General Effects
The general key to the action of Causticum is the same as that to all the Potashes, namely, paralysis, slow pulse, low temperature, etc. Diuresis is a general concomitant.
Generalities
Rheumatic, tearing pains in the limbs, better in bed in warmth. Soreness, as if bruised or pressed in the side, hip and thigh on which he lies at night, with frequent necessity to turn over. Bruised pains in the parts when touched. Inability to lie still a moment at night. Uneasiness of body while sitting, with anxiety about heart. Flexor muscles generally seem to be shortened. Tremulous weakness, almost like paralysis, of the limbs, out of bed. General sensitiveness to cold, and to a draft of air. General aggravation in the evening, and in the open air, as well as from drinking coffee.
Clinical. Children are slow in learning to walk. Cracking in joints. The pains, neuralgic or rheumatic, make the patient very restless, but are not ameliorated by motion. Chorea, especially affecting the muscles of the right side and eyeballs. Epileptiform spasms or chorea-like spasms, especially at the time of puberty. Patients requiring Causticum are weak and anaemic, have no desire and scarcely the ability to make an effort. General tendency to paralytic affections (like all the Potashes). Paralysis resulting from rheumatism, after diarrhoea, etc.
Mind
Morose, silent. Melancholy; before menstruation; with weakness. Anxiety and apprehension, easily frightened. Anxiety in the evening; is afraid to go to bed, at night with uneasiness, preventing sleep; as if something unpleasant impended. Disinclination for any mental work. Absent-minded. Distraction of mind. Weakness of memory.
Head
Vertigo at night on rising in bed, when lying down again; during micturition, worse stooping, better in the afternoon; on fixing vision. Vertigo, with falling forward and sideways. The headaches generally consist of stitching or drawing pains. Rarely throbbing; worse in the evening, better during warmth. The scalp feels tense over the skull.
Eyes
A feeling as if sand were in the eyes, with inflammation. Burning in the eyes, with dryness, as from sand. Dryness of the eyes, with photophobia. Lachrymation, worse in the open air. Biting and itching in the eyes, especially in the lids, which are red. Involuntary closure of the lids. Heaviness of the upper lids, as if he could not rise them, or as if stuck to the lower. Lids seem to close from weakness. Photophobia, with constant desire to wink. Vision dim; as from swarms of insects; vision of sparks on winking.
Clinical. Blepharitis. ameliorated by open air. Paralysis of muscles of the eye, especially of upper lid. Weakness of the muscles of the eyeball, causing asthenopia, amounting even to paralysis, especially with feeling of sand in the eyes. Has arrested cataract in some cases. Frequent sudden loss of sight, as from a mist (muscular asthenopia). Double vision from paralysis of the ocular muscles; vision worse on turning eyes to the right. Ptosis after catching cold.
Ears
Earache, like a forcing outward. Painful swelling of the external ear. Roaring and rushing in the ears, as if in the head. Re- echoing of one’s own words and steps.
Nose
Symptoms of coryza; nose feels stopped, with very yellow discharge. Frequent sneezing, especially in the morning. Eruption on the tip of the nose.
Face
Yellow color, especially on the temples. Eruption, especially on the cheeks, like acne rosacea. Burning pain in the right cheek and ear. Tension and pain in the jaws, so that they are difficult to open, with difficulty in eating because a tooth seemed too long. Difficulty in opening the jaws. Rheumatic pains in the articulation of the lower jaw. (Paralysis of the face from taking cold, one-sided.).
Mouth
Tearing in the teeth, extending through the upper and lower jaws, extending to the nose and eyes. Sticking pain in the teeth on biting, extending upward and downward. Teeth very painful; they seem to be pushed out of their sockets. Swelling and suppuration of the gums; fistula. Tongue painful at the tip; coated white on the sides, red in the middle. Painful, vesicles on the tip of the tongue. (Paralysis of the tongue.) General dryness of the mouth. Sore, painful, abraded spots in the mouth on the hard palate. Taste greasy, bitter, sour, putrid.
Throat
A feeling of swelling in the throat, with inclination to swallow. Secretion of much mucus, which cannot be expectorated; must swallow it. Constant disposition to swallow, as if the throat were too narrow. Rawness and tickling, with a dry cough; expectorates only after long coughing. Scraping down the back part of the throat, with dryness. (Paralysis of the muscles of the pharynx and oesophagus.) Aversion to sweet things. Thirst for cold drinks. Great aversion, with little appetite. Eructations of air; hot in the afternoon and evening; of food; as if undigested food remained in the stomach. Nausea during and after eating. Vomiting sour water, followed by sour eructations.
Stomach
Pains the stomach, with heat in the head and pressure over the whole body,(>) lying down. Pinching pains in the pit of the stomach on deep breathing. Cramp in the stomach. Pressing pain in the stomach after eating bread.
Abdomen
Sharp pains, sticking or cutting, through the abdomen, in the region of the liver, (<) motion, especially during menstruation, or with diarrhoea. Stitches in the hepatic region in the afternoon. Painful distention of the abdomen, especially in children. Painful swelling about the umbilicus. Deep-seated pain above the left hip as if it would burst on coughing.
Rectum and Anus
Sudden piercing pains; persistent pressure; ineffectual efforts to stool. Painful spasms of the rectum which prevent evacuation of the bowels. Haemorrhoids, with sore pain, intolerable on walking, or on thinking of it. Swollen haemorrhoids, with itching, sticking pain, and much moisture. Hard, painful haemorrhoids, with stinging and burning. Haemorrhoids impede evacuation. Pain in the perineum.
Clinical. Haemorrhoids, intolerably painful, aggravated by walking. Partial paralysis of rectum; stool passed better when standing. Pruritus of anus and fistula.
Stool
Obstinate constipation. Painful, ineffectual straining, with anxiety and redness of the face. Stool very small in form. After stool, anxiety.
Urinary Organs
Insensibility of the urethra; is unconscious of the passage of urine. Involuntary micturition when coughing or blowing the nose; at night in sleep. Intermittent micturition in the evening; last drops are delayed. Urging to urinate, but waits a long time before the urine passes. Frequent ineffectual efforts to urinate; afterwards, while sitting, it is involuntary. After passing a few drops of urine, pain in the bladder, and (after walking in order to relieve it) cramps in the rectum. Urine often dark brown; turbid on standing.
Clinical. Weakness of bladder. Paralysis of bladder; the urine is expelled very slowly and sometimes is even retained. Weakness of the sphincter of bladder, especially in children; the urine passes involuntarily, especially during the first sleep at night; also, involuntarily, from the slightest excitement during the day. Paralysis of bladder after labor; the urine is retained.
Sexual Organs, Male
Pressing pains in the testicles. Increase of smegma about the glans. Itching of the scrotum.
Sexual Organs Female
Biting, as from salt, of the pudenda after micturition. Menstruation delayed or too early and profuse. Menses do not flow at night; offensive and cause itching. Leucorrhoea like the menses, especially worse at night, with great weakness.
Clinical. Uterine inertia during labor. Postpartum haemorrhage from inertia of uterus. Leucorrhoea, especially aggravated at night, with great weakness. Menstruation is delayed in its appearance in girls. Menses late, but profuse. The flow is clotted.
Respiratory Organs
Larynx dry; painful on blowing the nose. Frequent need of clearing the larynx. Muscles do not perform their function, hence one is unable to speak aloud. Hoarseness, worse in the morning, also in the evening, with scraping in the throat. Cough short, dry; deep, hollow and dry, with pain in the chest, especially down the trachea and under the sternum. Cough hollow from adherent mucus in the chest, in which there is sticking, soreness and feeling of ulceration. Cough wakes in the evening and in the morning, but is better during the day. Cough always caused by talking, from a feeling of crawling in the larynx. Cough caused by stooping. Cough causes pains in the hips. Arrest of breathing while talking or walking rapidly; must suddenly catch for breath. Rattling in the chest when coughing. Stitches in the chest when walking in the open air. Stitches and rawness in the sternum on deep breathing, and on lifting and on coughing. Sore pain in the chest, when coughing. Tightness, as if the clothes were too tight; must frequently take a deep breath.
Born in 1837in Westminster, Vermont. . He was an orthodox doctor who converted to homeopathy
Dr. Allen compiled the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica over the course of 10 years.
In 1881 Allen published A Critical Revision of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica.