In what conditions is Crataegus oxyacantha employed?
In cases of failing compensation with dilatation of the heart and in fatty hearts. Functional diseases, tachycardia from anaemia, angina pectoris.
SPIGELIA ANTHELMINTICA.
Where do we obtain the original pathogenesis of Spigelia?
From Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura.
What is Spigelia?
A native of the West Indies; its common name is Pink root, and the tincture is made from the freshly dried herb, having been gathered when bearing flowers and seeds.
What is the general action of Spigelia?
Acts principally upon the muscular tissue of eye and heart, and hence its value in rheumatic conditions centering in these organs. It is especially adapted to anaemic, debilitated subjects of rheumatic diathesis, and scrofulous children affected with worms.
What are the characteristic of Spigelia in headache?
A neuralgic pain which starts in the occiput, comes up over the head and settles over the left eye, worse from noise, jar or change of weather, commencing in the morning with the sun, reaching its acme at noon; and declining with the sun; there is also a sensation as if the head were open along the vertex.
In what affections about the eye is it useful?
Ciliary neuralgia, pains radiate, cold feeling in the eye.
What other drug has cold feeling in the eye?
Thuja.
What are the indications for Spigelia in facial neuralgia?
The pains are severe, sticking and burning, and the parts swell and become very sore. In occurs more on the left side.
How is it be distinguished from Colchicum?
In Spigelia there is great nervous erethism and excitement and intolerance of pain, while in Colchicum there is a remarkable tolerance of pain with a general semi-paralytic condition, instead of nervous excitement.
Differentiate briefly Spigelia, Arsenic, Platina, Chamomilla, Capsicum, and Verbascum in facial neuralgia.
Arsenic: Fine, red-hot, needle-like pains darting from place to place.
Platina: Steady compression, with numbness wants to rub the part.
Chamomilla: Great impatience and aggravation by heat.
Capsicum: Fine lines of pain; worse from external pressure.
Verbascum: pains are crushing, as if parts were between tongs, while under Spigelia the pains are shooting and piercing and the chief seat is about the eye.
What are the heart symptoms of Spigelia?
Sharp, stitching pains in the left chest, shooting into arm and neck, worse by motion, pulse not synchronous with heart beat. On placing hand over cardiac region there is a purring feeling as when stroking a cat’s back. The great remedy for acute carditis and pericarditis. Irregular and tumultuous action of the heart; neuralgias about the heart.
What indications has the drug in worm affections?
Strabismus, jerking with paleness of the face, blue rings around the eyes, faint, nauseated feeling with colic about the navel.
What are our principal drugs from the Solanaceae family?
Belladonna, Capsicum, Dulcamara, Hyoscyamus, Solanum nig., Stramonium and Tabacum.
What is the general effect of the family as a whole? Most of the members of this family act prominently on the brain and have narcotic properties.
BELLADONNA.
Where are our principal studies of Belladonna found?
In Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura, British Journal of Homoeopathy, Vol. VI., Hartmann’s Principal Remedies, Transactions of the Homoeopathic Medical Society of New York, 1868, and in Hughes’ Pharmacodynamics.
What is Belladonna It is the Deadly Night Shade, grows in the south of Europe; the tincture is made from the entire fresh plant in the same manner as described under Aconite and imported.
What is its alkaloid, and what is the allopathic dose of the same?
Atropine, dose, I-120 to I-60 of a grain.
What is the general physiological action of Belladonna?
It renders all the senses more acute or perverts them, irritates and inflames the brain, hence delirium, hallucinations, mania, stupor and insomnia are produced. it irritates the cortical substance and acts upon the respiratory centre. It also acts on circular muscular fibres. It has a marked action on the skin, mucous membranes and glandular structures, congesting and inflaming them. It is ” a study in scarlet.”
What is the principal use of Atropine?
It occupies the purely neurotic sphere of Belladonna.
Its principal use is as a mydriatic.
Give five grand characteristic indications of Belladonna.
1. Pains gradually increase, suddenly decline and appear elsewhere.
2. Painful spots are sore on gentle pressure, yet firm pressure is tolerated.
3. Hot, red skin, flushed face, full, hard pulse, throbbing carotids, with delirium and hyperaesthesia of the senses.
4. Great dilatation of the pupils, photophobia and injected eyes.
5. It affects principally the right side of the body.
Give characteristic aggravation of Belladonna.
Aggravation from jarring the bed, a symptom one should always note.
Give the principal head symptoms.
Congestion to the head, feeling of heat with red face, injected eyes, intense throbbing headache, the carotids throb, sharp pains so violent as to make the patient scream out.
What symptoms are apt to be found here in children?
The child bores its head into the pillow, and rolls it from side to side, dilated pupils, squinting, grinding of the teeth with bright red hot flushed face and throbbing fontanelles.
What symptoms indicate Belladonna in delirium?
Visions, screaming out and desire to escape, full of fear and imaginings, sensation as if falling, and the patient clutches the air; sometimes a stupor, which, if aroused out of, they strike people, bark and bite like a dog and are very violent.
In these cases of fever and delirium how is the skin?
It is hot, and on raising the bed clothes a hot steam seems to stream out; sometimes a hot sweat which does not relieve is present.
Is the Belladonna face always red?
In summer complaints, dentition, colic, etc., where there is irritation of the brain, starting’s in sleep, it may be very pale.
What are the eye symptoms of the drug?
Sudden pains and violent symptoms, eyes feel swollen and protruding, conjunctiva red and pupils very much dilated, eyes feel as if full of sand, desire to rub the eyes which relieves. Great photophobia.
Give the ear symptoms.
Severe boring pains in the ears, which come on suddenly and shoot from one ear into the other.
What is the characteristic tongue of Belladonna?
A white tongue with the papillae showing through it, the so-called “Strawberry tongue.”
What are the indications for Belladonna in sore throat?
Great dryness and bright redness of the throat, the fauces are inflamed, the tonsils are swollen and enlarged, worse on the right side, food and liquids are ejected through the nose on swallowing.
What are the stomach symptoms?
Pains in the stomach, worse during a meal. Gastralgia, pains go to spine, not much thirst.
What are the indications for Belladonna in peritonitis and inflammation about the abdomen?
Swollen tense, sensitive abdomen, cannot bear the weight of the bed clothes, jarring of the bed aggravates, on raising the clothes the heat streams out.
What is the diarrhoea of Belladonna?
Summer complaints of children with crying and screaming and suddenly bending backwards, diarrhoea from cold with slimy, bloody discharges and some tenesmus.
In what urinary trouble is Belladonna frequently indicated?
Involuntary urination during sleep in children.
What are the characteristic symptoms of Belladonna in the female organs?
Violent bearing down pains, worse lying down. Menses early and copious with cramp-like pains in the back. Congestive dysmenorrhoea with offensive discharge. Uterine hemorrhage, bright red and hot.
What drugs have the symptom: Pressure toward the genital organs as if everything would fall out, and how are they distinguished?
Belladonna; This symptom is worse when the patient sits bent over and when she walks, but is better when she sits or stands.
Sepia is just the reverse; the symptom is aggravated by sitting up, still more by standing, and most of all by walking, while it is relieved by lying down.
Nux vomica has the pressing down more in the back with irritable rectum, frequent ineffectual desire to stool, scanty evacuations and little leucorrhoea.
Pulsatilla has the same symptom as Belladonna, and is aggravated by lying down, but heat also aggravates and the open air relieves; there is pressure on the bladder with frequent micturition. The leucorrhoea is thick.
Podophyllum is similar, but in prolapsus it is only indicated when the rectum and vagina are prolapsed. (Dunham.)
What are the indications for Belladonna in labor?
Pain in back as if it would break, labor pains come and go suddenly and no progress is made; there is a spasmodic condition of the os which retards labor, the os feels hot to the touch.
What are the respiratory symptoms of the drug?
There is tickling in the larynx and a dry, hacking cough, which is paroxysmal; dryness and tightness in the upper part of the chest, worse evenings, and at night; the larynx is sore and hot.
What is the pulse of Belladonna?
Full and hard, or slow-especially in cerebral congestion.
Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Michigan Homeopathic Medical College. Member of American Institute of Homeopathy. In addition to his editoral work he authored or collaborated on: Boericke and Dewey's Twelve Tissue Remedies, Essentials of Homeopathic Materia Medica, Essentials of Homeopathic Therapeutics and Practical Homeopathic Therapeutics.