The Veratrum patient combines the wildest vagaries of the religious enthusiasts, the amorous frenzies of the nymphomaniacs and execrative passions of the infuriated demon. The extremities become cold and blue and the hearts action weak and irregular, the respiration hurried; and all the objective symptoms are those of utter collapse. With such a picture before us, we can scarcely hesitate to select Veratrum album.
SEPIA.
This remedy is chiefly indicated in the treatment of women whose mental disturbances have been caused by uterine displacements, and whose general constitution has been sapped by a long standing debilitating leucorrhoea. Although not usually rapid in its action, it is almost certain to restore to health the diseased sexual organs, and with this restoration sound mental health returns.
The patient is nervous, very irritable; indifference toward those she loves best; sensitive to the least noise, sadness; worrying about her health and the future, with frequent attacks of weeping< in the evening and in open air; fits of involuntary laughter or weeping, indisposition for mental work, with weak memory and difficulty in expressing her ideas. Restless sleep, disturbed by anxious dreams, awaking in a fright. Sepia and Lilium tig. find an important place in the treatment of depressed and irritable females.
The troubles of such cases originate largely in the malperformance of duty on the part of the generative organs. Both of them are full of apprehensions and manifest much anxiety for their own welfare. In the Sepia case, however, there is likely to be found more striking and serious changes of the uterine organs, while the Lilium patient presents either functional disturbances or very recent and comparatively superficial organic lesions. Lilium is more applicable to acute cases of melancholia where the uterus and ovaries are involved in moderate or subacute inflammation and when the patient apprehends the presence of a fatal disease which does not in reality exist.
The Lilium patient is sensitive, hyperaesthetical, tending too often to hysteria. She quite readily and speedily recovers, much to her own surprise as well as that of her friends, who have been made to feel by the patient that her case was hopeless. The Sepia patient is sad, despairing, sometimes suicidal and greatly averse to work or exercise. That is, however, oftentimes a good reason for such a patients depression, for too frequently she is the victim of profound organic lesions which can be cured only by long, patient, and persistent endeavor.
IGNATIA AMARA.
Ignatia is another one of the long list of our marvelous remedies. Its peculiar mental symptoms, like those of Aconite, Chamomilla, Nux vomica, and many others, are most characteristic. It has in it a marked element of sadness and disposition to silent grieving; any one suffering from suppressed grief with long-drawn sighs, much sobbing, inclined to smother or hide her grief from others. She desires to be alone with her grief. Another equally characteristic state of mind is changeable mood. No remedy can equal Ignatia for this.
The patient is at one time full of glee and merriment to be followed suddenly with the other extreme of melancholy sadness and tears, and so these states of mind rapidly alternate. Mentally the emotional element is uppermost and coordination of function is interfered with. Hence it is one of the chief remedies for hysteria; ailments arising from bad news, disappointed love, grief, mortification, or jealousy often require Ignatia.
NATRUM MURIATICUM.
It is one of our best remedies in various mental disorders and is often required for the chronic effects on mind when Ignatia, apparently well indicated but fails to effect a complete cure. Natrum is a chronic of and complimentary to Ignatia in these cases.
Depression of spirits is characteristic of this drug; the patient is sad and weeps much, like Pulsatilla, the difference being that the Pulsatilla patient is soothed and comforted by consolation, while the Natrum mur. patient is aggravated. Consolation aggravates the complaints of Natrum mur. patient, and is fluttering of the heart follows. It affords relief to patients given to much crying; this continuous weeping being of the open kind, while the grief of the Ignatia patient is more passive and concealed. Natrum also has difficulty of thinking, absence of mind, weakness of memory, and will power; fondness for dwelling on unpleasant trifles, is joyless, indifferent and taciturn, hates people who had offended him.
This remedy has a passive hypochondriasis marked by a sort of hopeless, despairing feeling about the future, accompanied by dryness of the mouth, irritable mucous membrane, often with sore tongue and slight ulceration and almost invariably chronic constipation with hard stools, debility, and emaciation, accompanied by anaemia and palpitation of the heart.
PLATINA.
Although not having as wide a sphere of action, or being as often indicated as many other remedies, Platina is still of great importance in diseases of the brain. It is especially indicated as an intercurrent remedy in hysterical females, afflicted with melancholia, or possessed of delusions of greatness and grandeur occurring in connection with its characteristic menstrual derangements.
Platina patient is arrogant, proud, and haughty, everything and every person seems small and inferior; looks with disdain, patronizes or treats with pitiful contempts all about her; considers none her equal, physically or mentally changeable, one day joyous, the next sad; lachrymose, fretful, morose, and tired of life, but with great dread of death, which she believes near at hand; peevish, anxious, sensitive, excitable, absent- minded and forgetful. Sleep disturbed by dreams.
PULSATILLA PRATENSIS.
The Pulsatilla case has the general appearance of a person requiring that remedy. The patient is of a mild, yielding, or good-natured disposition. In those who, by their sickness or naturally are easily excited to tears; they are very apt to burst into tears whenever spoken to, or when they attempt to speak, as in giving their symptoms. Changeableness of symptoms is characteristic of Pulsatilla. It is marked in every complaint; she weeps easily, but smiles through her tears, and is readily pacified for the time being, but as quickly relapses into the depths of sorrow, when the words of comfort cease.
The following group of symptoms calls for Pulsatilla: after mortification sad, gloomy, and weary of life, often pain in the forehead or the face, darkening around the eyes, bitter taste in the mouth, dislikes meat and bread, nausea, with pain in the stomach, occasionally bitter, slimy vomiting, anxious dreams, thinks of drowning with great pleasure, dissatisfied with everything, easily enraged.
NUX VOMICA.
This is one of the few remedies brought into constant use in the treatment of insanity and various other mental disorders; it is especially adapted to individuals of sedentary habits, long subject to mental strain and “high livers” suffering from chronic weakness of the digestive organs. The striking over-sensitiveness prevails all through; very irritable, touchy, ugly, obstinate, cross, and quarrelsome; malicious, never contented, never satisfied, easily disturbed by the surroundings such as noise, music, singing, talking, strong odors, or light; violent upon the least contradiction, obstinately taciturn, hypochondriacal, inability for mental work.
Nux vomica should be differentiated from Ignatia, as both are among the frequently indicated remedies. In the former, there is great irritability, maliciousness and anger, and vertigo which may be attended with epileptic attacks and the patient is apt to fall forward. The aura generally begins at the epigastrium. The latter should be thought of when the attacks are brought on from the shock of some mental anxiety and grief.
SULPHUR.
Sulphur is exceedingly useful as an intercurrent remedy in many chronic cases, where the psoric element predominates. It is also frequently useful as a developer, bringing out symptoms at first hidden and unapparent, or reviving the suspended action of an indicated drug, causing the patient to go on to rapid recovery. It seldom effects a cure unaided by other drugs.
It has melancholia, with disposition to weep, wishes to die, but fears for her salvation; inclined to dwell upon religious things, anxious to save his soul. Kent says, “The Sulphur patient is ragged philosopher.” Great absence of mind and forgetfulness; peevish and irritable; dresses herself in rags and imagines that she is beautifully clothed; everything looks pretty which the patient takes a fancy to; happy dreams where one wakes up singing; busy all the time. With these, other characteristic symptoms of Sulphur coexist.
AURUM METALLICUM.
This remedy is best suited to male subjects, especially such as have a loathing of life or a suicidal tendency. They are melancholy, fearful, taciturn, and sullen. Its fear also embraces a religious melancholy with vertigo, anaemia, and vascular and nervous depression. It is found very useful in cases of suicidal melancholy, in connection with the climacteric, especially when there is great dislike to seeing man and desire to be alone; also great irritability; all the symptoms are < at the full of the moon. Dr. Worcester mentions a patient with the above symptoms who invariably at the period of full moon was strongly impelled to throw herself out of the chamber window; Aurum completely cured the case.
