Synonym. Mephitis Americiana. Class. Mammilia. Order. Carnivora. Family. Mustoleodae. Common names. Skunk. Pole Cat. Preparation. A tincture is made by dissolving the liquid obtained from the anal glands in alcohol.
GENERAL ANALYSIS.
Acts prominently upon the cerebro-spinal system, especially the pneumogastrics, including spasmodic conditions of the respiratory organs, which has led to its use in the treatment of asthma and whooping cough.
CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS.
Eyes. Stitches, as if with needles in the eyes. Pain above the eyes. Conjunctivae red and injected. Letters become blurred; unable to distinguish them; they run together; short-sighted.
Mouth. Sudden jerks in roots of teeth.
Stomach. No appetite in morning. Nausea, with emptiness in stomach, and sensation as if head were distended. Pressure in stomach, and colic.
Stool. Stools infrequent, but thin.
Respiratory Organs. When drinking, the fluid gets into the larynx. Asthma, as from inhaling vapor of sulphur; of drunkards; during sleep. Inhalation difficult; exhalation almost impossible; or barking. Cough after drinking, talking or loud reading; spasmodic, hollow or deep, with rawness, hoarseness and pain in through chest, with suffocative feeling when inhaling; cannot exhale; vomits food some hours after eating; worse at night and after lying down; in morning loose, with some expectoration.
Limbs. Uneasiness in arms and legs. Rheumatic pains in limbs. Burning and pain in corns.
Generalities. Convulsions; restlessness. Inclination to stretch: disinclination to work. Paralyzed sensation, especially with the pains. Very fine nervous vibrations, causing great uneasiness, as if extending into the interior of the bone.
Sleep Asthma during sleep. Awakens early, and feels refreshed. Sleepy in the morning. Vivid remembered dreams.
Fever Increased warmth, especially in the morning. Less chilly in cold air; cold water agreeable.
Compare Ambr., Arsenicum, Coccus, Coral. rub., Drosera
THERAPEUTICS
Has been found useful in asthma, whooping cough and prosopalgia, with symptoms above described.
ALLEN CORSON COWPERTHWAITE was born at Cape May, New Jersey, May 3, 1848, son of Joseph C. and Deborah (Godfrey) Cowperthwaite. He attended medical lectures at the University of Iowa in 1867-1868, and was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia in 1869. He practiced his profession first in Illinois, and then in Nebraska. In 1877 he became Dean and Professor of Materia Medica in the recently organized Homeopathic Department of the State University of Iowa, holding the position till 1892. In 1884 he accepted the chair of Materia Medica, Pharmacology, and Clinical Medicine in the Homeopathic Medical College of the University of Michigan. He removed to Chicago in 1892, and became Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. From 1901 he also served as president of that College. He is the author of various works, notably "Insanity in its Medico-Legal Relations" (1876), "A Textbook of Materia Medica and Therapeutics" (1880), of "Gynecology" (1888), and of "The Practice of Medicine " (1901).