In women there are dryness and burning in the vagina before and after coitus, chronic vaginal catarrh with burning and itching and the discharge of wind as if from the vagina. A milk- like leucorrhoea or one that is bloody and corroding may be present. There is cutting pain across the hypogastrium from right to left. The menses are too protracted and too profuse, or they may be suppressed. Often in lycopodium patients the first menses are delayed. Varices and erectile tumours may be present in the external genitals.
The eyes are inflamed, painful and smart as if dust is in them, the lids swell, and it is with difficulty that they are opened in the morning on account of their being agglutinated. Photophobia occurs, especially in the evening or looking at artificial light. Sparks, flickerings and black spots appear before the eyes, there is lachrymation, vision is dim and mucus must be wiped from the eyes in order to see clearly. Only the left half of an object is seen distinctly (calc. c., lith.). Trembling or quivering of the eyelids is often noticed.
Ears.-Shooting pains occur in the ears, which are oversensitive to hearing, or there may be roaring, humming and whizzing noise with hardness of hearing. A purulent, ichorous otorrhoea and suppurating scurf on and behind the ears may be present.
Nose.-Lycopodium causes violent nasal catarrh with alternation of coryza and a stuffed-up condition. The stuffing-up is at the root of the nose and may be accompanied by catarrh of the frontal sinuses, giving rise to a frontal headache which is relieved when the discharge becomes free again. The patient is oversensitive to odours. A peculiar nasal symptom is a fan-like movement of the alae nasi which is rapid and not synchronous with respiration, it is a sort of vibrating twitching and is not necessarily associated with respiratory troubles, though sometimes seen in them when lycopodium is indicated. Food and drink may regurgitate through the nose.
Respiration.-The patient is hoarse and has a feeble, husky voice, he breathes quickly, especially on any exertion, and there is a sensation of pressure over the sternum; this may be either from oppression of flatulence in the stomach and abdomen interfering with the action of the diaphragm, or from accumulation of mucus in the chest, in which case there will be rattling and cough with expectoration of thick, yellow, or purulent mucus, which tastes salt and may be streaked with blood. When dyspnoea is due to pressure of flatulence the cough will most likely be dry and shake the head and stomach painfully. The cough is worse from 4 to 8 p.m., from exertion, stooping, lying down, especially on the left side, from eating and drinking cold things, in the wind and in a warm room. Stitching pains in the sides of the chest, constriction round the lower ribs and sensations of burning, rawness and pressure over the sternum are experienced. Stitches are felt in the cardiac region and the pulse is quickened.
The skin is dry and hot, pimples, vesicles, pustules and scaly eruptions that itch violently may occur in any part of the body. the pustules often break down into ulceration which burrows under the skin which sloughs easily, and wounds do not readily heal. The ulcers bleed and discharge copious, offensive, thick, yellow or green pus. There is a sensation of heat in the back and along the spine, especially between the shoulder blades. Frequent horripilation or “goose-skin” alternates with pricking and itching, the skin in excoriated between the buttocks, blind boils are often seen which do not mature but remain blue, and the flesh is apt to get into ridges (wheals), as if struck with a stick.
Head.-The patient is giddy with a tendency to fall backwards, felt especially in the morning on rising from bed, and the giddiness may be accompanied by a rush of blood to the head which causes frontal headache with heat in the face and a feeling of tension in the forehead and scalp. Heaviness and confusion in the head, as if intoxicated, often occur, yet the mind remains clear. Headaches are frequently associated with stomach or liver disorder, are then of congestive character and are worse from lying down, from the warmth of the bed, becoming heated from exercise, mental exertion, and wearing any head-gear, they are relieved in the open air, in a cool place, from sitting up, and from uncovering the head. A pressing headache on the vertex may come on from 4 to 8 p.m., and is worse from stooping, or it may be a throbbing headache, which is worse from reclining the head backwards. A frontal headache will come on from the stopping of chronic discharge from the nose. Cough causes shattering pain in the head and chest. There is also a “hunger headache” (phos., psor.), relieved by taking food. The hair becomes grey early and falls out. Eruptions begin in the occiput and spread all over the scalp, they are pustular and form thick, bleeding crusts which ooze a foetid moisture.
Face.-With headache, especially frontal headache, the face is hot and red, but the usual appearance is sickly, yellow, sallow and puffy.
Back and Limbs.- The muscles of the neck feel stiff or too weak to hold up the head and the skin of the neck is the seat of itching pimples; the cervical glands are swollen. Shooting pains are felt in the scapulae, deltoid muscles and right clavicle and a sensation of burning, as of hot coals, between the shoulder- blades. Stiffness and aching pain occur in the lumbar and sacral regions, which are much in evidence on rising from a stooping posture or from a seat. Drawing and tearing pains are felt in the limbs at night, they are worse when at rest but better from warmth. The muscles and joints become stiff and painful Numbness is common, especially in the fingers and feet. The extremities go cold and dead; a peculiar symptom is that one foot may be warm while the other is cold. Pains wander from one part to another, they come and go suddenly, are better from warmth and movement and worse in wet weather and wind storms. The limbs are very weak, the arms weary and heavy and the legs feel as if the knees would give way. The legs feel as if the knees would give way. The legs may be oedematous and the seat of varicose veins and ulcers. The feet perspire a warm foetid sweat and there are bleeding cracks on the hands and heels.
Muscles.- The body generally is weak and trembling, and the muscular tissues are soft and lax. Bruised pains and stiffness are felt all over. The patient is weary and exhausted, yawns frequently and is drowsy; exhaustion and sleepiness are still worse after a meal. The patient emaciates, the emaciation is observed chiefly in the upper part of the body as the lower part is often in puffy or semi-oedematous. There is a tendency in to alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles; in the neck this produces nodding to and fro of the head.
Chill Fever,.- The patient dislikes cold and is better generally from warmth, but the the congestive head aches are worse from warmth and wrapping up and better in the cool air, if still; wind always aggravates. He is subject to chills, most frequent at 9.a.m or from 4 to 8 p.m. they may be one-sided (left). Nausea and vomiting may precede the chill and this is followed by sweat without intervening heat. Flushes of heat with red cheeks and headache are frequent. Perspiration is caused by the least exertion it is often cold and clammy and may have the odour of onions.
Sleep.- The patient is drowsy by day but uneasy states of the body deep his tossing about at night, he is worse waking out of sleep and may then be cross and hungry, or in terror, or feeling suffocated.
Mind.- His thoughts are confused, he mixes up letters and syllables, or omits parts of words in writing, his memory is weak, he dreads both to be alone and to meet company he prefers to be in a room by himself but to have someone within call, he has lost confidence in himself and is very apprehensive that he will fail in any important duty he has to undertake, nevertheless when he attempts it he gets through with it well (sil) he is very sensitive to impressions, is easily upset, emotional and even weeps when thanked, but at the same time is irritable and easily roused to anger; he is avaricious, and has alternations of cheerfulness and depression which may be accompanied by canine hunger he is disinclined to work, is lazy and imperious.
THERAPEUTICS.
In homoeopathic prescribing a medicine should be given on account of the totality of its symptoms agreeing with those exhibited by the patient, and not because at times it has been found useful in such and such diseases at times it has been found useful in such and such diseases. This is especially so with lycopodium, which requires for its successful administration a very close correspondence between drug and disease. The symptoms of the drug have been given fairly fully above and if they are found to be similar to those of the case in hand lycopodium may be given with confidence no matter what the complaint. Clinical experience, however, has disclosed certain characteristics and peculiarities of the drug a knowledge of which will greatly assist in exercising a proper choice. They are:(a) Pains and symptoms come on or are worse from 4 to 8 p.m. especially at 5.p.m. (b) The direction of pains and symptoms is from right to left, commencing on the right side and passing over to the left (lach. is left to right). (c) Pains and symptoms come and go suddenly (bell.), ex.gr., sudden flushes of heat, sudden short pains, sudden satiety of food. (d) Improvement from uncovering, especially of the head; this seems to be correlated with sensitiveness to touch and pressure and not to dislike to warmth which, with the exception of the head symptoms is agreeable. (e) Fan-like movements of the alae nasi; this seems to be a particularly instance of the tendency to vibratory twitching of muscles caused by lycopodium, as seen also in nodding and side-to-side movements of the head, in vibratory twitchings of the eyelids, side-to-side rolling of the tongue, and alternate drawing up and relaxation of the muscles which move the angles of the mouth. (f) Restlessness and pains, relieved by motion; this, lycopodium has in common with many medicines such as arsenicum, rhus and others, and therefore is not so peculiar as some of the other symptoms, but it is, nevertheless, important. (g) One foot hot the other cold; it does not seem to matter which is the hot or which the cold foot, some authorities give the right foot as the hot one and some the left; if the different between the temperature of the feet is marked, lycopodium is strongly indicated. Chelidonium has “the right foot cold as ice, the left foot natural.” It is a medicine very like lycopodium in its action on the liver and complements it. the presence of one or more of these seven characteristics in a case should ensure a very careful consideration as to whether lycopodium may not be the suitable drug to prescribe. It remains to enumerate briefly some of the complaints for which it has been found useful.
Edwin Awdas Neatby founded the Missionary School of Homeopathy and the London Homeopathic Hospital in 1903, and run by the British Homeopathic Association. He died in East Grinstead, Sussex, on the 1st December 1933. Edwin Awdas Neatby wrote The place of operation in the treatment of uterine fibroids, Modern developments in medicine, Pleural effusions in children, Manual of Homoeo Therapeutics,