THE SPIDER POISONS



There is vertigo, nausea and vomiting, aggravated on stooping, from the least movement, and markedly aggravated on closing the eyes. In sick headaches and seasickness they will often be able to keep about until they close their eyes, but the moment they close their eyes the vertigo and nausea increase tremendously. The vertigo is more marked on board a vessel, and often blindness and cold sweats accompany the vertigo.

Theridion has much headache. These headaches are frequently throbbing, this throbbing extending back into the occiput. It is especially violent behind the ears, with heavy pressure. With the headache there is confusion of mind; it is hard for her to describe the feeling, her head is so confused. She feels as if her head were disjointed, as if it did not belong to her or to the rest of the body; as if she could lift it off; as if it were strange to her and belonged to another.

This is one of the remedies having the marked sensation as of a band pressing about the head. There is a sense of pressure in individual parts of the head as well as about the head. There is a headache with nausea and vomiting like seasickness, at the climacteric period. With the headaches there is an aggravation from lying down, which causes pain deep in the brain.

There are marked eye symptoms. There is flickering before the eyes, even when closing them; a sensation as of a veil before the eyes. They are sensitive to light, and light causes sparkles before the eyes. There is double vision.

All the ear symptoms are made worse by the least noise. Every noise reverberates and penetrates the whole body, especially the teeth, causing vertigo and nausea. There is roaring in the ears. The scalp itches behind the ears.

The jaw is immovable in the morning on waking, making us think of Latrodectus katipo; later in the day the jaw opens involuntarily. There is tetanus with frothing from the mouth, with shaking chills. Cold water feels too cold to the teeth. There is pain in the teeth, particularly in the eye teeth.

There is a peculiar sensation in the oesophagus as if there were something slipping toward the epigastrium, temporarily taking away the breath.

These patients have a craving for acid food; a desire to eat and drink first one thing and then another, with particular desire for wines and brandies, and for smoking tobacco.

There is a burning pain in the hepatic region, aggravated on touch. Theridion has produced abscesses of the liver. It is one of the many remedies that is known to cure cases of anthrax in sheep, with great tumefaction of the hypogastrium and great thirst.

In the lower abdomen, there is great pain in the groins after coition. One of the peculiar symptoms of Theridion is the sensation as if someone tapped her in the groin when she flexes her knees.

The stool is a painless diarrhoea, with a sensation as if a lump were lying in the rectum. The urinary symptoms are peculiar, in that they have to get up several times in night, and they void practically none in the day.

In the male organs, sexual desire is lessened. There are weak erections during coition, with pains in the groin after coition; and there are forcible seminal emissions during siesta.

Theridion has been used successfully in the respiratory organs, several cases of phthisis florida having been cured by it, with the symptoms of cough at night, constant inclination to take a deep breath and much sighing. There are sharp stitches through the chest, especially sharp pains about the heart, radiating to the left shoulder.

There is a peculiar sensitiveness to the spine, and they will sit down sidewise to avoid pressing against the spine. The jar of the foot in walking so aggravates this sensitiveness that it makes her cry out.

Theridion has many peculiar sensations: as if the head were anothers; as if the vertex did not belong to her; the band about the head; the veil before the eyes; as if too much air passed into the nose and mouth; as if the mouth were furred, benumbed; as if a lump lay in the perineal region; as if someone tapped her in the groin when she flexed her leg; as of a child bounding in the abdomen; as if the bones were broken and would fall asunder.

The aggravation occur every night; from cold; after stool; by coition; on motion or exertion, especially on stooping or rising; walking or going up and down stairs; after washing clothes there is nausea and fainting.

These patients are ameliorated by warmth, and the nausea and vomiting are relieved by warm water.

This is very largely a left-sided remedy.

TROMBIDIUM.

Trombidium is a parasite that inhabits the bodies of house- flies, resembling very closely the itch-mite and closely related to the spiders. The remedy is prepared from the tincture of these parasites, and it had been proved in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 18th and 30th potencies, under the direction of that indefatigable worker and observer, Constantine Hering. The provings have brought out a number of peculiar symptoms which are noteworthy.

The symptoms brought out by the provings show the action of Trombidium to be very largely on the left side. Its great characteristic is the marked aggravation of all conditions by eating or drinking, either while eating or after eating. It vies with Croton tig. in aggravation of stool from eating or drinking. All conditions are aggravated by touch; aggravated by pressure; aggravated lying down, especially toothache. Rising up causes faintness. Warm drinks relieve; open air relieves.

Some of the peculiar sensations are: As if there were no weight in the head (light-headed); as if there were incarcerated flatus in the abdomen; as if anus were excoriated after tenesmus; as if everything were coming out of the anus; as if hot air were blowing over the lower abdomen and thighs; as if the abdomen needed support; sinking sensation, as if breath would leave her; as if three toes on the left foot would be twisted off.

The mental symptoms of Trombidium show much talkativeness and loquacity; a determined inclination to do things by contraries; an inability to collect ideas and co-ordinate them. There is loss of memory and a constant disposition to yawn.

In the inner head there is oppressive headache; the head is congested, with red face and ears. Light-headedness and dizziness is marked in Trombidium, especially aggravated upon rising from bed, when they are very apt to faint. There is sharp pain in the head and temples, and the headache is aggravated by shaking the head or by jars, as in walking. There is an intolerable itching of the scalp on the vertex and occiput.

The eye symptoms show a great deal of lachrymation in the open air, and the inner canthus itches intolerably. The conjunctiva is red and injected.

There are shooting pains through the ears, which are aggravated on swallowing or blowing the nose. The outer ear itches, especially mornings, and there are burning pains in the outer ear.

The nose is obstructed; there is dryness and scabs, and nosebleeds mornings.

One of the choicest and most frequently verified symptoms is a peculiar fluent coryza which manifests itself in the open air and especially when eating. Some people cannot eat without constant attention to the nose, due to this fluent coryza, which is very marked in the proving of the remedy.

There is much aching in decayed teeth, the pain starting up when eating breakfast and lasting until noon, returning when beginning to eat. The toothache is aggravated lying down, eating, talking, or from cold air; ameliorated from warmth and hot drinks.

The tongue is coated white.

After meals there is eructation, tasting of ingesta. There is vomiting in the morning after breakfast, or after having coffee. There is much griping in the pit of the stomach after eating.

The abdominal symptoms are manifested in griping pains on rising, which soon give way to the desire for stool. The pain and tenesmus is so intense as to cause the patient to break out all over in a sweat. There is pain at 3 a.m. from incarcerated flatus. The abdomen is quite sore, and the patient is wakened at 5 a.m. with urging to stool (Sulphur). There is also pain in the abdomen during the forenoon, aggravated from drinking cold water, from eating and from pressure.

There is pain in the right hypochondriac region, with soreness over the liver on pressure, with darting pains, especially evenings.

There is constipation following soft stools. There may be diarrhoea and straining, with expulsion of much flatus. The diarrhoea at 5 a.m. is followed by several small stools during the day, which are preceded by some pain in the intestines. During the stool there is continuous pain in the abdomen, with urging and chills and shivering along the back, with tenesmus. The stools are light brown, consisting largely of mucus, and are preceded and followed by pain in the abdomen. With these conditions there is great debility.

The patient complains of many sharp stabbing pains here and there through the chest, sometimes in the region of the heart, often brought on by a long deep breath.

H.A. Roberts
Dr. H.A.Roberts (1868-1950) attended New York Homoeopathic Medical College and set up practrice in Brattleboro of Vermont (U.S.). He eventually moved to Connecticut where he practiced almost 50 years. Elected president of the Connecticut Homoeopathic Medical Society and subsequently President of The International Hahnemannian Association. His writings include Sensation As If and The Principles and Art of Cure by Homoeopathy.