Ambra grisea – Medicine


Ambra grisea – Medicine.

Introduction

Ambergris Of doubtful origin, for years on the borderland as to …


Introduction

Ambergris Of doubtful origin, for years on the borderland as to its true classification, but probably a nosode or morbid products found in the belly of the sperm-whale, the Physeter Macrocephalous. It is often found floating upon the sea or thrown upon the shore of the Baltic, or on the coast of Madagascar or Sumatra. But, perhaps the best specimens are those which whalers cut out and are to be found in Boston and other whaling ports. It has many characteristics of intestinal or biliary concretions and has been considered to be of hepatic origin, probably a fatty excretion from its gall bladder. It was introduced by Hahnemann in 1827; proved by him and his friend, Count de Gersdorff, who personally obtained nearly one-half of the symptoms.

The so-called Oil of Amber [used by Dr. Holcombe in hiccough.] is Oleum Succinum, and should not be confounded with Ambergris.

Characteristics

      For children, especially young girls who are excitable, nervous and weak; nervous affections old people, nerves “worn out; ” premature senility; general functional impairment. Ailments of both extremes of life.

Lean, thin, emaciated persons who take cold easily; “dried up; ” nervous; thin, scrawny women [Secale.]; Nervous bilious temperament.

Great sadness, sits for days weeping.

Great bashfulness, very characteristic, embarrassed in company, in sick room.

The presence of others, even the nurse, is unbearable during stool; frequent, ineffectual desire, which makes her anxious.

After business embarrassments, unable to sleep, must get up [Actea, Sepia].

Retires weary, yet wakeful as soon as head touches pillow.

Weakness; lassitude; numbness of single parts; one-sided complaints.

Ranula with fetid breath [Thuja.].

Sensation of coldness in abdomen [Calcarea]; of single parts.

Cannot urinate in presence of other person [Natrum mur.].

Discharge of blood between periods, at very little accident – a long walk, after every hard stool, etc.; nymphomania; severe pruritus, especially in lying-in.

Leucorrhea; thick, bluish-white mucus, especially or only at night [Causticum, Mercurius, nitricum acidum].

Cough violent; in spasmodic paroxysms, with eructations and hoarseness; agg. talking or reading aloud [Drosera, Phosphorus, Tuberculinum]; evening without, morning with expectoration [Bryonia, Carb-v., Hepar, Hyoscyamus, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Sepia]; Whooping-cough but without crowing inspiration; agg. when many people are present.

Pains: tearing, drawing, sticking; with sensation of pressure.

The infant is weak, peevish and mentally deficient; thin and emaciated, the image of a little dried up old man.

The hair turns gray and falls; the memory grows unreliable comprehension is dull; hearing, smell and sight begin to fail nervousness, anxiety, melancholy; aversion to company or indifference to family and the affairs of life are gradual steps in the path to senility. From defective assimilation the tissues become impoverished; from weak circulation there is coldness of the extremities, numbness and vertigo. These signs of senile decrepitude may be found to a greater or less extent in any stage of life, and this is the sphere of Ambra_ Farrington.

Mind

      Memory impaired.

Comprehension slow, has to read everything three or four times and then does not understand it.

Is not able to reflect upon anything properly, feels stupid.

Confusion of the head; of the occiput.

Difficult thinking in the morning.

Distorted images, grimaces; diabolical faces crowd upon his fancy.

She is excited, loquacious; erratic talking fatigues her; was unable to sleep at night, or averse to talking and laughing.

Great sadness; despondent, does not want to live.

Forced to dwell upon most disagreeable things; sleepless in consequence.

Melancholy, sits for days weeping; with great weakness, loss of muscular power and pain in the small of the back and constipation.

Fears of becoming insane.

Despair; loathing of life.

Anguish and sweat all over, at night.

Anxiety, oppression, nervous weakness with irritability and impatience.

After business embarrassment cannot sleep, must get up and walk about [Rhus-r., Sepia].

Hurries too much while engaged in mental labor.

Embarrassed manner in company; blushing, bashful [Ferrum, X- ray, Tuberculinum]

Cough worse when many persons are present.

The presence of other people aggravates the symptoms.

Sensorium

      Vertigo with feeling of weight on the vertex; Agg. after sleep, agg. after eating.

She had to lie down on account of vertigo and sensation of weakness in the stomach.

Music causes the blood to rush to the head.

Great weakness in the head with vertigo.

Head

      Pressure in forehead and vertex with fear of becoming crazy.

Tearing: in forehead; in left temple up to vertex; in right frontal eminence and behind left ear.

Extremely painful tearing on top of head and apparently in whole upper half of brain, with paleness of face and coldness of left hand.

Pressive drawing, ascending from nape of neck, and extending through head towards forehead, considerable oppression remaining in lower part of occiput.

Dullness in occiput.

Tearing pains predominate in head.

Rush of blood to head caused by music.

Weakness in head with vertigo.

Falling off of hair, hair turns gray early.

On the right side of the head, a spot, where the hair when touched pains, as if sore.

The scalp feels sore in morning, when awaking; this is followed by a sensation of numbness, extending over the whole body.

Eyes

      Dullness of vision, as if from looking through a mist.

Pressure and smarting in eyes, as from dust; lachrymation.

Pressure on eyes, which are difficult to open, and pain in eyes as if they had been closed too firmly, particularly in the morning.

Itching on eyelid as if a stye were forming.

Ears

      Roaring and whistling in ears, in afternoon.

Deafness of one ear.

Crackling in left ear [like the sound made when winding a watch.].

Hearing decreases; with cold sensation in abdomen.

Violent tearing pain in and behind right auricle.

Tearing in right ear.

Crawling, itching and tickling in ears.

Music aggravates the cough.

Listening to music brings on congestion to head.

Nose

      Dried blood gathered in nose.

Bleeding of the nose early in the morning.

Nosebleed with the menses.

Copious nosebleed early in bed, several successive days.

Nose stopped up and paining as if sore internally.

Long continued dryness of the nose, frequent irritation as from sneezing.

Face

      Paleness of face with headache.

Flushes of heat in face.

Heat in face with chill of other parts.

Tearing in the upper part of the face, particularly near the right ala nasi.

Pimples, and itching in whiskers.

Painful swelling of the cheek on upper jaw, with throbbing in the gums.

Jaundiced color of the face.

Spasmodic twitching of the facial muscles, lower part of face; in the evening, in bed.

Lips hot.

Lips numb and dry, in the morning on awaking.

Cramp of the lower lip.

Teeth and Gums

      Drawing pain now in one and again in another tooth; increased by warmth, momentarily removed by cold; not aggravated by chewing and passes off after a meal; at the same time the inner portion of the gums was swollen.

Bleeding of gums.

Mouth

      Bitter taste in mouth in morning on awaking.

Sour taste after drinking milk.

Pain as if sore, folds under the tongue, like small growths.

Ranula.

Tongue, bluish, lead colored [Arsenicum].

Fetor of mouth, worse mornings.

Blisters in mouth, pain as if burnt; under the tongue, lumps like small growths, which pain like excoriation; smarting and cracked painful condition of mouth; on account of pain she could not eat anything hard.

Accumulation of water in the mouth with cough.

Rasping smarting pain in mouth when eating solid food [Ph- ac.]

In the morning on awaking, tongue, mouth and lips a if numb and dry [sensation of numbness in throat, Mag., Sulphur].

Tongue coated grayish-yellow.

Throat

      Sensation of rawness in region of velum pendulum palati.

Rawness in throat with cough.

Tearing pain palate, extending into left ear.

Dryness of throat in morning.

Sore feeling in throat during deglutition and from outward pressure, not when swallowing food, with tension of glands of throat as if swollen.

Sore throat after exposure to a draft of air, stitching from the throat into right ear; pains particularly from motion of the tongue.

Tickling in throat which induces coughing.

Tickling in throat and thyroid body, during act of coughing.

Accumulation of grayish phlegm in throat, which is difficult to hawk up, accompanied rawness.

Hawking the phlegm from fauces produces vomiting and choking.

Papular-like eruption in pharynx.

Smarting at the back of the fauces when not swallowing.

When hawking up mucus in the morning, almost unavoidable retching and vomiting.

Stomach

      Thirstlessness. After breakfast. nausea.

After eating: cough and gaping or gagging; anxiety; pressure in pit of stomach, as if the food stuck and would not go down [food descends slowly and gets into the larynx, Kali-c.]; food is felt until it enters the stomach [Alumina, Bryonia, Phosphorus].

H. C. Allen
Dr. Henry C. Allen, M. D. - Born in Middlesex county, Ont., Oct. 2, 1836. He was Professor of Materia Medica and the Institutes of Medicine and Dean of the faculty of Hahnemann Medical College. He served as editor and publisher of the Medical Advance. He also authored Keynotes of Leading Remedies, Materia Medica of the Nosodes, Therapeutics of Fevers and Therapeutics of Intermittent Fever.