Air Passages.
We have already noticed the tendency of Agaricus to excite the secretion of large quantities of yellow mucus from the stomach and bowels. The Agaricus catarrh is characterized by a copious discharge of thick tenacious mucus from the nose, followed or preceded by an accumulation of dry mucus in the nostrils, as if they were entirely filled with it; frequent sneezing. Roughness of the throat; frequent hawking, with discharge of small balls of phlegm, frequent irritation in the trachea, with inclination to cough; dry cough. Shortness of breath and asthma, frequently obliging one to stand still while walking; labored breathing, as if the chest were filled with blood; violent oppression of the chest, preventing deep breathing, with sensation as if the breath were constricted. Paroxysms of anxiety in the chest, and sense of suffocation. Stitches in the lungs. Itching and burning of the breast and nipples, with eruption of pimples. Profuse sweat upon the chest. Agaricus promises to be one of our most valuable remedies in congestion of the lungs and in congestive asthma, especially when these disorders occur in bilious and nervous persons. It ought to prove an admirable remedy against derangement of the heart, when associated with great enlargement of the liver, and secondary congestion of the lungs, with all the attendant difficulty of breathing, palpitations, spasmodic cough, derangement and congestion of the kidneys. It may ward off many cases of ascites and hydrothorax, arising from primary congestion and enlargement of the liver. The powerful action of Agaricus upon the motor nerves and muscles has already been alluded to. It is one of the most useful remedies in spinal irritation and lumbago. Many cases of so-called nervous headaches are merely extensions of spinal irritation to the ramifications of the spinal nerves within the brain. Ker has used it successfully when there were violent oppression pains, principally in the forehead, often attended with delirium, vomiting of a bitter bilious fluid, sense of languor, feeling as if the body were bruised and joints dislocated, with a sense of uneasiness and weakness all down the spine. It is homoeopathic to many of these anomalous pains in the limbs which arise from spinal irritation. It is one of the best remedies against frost- bites of the fingers, and that peculiar mottled purplish state of the skin, owing to a fluidity and venous condition of the blood, which so easily leads to chilblains and frost-bites.- J.C.P.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS.
Great debility, languor; painful sense of weight, and sensitiveness in all the limbs; staggering gait, want of muscular power; trembling. After a little exercise or walk he feels weary, with a burning sensation in the lower extremities, and the muscles feeling painful to the touch. After ascending a little eminence, he feels faint, and profuse sweat breaks out. Concussion of the nerves. Convulsions, partial; in the posterior portion of the chest; in the epigastrium and hypogastrium, with sensation as if the whole body were shaken through. Epilepsy.
CHARACTERISTIC PECULIARITIES.
Cramp-pains in the muscles of the limbs, especially when sitting. Drawing and tearing, especially in the limbs, which continues when sitting or standing, and goes off during motion. The pains are diminished and removed by movement.
SKIN.
Itching of the whole body; burning and prickling in various parts; itching, burning, and redness of various parts, as if frozen. Miliary eruptions, close and whitish, with burning itching.
SLEEP.
Frequent yawning; as if he had not slept enough, with stretching of the limbs; so violent in the morning that it makes him giddy. Irresistible drowsiness in the day-time; early in the evening, sometimes with inability to fall asleep– Sleep is prevented by ideas crowding upon his mind, and feeling of weariness. The night sleep is restless, unrefreshing, and full of dreams. At night, desire to urinate, with copious emission; spasmodic cough from an irritation in the larynx, soon after going to sleep; feeling of coldness in the left lower limb.
FEVER.
Shuddering. Chilliness, sensitiveness to cool air, even at night, when raising the cover of the bed but slightly; constant chilliness, particularly in the morning in the room, with inability to get warm; in the evening, accompanied with shaking. Heat in the face and trunk, with cold, trembling hands and thirst. Sweat after very little bodily exertion; when walking; at night when sleeping. Pulse small, quick (80), in the morning, slow, feeble, unequal, intermittent.
MORAL SYMPTOMS.
Despondency; lowness of spirits; anxiety, as if he apprehended some unpleasant occurrence; uneasiness of mind. Bodily and mental restlessness. Indisposition to talk. Irritable vexed mood, ill humor. Listlessness, aversion to any kind of work, particularly to mental labor, followed by congestion of blood to the head, pulsations in all the vessels, heat in the face, and inability to think Great forgetfulness. Loss of consciousness. Fearless frenzy, with intoxication, accompanied with bold, vindictive designs. Menacing, mischievous rage, the patient directing it against himself in some instances, with great strength. Shy mania. Excess of fancy; ecstasy; prophecy; he makes verses.
SENSORIUM.
Dullness of the head, with dull pain; as after intoxication; especially early in the morning, with muddles and confused state of the mind. Dullness of sense; imbecility. Dizziness, intoxication, stupefaction; staggering to and fro, especially during a walk in the open air. Vertigo of various kinds, especially early in the morning, as if intoxicated; vertigo as if he would fall, occasioned by the light of the sun; with staggering obscuration of sight, in paroxysms every five minutes; in the open air, particularly when walking and reflecting; in a room when turning about, relieved by turning the head speedily.
HEAD.
Headache early in the morning, in bed; when sitting, especially in the occipital protuberance. Dull pains in the right temple; in the forehead; in the whole head, with stupefaction, thirst, and heat of the face. Great weight in the head, especially in the forehead and temples; in the morning, as after intoxication. Pressure in the head, accompanied with flushes of heat, and passing off after an evacuation; in paroxysms, in the evening before going to bed; in the forehead, particularly over the eyes, sometimes accompanied with stinging or with vertigo; changing from the left to the right side; in the temples, frequently accompanied with despondency, and increased by pressure or by touching the hair; in the occiput, sometimes a pushing pressure, after dinner. Drawing pains in the head; early in the morning when waking, with pressure in the eyes; in the forehead, extending to the root of the nose; in the temples and occiput. Drawing cutting in the forehead, which increases to an oppressive stupefying pain in the sitting posture. Tearing in the head, as if the brain were torn, in the forehead, above the root of the nose; in the right temple; the left side of the occiput and the whole of the head, at intervals, particularly behind the right ear; in the left hemisphere of the brain, with pressure and a confused state of the brain. Lancination from one side of the head to the other; in the morning. Stitches in the left temple. Digging, especially in the forehead; boring in the vertex, driving him almost to a state of frantic despair.
SCALP.
Painful sensitiveness of the scalp, as from subcutaneous ulceration; especially in the vertex, with tearing drawing, and made worse by pressing upon the part. Twitching of the skin of the forehead and temples. Cramp pain in the region of the left temple. Pimples on the hairy scalp.
EYES.
Pressure in the eyes from without inwards. Pressing and drawing in the eye-balls, especially the left. Itching and tingling of the eyes Burning sensation in the eyes, with sensation of contraction, in the evening; of the inner canthi. Redness of the whites of the eyes; yellow color of the eyes. Swelling of the left eye-lids, towards the inner canthus. Narrowing of the interval between the eye-lids of several days. Twitches in the eye-balls and eye-lids. Dryness of the eyes. The caruncula of the left eye increases in size. Lachrymation of the right eye. Sensation in the eyes as if they had top be wiped constantly. The eye-lids adhere to one another as by slimy threads; wiping relieves this symptoms only for a short time. Gum in the canthi of the eyes. A viscid, yellow humor glues the eye-lids to one another. Vanishing of sight when walking in the open air. Great weakness of the eyes; if she looks at an object long, it appears pale. Short sightedness and dim-sightedness of both eyes. Very indistinct sight; everything appears obscured, as if by turbid water; or surrounded with a mist; or as if covered with a cobweb. A black mote is hovering before the left eye. He sees things double. Dread of light. Incipient amaurosis.
EARS.
Tearing pain in the meatus of the right ear, increased by cold air passing into it. Itching in and behind the ears. Itching redness, and burning of the ears, as if they had been frozen. Humming in the ears. Tinkling, in the open air.
