Generalities
Metallic copper is one of the most important remedies, where the diseased conditions ‘Strike in’, on account of the non appearance or suppressions of eruptions and the discharges. It affects the NERVES, of the cerebro-spinal axis and muscles, causing SPASMODIC EFFECTS; convulsions and cramps of violent form. Convulsions may be either tonic or clonic; start in the knees, toes or fingers and radiate over the whole body; with piercing cries, twisting of the head to one side; trismus followed by headache, spasmodic laughter, shivering, deathly exhaustion cold perspiration etc.; epilepsy; at night, during menses. In epilepsy the patient falls with a shriek, passes urine and faeces; headache follows after spasms or a group of symptoms followed by the appearance as if the patient were dead or in a state of ecstasy. Convulsions of children, during dentition; children lie on abdomen and jerk the buttock up. Spasms, with blue face and clenched thumbs. Cramps may occur in the chest; (angina pectoris) behind the sternum, toes, fingers, calves_where the muscles are knotted better stretching the leg out; in soles etc. extorting cries. Jerking, during sleep. Pains worse touch and motion. Pains are pressive; as from a blow being broken; racking darts through the whole body. Chorea from fright periodical. Symptoms appear in groups; periodically or recurring at short intervals. Complaints begin on left side. Nervous trembling, with acute senses. Continued weakness. Poor reaction. Latency. Ill effects of mental and bodily exhaustion; loss of sleep. Blueness. Easy relapses. The patient is hypersensitive; every drug overacts without curing. Collapse. Paralysis of isolated muscles. Women who have borne many children (after pains).
Worse
Emotions; anger, fright. Suppressions. Over-worked mentally and bodily. Motion. Touch. Loss of sleep. Hot weather. Vomiting. Raising arms. Before menses. At new moon.
Better
Being mesmerized, laying hand on affected part. Cold drinks. Pressure over heart.
Mind
Nervous. Uneasy. Says words not intended. Piercing shrieks. Weeps violently. Convulsive laughter. Delirium; cold sweat. Fear of society, shuns everybody. Confusion, afraid of everybody who approaches him. Loquacious; then melancholy; with spells of fear of death. Sense of losing consciousness. Attacks of rage; wants to bite the bystanders. Sullen; tricky; alternating yielding and head-strong. Malicious. Mania; bites, beats, tears the things. Imitates; mimics.
Head
Vertigo; with internal tremors, head sinks forwards on the chest better stool; lying down, worse looking up. Cannot hold head erect or bores into the pillow; meningitis. Strange tingling, crawling in the vertex (suppressed menses). Empty feeling, with pain. Headache after epilepsy. Sensation as if water were poured over the head, with headache. Pulls her hair. Shakes the head from side to side.
Eyes
Fixed, staring, sunken, glistening, turned upwards. Eyeballs rotate quickly behind closed lids, or roll from side to side. Bruised pain in the orbits worse moving the eyes. Lids spasmodically closed. Twitching of lids (left) and photophobia; asthma.
Face
Blue, livid; pale or distorted; sunken, pinched. Icy cold. Lips blue. Lock jaw. Chewing motion of lower jaw.
Mouth
Firmly closed or open, with tongue darting in and out like a snake (in convulsions). Grinds the teeth. Slimy or metallic sweetish taste. Loss of speech; stammering; paralysis of the tongue. Froth from mouth. Food tastes like clear water.
Throat
Unable to talk on account of spasms of throat. Gurgling noise when swallowing fluids.
Stomach
Desire for cold drinks. Milk causes water brash. Hiccough; before vomiting; convulsions or asthma. Nausea, more pronounced. Vomiting; violent, tormenting; with agonizing colic, diarrhoea; shrieks or convulsions; better cold drinks. Painful crampy pressure in epigastrium worse touch and movement. Lies on stomach and jerks the buttocks up (colic, convulsions). Vomits always on waking up a.m. Vomits on least motion. Periodical attacks of vomiting. As if something bitter were in.
Abdomen
Tense, contracted, hot and tender to touch. Frightful colic, with contraction of the abdomen. better pressure; worse raising arms. Intussusception; with faecal vomiting. Diarrhoea; profuse; spurting out; of green water. Cholera; summer diarrhoea in children. Round; tape, thread worms. Constipation with great heat of body. Spasmodic movements of abdominal muscles. Cirrhosis of liver.
Urinary organs
Suppression of urine (in cholera); uremic. Passes clear watery urine during or after spasms.
Male
Cramps in calves prevents coition, esp. old men or nervous young men.
Female
Menses absent due to suppression of foot sweat. Violent cramps in abdomen extending into the chest before or during menses; or from suppressions of the menses; convulsions before menses. Puerperal convulsions with open mouth and opisthotonos. Most distressing after-pains esp. in women who had borne many children.
Respiratory organs
Spasms of glottis. Dyspnoea_cannot bear anything near the mouth worse coughing, laughing, bending backwards, before the menses. Asthma; hiccough before; alternating with spasmodic vomiting. Cough, in violent paroxysms; coughs herself out of breath; better cold drinks; worse deep breathing, bending backwards; with cramps, lachrymation; whooping cough. Painful constriction of the chest (lower). Loud rattling in chest. Trembling after coughing. Round balls moving to and fro under the ribs better tight clothing and lying quiet. Hoarseness worse breathing cold air. Intermittent aphonia in professional singers.
Heart
Angina, with asthmatic symptoms and cramps. Palpitation before menses. Pulse slow, hard, full and quick.
Neck and Back
Paralysis of all the muscles up to the neck.
Extremities
Jerking in hands and feet. Clenching of thumb in palms. Cramps in palms, calves and soles. Joints contracted. Ankles painfully heavy. Knees; aura begins in; feel as if broken. Ankylosis of shoulder joint. Knees double up involuntary when walking, bringing him down.
Sleep
Profound sleep; with shocks in the body. Constant rumbling in abdomen during sleep.
Fever
Icy coldness of skin. Chilly. Sweat; cold, clammy, at night; sour smelling, after convulsions.
Skin
Suppressed or undeveloped eruptions. Ulcers; itching spots and pimples at the folds of joints. Severe itching without eruptions. Yellow scaly eruptions (bend of elbow). Chronic psoriasis. Leprosy.
Related
Veratrum
Complementary
Calcarea
He was convinced about Homoeopathy while going through Sir William Osler's writings on 'History of Medicine' so switched over to an entirely Homoeopathic Practice in 1932. He also started working on Homoeopathic literature along with his Practice.
He has contributed immensely to homoeopathic literature. He was an ardent follower of Dr Boger. His Repertory is based on Boger's ''A Synoptic key to Materia Medica'.