Introduction
Corallium rubrum, Lamk. Red coral.
Provings
1. ATTOMYR. [A-says he proved it on himself and two girls in the 3rd trit., but nowhere gives any information to which of the three the symptoms belong. Neither in his nor in melicher’s proving is there any mention of the time after taking the dose when the symptoms appeared. A – says a few grains of the trit. Sufficed to produce the symptoms he records.] Head empty as if hollow; extremely violent headache, pressing out at forehead, compelling to move head from place to place, but without relief, which is only obtained for a short time by almost completely uncovering the burning hot body; pressive pain in forehead, so that her eyes cannot be kept open, relieved by walking in open air; pressure in forehead and temples whereby her sinciput seems to be pressed flat; violent headache as if her parietal bones were driven asunder, increased by bending forwards; on moving quickly or shaking head she felt as if wind rushed through cranial cavity; her head felt as if three times the normal size; on bending forwards all her blood seemed to be propelled towards head and face; heat of face increased by bending forwards; dry heat in face with normal temperature of rest of body; when she lays her hand on face a cold shudder comes over her, in morning; the eyes smart as if sore when she moves the eyeballs or even the lids; pressure in the reddened eyes as if from sand in them, evening; burning of eyes from the glare of the candle; the left eye pains as if hot and dry; pain in eye as if it were pressed from the front back into orbit; an extremely acute drawing pain in external wall of left orbit, whence it extended to beneath cheek – bone, in the course of the malar nerve; he does not hear as well s usual; on drawing down lower jaw, as also when biting and yawning, the left maxillary joint pains as if dislocated; great dryness of nasal and pharyngeal m. m.; in right nostril on inner side of its ala a painful ulcer involving the nasal bones with a painful feeling forced asunder, then the pain extended to frontal sinus and the eyes and temples, with thirst; the right side of nose is swollen, the swelling is hot and pulsating; disturbed sleep, nocturnal epistaxis; bleeding now from the right now from the pulsating; disturbed sleep, nocturnal epistaxis; bleeding now from the right now from the left nostril; the lips cracked, painful swollen, painful submaxillary glands, left side, worse when swallowing and bending head forwards; pressure on the ossa canine causes ulcerative pain in the two corresponding teeth; both left rows of teeth are a if on edge, the teeth feel as if too close to one another, or as if a touch substance stuck between each pair; on swallowing, dry sore throat; on swallowing pain in temporal muscles; food seems to him quite tastes sweet to him; wine tastes right to him, but stupefies him immediately; anorexia; no appetite, but yet no marked repugnance to food or drink; longing for acids and salt meat; great thirst; 1 hour after eating, hot cheeks, burning hot forehead; cold feet; nausea with dry tongue; nausea with violent headache, both increased by sitting up; painless rumbling in abdomen; constipation for 6 days, the 7th a copious soft stool; scalding urine; urine clay – coloured with similar sediment; great sweat of genitals; two seminal emissions in 24 hours, the first at night, the second in afternoon siesta, the latter with flaccid penis and without any dream. frequent sneezing, preceded by tickling in nose; stuffed cold in head, cannot breathe through left nostril. After stuffed cold in head for 2 days a very violent fluent coryza, during which mucus resembling melted tallow, and which leaves a similar stain on the linen, comes away in such quantities that 4 pocket handkerchiefs were saturated in an hours; it dropped out of the os as fast as blood in epistaxis, ceased for a short time, and again recurred, for a weeks. Sacrum feels bruised. stiffness in nape muscles, she cannot move head to either side without pain in wrist after writing rapidly for a long time. Painful tearings through right tibia. Pain in knee, tibia, and ankle – joint after a long walk. After slight exercise in open air prostration of upper and lower extremities, evening. The hot parts become chilly when uncovered Artificial heat is grateful to the hot and cold symptoms. on palm and some of the fingers smooth spots, at first coral coloured, then dark red, finally copper coloured. Excessive yawnings very frequently and in rapid succession, during which maxillary joint is painful. Very restless, dreamful night Tossing about and throwing off clothes in sleep. Sleeplessness till midnight, though otherwise well. He does not fall asleep before midnight, tosses about in bed, cannot rest, if he uncovers himself he is too cold, and under the bedclothes too hot, for 3 successive night. Great but satiable thirst with febrile chill, but normal temperature of skin and severe frontal headache. Dry febrile heat without thirst. General inward and outward febrile heat without thirst, not followed by sweat, with full hard pulse. Very peevish he scolds and sweats on account of the pains. Irascible, ill-humoured. ( Archiv, xi. 3, 166.)
2. FR. MELICHER took 3rd trit. Confusion of head as after intoxication; headache as from pressure in the frontal sinuses, with increased secretion of nasal mucus; on closing lids hot feeling in eye, as if it were in tears; the left zygoma pains as if bruised, worse when touched; great accumulation of nasal mucus through posterior nares, making him constantly hawk; a painful pimple on the upper lip, near the orifice of the right nostril; after eating, giddy as if intoxicated; in scrob. cordis a pressure, aggravated coughing, swallowing, and breathing deeply; swelling of prepuce, the border of which pains as if raw when it touches the shirt; the frenum preputii is painful, as if wounded by fine needles; the whole glans and nine surface of prepuce secret yellowish-green foetid pus, is very sensitive, red, swollen; red flat ulcers on glans and inner surface of prepuce, with secretion of much yellowish matter. A painful cough, with feeling as if a stone lay in the pleural sac, pressed it down, and caused a violent pressive pain in chest beneath sternum, thence the pain extended to scapulae, but goes off gradually as the cough diminishes. He expectorates yellow pus-like mucus. on breathing deeply, the air that passes through air passages appears to be icy cold, with some irritation to cough and much difficult hawking up of bronchial mucus, morning. Pain in sacral region as from pressure of a blunt instrument. Pressive pain in scapulae, aggravated by coughing. Pain in shoulder – joints, first in left then in right, then in both together, as if the head of the humerus were forcibly pressed out of the joint. Pain in insertion of deltoid muscle and in middle of right forearm, as if those places were pressed by sharply-opposing fingers. Tearing in right tibia, with feeling as if someone tickled him in the hough, which make him quickly bend the knee when walking. (Ibid.).
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.