Face expressed terror.
Face pale earthy, contrasting with nearly purple neck.
Burning and sweat in palms of hands.
Pain in lower jaw as if all the teeth were going to fall out.
Onanism; violent nymphomania.
Intense, unbearable pruritis vulvae.
Terrible pruritis, as of insects creeping and crawling.
Outer parts, as if worms or insects were boring and crawling.
Itching, burning, formication, ecchymosed spots. Painful vesicular and especially pustular eruptions.
KENT who has no lecture on Tarentula, gives a case exemplifying one phase of its action: “Rolling from side to side to relieve the distress is a characteristics of Tarentula. A man with inveterate constipation, who had used physics till they would no longer serve, was encouraged by his daughter to wait for further action until the proper remedy could be recognized, as advised by the doctor. In his distress he rolled from side to side, on the bed, wailing, “Oh dear me”. Tarentula quieted him. Two days later he had a normal stool, and thereafter had no difficulty.”
A couple of years ago a patient in the Children’s Ward of our London Hospital, suffering from chorea, was making little or no progress. During the doctor’s rounds this girl appeared shy and demure: but the Ward Sister said that she was “very foxy”. When she thought no one was looking she would suddenly start tearing up books and destroying such toys as lay within her reach.
Further observation led to the discovery that she was unusually sensitive to music: when the wireless was turned on, she would jump about and dance. Tarentula was given with success.
The following case from The Homoeopathician for October 1913 illustrates the potentialities of Tarentula hispania, where symptoms, especially the marked mental symptoms match.
INSANITY-TARENTULA HISPANIA BY A.W. MCDONOUGH, M.D., U.S.A.
1912. March 14th Miss P., a rather delicate girl of 18 years, tall and slender, with a sort of sallow complexion, called for treatment two months prior to her high-school graduation; had evidently been overworking. Headache intense for past week; frontal and occipital; increases after study; walking. Pain behind eyes. Toward evening feels worse all over. Sensitive to cold. Very irritable. Coughs frequently; increases when quiet. Better in warm room. Desires sweet things. Perspiration scant. After carefully working out the case with a repertory gave Sepia 200. Result was splendid. She had no further trouble until October, when in a runaway with a horse, though not hurt, she was badly frightened.
December 12th. Amenorrhoea. Loss of appetite. Constipation. Very chilly, but feels increase in a close room. Cross and difficult to get along with: increases with heat; increases with cold; decreases when quiet. Headache when awakening. Desires cold. Stomach sensation of a load after eating. Because Sepia had formerly done good gave Sepia. As the remedy did nor work to the satisfaction of the family, she did not return for a second prescription, but went to an old school doctor. With the aid of an osteopath he treated her for amenorrhoea until the middle of February 1913. Under the osteopathic and allopathic treatment she had become very nervous, pale, and restless, and had emaciated from 103 lb. to 78 lb. The allopath advised her to go west for her health. The osteopath said she was almost insane. She was taken to Iowa City to a nerve specialist. He pronounced her in fair condition, but said she must eat to get some strength. From the first she had refused to eat. He gave her strong stomach stimulants, similar to those she had been taking, but on the fourth day of his treatment she became so unmanageable that I was again summoned. I accepted the case only on condition that I might ask the aid of Dr. W.G. Allen, of Barnes City, whom I knew to be an accurate prescriber, homoeopathically and with whom I felt assured of ability to cure the girl. Uncontrollable. The family could do nothing with her. Exalted; restless. Wanted everything to be in motion. Chased the cat from under the stove; “Oh, I can’t bear to see the lazy thing” Ordered her step-father to chase himself around the house and not sit around all day. She was determined to do all the work, but everyone must move, and move rapidly. Insisted on serving at table; loaded the dishes full, but would eat nothing herself; feared she would get fat. Hurries; walks rapidly; must be active every minute; took up her school books and began to work on physics and geometry; forced her music teacher to give her lessons; practised for hours at the piano. Cross, hateful; appeared “possessed of the very old Nick”. Sleep impossible; would not go to bed before midnight; didn’t want to take time to go to bed. Never tired; feels “strung up” constantly. Cannot relax. Aversion to odour of heat. Chilly; sensitive to cold. Weeping inclination constant; weeps much. Craves salt; heaps it on any small bite of food she eats. Craves and eats much chocolate candy. Would take the raw juice of lemon “to keep down the fat.” Nose bleed; bright red from the right nostril. Skin sallow. “Strawberry tongue.” Albumen in abundance in urine. Pulse 67, temperature 96.8, when standing; as soon as sits pulse drops to 60. From our study of the case with the repertory, choice appeared to be between Natrum mur. and Sulph., but choice was difficult.
Sulph. 200 was selected. It did but little for her; it appeared merely to check the downward progress, but she made no improvement. As Dr. Allen was called to Rochester, I dreaded his departure, but he was glad to escape. After a few days gave Natrum mur. 200, as Sulph. appeared to be almost useless. The case remained unchanged. She continued to “run things high.” from early morn to midnight. Refused to eat. Was terrible to live with. Fearful of getting fat, though she weighed only 67 lb. and was dreadful to behold. Again studying the case, beginning with the rubric REFUSES TO EAT, Arsenicum alb. was in all the symptoms. Gave Arsenicum 200 It dispelled her restlessness, warmed her, and helped. After a few days she became worse again Reporting the case to Dr. Kent, his telegram soon came: “Give the patient Tarentula hisp. 10m.” It suited exactly, and I hadn’t seen the picture, plainly as it had presented!
Tarent. hisp. Three hours later her condition was completely changed. Instead of driving her mother from the room, not allowing her to touch her, she wanted to be with her mother every minute, as would almost any sick child. Thoroughly relaxed, she was quite a different person. Gradual improvement form the dose of Tarent. Hands and feet became very dry and scaly about four weeks after beginning Tarentula. After five weeks Dr. Kent advised Tarent. hisp. 50m., About four weeks after the skin scaled and became natural, fine fuzzy hair three-quarters of an inch scaled and became natural fine, fuzzy hair three-quarters of an inch long appeared on the entire body except the palms and soles, but at present writing the face has cleared, the hair having entirely disappeared. She now appears perfectly well, but strength and flesh not fully restored.
This is a rare case, such as will not frequently be observed in private practice. It again illustrates the wonderful power of the potentized remedy when the exact similimum is used. But for Tarentula hispania this patient must have died in an asylum.
