Introduction
Phytolacca decandra, L. Poke. Nat. Ord., Phytolaccaceae.
Provings.
1. KUMMER (1835) proved tinct. of root, leaves, and flowers, taking 5 doses of 15 – 60 dr. Pressing pain right side of throat; occasional shocks of pain in region of heart, and, as soon as this ceases, a similar pain appears in right arm; drawing pain in right hand, now and then by shocks, upwards to elbow; rheumatic pain in left hand, then in right (2 d.); in end of left thumb shooting like needles; similar sensation in legs and feet. (HERING, Mat. Medorrhinum, vol. i.)
2. GEIST (1835) proved tinct. of root (manner not stated). Shooting pains in right ear, very quick; disposition to bite teeth together; mouth fills with water. (Ibid.)
3. BAUER (1835 – 7) observed following symptoms from triturating room, and from dilutions up to 3rd: – vertigo with dimness of vision; dull feeling in head; dull pain in forehead; pressure in forehead after dinner, most in glabella; pressure in temples and over eyes; heaviness in head, especially in temples; drawing pain in right temple; slight pain in forepart of head, with increased sense of hearing. Sensation in eyes like that caused by horse – radish; pressure in eyes; feeling in eyes and nose as if a cold would come on, continues all day; pressure around eyes in afternoon as if eyes were too large. A painless tumour which he had under left ear became red and painful; a pustule behind right ear; a small boil behind right ear, which appeared 4 weeks before and was healed, returned and suppurated, discharging blood and matter. Drawing sensation about root of nose; cold in the head, right nostril stopped during whole day and next m. Heat in face after dinner; face turns pale; very peculiar pressure and tension in parotids for several d. Eruption on upper lip under nose, left side, forms a crust; irresistible desire to bite teeth together; shooting pains in molar teeth of upper and lower jaws of right side, in one who never suffered with toothache before. Taste like nuts in mouth; flow of saliva into mouth; saliva yellowish, and has a metallic taste; two small ulcers on inside of right cheek, like those caused by mercury, so painful that he must chew on left side. Unpleasant sensation of dryness in pharynx towards m., which makes him cough; roughness in pharynx; sensation in throat like that caused by eating choke – pears. Raging appetite; hungry soon after eating, several day in succession; eructations with spitting of water. Cutting pain in pit of stomach and abdomen; violent pressure in stomach on walking in m., with accumulation of water in mouth, disappears after rising, the same next m. Violent dull pressing pain in spleen in evening, so that he cannot remain in sitting posture, he lies on painful side all n., and the pain is gone next m. Griping pain in abdomen lie that before diarrhoea; griping all day long, followed by passage of offensive flatus, the griping disappears in night; cutting in abdomen; rumbling noise in abdomen. Hard stools; continual inclination to go to stool; 3 stools during day, first hard and preceded by griping, others with pain moving about abdomen, 2 day in succession; mushy stool. Gurgling sensation in prostate glad repeated p. m. Hardness of a gland right side of neck; sensation of weight and pressure on both shoulder – blades as after carrying heavy loads, lasting several day; a lasting pain on left shoulder – blade, as if from a blow; occasional sensation as if a small piece of cold iron was pressed on the painful shoulder – blade; painful boil on left side of back. Slight drawing pains in right upper arm; rheumatic drawing in right forearm, – in left along ulna, and same sensation in right leg; rheumatic feeling in right little finger, very annoying when writing; shooting in finger – joints, sometimes one hand, sometimes the other; occasional frequent sudden pricking in points of fingers as if from electric sparks. Rheumatic feeling in left knee, with sensation of shortening of tendons behind knee when walking; heaviness in knee – joints, tired from a little walk; pain in spot on balls of toes of right foot, which had been frostbitten years before, and in a corn never painful before; free sweating of feet, most under toes; heaviness in lower extremities as if they were asleep, p. m. Drowsiness; restless sleep at n., he lies on his stomach. (Ibid.)
4. JEANES (1846) took 1x – 4x dil. of a tinct. from root, leaves, and blossoms, 4 dr. on sugar at 2 p. m. (how often repeated is not stated). Aching pains throughout head; pain in left region of combativeness; pain in left temple followed by burning in skin in l. region of “time”. Increased long – sightedness; after discontinuing medicine was less long – sighted than before; great dimness of sight for several day; smarting in left eye; sandy feeling in eyes; itching at internal canthi; very several which caused application of finger to rub the eye, ball very painful from the slight pressure; pain just above eyebrows, with sickness of stomach, pain increased by looking down and by stooping. Irritation extending from posterior fauces into one Eustachian tube. Taste bitter at first, but leaving slight feeling of smarting and coldness towards tip of tongue. General soreness in posterior fauces, and apparent extension into one of Eustachian tubes; great dryness of throat. Eructation of flatus; feeling of sickness as if he would vomit. Pain in region of pylorus. Tickling in left side of larynx with hacking cough, aching pain in right breast, and great dryness of throat. Pain throughout muscles of left shoulder; pain at humeral insertion of left deltoid. (Ibid.) [This is and the four following provings appeared originally in the 2nd vol. of the Trans. of the Amer Institute of Homoeopathy. ]
5. E. M. SMITH. (Manner of proving unknown.) Dull, steady, aching pain, principally in forehead; shooting pain in top of head, which passes off and returns at intervals; heavy aching pain about forehead after dinner. Photophobia in morning; burning and smarting in left eye, with great flow of tears from the eye, lasting 15 day; soreness on closing eyelids; flow of tears from eyes all the time, relieved in open air; reddish – blue swelling of eyelids, worse on left side and in m., cannot shut eye without pain whole forenoon, better p. m.; agglutination of eyelids during night; many symptoms of eyes felt a month after taking medicine, especially on shutting lids at n. A flow of liquid mucus from one nostril while other is stopped, as in coryza. Tenderness and heat in roof of mouth and on tongue. Throat feels dry and sore, especially while swallowing, p. m.; dryness of throat on going to bed; soreness of throat, and sensation when swallowing saliva as if a lump had formed there – same sensation felt on turning head to left side; sore – throat and swelling of uvula in m., with thick white and yellow mucus about fauces, after removal of which throat felt better, and still better after breakfast. Appetite not so good as usual. Pain in right chest, so bad after midnight as to prevent sleep, worse by lying on right side, after getting up in m. it passed off almost entirely; pain right side of chest, in region of nipple, passing through to back, felt on deep inspiration and on bending shoulder backwards, better p. m. Stiffness in right side of neck, worse in bed after midnight. (Ibid.)
6. NEIDHARD took 10 dr. of 10x dil. Increased cheerfulness of mind. Slight pain in tuberosities of forehead. Catarrhal inflammation of eyes; coryza and cough, with redness of eyes and lachrymation, photophobia, feeling of sand in eyes, with soreness and burning. Dryness of throat, worse m. and evening (Ibid.)
7. WILLIAMSON. (Manner of proving unknown.) One sided headache; pain in region of “time” and “mirthfulness”, right side; shooting pain from left eye to top of head; sore pain over head, worse on right side and in damp weather, as if attach of sick headache were impending; sensation of soreness in interior of head, deep in brain; headache from walking; moving, transitory pains in various parts of head, almost constant for 10 day, generally one side at a time, but more frequently and most severe on right side. Smarting in internal canthi of both eyes, but worse in left and much aggravated by gas – light in evening; aching pain along lower half of orbit. Pain in both ears, worse in r. Discharge of mucus from one nostril at a time, sometimes one, sometimes the other. Heat and redness about face and head, with sense of fulness, coldness of feet at same time. Dryness of palate in morning; sensation of dryness of spot in fauces left side, in m. till after breakfast; dryness of throat, worse in m. The usual appetite remaining, notwithstanding nausea of stomach. Sickly feeling in stomach; sickness of stomach, accompanying headache; nausea on waking from sleep at n. Digging pain in right hypochondrium, in upper and outer portion of liver, preventing motion, at 2 p. m. and every m. before daylight for 10 day afterwards, some soreness remaining p. m. and evening; cannot lie on left side after midnight on account of penetrating pain in right hypochondrium. Boring pain p. m. to left and a little above umbilicus, lasting but few m.; deep seated but not severe pain in left iliac region. Diarrhoea, attended with sticky feeling in bowels, but no tormina or tenesmus, evidently kept up by increased action of liver and redundancy of bile, copious discharges of bile from bowels. Dry bronchial cough, with sensation of roughness and slight increase of heat in trachea and bronchi. Rheumatic pain in right knee p. m., increasing in open air and especially on a damp day; coldness of feet, with increase of the capillary circulation about face and head. (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.