Introduction: This remedy has been only meagerly proved, yet there are a few useful points in it.
From its proving we can perceive that it is similar to diseased states in the human family, and especially in women, namely, hysterical and rheumatic conditions.
The patient is always chilly, easily affected by cold, sensitive to cold and damp weather, which rouses the rheumatic state and develops a state of rheumatism not only in the muscles and joints all over the body, but also along the course of nerves.
In the general nervous disturbance there is a lack of will balance, or great disturbance in the voluntary system, which is the underlying feature of hysteria, the symptoms are intermingled with rheumatism.
With the pains we have soreness all over the body. Trembling, numbness, jerking of muscles.
Inability to exercise the will over the muscles of the body, turmoil in the voluntary system, with stiffness.
Tendency to take cold and thereby she takes on sensitiveness in the glands and larger organs, such as the liver and uterus.
Complaints in these organs come on from cold damp weather (Dulcamara) and from being chilled.
The patient is sensitive to cold in all parts except the head, and is aggravated from becoming cold both in parts of the body and in general.
The headaches, however, are better in the open air and from cold, which is an exception and a particular, for the general feature is aggravation from cold.
Mind: There is a terrible mental state that alternates with physical states. It is an overwhelming sadness or gloominess, she is bowed down with sorrow.
Sits and mopes in great sadness, like Psorinum and Pulsatilla.
This may pass off instantly, or be brought on and aggravated from motion, from fear, from excitement, from taking cold.
Very commonly there is muscular soreness, a bruised feeling all over, with drawing and jerking.
This will let up very suddenly and leave a nervous, hysterical girl in a state of sadness, and she will sit and say nothing. When questioned perhaps she will break into tears or ex press in various ways the overwhelming sadness.
With the headache there is marked sadness. Changeable moods. The physical and the mental are all the time changing. Other symptoms alternate and change.
The jerking has made physicians see the resemblance to chorea in these hysterio-rheumatic constitutions.
The rheumatisms will change in a day into chorea, and again the choreic movements will keep on with the soreness throughout the muscles of the body.
The jerking and soreness and numbness often keep on together.
There are certain features about the chorea that should be noted. Jerking of the muscles when in a state of emotion or from becoming chilled. If any part of the body is pressed upon jerking of the muscles of that part will take place.
One of these nervous, rheumatic, hysterical subjects may not have chorea constantly, but as soon as she retires at night the whole of the side lain on will commence to jerk and prevent her from going to sleep. If she turns on the back the muscles of the back and shoulders will jerk and prevent sleep.
She turns over on the other side, but after a little while the muscles pressed on commence to jerk. All this time she has become so restless and nervous that she is driven to distraction.
The mind is full of all sorts of imaginations and the body is full of all sorts of uneasiness, because she can find no place to rest upon.
Sometimes the muscles are so sore that they cannot be lain upon for any length of time; sometimes it is a numbness, sometimes a jerking.
These things are queer, but they belong to the patient, affecting not one part, but the whole economy.
Full of fear, anguish and restlessness. Fear of death, excitement, suspicious, “Will not even take the medicine because there is, something wrong about it”.
It has a mania such as occurs in nervous, hysterical women, and it has cured puerperal mania.
Puerperal mania from taking cold during or soon after confinement. The remedy belongs especially to women, because its symptoms are so commonly associated with the affections of women.
Mental states following the disappearance of rheumatism is a strong feature. The rheumatism gets better, but the mental state becomes worse.
Sometimes the rheumatism disappears in short order and the mind is not disturbed, but then it is because a diarrhea has come on, with great soreness and aching in the bowels, or because a flow from the uterus has given relief.
There must be some relief or a disturbance will take place like Abrotanum. Some flow must be established, and hence the menstrual flow or diarrhea gives relief; otherwise the mind takes on trouble, the patient becomes gloomy, or has a low form of mental excitement.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888. In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. Kent moved to Chicago in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College.