Feels very sad and despondent; worse after sleeping, or in the morning.
Enemy of all constriction; must loosen everything (neck, chest, throat, abdomen, etc.)
Left sided affections generally, especially throat, chest, ovaries.
Inflamed parts very tender to touch and of bluish or dark colour.
Great weakness and trembling; tongue trembles when protruding it catches under the teeth (lower).
Blood decomposes, breaks down, haemorrhages; blood uncoagulable; ulcers and even slight wounds bleed profusely.
Modalities: worse at climacteric; touch, constriction or pressure, sun heat, after sleeping; better after discharges (suppressed or delayed discharges).
Many complaints connected with the menopause:hot flushes, hot sweats, burning vertex headaches, haemorrhoids, haemorrhages.
Great physical and mental exhaustion; trembling in whole body; would constantly sink from weakness.
To Dr., Constantine Hering belongs the honor of introducing and developing the wonderful medicinal properties of this snake poison. If he had never done anything beside this for medicine, the world would owe him everlasting debt of gratitude. It alone would immortalize him. All this, and more; notwithstanding, Chas. Hempel wrote in his first volume of Materia Medica:”In spite of every effort to the contrary, the conviction has gradually forced itself upon my mind that the pretended pathogenesis of LACHESIS, which has emanated from Dr. Hering’s otherwise meritorious and highly praiseworthy efforts, is a great delusion, and that with the exception of the poisonous effects with which this publication is abundantly mingled the balance of the symptoms are unreliable.”Hempel modified his views somewhat, I think, in later editions.
Now, it is interesting to note that in Allen’s Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica, the verified, and especially the black typed symptoms, almost all of them, are verifications of provings made with the 30th potency. It is also significant that the provings of Hahnemann’s polychrest remedies, mostly made with the potencies, are among the most useful and reliable we have to-day. Some have sought to destroy confidence in the provings of all remedies which are made with the 30th potency and upwards; not only that, but in their power to cure even when the provings were made with cruder preparations. With us, who know the value of these potencies, all such efforts only excite pity. But many who do not know are misled and prejudiced so as to never dare to test for themselves. To all such we say take no man’s ipse dixit, but prove all things, “hold fast that which is true.”
LACHESIS is a remedy of wide range of action. It has an alternate action on the mind and sensorium, that of excitation and depression. Illustrative of the former are the following symptoms:”Quick comprehension, mental activity with almost prophetic perception, ecstasy, a kind of trance. Exceptional loquacity, with rapid change of subjects; jumps abruptly from one idea to another. “This kind of excitation may be found in acute chronic complaints; in the delirium of fevers, or in mania of a settled form. On the side of depression occur:”Weakness of memory; makes mistakes in writing; confusion as to time. Delirium at night; muttering; drowsy; red face; slow, difficult speech and dropped jaw. Feels extremely sad, depressed, unhappy and distressed in mind, “and this condition is very apt to be worse on awaking in the morning or indeed after any sleep, day or night.”Chronic complaints from depressing cause, like long-lasting grief or sorrow. “This depressed side of the remedy may also be found in both acute and chronic complaints. Again these opposite conditions may be found alternating in the same person, and a notable fact is that the alternations are extreme. Of course the causes of these conditions of mind and sensorium are varied, but we will often find them in old topers, subjects of BROKEN DOWN CONSTITUTION, and in the troubles incident to the CLIMACTERIC AGE. Such cases are subject to sudden attacks of giving away of strength, fainting, vertigo from rush of blood to the head causing apoplectic seizures, or opposite symptoms arising from sudden anaemia of the brain. In short, the circulation in LACHESIS, subjects is very uncertain. This is what makes it so valuable in sudden flushes during climacteric period.
LACHESIS, has some prominent head symptoms where no other remedy can take its place. It is one of our best remedies for sun headaches; of course it does not compare with GLONOINE for the immediate effects of sun-stroke, but does come in well after the first missing effects are overcome by that remedy. The patient is troubled with the headache every time he is exposed to the sun’s heat, and the trouble has become chronic.(NAT CARB)
This is another characteristic symptom, viz., weight or PRESSURE ON THE VERTEX. (CACTUS, GLONOINE., MENYANTHES.) This is found mostly in women suffering at the menopause, and coupled with it in such cases there is sometimes burning on the vertex. SULPHUR has this symptom, but if it occurred at the menopause the remedy would oftener be found in LACH., unless, indeed, there were some marked psoric complications. LACH., has a variety of headaches, but I know of only two characteristics that have been of very much value to me in prescribing for them, namely, with the headache VERY PALE FACE, and the patient SLEEPS INTO THE HEADACHE; dreads to go to sleep because she awakens with such a distressing headache. These two are very valuable indications, otherwise I would expect to get my indications outside of the headache itself. “Headache extending into the nose comes mostly in acute catarrh, especially when the discharge has been suppressed or stops after sleep. This kind of headache is often found in hay fever paroxysms of sneezing. Now if the hay fever with frequent and violent paroxysms of sneezing are decidedly worse after sleeping, even in the daytime, LACH., 200th may stop the whole business for the season. ” Being an old hay fever subject myself, I am authority on that statement.
We now come to the action of LACH., on the alimentary tract; first the gums are often swollen and spongy, easily bleeding; when this is found LACH., often follows MERCURY well. If the gums turn purple the indication is strengthened for LACH., One of the most characteristic symptoms of LACH., is found in the tongue, especially in diseases of a typhoid type; PUTS THE TONGUE OUT WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY; IT IS VERY DRY; TREMBLES and CATCHES UNDER THE LOWER TEETH. The tongue trembles and is protruded with difficulty under GELSEMIUM, but it is not so dry as in LACH., This is a sign of great weakness, but in GELSEMIUM it occurs in the very beginning of the fever, while in LACH., it comes later. There is bad odor from the mouth in LACH., and it may be very dry throughout; or there may be an abundant accumulation of tenacious mucus. Here it again resembles MERCURY. LACHESIS is one of our best remedies for sore mouth in the last stage of consumption. This is sometimes a very distressing symptom and relief for it is often very difficult to find. If LACH., should relieve it, my experience has been that the patients are also greatly relieved in other ways; so much so, indeed, that they think that they are, after all, going to get well. This brings me to notice what I believe I have not spoken of before, that where a cure is no longer possible, and temporary relief is the only thing left, we have the best means of giving it in the homoeopathically indicated remedy. Narcotics, counter irritants, so called tonics, stimulants, etc., do not and cannot compare with the simillimum ( if properly administered)in smoothing the pathway to the inevitable termination. LACH., has won its chiefest laurels in affections of the throat.
“THROAT and NECK SENSITIVE TO SLIGHTEST TOUCH OR EXTERNAL PRESSURE (SEPIA); EVERYTHING ABOUT THROAT DISTRESSES, EVEN THE WEIGHT OF THE BED COVERS. “This is very characteristic. Another peculiarity is that empty swallowing, or swallowing of saliva or liquids, worse a great deal more than swallowing of solids. The pains in the throat run up into the ears. There is much mucus in fauces, with painful hawking. In tonsillitis and diphtheria, swelling of tonsils begins on left side and extends to the right (SABADILLA). The pains are worse by hot drinks (rev. SABADILLA). All these symptoms are peculiar to LACH.,, and are all apt to be very much worse after sleep. In old quinsy subjects, where the trouble always began on the left side, I have often not only aborted the attack, but cured the predisposition thereto.
Sometimes the throat assumes a gangrenous appearance, but if the other indications are present it is an additional indication for its use. LACH., is always one of the first remedies to be thought of in any disease, when it seems inclined to spend its main force in the throat, such as TYPHOID FEVER, PNEUMONIA, SCARLATINA, etc.
If the SKIN TURNS PURPLE OR BLUISH, as if mortification were impending, there is no remedy like it. Not only is LACH., an unusually efficacious remedy for these acute throat troubles, but for those of a chronic form, and the same symptoms are present, even in syphilitic throat troubles. We have placed great stress upon the sensitiveness of throat to all touch or pressure; but this does not end it, for, as Lilienthal expresses it LACHESIS IS GREAT ENEMY OF ALL CONSTRICTION. “The pit of stomach is sore to the touch, or even to pressure of clothes.” “Cannot bear any pressure about the hypochondria. “In the abdomen there is “Painful distension, flatulence, which is very annoying, can bear no pressure; the surface nerves are sensitive.” “Is obliged to wear clothes especially about the stomach, very loose; they cause uneasiness; even in bed, obliged to loosen and pull up night dress to avoid pressure; dare not lay the arm across the abdomen on account of pressure.” “Uterus does not bear contact; has to be relieved of all pressure; frequently lifts the clothes; they cause an uneasiness in the abdomen, even with no tenderness.” “Larynx sensitive to least touch, which causes suffocation and feeling of lump in the throat.” “During heat, as of an orgasm of blood is obliged to loosen clothes about the neck; sensation as though they hindered the circulation of blood with a kind of suffocative feeling.” “Intolerance of tight neck bands.” I could no better express the value of this symptom, or great modality of LACH., worse FROM PRESSURE OR CONSTRICTIONS, than by quoting the entire from Guiding Symptoms the above. It does not seem, after such an array of oft-verified symptoms, that more need be said to impress this upon the memory and confidence of any physician. Now, the why of this almost invariable worse from pressure of LACH., and almost as invariable better from the same of BRYONIA I leave for those to explain who pretend to be able to do so. It is, however, another proof of the value of modalities.
