It is to be thought of in “tonsillitis, especially of the right side; tonsillitis assuming a diphtheritic character, beginning on right side, patient worse about 4 P.M., especially with fan-like motion of wings of nose and stoppage of nostrils. Diphtheria of right side, with stoppage of nose, albuminuria, oedema of face, hands and feet (following scarlet fever)”.
Stomach:
In the stomach and abdomen Lycopodium has some very prominent symptoms and some of these are very likely to be present whenever the remedy is indicated, irrespective of the patients complaint and the region of the trouble. There may be GREAT APPETITE (like Iod. and China). THEN DISTENSION OF ABDOMEN. Appetite may be LOST, and whatever she eats goes against her, even to vomiting. The patient eats hastily, SUDDEN SATIETY after a little food, WITH THIRST, heaviness in stomach and distension in abdomen. Aversion to coffee and tobacco; to solid food, especially meat; to bread (Nat. m.), then develops aversion to all food. Lyco. patient prefers warm food.
Frothy saliva, with dry lips and dry mouth. Thirstlessness (Puls.). Eructations INCOMPLETE, BURNING, RISING ONLY INTO PHARYNX WHERE THEY CAUSE BURNING (Puls., Phos., Nat. m.). SOUR ERUCTATIONS, the taste of which does not remain in mouth, BUT THE ACID GNAWS THE STOMACH. WATER-BRASH (Bry., Sil., Sulph., etc.). Eructation of milk taken in morning lingers, with scraping- clawing taste in throat. HICCOUGH (Amm. m., Cycl., Ign., Nux v.); after supper; after every meal. DIGESTION SLOW. DISCOMFORT AFTER EATING A LITTLE. Anxiety in pit. Heartburn, DISTENSION AND CRAMP. Nausea every morning fasting (Sil.). Here is a remarkable feature, the Lyc. patient cannot tolerate fasting. Vomiting of food and bile; worse during menstruation.
ALLEN points to “Canine hunger, but attempt to eat is followed by flatulent distension and inability to take more food, or sometimes the flatulent distension immediately takes away the appetite, or sometimes a feeling of constant satiety, he feels too full before he has eaten anything and cannot eat. Acid dyspepsia (Mag. c.), the region of the stomach becomes distended and extremely sensitive to touch. Gastralgia. Chronic dyspepsia, solid food causes excruciating pain and sometimes vomiting. Atonic dyspepsia, with bloating. Chronic gastritis, with burning pain and waterbrash. Scirrhous indurations of pyloric orifice of the stomach, with vomiting of blood, burning and extreme flatulence.” These symptoms are mostly associated with marked eructations so characteristic of the remedy.
Abdomen:
Cannot eat to satiety, as it causes unpleasant and distended feeling in hepatic region. DISTENSION (Carbo veg., Graph., Mag. c., Sulph.). after eating, with tension, better EMISSION OF FLATUS. FLATULENCE, here and there, in hypochondria. better empty eructations. Gurgling. Emission of flatus, offensive; sulphurous. Pain, worse region of transverse colon (Sep., Petrol.). TENSION; AND INCARCERATION OF FLATUS. WEIGHT IN LEFT HYPOCHONDRIA WHEN WALKING, SITTING AND LYING, NOT AFFECTING BREATHING. Glandular swelling in groins.
T. F. ALLEN, in his clinical notes, says that Lyco. has been “palliative in cirrhosis of liver. Abdominal flatulence, with much rumbling and pains of various sorts. Chronic inflammation of the liver, with enlargement, heaviness and pain. It has proved palliative in strangulated hernia, with great distension and retching.” Its use has been known to make hernia easier to reduce than usual, though constantly protruding. It is very serviceable in gall-stone colic; also in abdominal dropsy from chronic hepatic disease. Brown spots, particularly on abdomen, a symptom peculiar to Lycopodium in hepatic disorders”.
Rectum and Anus:
Discharge of blood during stool; even during soft stool. RECTUM PROTRUDES DURING HARD STOOL (Nat. m.; Nux v.). Cramps, like labor-pains in rectum and in small of back. Inactivity at stool. ANUS PAINFULLY CLOSED (Sil., Nux v., Nit. ac.). Haemorrhoids swollen; protruding, burning, sticking; protruding during soft stool; painful when sitting; PAINFUL ON TOUCH.
Very useful in “haemorrhoids which become very painful when sitting, with distention of abdomen and mental depression. Haemorrhoids which frequently bleed, even when the patient is not constipated. Rectal fistula has occasionally been cured.”.
Stool:
Usually hard, difficult and scanty, Crumbly. FIRST PART LUMPY, SECOND SOFT. Stool difficult, from constriction of anus; painful accumulation of flatus in abdomen. “It is occasion- ally indicated in diarrhoea.” Stool yellow, frequent, painless, undigested, fetid, with flatus; sometimes green, and offensive; or may be mixed with hard lumps, with tenesmus and burning from anus deep into rectum. “The attempt to evacuate the bowels causes severe pain in anus; anus and rectum seem constricted (Sil)”.
Urinary Organs:
Frequent desire to urinate, at night, with scanty discharge; with pains before and after micturition, urine lemon colored. Burning during micturition. Dark brown urine, with sediment of mucus; only a teaspoonful at a time, wants to pass it, but cannot. Copious sediment of RED OR REDDISH-YELLOW SAND in urine, is characteristics of this remedy.
Involuntary urination at night while dreaming that patient was at the urinal. Interrupted stream and subsequent dribbling, painful during last drops.
Very valuable in “Chronic cystitis, with a milky deposit of bad odor. Tendency to formation of calculus in bladder has been cured. Dysuria in children, especially with scanty deposit. Haematuria, caused by gravel.” Retention of urine (Nux v.), especially when there is history of gleet. Renal colic of right side. It is also useful in uric acid diathesis, if there are deposits of red sand.” Chronic inflammation of prostate, with more or less inflammation of the bladder. ALLEN points out that it is frequently indicated in chronic Brights disease, with oedematous extremities and the gastric derangements characteristics of the drug.
Male Sexual Organs:
Penis small, cold and without erections. Discharge of prostatic fluid, with lasciviousness without erections. Redness and inflammation of prepuce. Itching on inner surface of prepuce. Erections, with relaxed scrotum; without inclination to coition, and weakness after coition. Desire diminished, as also the power, even voluptuous thoughts cause no erection. These symptoms constitute a picture of impotency, in which condition Lycopodium acts wonderfully well and wins many grateful patients to the doctor. “Falls asleep during coition: without emission,” is another peculiar symptom of Lyco.
“Sexual exhaustion and loss of appetite, especially after chronic gonorrhoea or cystitis.” LILIENTHAL refers to it as the “old mans balm”.
Female Sexual Organs:
Menses to early; and scanty; or delayed, prolonged. Pudenda feel swollen during menstruation, with itching. Inflammation of ovaries. Burning in vagina during and after coition. Chronic inflammation of uterus, with discharge of gas from vagina. This symptom of the passing of gas from vagina is an individual symptom of Lyco., not known to occur in any other remedy. It has been found palliative in cancer of uterus.
It is a valuable remedy for vaginal catarrh. Leucorrhoea, especially with burning in vagina. Before full moon, frequent discharge of blood-red leucorrhoea. Milky leucorrhoea, associated with the abdominal symptoms of this remedy. Chronic vaginal catarrh, with dryness and burning. Useful in varicose veins of pudenda. It is occasionally indicated in fibroid tumors of the uterus.
Lycopodium has been occasionally found useful in suppression of menses, with great flatulence and other symptoms. In dysmenorrhoea, with bloating, constipation, low spirits, etc. Neuralgia of the ovaries, when confined to the right side, or starting there travelling to the left.
With the troubles relating to the female sexual organs, we should mark flatulence, abdominal symptoms and melancholia, as confirmation for prescribing Lyco.
Respiratory Organs:
We studied the utility of this drug in acute nasal catarrh. It is useful in acute catarrh of the respiratory organs. Itching tickling in larynx, compelling forcible cough. Irritation to cough as from sulphur fumes; and from deep breathing. Hoarseness, worse afternoon. Nasal speech. Its cough is worse evening, by motion and lying on right side, with difficult respiration; more prominently At NIGHT, worse BEFORE SUNRISE, AFFECTING STOMACH AND DIAPHRAGM.
Like Phosphorus it has violent cough, with tightness of chest, and fatiguing. Paroxysmal, from tickling in larynx. Yellowish purulent expectoration. with rawness and sore pain in chest. With nightly cough, hawking of thick, firm, yellow mucus from throat, pharynx and trachea. Expectoration GRAY, SALT (Sep., Calc. c.); or thick, yellowish mucus from bronchi in morning (Calc. c.). Respiration short, difficult; DYSPNOEA AS IF CHEST WERE CONSTRICTED BY CRAMP.
Lycopodium, says Allen, is useful in chronic bronchial catarrh, “especially in old people,” dyspnoea. Chronic bronchial catarrh, worse 4 P.M.; cough, with free expectoration. Subacute pneumonia, with great difficulty in breathing, and fan-like motion of wings of nose, patient worse when lying on back. Hard, dry cough, day and night, with emaciation. Cough rather worse when going down hill than up. This is quite a unique symptom of Lyco. Many cases of phthisis pulmonaris, characterized by the persistent abdominal symptoms, have been cured.
Calcutta
Chief Editor, Homeopathic Herald