Berberis vulgaris. The common Barberry. A tincture is prepared from the bark of the fresh root.
General Action
The most numerous and decided effects are the shooting pains in almost every part of the body. the pains in the region of the kidneys are most marked and have been frequently verified clinically. It also exerts a marked action on the liver, promoting the flow of bile.
Affinities-It is interesting to note the close resemblance of the neuralgic symptoms to the botanical relatives in the Ranunculaceae, Cimicif., Clem., Pulsatilla, and even Aconite the hepatic symptoms similar to its allies Podophyllum,Chelidonium, as well as Iris and Aloes. Also see Diosc., Agaric., Silicea and Zincum met.
Generalities
Bruised feeling (Cimicif., Arnica, Silicea). after long stooping, with feeling as if unable to do anything; B feeling, as after great fatigue, especially in lower limbs. Weakness; of body and mind in morning on waking; in evening and after supper; in evening with early falling asleep; from continued occupation, with sweat; (<) walking or long standing even to trembling, so that she feared her knees would break down, with vertigo on rising from stooping; faint like, when walk, with sudden orgasms of blood, and shortly before going to bed sweat and heat in upper part of body, cold, pale, sunken face and oppression of chest, on lying down in bed shivering, difficult falling asleep and restless sleep, with heavy dreams. Condition near faintness after a drive followed by a short walk.
Mind
Anxiety from 4 P.M. till going to bed, with fright, and in he twilight some children and dogs appeared twice as large as natural.: A, of she moves, stands long, rises from a seat, even in morning when rising in bed and on getting of it. Ill-will, intrepidity. Peevishness, becoming a loathing of life. Melancholy and disinclination to speak with quiet, not conscious longing. Satisfaction with quiet, not conscious longing. Satisfaction with nothing. Apathy; with dizziness and disinclination to work. Easy disturbance from external causes during mental; work, with fretfulness and necessity to cease work. Though difficult; of morning. Memory weak.
Head
Sticking. Tearing now he, now there in whole H., in forehead and temples. Aching now here, now there in with heaviness and confusion; as if skull would burst, and on stooping sensation as if something shook in H. and as if everything would come out a forehead; as if pressed asunder or pressed down by a heavy weight, especially in forehead; heavy, with prostration. Heaviness and on stooping sensations if head were drawn by a heavy weight. Fulness, especially in forehead. Tension. Puffy sensation. Feeling as if becoming larger (Cimicif)
Emptiness and gloominess. Confusion; from morning after waking till after noon, with heaviness of head, pressure in forehead, prostration, fretfulness, chilliness, sometimes with heat between the chills then heat, especially in head, with symptoms of impending coryza, especially moisture of nose and sneezing, which go no farther, repetition of these attacks, with which aggravations always begin; as from a cap and as if it would be drawn downward from behind. Intoxicated feeling. Vertigo; on stooping; on walking with faintish weakness; so that she must turn from I. to r. and forward ( during hard work, with frequent stooping an exertion of arms), with attacks of faintness, frontal headache, then chilliness in back and occiput. Symptoms generally (>) open air.
Forehead-Stitches in sinciput; S. and jerking in F., and in vertex when stooping; in r. extending outward to side; in spots above margin of I. orbit, extending outward and upward, or twitching or rolling pain; paroxysmal, especially suddenly through supraorbital region; paroxysmal in F. and temples, generally ceasing suddenly; tensive, over r. orbit. Tearing; in I. eminence, with pain on touch; sticking, and in temples. Pain in r. upper part; now over eyes, now in frontal eminences now in temples, now in other places in forehead; extending towards vertex; twinging tensive, caused and (<) by stooping, (>) open air; tensive, in F., temples and eyes; in F. and eyes on stooping, as if brain were heavy and fell forward; outward-pressing, and in temples. STupid sensation.
Temples-Stitches; inward in r.; jerking, in r., extending into r. eye, then shooting into vertex. Tearing; in r. and in r. cheek; intermittent twitching. Pain in r., extending to eye, as if in bone, with stitches into sinciput; P. in r. as if it were thick or would be pressed out, (<) touch; tensive in I.
Stitches in I. parietal region. Tearing in I. occipital region, Tensive pain in occiput as if scalp were too small and brain too large.
Scalp-Pimples on head and face, most frequently on occiput, temples and forehead, especially near hair, with burning stitches as from fleas in same spots. Scalp and skin of face feel puffy and tense; with difficult motion of scalp. Tensive numb sensation in S. and in skin of face. Smarting or corrosive sensation, now here, now there, in S. and in skin of face, (<) rubbing, then sometimes red spots. Corrosive itching or sticking on spots, in scalp and skin of face. Itching below hairs, chiefly in occipital region, either simple or biting, or burning, (<) evening, the itching (>) by scratching, but appearing in other places, with stitches, often with warm sensation in skin.
Eyes
Sunken, surrounded by blue or dirty gray rings. Red. Inflamed, (<) afternoon. Stitches; outward into forehead; usually sudden, mostly coming from other parts, as from forehead or from temples into eyes, or rising in eyes and spreading into forehead; digging, in r., then I., beginning deep in and extending obliquely across middle of orbital margin upward and outward into forehead. Tearing. Pain; on beginning to read by candle-light; after crying; (<) motion of eye; as if he had wept long. sensational as if forced out. throbbing in I. Bubbling in I.; in evening; in r. Coldness, as on going into cold air, with lachrymation on closing them. Burning; in morning after rising, with dryness, dim look, redness of conjunctiva of lids and misty vision; from 12 O’clock; at 3 P.M., (<) till she went to sleep, (<) 1, with sensation of sand in them; with dryness and redness and with mater in canthi. Dryness; with biting or burning. Sometimes with itching, often with feeling as of sand between lid and eye, at times with redness of conjunctiva of lid and evening of ball. Stiff feeling, with dragging. Troubles (<) afternoon and evening; (<) in open air. Intermittent tearing in I. ball, extending obliquely downward and outward.
Lids-Inflammation, (<) I., with swelling. Redness of margin and of sclerotic; of inner surface, and margin covered with whit frothy fluid. White crusts margin covered with white frothy fluid. White crusts on the dry margins in morning after rising Agglutination of I. in morning. Twitching when reading by candle-light, seldom by daylight. ticking on border of I. upper, towards outer part, then burning. Tearing in upper. in I. lower; pinching. Tearing drawing and twinges. Sensation as of a foreign body in I. internal canthus, with inflammation of lachrymal glands and dryness of conjunctiva in internal canthus. Biting beneath r. lower; crawling B. on margin of r. lower, becoming a twitching bubbling in lid. Itching, at times burning, biting or sticking, seldom smarting I. in canthi; at times biting or sticking. Burning in spots or biting. Dry sensation if close. Feeling as of drops of cold water between margins of lids or between lids and balls. heaviness on motion. Sticky sensation in margin in morning after rising.
Orbits-Twitching in region of r. upper. Stitches from I. margin to r. frontal eminence; itching S. and itching pain in margins, in skin, especially in inner canthus. Tearing in outer side of I., with tendency to lachrymation; T. in upper margin of I., extending towards forehead; in inner angle of r., extending towards nose and forehead; in bone on margin, especially lower, often extending into orbital cavity, at times it only begins to pain on touch.
Vision-Dim, (<) for far objects; D., with sleepiness. Everything seems to run together when sewing. Sensitiveness to bright sunlight. Daylight blinded he more than lamp-light. If she looks at anything fine she must hold her hand before her eyes to shield them from the day light and still more from lamplight, which blinds her. Blackness on exertion in sewing.
Ears
Stitches in I.; in r.; in r. at 5 P.M.; tearing, in middle, alternating with the same symptom in other parts of head; tensive, inward in r.; tensive in r. in evening, as if something were digging in it; bubbling inward in I., then continued S., then pressure, then stopped sensation; drawing upward, deep in r.;’ in slow jerks deep in r., then tearing in antitragus; jellylike in r., as if it came out thorough the drum, when at wore, while sitting, as if a nail were forced through, or as from a stinging animal, with digging S. between the pains, with sensation as if ear we full and dragged downward. Tearing in external; in one or other middle; in bone behind I., Drawing pain often during the day, ending in stitches. Painless throbbing and whizzing in I., seldom in., in rapid shocks, as if the air or the wing of a bird struck against the drum. with dryness and coldness in ear. Ringing in r., beginning deep, then becoming higher.
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.