Veratrum viride


Veratrum Viride homeopathy medicine – drug proving symptoms from Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica by TF Allen, published in 1874. It has contributions from R Hughes, C Hering, C Dunham, and A Lippe….


Introduction

Veratrum viride, Ait. Natural order: Liliaceae. Common names: American white hellebore, Indian poke, etc. Preparation: Tincture of the root.

General symptoms

A man, fifty years old, had compound fracture of humerus; for a week or two his arm did well, and was rapidly recovering, while his general health continued perfectly good; his doctor gave him heroic dose of Verat-v. “to see what it would do for him.” Soon the patient was seized with rigors, prostration, a feeling of terrible coldness, and soon mortification of the injured limb, followed by death in a few hours.

Generalities

Occasionally extreme pallor, with syncope, generally brought on from rising suddenly from the recumbent position. Tremor. She went into a spasm, with violent shrieks; body bent backwards; arms rigid and thrown up over her head; face dark blue breathing suspended for several seconds; lasted about two minutes; remained easier for a few minutes, and then went into another spasm, similar to the first, 13. Inability to control the voluntary muscles. Muscular action was not constantly interrupted, this effect occurring only after considerable exercise, as walking or jumping. Clothes would not fit me, seemed as if they were scratching me somewhere and I could not relieve myself; constant twitching of different parts of body, trying to relieve the rubbing sensation (seventh day). My clothes did not fit well, they irritated wherever they touched; would keep twitching and it seemed almost impossible to keep still, especially when sitting (third day). At 7 P.M. felt weak, especially in lower extremities, with heavy dull pain in head (first day). Very weak, with trembling all over, at 1 P.M. (third day). Loss of strength (after three hours and a half); general weakness (second day). Weakness throughout the body (after four hours). Considerable fatigue of the muscles (first day). Lassitude (after three hours). A general feeling of languor and quietness; a sense of exertion on going upstairs (after thirty-five minutes); decided feeling of weakness (after five hours and a half); any exertion an effort (after six hours ). Indescribable feeling of lassitude and weakness in the limbs (after six hours and a half). Prostration, 4 14, etc. Great prostration (first day), 1 2, etc. Sudden prostration and vertigo. The system becomes completely relaxed. So very profound prostration was produced by it that death appeared imminent; the stimulants were poured into the patient, and on the second day he rallied. Faintness. Collapse with the vomiting (first and second days). An intelligent colored laborer, thirty years of age, contracted a cold during the month of January last, from the effects of which he suffered considerably. He told me that for several mornings preceding the accident, which I will relate, he arose with a dull headache; was feverish; his nostrils were stuffy; he suffered with pains in the muscles of the chest and back; had a very annoying cough, with expectoration of frothy and tenacious mucus, characteristic of the first stages of catarrhal inflammation. The “dry” cough after a few days gave place to a moist one, by which a loose secretion was readily thrown off. He took the medicine about 3 P.M., February 5th. I was called to see him at 1 A.M. following, and found him in a condition approaching collapse. He was bathed in cold perspiration, vomiting at intervals of three and five minutes; heart acting feebly, almost inaudible; pulse at the wrist making sixteen beats per minute. After I had been in the room a few minutes, he summoned sufficient energy to speak, and complained of pain over the precordia, muscular cramps of the lower extremities, and a peculiar sensation of faintness. He was so feeble that I could scarcely hear him articulate. On inquiring what he had been taking, he replied, “Noting but a cough mixture.” I found its composition to be as follows: Tinct. Am. hellebore, tinct. lobelia, syrup of squills, and simple syrup, two ounces of simple syrup. The directions were a teaspoonful three times daily, which would give him five drops of the tincture of Veratrum viride at each dose. He had taken it, however, in teaspoonful doses every half hour, until the contents of the vial were exhausted, which had occurred at 10 P.M. At this time he began to feel very weak and sick, as he expressed it, and went to bed and to sleep. At about 11 1/2 o’clock he was awakened by a great rush of fluids from the mouth. The vomiting was without warning or effort, and for a time was almost continuous. Feeling so strange about the head, and so faint that he thought he would die, he tried to awaken a boy, who slept in an adjoining room, by calling, but could not do so. He tried to get out of bed, but his legs failed him. After the lapse of half hour he succeeded in crawling to the boy, and making his wishes known ” to go and bring the doctor.” I reached him at 1 A.M. and found him in the condition already described. I gave him a hypodermic injection of one-half grain of morphia, applied mustard to the epigastrium, the nucha, the spinal column, the wrists and ankles, and gave him per rectum, one ounce of whiskey with two grains of quinine. As I observed him, there would occur at intervals of four or five minutes a regurgitation of a mouthful of fluid, resembling the albumen of egg; his eyes were rolled under the orbits, so that the sclerotics only were visible; the sighing was frequent and profound; and the pulse was proportionately less than the breathing, the perversion being to the extent of twenty to thirty respiration, which were shallow. In twenty minutes time I could plainly see that the remedies which I had administered were having good effect upon him. The vomiting ceased, the skin became warmer, and the perspiration less copious; the sighing gave place to easy respiration, the heart became steady, the pulse rose gradually in frequency and volume. A feeling of repose replaced the nervous agitation which had possessed him, and prior to my leaving him the pulse respiration ratio did differ markedly from that of health. I left him at 2 1/2 A.M., ordering his attendant to inject one ounce of diluted whiskey into the bowel at the end of an end of an hour. On visiting him next morning, he complained of sight headache and nausea, with dryness of the mouth. The heart was acting with almost its accustomed force and frequency. He recovered promptly from the effects of the Veratrum viride, but his cough persisted, and he is now suffering with that bane of his race, mesenteric phthisis. Great distress (after half an hour). Severe agues. On walking in morning shuddering for some time, with pains in the joints till he fell asleep; on walking, felt the shuddering again, but did not notice any chilliness (seventh day); woke this morning with the shuddering, with a kind of throbbing aching in right knee, on which he was lying (eighth day), 31. Between 5 and 6 P.M., had flying aches in different parts, recurring repeatedly, in left thorax, in right shoulder over clavicle, in head of left tibia and three or four inches above the same, in tendons of right popliteal space, in outside of right arm and left ulna, right wrist, head of left radius back of first joint of left middle finger, and second phalanx of left great toe (one hour and three-quarters after second dose, twenty dose, twenty-fourth day), 31. A transient ache in second joint of right forefinger, then distinct pain in right of lower jaw, then in left heel, then in middle of left neck, then at the same time in right heel and left knee; these in the first thirty minutes after the dose (third dose, thirtieth day), 13. A cup of hot strong coffee did more good then anything else. The symptoms most frequently occur early in the morning, on waking (twenty seventh day). During afternoon and evening had the more common symptoms, especially in evening (thirty second day).

Mind

Temporary delirium. Quarrelsome and delirious, striking and kicking with right hand and foot; at times these movements appeared to be involuntary; this mental condition changed to a happy and comical delirious state, which continued fifteen hours. Although I thought it probable I should die, I did not feel alarmed. (Same depression of spirits (forth day); great depression (fifth day)). Depression and prostration. Great fear of death. Most of the time, between the vomiting spells, he was lethargic, with slow and difficult respiration. When not vomiting she lay in a stupor. (Feels stupefied, with great pain and fullness in head), (first and second days). Apparently unconscious (after seven hours).

Head

Confusion and Vertigo. Confused sensation in head (after two hours). Vertigo. When rising from a seat, or from bed, a slight dizziness (fourth day). Vertigo with the nausea (second day). Dizziness and nausea, followed by heat of surface (forth day). Dizziness on rising, in the morning (seventh day). Vertigo and sudden prostration. (Must keep his bed; vertigo and vomiting as soon as he rises), (fifth day). Vertigo and photophobia; relieved by closing eyes and resting head, in the morning (third day). Dizziness and pain in the head (after ten or fifteen minutes). General Head. Dull feeling in the head all the afternoon and evening (forth day). Heavy dull pain in head with the weakness (first day). Head felt full and heavy (second morning). Heavy dull headache, with occasional painful throbbing in the temples (after four hours). Constant dull headache at 4 P.M. (second day). (Violent headache of a central congestive character); aggravated by noise and motion (fifth day). (Violent headache, with severe vomiting every fifteen or twenty minutes), (first and second days). During this proving had no headache after the first and second days). Headache, which stopped at the temples and seemed to take a diagonal course across the head (after two hours, fourth day). Slight headache, with full, pressing, heavy feeling in eyes (first day). Queer feeling about the head (after two hours, second day). (Burning sensation of head, with flushed face), (fifth day). Forehead. Some heaviness about forehead (after second dose, twelfth day). Constant, dull, frontal headache, with neuralgic pains in the right temple, close to the eye, at 10 A.M.; dull pains over the eye, with quite severe drawing pains in the umbilical region, at 11 A.M.; slight frontal headache, with pricking pains in the region of the heart, at 12 M.; drawing pains in forehead at 2 P.M.; dull, frontal headache, with pricking pains in the precordial region, at 3 P.M.; slight, frontal headache at 5 P.M., slight, dull frontal headache at 7 P.M. (first day). Slight, dull frontal headache, with a contractive feeling of the skin of the forehead, at 9.30 A.M.; dull frontal headache, with neuralgic pains in the temples, at 11 A.M.; every severe frontal headache, with dull aching pains in the umbilical region, at 2 P.M.; Constant, dull headache at 4 P.M.; dull frontal headache, with neuralgic pains in the right temple, at 9 P.M. (second day). Dull frontal headache at 2 P.M.; severe frontal headache, with violent vomiting and hiccough.20 P.M. (third day). Dull frontal headache at 12 M.; every severe frontal headache at 1 P.M.; dull frontal headache at 2 P.M. (fourth day). Steady, dull pain over right eye, gradually extending to forehead (after second dose, twenty-fourth day). (Some frontal headache, with nausea; head feels full and congested), (fifth day). Awoke in the morning with frontal headache, which seemed relieved after a stool (second day). After 1 P.M. noticed a frontal headache, which extended back on left side of head to occiput; continued all day, more when lying down, especially when lying on occiput (first and second days). Frontal headache, with cold feet and hands (second day). Slight aching over right eye, also in right temple and right malar bone, just under the eye (twenty minutes, after third dose, first day). Numb constricted pain in forehead, pressing back to the ears, sensation as if membrana tympani would break (second day). Sharp drawing pain over the left eye, with a contracted feeling in the skin of the forehead (after ten minutes). On waking, after a short sleep, felt an indescribable sensation rising from forehead towards crown, and grasping, as it were, the vertex and occiput (first night). Temples. A sensation of stiffness in the voluntary muscles, particularly the temporal and extensors of the head. Pain in left side of head at junction of parietal and temporal bones, in the forenoon (thirty- first day). Pain in right mastoid process (half an hour, after fourth dose, thirty-eight day). The old pains began to fly about in temple and left trochanter major (after second dose, forty-sixth day). Headache on left side back to temple (first day); on left side, from before backwards (second day). Headache on left side to temple at 9 A.M.; stopped in the afternoon (third day). Occiput. Dull headache in occipital region (third day); all day (fourth and fifth days); slight occipital headache (sixth day).

TF Allen
Dr. Timothy Field Allen, M.D. ( 1837 - 1902)

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.