True skin elevated, thickened induration with an increasing vascularity and redness oozing fluid offensive like carrion or decomposed meat, nauseating odor. (J.T.Kent).
Moist herpes after suppressed scabies; intolerable itching when getting warm, < before midnight and in open air.
Herpes with itching and burning; with biting-itching, with meal- dust, or humid.
Herpetic eruptions.
On face and on back also on legs, an itch-like eruption appears and the eyes agglutinate so that they cannot be opened.
Dry eruption on arms and chest; itch-like, most severe on finger joints; followed by boils; inveterate cases with symptoms of tuberculosis; in recent cases with eruptions in bends of elbows and around wrists; repeated attacks of single pustules after main eruption seems gone.
After suppressed itch; urticaria in attacks after every exertion; tuberculosis; single pustules often appear; consequences of itch suppressed by sulphur ointment.
Copper-colored pustules, no itching; pustules on forehead, chin and chest.
Pustules or boils on head, particularly on scalp; scalp had dirty look and emitted an offensive odor; fine red eruption, forming small white scales; pustules on hands.
Burning, itching pustules after vaccination.
Eruptions bleed easily and constantly tend to suppurate.
Crusty eruptions all over body.
Crusta serpiginosa.
Pemphigus.
Retrocession of eruption in measles.
SUPPRESSED ERUPTIONS.
Ulcers: deep, penetrating, ichorous; on face and legs; old with foetid pus; violently itching; with swelling on bones.
Ulcers on small joints (Borax, Lappa, Mez., Sep.).
Dryness of the skin, either of the whole with inability to perspire through motion and heat, or only in small parts.
Sensation of dryness over whole body, also in face, around the mouth and in the mouth, in the throat; in the nose although air passes freely.
The skin is dry rough, parched, chapped, often scaly like bran, especially on the external side of the arms and legs, and even on the face.
Eczema: Something more than a year since a young lady came under my observation who had one of the worst cases I ever saw. At fifteen years I remember her as attractive and brilliant, with a fine head of hair and one of the most perfect complexions or skins I ever saw. Upon questioning her I learned: family history negative; at fourteen years was vaccinated. “worked well”, six months later attended a school exhibition one very cold night in winter and face was considerably exposed. Next morning awakened with face greatly swollen, intensely red, almost unbearable itching; eyes suffused and injected, ears double their normal size; very little constitutional disturbance. Called an allopathic physician who employed local and internal measures with little immediate result.
Some papules formed, many of which become vesicular and not a few pustular, discharge of a thick dirty fluid which stained and stiffened linen. Hair was cut close and “locals” applied. Weak after week she had slight improvements and aggravations. She was of strong allopathic faith, yet after three years of arsenic, potash, cathartics, zinc and a dozen other local applications, she sought homoeopathic treatment. Appeared to improve for a time, then as bad as ever, and finally returned to allopathy; finding no relief employed some patent medicines with apparent temporary improvement. She was now, at the time I saw her, taking nothing at all, had suffered for six years and was still as bad as ever, or even slightly worse.
I found her in mind, though naturally bright and cheerful very despondent, with even suicidal thoughts, complete despair of recovery. Hair dry and without lustre, eyes somewhat suffused and injected, which condition attends a sort of incipient asthmatic affection, making its appearance every fall, some hoarseness. Face, neck and much of body was coarse, rough and of a dirty brown color; absence of perspiration. Eruption behaves much the same as at first and above described, itching intolerably, better by gentle scratching, which is continued until it bleeds. Between points of eruption skin is much indurated.
Eruption surrounded by bluish circle; pruritus < at night, when undressing and from warmth of bed. Desquamation was so great that the sheet was each morning shaken and the scales swept away. I went to work with a faint heart, feeling that I was lacking in uncommon and peculiar symptoms. I prescribed Psor. 200 (B & T). a powder each night dry on tongue for a week. Cured. (H.C. Allen).
Eruption in bends of elbows and knees; dry scaly and fine pointed vesicles around the reddened joints disappeared entirely in summer, and reappeared when cold weather set in; violent itching < by warmth of be and by scratching. Psor. 42M., two doses at six weeks interval cured.
A teething baby, 9 months old, had eczema beginning at outer angle of right eye and spreading over entire face. First a raised inflamed base of a tawny red, then scattered pustules which coalesced to form large crusts, from which oozed an oily, yellow viscid discharge; cracks upon ears with a similar discharge. Graph. was given without result, then Sulph., but the eruption spread until the cheeks were a mass of crusts. It then appeared on back and arm and one leg., and gave off fine bran-like scales. The scalp soon became involved and covered with crusts a quarter of an inch thick. Psor. CM., one dose, aggravated for a week, then improvement began and went on to a perfect cure.
A man, age 80, suffered with eczema since 18 years old, which appeared soon after vaccination. A very troublesome cough had annoyed him for months for which I was called to attend him. Cough < at night, on lying down, and on rising in the morning; coughs long before expectorating; sputum yellowish, salty, puriform; sensation on pressure on chest; requires great effort to expand lungs; chest painful, < after coughing; mucous rales over lungs; loss of appetite; eczema always < in winter; intense itching < at night; the eczema had been suppressed by local treatment and cough developed. Psor. CM., within 48 hours cough and chest symptoms improved, but the eczema reappeared over the body, with intense itching. Improving in health but still has some eczema with gives him little trouble. (Chapman).
Mrs. M., age 72, tissues enormously distended with dropsy, unable to lie down for nine weeks from dyspnoea; legs from ankles to crest of ilium and arms from wrists to elbows covered with a dirty scaly eruption, itching violently, < at night, could not avoid scratching, which gave no relief until it caused bleeding. All forms of external applications had been used in a vain effort to suppress the eruption. Psor. 52M., 4 doses at half-hour intervals, gave prompt relief, and the patient was able to walk in two weeks. One week later another dose was required, as there was a slight return of the eruption on the ankles; this completely cured. (Hawley).
Eczema rubrum: Mrs. G., age 71, face red and swollen , almost erysipelatous in appearance. Heat of fire caused torture when it touched her face, always sits with her back to the fire; cold air >, bathing <, must dry face with great care. Burning and itching intolerable, cannot sleep; sits all night by an open window gently ribbing face with handkerchief; scratching increases burning and itching; mental excitement, of which she has much, greatly <. Psor. 500 cured in one month.
A woman had attacks of terrible itching of skin without eruption through three periods of gestation. In the last she complained of the same itching, when Dr. Lippe advised Psor., which followed in two days by erysipelas, her face being greatly swollen.
TISSUES.
Affects the secretions predominantly. (Pyr., the lymph; Anthrac., red blood cells: Tuberc., the membranes; Diph., the suprarenal secretion; Syph. the connective tissue. R.E.S. Hayes).
Tendency to small suppurations.
Glandular swelling with eruptions on head.
Emaciation.
Rheumatism and arthritis.
Deeply penetrating ichorous ulcers.
Caries; rachitis; dropsy.
Joints easily sprained from any false movement.
Softening of the bones, curvature of the spine; curvature of the long bones of the things and legs.
Fragility of bones.
Acts especially on skin and sebaceous glands.
It is notable how often Psor. comes up in the treatment of patients with fibroids. (R.E.S. Hayes).
AGGRAVATIONS.
COLD: open air; cold bathing; draft of air (SIL., Tuberc.); inspiring cold air (CAUST, RUMEX, Sabad., Syph.); undressing (skin eruptions).
Heat of bed (SKIN ERUPTIONS); heat of fire.
Woollens (Como., Merc., Puls., Rhus t., Sulph.).
SUPPRESSIONS.
Once a year (Ars., Gels., LAch., Rhus r.); same day or month or week yearly (Tuberc.) (Rhus r. same hour yearly recurrence).
Weather changes; WINTER; stormy weather; thunder storm weather; approach of thunder storm (RHOD., Tuberc.); during thunder storm (MEd., Syph., Tuberc.).
Full moon (Calc. c., Graph., Nat.c., Sep., Sil., Sulph.).
NIGHT; midnight; 3 A.M. (KALI C.); evening; before midnight; 10 a.m. (NAT.M.); noon (ARG.M., Med., Cenchris).
