Introduction
Nerium Oleander, L. Common name – rosebay or rose – laurel. Nat. Ord., Apocynacae.
Provings
1. HAHNEMANN, Mat. Medorrhinum Pura, vol. i of original, vol. ii of translation. Contains 542 symptoms from self and five others, and 10 from authors.
2. LOISELEUR – DELONGCHAMPS took 3 dr. of a sol. of 30 grm. of extr. in 120 grm. of wine, and repeated it daily, each time increasing dose by 1 dr. It caused anorexia, malaise, weakness of limbs, anxiety, and great muscular debility. (GALTIER, Toxicologie, vol. ii.).
Poisonings
1. A delicate boy, aet. 2 1/4, swallowed, Aug. 18th, at 1 p. m., 2 handfuls of the flowers. After 10 m. he was observed to be restless. He was carried into the house, and on the way thither, and again 5 m. later, he vomited the flowers and some food. After the second vomiting he became very gay, and, contrary to his habit, jumped about all afternoon like a playful kitten. At 4:30 p. m. he took his coffee with appetite. 6:30 p. m., became again restless, wished to go to bed, lay there quietly and seemed to sleep. He did not reply to question, face and body were pale, eyes open, pupils very contracted, head and rest of body quiet cold and insensible, pulse and respiration slow and irregular, he could not be roused, and his father thought he was dead. 7 p. m., again vomited food, recovered his senses, and for 10 m. was likely; he then again became comatose in a greater degree than before. After a dose of ipec. he vomited at 9 p. m. a clear watery fluid without any solid matter, again becoming lively for a short time and then again comatose. He had three alternations of liveliness and sopor several times. At 11 p. m. he got some strong coffee. This roused him, and he became somewhat cheerful, but remained exhausted and sleepy; his pulse intermitted every 4 or 5 beats till 4 a. m.; it was weak, small, and rather quicker. Towards m. the intermissions of the pulse were after 10 to 12 beats. – 19th. The pulse intermitted every 13th beat, the weakness and drowsiness continued, the pupils were dilated so that hardly any of the iris was visible. He vomited everything he took. As he had no stool he got a dose of carb. of magnesia every hours from 12 noon, but he always vomited it. After the 6th dose and some lemonade the vomiting ceased; he fell into a quiet sleep, which lasted till 6 a. m. of the 20th. On walking he had a stool, the weakness and drowsiness were gone and he was well. (Hom. Vierteljahrsch., xi, 159; from Zeitsch. day k.k. Gesellsch. d. Aerzte zu Wien.)
2. Five persons who partook of barley broth which had been stirred while cooking with a branch of O. were taken seriously ill. One cried aloud and tossed about, vomited a green fluid, his eyes looked suffused with blood, the pupils were much dilated. Another had dilated pupils, uttered cries, had slight convulsions of the limbs. A third had vertigo, pain in stomach and in joints of limbs and in joints of limbs and a kind of stupidity so that he did not understand what was said to him. A fourth showed greater stupefaction, complete insensibility, his head was bent down upon his chest. A fifth was apparently completely stupefied, eyes distorted, bilious vomiting. All recovered in a week. (GALTIER, op. cit.)
3. A man 1 grm. 10 centigrams. of the powder of the bark. On the 2nd day he had copious painful vomiting, cold sweats, syncope, and other serious symptoms, which went off after drinking copiously of sugar and water and ether. (Ibid.)
4. An officer, to protect himself from the mosquitoes, made himself a kind of alcove of O. branches in his room, closed all the doors and windows, and went to sleep. The next m. he was found to be dead. (Ibid.)
5. A Hindoo, aet. 25, slight and delicate – looking, was brought to the hospital at Kholapore in the m. of August 9th, 1858, in a state of insensibility. His wife stated that after a quarrel he had swallowed more than an oz. of the expressed juice of the root. He was then about 5 yards off his house, to which he repaired immediately and fell, unconscious, on the threshold. On admission, face and eyes were swollen, head hot and covered with sweat, stertorous breathing, and foam issuing from mouth. With this there were violent spasmodic contractions of the muscles of the whole body, most marked in upper extremities and on left side. In the intervals of the spasms the patient lay motionless on his back. When the attack commenced, the stronger contraction of the left side threw him on the right, and he remained in this position as long as it lasted, falling then upon his back as one exhausted. Sulphate of zinc produced free emesis of greenish matter; but, insensibility persisting, with rapid pulse and hot skin, leeches were applied to the temples, and sulphate of magnesia obtained watery greenish evacuations. The spasms returned at intervals of an hours, and were apparently brought on by every attempt to move or to raise himself. Towards evening the spasms diminished, the face became pale and pulse thready, eyes were sunk in orbits, and extremities grew old rapidly. Frictions, mustard, and stimulants restored the circulation, but the insensibility persisted, and there was an involuntary stool. He remained in this state all next day, the spasmless violent and frequent, evacuations still involuntary. In evening reaction was established, but insensibility continued; after action of a full dose of castrol – oil this merged in a sound sleep. On m. of 11th he woke quite himself, though weak, and soon recovered, remembering nothing of what had passed since swallowed the poison. (BROUGHTON, Trans. of Medorrhinum and Phys. Soc. of Bombay, 1859.).
Experiments on animals
1. ORFILA has proved by his experiments that O. exerts a narcotic action on the brain, and an irritant one on the alimentary canal. (Opium cit.).
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.