for 14 days. Drawing, almost paralytic, pain in limbs. Feeling of dryness in joints of arms and legs, for 12 days. Itching in skin. A burning and kind of itching tearing here and there in skin. In morning very sleepy and faint. Slight night sweat. Heat, with thirst and general redness. When lying, sitting, and walking he chattered much unconnected stuff about his business and about people long dead. Weakness and sinking of powers. Sleeplessness. Peevish humour. Easily excited by insults. Cross only in morning on rising. Internal anxiety, loss of self – confidence, like hypochondriasis, afternoon. Has no rest, always seeks another place, at same time internal heat of head. Obstinate and contrary humour, afternoon. ( Archiv, xiii, 1, 157.)

2.Baudis [*To all these pathogeneses of C. contained in Hartlaub and Trink’s work the same description applies; they are stated to have been observed on healthy persons, and that is all we know about them.–EDS.*] – Restlessness; excited mood; vertigo; pains in head; burning of eyes; heat in face; pains in gums; tonsils somewhat inflamed; burning in throat while swallowing; much secretion of saliva; burning at orifice of stomach and in stomach itself; pains in intestines; hard stool, with protrusion of rectum; urging to stool; emission of white urine; great burning during micturition, and along urethra afterwards; urethral orifice is as if inflamed; continued priapism with somewhat painful feeling (for 3 hours); immediately after taking, short paroxysms of dry cough, excited by tickling in larynx, with quickened breathing and a sort of constriction of chest, also of trachea; burning in chest; little sleep; voluptuous dreams; heat in whole body; dryness of skin; weaker pulse. (HARTLAUB. TRINKS, Arzneimittellehre,)

3 Bethmann Everything affects him more deeply than usual, so that he is unable to resist much whining (2nd days); when wishing to reflect on anything his thoughts at once leave him; he gazes fixedly and in silence at some object (which, however, he scarcely notices) and has trouble in bringing himself to utter a few coherent words (2nd days); in morning great relaxation of mental power (2nd days); while walking in open air vertigo, with transient attacks of unconsciousness, recurring several times in 1/2 hours, and accompanied with sensation as of mist before eyes (1st day); confusion in forehead, as well as slight pressing and drawing there (12 hours); drawing pain in left side of head and in forehead; tearing in fore part of head, and (2nd days) in both temples; pressure in eyes; tearing in and behind right eye (1 hour); sickly appearance, sunken pale face; without feeling hungry wishes to eat now this, now that (1st day); increased thirst (6 hours); nausea (2nd days); dull pressure in stomach, felt most when it is empty (2nd days); cutting pain in stomach (1/2 hour); drawing pain; weak feeling (2nd days); costiveness, he must press much more than usual to obtain evacuation, and then it is insufficient (3rd days); watery diarrhoea; drawing and tearing in pubic region; in morning less urine than usual (2nd days); he cannot for whole day retain more than a spoonful of urine in bladder without urging to urinate; when urinating in morning had tensive feeling along urethra, as if urine were checked in its course (2nd days); tearing in thorax, especially in cardiac region (1/2 hour); stitches in right side of thorax; pressive pain in both sides, under ribs (2 hours); drawing pain in cardiac region; pressive pain in sacrum, for 2 days; tearing in scapula (1 hour) and axilla; drawing pain in left scapula (2 hours); tearing in left hand (2 d.), in left thumb (1 hour); great lassitude, especially in legs, as when low fever is impending; he remains in bed longer than usual in morning (2nd days); in morning profuse sweat on lower part of body. ( 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.