A tincture is made of the whole fresh plant of Hyoscyamus niger, L.
General Action
It acts very similarly to Belladonna, but with less indication of congestion or fever; generally indicated in condition of adynamia, with involuntary discharges, muttering delirium, carphology, etc.
Allies.- Stramonium, Belladonna
Generalities
Dropsy. Distention of veins of whole body; of neck, extremities, and (<) face. Clutching about her without knowing at what. If made to walk she did so with body bent backward, if she spontaneously attempted to walk she did so with feet wide apart and with involuntary motions of hands, with which she felt about her, sometimes closing them as quick as lightening. Constant change of position. Tossing about and restlessness. Tossing about the bed and screaming constantly; and rubbing his hot head with both hands constantly. In bed, at one time drew knees up, at another stretched them out, at another turned over, turned head back and forth, at another raised head and beat the bed with it, at another picked straws from his mattress, groped about him and did not speak.
Reeled, then fell; R. to the bed, fell upon it and was motionless. Fell suddenly; with cries and convulsions; fell down unconscious, whole body cold and stiff, face pale, eyes closed, pupils dilated, conjunctiva injected, anterior cervical muscles contracted so that it was impossible to lay head upon pillow, pulse small, thready, rapid, respiration stertorous and difficult, spasms of pectoral muscles; fell from her seat, lay immovable and slept with head upon chest, red face, deep respiration, warm skin, small, rapid pulse, eyes closed and injected.
Tremors, horripilation and rigors. Startings. Twitchings; frequent, with violent delirium, during the remissions catching at flocks in the air or pulling at bed clothes. Convulsions; after every drink, sometimes he did not recognize his relatives; with frothing from the mouth (compare Hydrocyanic acid); with twitching of hands, feet and muscles; C. flex the limbs, and the bent body is tossed high. Opisthotonos, with convulsions of limbs. Epilepsy. General rigidity as in tetanus.
Stitches come out of finger-tips and out of all parts of body. Tearing or drawing pains in limbs and testicles. Rheumatic (tearing, jerking, gnawing) pains in outer and posterior surface of l. upper arm and in lower end of bones of l. forearm and in scapulae. Restlessness, with confusion of speech and conduct; R., excessive animation and hurry. Peculiar sense of lightness and mobility. Activity, thought himself more active and vigorous then he really was. Ground seemed to give way under their feet. Oppression. Aversion to motion and work. Weakness; between the convulsions, with snoring; with general trembling and external coldness of limbs; with stupor and over-powering sleepiness; causing staggering; with heaviness of limbs. Inability to maintain an erect posture and reeling on attempting to stand. Faintness. Sensibility blunted. Insensibility; to pinching; loss of sense of touch; and he sits immovable in bed. Hemiplegia. Aggravation in evening; A. after eating.
Clinical Chorea, with clutching motions of the hands and numerous incoherent muscular movements. Epileptiform convulsions, especially in children or after labor. Convulsions from fright, in children. Tetanus. Hydrophobia. Paralysis agitans. During severe malaria, congestive chills.
Mind
Carphologia; in nervous fever, with fumbling about his head, face and nose, and groping about the bed. Ravings. Delirium; and restlessness, would not stay in bed (Belladonna); with ludicrous actions like monkeys; ridiculous gestures like a dancing clown; ridiculous grimaces like one intoxicated; violent and beats people; bit, scratched and nipped every one who interfered with them; violent exertions to get out of bed, attempts to bite, rage, then weeping aloud, while lying she turned the head r. and l. at times raised it and snapped as if she would take hold of something; strikes and tries to kill bystanders; attacks people with a knife; attempts to escape.
Delirium most of the time, quick working and clutching of hands and striking his attendants, it was difficult to hold him on their laps, afterwards talking about everything, cannot fix his attention, he cannot be held, wants to get away but cannot stand, and if he attempts to walk he falls on his face, limbs seem weak, almost paralyzed, acts as if intoxicated, wants to fight, closes his hands and strikes at his attendants, attempts to bite, at intervals sings and at times laughs, nervous trembling and jerking of muscles, when anything is offered him he clinches hold of it with both hands greedily, the slightest opposition excites him.
Lively delirium. Foolish laughter (Cannab-ind.) Sings love songs and street ballads; sings constantly, talks hastily and indistinctly, is violent and beats about her if spoken to strongly or taken hold of; merry, singing, imitating with her hand spinning; (laughable, solemn actions mingled with the raving, in an improper dress). Dancing; and laughing, running about, grasping at things, stared at bystanders, heard nothing, answered no questions, several men could not make her drink or lie down, face pale, pulse rapid, pupils dilated, capillaries of eyes injected, sleeplessness, vertigo, stupefaction.
Talking more than usual and more animatedly and hurriedly; absurd talk; irrational, as if a man were present who was not; T. about incoherent things; incessant chattering without meaning, also leaping and dancing as in chorea, did not know their own family. Muttering to himself;. absurd; M. on being aroused, became irritable, resented attempts to make him drink, soon hallucination, in which his countenance became threatening, called on absent persons with whom he imagined himself in debate. (Prattled about things wise men would have kept to themselves.) Unintelligible answers. Excited, incoherent in speech, wandered purposelessly about the house, muttering and touching things as if suspicious of those about him, then delirious, saw policemen enter the house, heard them speaking, about him in the hall, hands in constant motion, trying to rub his face or brush something away, was irritable, did not answer questions, but muttered a few disjointed words. In speaking used very fine language, so that the usually quiet and indolent peasant was scarcely recognized.
Frightful screams all night and tossing about. Roving about, senseless, naked, wrapped in fur in summer. Moaning and groping about, with out-stretched fingers as if something should be seized suddenly. Acting as if cracking nuts; A. as if frightening away peacocks with his hands. Embraces the stove and wishes to climb upon it as on a tree. Listening to imaginary sounds and clutching at phantoms. A thousand fancies hover before his imagination. Thinks men are swine. (Considers himself a criminal). Though he was at home and desired to make visits. People in the room appeared grotesque, then noisy, and then quiet delirium, afterwards she sat in the corner of the room, muttered to herself, rocked her body to and fro, now catching at the air, now pulling the bed-clothes about, answering either not at all or incorrectly. Typhomania. Sudden intermittent excitement, with wild look.
Reproaches others and complains of a supposed injury to himself. Quarrelsome; and insulting; and tries to injure others. Uncontrollable anger. Fear; of death, becoming a monomaniac, then nervous irritation; of being devoured by animals. Dread of drinks. Hydrophobia. Jealousy. Anxiety; after dinner. Sad. Morose. Impatient. (Reproaches himself and has conscientious scruples.) Quiet, reflective. Laughter. (Lively and crochety, next day morose and quarrelsome.)
Disinclination to thing; or work; D. to study in afternoon. Aversion to reading. When reading he mixes up improper words and sentences. Disconnected words. Distraction at 6 A.M., with sleepiness, so that he must cease reading. Confusion of sense, weakness of sight and difficulty in speaking, like slight intoxication. Incapable of comprehending what was said to her. Inability to fix the attention, every attempt to overcome this was followed by confusion nd headache. Ideas stand still. Ideas lost, he is troubles about everything, sleeps several hours in afternoon, often half awake. Remembrance of long-past events; easy R. of circumstances which he does not care to recollect, and remembers with difficulty occurrences which he tries to recollect. Inclined to forget himself in thoughtless staring at objects. Memory weak. Memory lost; when reading; of what she has read. Coma vigil. Sopor; after each fit. Lethargic state when left to himself. Stupefaction. Insensibility, but intermittent consciousness, when she spoke much, but hastily and disconnectly. Foolishness. Amentia. Idiotic. Unconsciousness; on waking.
Clinical Delirium occurring in course of acute diseases’ characterized by restlessness, is constantly busy with his hands’ picking, working and clutching, and is constantly muttering or talking to himself, or is frightened; in a general way, loquacious delirium indicates the drug. Erotic delirium, refuses to be covered and talks in an obscene manner. Violent delirium, with tendency to bite, scratch or to escape (Belladonna). Stupid, seems to be completely unconscious, but is picking at the clothes or catching at the air. Mania, with suspicious of his friends. Puerperal mania, with desire to be uncovered and with obscenity. With the delirium of this drug there are apt to be dry, cracked tongue,. indistinct speech, involuntary evacuations and convulsive movements of the muscles generally. Acute mania, suspicious of having poisoned or of being pursued. Delirium tremens, in which the patient is very suspicious of his friends and very loquacious.
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.