All acute inflammatory disease present prominent head symptoms, pain, red puffed face, throbbing carotids and delirium, and spasms, or jerks and twitching.
Eyes staring red, bloodshot and pupils first contracted, then greatly dilated.
Mouth and throat VERY DRY, RED, sometimes greatly swollen; all mucous surfaces correspondingly dry and hot.
Pains appear suddenly, and after a while disappear as suddenly as they came.
Skin very red and hot, fairly radiates heat; burns the hand touching it, but sweats on covered parts.
Several inflammations which streak out in radii from a centre.
Modalities :worse after 3 p.m. or after midnight from uncovering, or draft of air, and lying down; better from covering and head high.
Great liability to take cold; sensitive to draft of air, especially when uncovering the head; from having the hair cut (HEP.,); tonsils swell after riding in a cold wind (ACON).
Imagines he sees ghosts, hideous faces, and various insects (STRAM); black animals, dogs and wolves.
Abdomen tender, distended worse by least jar, even the bed; obliged to walk with great care for fear of a jar.
Pain in right ileo-caecal region, worse by slightest touch, even the bed covers.
Pressing downwards, as if the contents of abdomen would issue from the vulva; worse standing and sitting erect; worse morning (compare LIL., MUR., SEP.,)
Tongue: red and dry, with red edges and white coating in the middle; papillae bright and prominent, like scarlatina (ACON, ANT-T.,) offensive, putrid, taste in throat when eating or drinking, although food tastes natural.
We now come to consider what I call the trio of delirium remedies—BELLADONNA., HYOSCYAMUS., and STRAM., Many other remedies have delirium, but these three deserve to head the list In most complaints where this remedy is indicated head symptoms preponderate. The BLOOD all seems to be rushing to the head.(AMYL-NIT., GLONOINE., MELILOTUS.)The head is hot while the extremities are cool. The eyes are red and blood shot. The face is also red, almost purple red. The carotid arteries throb so as to be plainly visible. There is either great pain, pressure or sense of fullness, or an almost stupid condition. The wild, terrible delirium, if present, may be found with pain, or even with no complaint of pain. In delirium the patient “imagines he sees ghosts, hideous faces and animals and insects. ” Fears all sorts of imaginary things and wants to run away from them; breaks out into fits of laughter or screams and gnashes his teeth; bites or strikes those around him; in short, performs all sorts of violent acts and is controlled with great difficulty. No remedy has more persistently VIOLENT DELIRIUM then BELLADONNA., One of the characteristic features of BELLADONNA., in delirium as compared with the other two remedies is the decided evidence already mentioned of a surcharge of blood in the brain. When the throbbing of the carotids, the heat, redness and congestion of face and conjunctiva go away, the delirium subsides in proportion. BELLADONNA., may have delirium with pale face as it alternate, but it is the exception. Even the upper lip is congested and swollen.
In inflammations, which LOCALIZE, BELLADONNA., is in the first stage as often the leading remedy as any other. It does not make much difference WHERE they localize, whether in head, throat, mammae or else where, if they come on suddenly, pursue a rapid course, are red, painful and especially throbbing. It is astonishing how many local inflammations, even a carbuncle or boil, will so disturb the general system and circulation, as to produce the general inflammatory fever, with the characteristic head symptoms calling for BELLADONNA., and no less astonishing how the remedy controls the Whole condition, both local and general, when indicated. What! exclaims the believer in local applications, give BELLADONNA internally for a boil on the hand or foot? Yes, indeed, not only BELLADONNA., but MERCURIUS., HEPAR., TARANTULA-C., and many others, and you will not have any need for local medication at all. It is only in the first or congestive or active inflammatory stage that this remedy is in place; but, if, properly administered then, it will often abort the whole thing and never leave it to finish all its stages, or if not, so modify as to make it comparatively insignificant.
BELLADONNA., is one of our best remedies in the diseases of children, even viewing with CHAMOMILLA., They come SUDDENLY, almost without warning. This sudden and intense onset of fever is sometimes duplicated in CINA cases, but there is helminthiasis in connection with it. Child is well one minute and sick the next, and one very characteristic symptom in these cases is, the child is very hot, with red face and semistupor, but every little while starts or JUMPS IN SLEEP AS IF IT MIGHT GO INTO SPASMS. This condition is often found in children and then BELLADONNA., is like “oil upon troubled waters. “Remember BELLADONNA., inflammations localize more then they do in ACON., I drew the difference between these two remedies in inflammations and inflammatory fevers when writing upon ACON., There is no use of confounding them. Some do so; but, in so doing, only exhibit their ignorance.
