Crotalus Horridus


Crotalus Horridus signs and symptoms of the homeopathy medicine from the Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica by J.H. Clarke. Find out for which conditions and symptoms Crotalus Horridus is used…


      Rattle-snake. *N. O. Crotalide. The Rattle-snake of North America. Symptoms of ***C. Durissus as well as ***C. Horridus are included in the pathogenesis. Trituration of sugar of milk saturated with the venom. Solution of the venom in glycerine.

Clinical

Amblyopia. Apoplexy. Appendicitis. Bilious fever. Boils. Cancers. Carbuncles. Cerebrospinal meningitis. Chancre. Ciliary neuralgia. Convulsions. Delirium tremens. Dementia. Diphtheria. Dysmenorrhoea. Dyspepsia. Ears, discharges from. Ecchymosis. Epilepsy. Eyes, affections of. *Erysipelas. Face, eruption on, distortion of. Hematuria. *Haemorrhagic diathesis. Headache. Heart, affection of. Herpes. Hydrophobia. Intestinal haemorrhage. *Jaundice. Keratitis. Liver, disorders of. *Lungs, *affections of.Mastitis. Measles. Milk-leg. *Meningitis. Ovaries, affections of. Ozaena. Palpitation. Peritonitis. Perityphlitis. Phlebitis. Psoriasis palmaris. *Purpura. Pyemia. *Remittent fever. Rheumatism. *Scarlatina. Sleeplessness. *Small-pox. Stings. Sunstroke. Syphilis.Tetanus. *Thirst. Tongue, inflammation of, cancer of. *Ulcers. Urticaria. Vaccination, effects of. Varicosis. Varicocele. Vomiting, bilious. White-leg. Whooping-cough. *Yellow Fever.

Characteristics

The first regular proving of *Crot. was made by Hering and under his direction. Stokes also contributed a proving, but the most complete account of the remedy is to be found in the monograph of *J.W. Hayward, forming part of *Materia Medica Physiological and Applied. This includes provings made by Hayward and his provers. *Crot. Produces profound nervous shock and prostration with trembling, mental alienation, and disorganisation of the fluids and tissues. It causes bleeding from all orifices and surfaces, and it corresponds to the haemorrhagic diathesis, to diseases caused by previous low states of system, by zymotic or septic poisoning, by abuse of alcohol, etc. Low, typhoid states, with oppressed nervous system, and degraded blood-supply often require it. Neuralgia occurring as a sequel of septic toxemic, or even miasmatic disease, or chronic bilious, climacteric, or albuminuric conditions. Broken- down constitutions. The *Crotal. patient is readily moved to tears. Weeping mood, agony, despair. In one prover perception was so clouded that she was in danger of being run over in the street, and memory was so impaired that on entering a shop she forgot what she had come for. Sleepy, but cannot sleep. Grinds teeth. “*Crotal. is preferable in fluid haemorrhages, yellow skin (hence in yellow fever with black vomit), epistaxis of diphtheria. *Naja has more nervous phenomena. *Lachesis has skin cold, clammy rather than cold and dry, haemorrhage, with charred-straw sediment, and more markedly ailments of the left side. *Elaps. is preferable in otorrhea and in affections of the right lung. The cobra poison (*Naja) coagulates blood into long strings. *Crot. poison is acid, the *Viper neutral. The Rotten-snake (“Birri”) causes more sloughing than any other ” (Hering). But Hayward observed that sloughing is a strong indication for *Crotal., and the cure by this remedy of his own daughter of scarlatina maligna, with gangrenous-looking sore- throat, was a dramatic outcome of his researches. A case of rattle-snake bite and its isopathic cure, related by Dr. ***J.S.M. Chaffee, in *Hom. *News, Sept., 1892, gives a good general idea of the action of the venom: “I was called to see James Wright, aged 54 years, who, while binding wheat, was bitten on third finger of right hand by a rattlesnake. I found him bleeding from the bitten finger, and from eyes, nose, ears, mouth, rectum and urethra, pulse 110, small, wiry, respiration 40, temperature 105, haggard expression, whole body bathed in hot perspiration, delirium. This patient had had the regular routine treatment of whisky, quinine and carbonate ammonia for ninety-six hours, when the attendants withdrew and pronounced the case beyond the reach of medical aid. A marked characteristic symptom was a *mouldy smell of breath, with scarlet red tongue, and difficult swallowing. Great sensitiveness of skin of *right half of body, so much so that the slightest touch would produce twitching of muscles of that side. I prescribed *Crot. hor. 30th trituration, 30 gr. in four ounces of water, a teaspoonful every hour, until my return visit, twenty-four hours later, when I found marked improvement. Temperature normal, pulse full, soft and regular, delirium gone, saliva and urine slightly tinged with blood, appetite returning, he having asked for food for the first time since the accident.” The medicine was continued for two more days, when recovery was practically complete. The action on the right side is noteworthy, as *Crotal. is predominantly a right- side medicine (*Lachesis is more left), it acts strongly on the liver and corresponds to jaundice and yellow fever. *Crot. has been used with great success in the treatment of yellow fever, and also as a prophylactic against it. For this, inoculation with diluted virus has been practised.

The *pains of *Crot. alternate rapidly with each other, and frequently recur, also (except headache) appear and disappear suddenly after lasting some time. Swelling of whole body. Fetor of evacuations and discharges. Haemorrhages from all the orifices and even pores of the skin. Peculiar sensations are: as from a blow on occiput, as if tongue and all round throat were tied up, as of a plug in throat to be swallowed, of choking, as if the heart turned over like a tumbler pigeon. Periodicity marks many of the symptoms. Metastasis of erysipelas to brain. Many symptoms are worse in morning on waking, or wake the patient up in the night. Orbital pains worse in evening. Rest better, and motion and exertion worse. Open air better head and stomach symptoms.Cold air worse throat and respiratory symptoms. Dry air worse cough.

Relations.

*Antidoted by: Lachesis Its effects are modified by Ammonium, Camph., Opium, Coffea, Alcohol, and radiant heat. *Compare: C. Cascavella (thoughts dwell on dead and dreams of the dead), Tarent-cub., Arsenicum, Laur. (tetanus, whooping-cough), Apis., Carb-v., Silicea (vaccination effects), Camphor (coldness, Crotal. has more marked genuine collapse with confused speech), Hyoscyamus Opium, Nux-v. v., Cuprum, Belladonna (sleepy but cannot sleep), Cad. s. (yellow fever).

Causations

Fright. Sun. Lightning. Alcohol. Foul water Noxious effluvia.

SYMPTOMS.

Mind

Memory weak, stupid, cannot express himself, makes ridiculous mistakes, with coldness of skin. Inability to hold her mind to a subject, perception clouded, on walking street would have been run over but for her sister’s watchfulness, entering a shop she forgot what she came to purchase. Torpid, sluggish, incoherent, hesitating, quiet indifference. Delirium: with drowsiness, with wide-open eyes, loquacious with desire to escape, delirium tremens. Sadness, thoughts dwell on death continually. Oppression of brain, as if from carbonic acid. Excessive sensitiveness, easily moved to tears by reading. Weeping, with timidity, fear, anxiety. Snappish temper.

Head

Vertigo: with faintness, with weakness and trembling, with pale face, epileptic, auditory cardiac with soft, weak pulse, better resting head, with venous congestion and degraded blood, with dilated pupils from lightning, anaemia, or sunstroke, from fright. Fainting on assuming upright position. Dizziness and fainting with occipital headache. Apoplectic convulsions: at outset of zymotic diseases, in inebriates. Awakes in morning with headache over eyes. Headache extending into eyes. Dull, heavy pain and heat over eyes and in sides of nose, better walking in open air. Severe pains in right eye and top of head, on right side down back of neck at intervals. While sitting in chair, heaviness of head came on so much that head felt as if it would tumble about, as if muscles of neck were too weak to support it, and needed the help of the hands. Dull, heavy throbbing occipital headache, faint spells, pain as from a blow in occiput. Violent itching of scalp, eruptions, pustules, falling off of hair.

Eyes

Illusions, blue colours, vanishing of sight while reading. Blood exudes from eye. Yellow colour of eyes. Tearing, boring pain, as if a cut had been made round the eye, sometimes sticking, worse morning and evening.

Ears

Full sensation in ears. Deafness, illusions of hearing, auditory vertigo. Otorrhea. Blood oozes from ears.

Nose

Epistaxis, in zymotic diseases, blood thin, dark, uncoagulable, with flushed face, vertigo or fainting. Ozena after exanthemata or syphilis.

Face

Acne, of all varieties, of masturbation, of drunkards. Face, puffed, yellow, red. Neuralgia of a dull character, chronic or periodic. Parotitis. Lips swollen, stiff, numb. Lockjaw. Copious, red, itching, papular eruption on face, especially chin, with delayed menses.

Mouth

Grinding of teeth during sleep. Tongue and all round throat during sleep feels tied up, cannot speak a word. Tongue very red, smooth and polished, feels swollen. Tongue: enormously swollen, protruded, inflammation of, cancer of, with much tendency to haemorrhage, syphilis of. Fetid breath, peculiar mouldy smell. Putrid sore mouth. Salivation, bloody or frothy.

John Henry Clarke
John Henry Clarke MD (1853 – November 24, 1931 was a prominent English classical homeopath. Dr. Clarke was a busy practitioner. As a physician he not only had his own clinic in Piccadilly, London, but he also was a consultant at the London Homeopathic Hospital and researched into new remedies — nosodes. For many years, he was the editor of The Homeopathic World. He wrote many books, his best known were Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica and Repertory of Materia Medica