INTRODUCTION
IGN. St. Ignatius Bean. See Hahnemann’s “Mat. Medorrhinum pura,” II. Duration of Action: from two hours to nine days.
COMPARE WITH.
Alumina, Arnica, Arsenicum, Belladonna, Caladium, Calcarea, Caps., Causticum, Chamomilla, China, Cocculus indicus, Coffea, Croc., Helleborus, Hyoscyamus, Ipecac., Magn., Magnet-p.- arc., Magnet-p-aust., Mez., Mosch., Natr.mur., Nux-mos., Nux-v., Par., Phosph., Phosph.ac., puls., Ranunc., Rhus, Ruta, Sabad., Secalec., Silicea, Spongia, Stannum, Staphysagria, Sulphur, Tartar, Teucrium, Val., Veratrum, Zincum met.
ANTIDOTES.
In case it should have been administered in too large a dose, and should have produced an excess of sensibility, susceptibility, or hurriedness,., Coffee is the antidote; but, in cases where it has been exhibited without being homeopathic to the disease, its effects may be antidoted by puls., Chamomilla, and sometimes by Cocculus indicus, Arnica, Camph., or Vinegar.
CLINICAL REMARKS.
“The St. Ignatius’ Bean contains four times the amount of strychnia that the Strychnos Nux-vomica does; but its effects are not purely those which would result from a more concentrated or prolonged administration of Nux-vomica. It also possesses properties peculiar to itself, and which cause an actual difference in the action of the two drugs. Besides the strong specific effect upon the medulla-oblongata and spinal cord, which Strychnia exerts, the Ignatia seems to affect the whole encephalon.”.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS.
Simple pains, which are apt to become excessive by contact. Creeping through the whole body, apparently in the bones. Tingling in the limbs, as if they had gone to sleep. Weariness of the feet and arms. Feeling of weakness and exhaustion in the arms and feet. In several parts of the periosteum, in the middle of the long bones (not at the joints), a sudden pressure is felt, as from a hard body, painful as if the parts were bruised, in the daytime, but especially in the evening when lying in bed, on one or the other side, and going off when turning on the back. Nightly pain as if bruised in one or the other side on which one is lying, in the joints of the neck, back, and shoulder, not going off till one turns on the back. Pain as if sprained or dislocated in the joints of the shoulder, femur, and knees. Continual sticking pain around the joints or a little above. Deep-sticking, burning pain in different parts, without itching. Stinging-burning pain, accompanied with itching, in the outer elevated portion of the joints. In the evening, when going to sleep, jerks through the whole body. Single startings of the limbs when going to sleep. Great general lassitude from slight motion. Averse to motion, dreads labor. Exhaustion, relaxation of the body, in the evening. Giving way of the knees from weakness. Languor, as if arising from a weakness in the pit of the stomach, he feels qualmish and has to lie down. Staggers when walking, inclines to fall. Tonic spasm of the limbs, like rigidity. Syncope, with vertigo, violent anguish about the pit of the stomach, and cold sweat.
CHARACTERISTIC PECULIARITIES.
Simple violent pain in various parts of the body, in the region of the ribs,.; the pain is felt only when touching the part. The symptoms of Ignatia are increased by taking coffee or by smoking tobacco, by noise or brandy. The pains are renewed immediately after dinner, in the evening after lying down, and in the morning immediately after waking. Leaves a disposition to swelling of the cervical glands, toothache, and looseness of teeth, also to pressure at the stomach.
SKIN.
Itching in various parts of the body. The skin and periosteum are painful. Sensitiveness of the skin to a draft of air. Nettle-rash with violent itching. Chilblains. Burning in the ulcer.
SLEEP.
Drowsiness. Deep, unrefreshing sleep. Deep sleep or sleeplessness. Light sleep. Restless sleep, with nightmare. Convulsive movement of the muscles of the mouth during sleep. Moaning and groaning while asleep. Snoring inspirations during sleep. Sudden starting during sleep, moaning, piteous expression of countenance, stamping and kicking with the feet, hands and face being pale and cold. Concussive startings when about to go to sleep. In the evening, in the moment of waking, congestion, stagnation, and seething of the blood through the whole body, with melancholy. Frightful or sad dreams. General heat with anxiety during the night, with cold thighs, palpitation of the heat, short breathing, and lascivious dreams. Dreams towards morning fatiguing the mind. Excessive, convulsive yawning.
FEVER.
Coldness and chilliness. Chilliness of the back and over the arms. Chill, with desire for cold water, or with nausea and vomiting. Chills in the face and on the arms, with chattering of teeth and goose-skin. Constant shuddering between the paroxysms of fever. Heat of the hands, with shuddering over the body and an anxiety increasing unto tears. Shaking Shuddering, with redness of the face in the evening. Fever in the afternoon: shuddering, with colic; afterwards weakness and sleep, with burning heat of the body. Chill, followed by external heat, then sweat. Quotidian, tertian, and quartan fevers, with anticipating type. Chill, with thirst and external coldness (frequently proceeding from the abdomen) followed by heat without thirst, with cold feet, with or with out sweat. Gastric and bilious fevers. Sudden attacks of flushes of heat over the whole body. External heat and chilliness without internal heat. General sweat. Sweat during a meal. Sweat only in the face. During the fever: headache, pain in the pit of the stomach, great languor, paleness, or alternate redness and paleness of the face, lips dry and chapped, white tongue, deep sleep with snoring, nettle-rash. During the chilliness: nausea, vomiting of food or bile and mucus, sallow complexion, pain in the back, lameness of the lower limbs. During the heat: redness of the cheeks, absence of thirst, internal shuddering, cold feet, stinging in the limbs, pain in the back, delirium, vertigo, beating headache, lacerating in the bones, sleep. During the sweat: stinging and roaring in the ears.
MORAL SYMPTOMS.
Excessive anguish, hindering speech. Excessive and anxious desire to do things in haste. Dullness of sense, with inclination to be in a hurry. Fearfulness, timidity. Great tendency to start. Boldness. The slightest contradiction irritates him. Quick but transitory ill-humor and anger. Inconstancy, impatience, irresoluteness, quarrelsomeness. Intolerance of noise, the pupils dilating more easily. Subdued,
low voice, is unable to talk aloud. Seeks to be alone. Great indifference and apathy, also with whining mood indisposition to work. Avoids talking; taciturn. Still, serious melancholy. Brooding to himself, full of internal chagrin. Fixed idea. Sensitiveness of feeling. Sadness weak fallacious memory.
SENSORIUM AND HEAD.
Heat in the head. Sensation of hollowness and emptiness in the head. Vertigo. Heaviness of the head. Sensation as if the head were full of blood. Headache, increased by stooping. Violent headache in the morning, going off by rising. Lacerating headache in the forehead, relieved by lying on the back, increasing by raising the head, with heat and redness of the cheeks and heat of the hands. Boring sticking pain in the fore head and deep in the brain, relieved by lying down. Aching in the forehead over the root of the nose. Cramp-like headache over the root of the nose. Crampy pressure in the forehead and occiput, with redness of the face, obscuration of sight, and lachrymation. Sensation as if a nail were pressed into the brain (clavus). Headache, as if something hard were pressed o the surface of the brain, recurring in paroxysms. Pressure in the temples, sometimes accompanied by a deep sleep. Headache, as if the temples, would be pressed out. Beating headache. Headache at every pulsation pain in the outer parts of the head. Headache as if bruised. Headache in the morning, aggravated by mental action. Tendency of the head to incline backwards. Falling off the hair.
EYES.
Agglutination of the eye-lids in the morning; pressure in the eye, as from a grain of sand. Cannot bear the glare of the light. Inflammation of the eyes, or of the eye-ball, as far as it is covered by the lids. Scrofulous ophthalmia. Redness of the eyes. Dim-sightedness. Convulsive movements of the eyes and lids. Starting with dilated pupils. Contraction of the pupils.
EARS.
Beating in the interior of the ear. Tingling in the ears. Pain in the interior of the ear. Hard hearing, except for speech.
NOSE.
Pain in the nose, as if sore and ulcerated, also with swelling of the nose. Ulcerated nostrils. Bleeding of the nose. Coryza, with dull pain in the forehead and hysteric nervousness. Fluent coryza. Dry coryza with catarrh.
FACE.
Complexion pale, red, or blue. Redness and burning heat of one cheek and ear. Clay-colored, sunken face, with blue margins around the eyes. Alternation of redness and paleness. Sweat, only in the face. Convulsive twitching and distortion of the facial muscles. Twitching of the corners of the mouth. Spasmodic closing of the jaws. Eruption in the face. The lips bleed and crack. Ulceration of one of the corners of the mouth.
