Fever
Characteristic – Adapted to persons of phlegmatic, scrofulous constitutions, restless, irritable, subject to catarrhal, rheumatic or skin affections, brought on or aggravated by cold, damp, rainy weather, or sudden changes in hot weather (Bryonia).
The skin is delicate, sensitive to cold, liable to eruptions, especially urticaria, every time patient takes cold, or is long exposed to the cold.
Anasarca, after ague, rheumatism, scarlatina, measles.
Dropsy after suppressed sweat, or suppressed skin diseases, from cold air or damp dwellings, working in a milk dairy (Aranea, Arsenicum, Nat.s.).
Diarrhea from taking cold, in damp places or damp weather.
Catarrhal ischuria in grown up children, with milky urine, from wading with bare feet in cold water.
Rash before the menses (Conium – during profuse menses, Belladonna, Graphites).
Urticaria over whole body, no fever, itching, burns after scratching, aggravated in warmth, ameliorated in cold.
Warts, fleshy, large, smooth, on face or back of hands and fingers.
Cannot find the right word for anything. Mental confusion.
Relations – Complementary: to Baryta carb., Kali sulph.
Aggravation: Evening, during rest, cold, damp weather, suppressed menses, eruptions, sweat.
Amelioration: From moving about (Ferrum), warm, dry air.
Type. – Double quartan, tertian, double tertian, double quartan. Continued, typhoid.
Time: Irregular hours.
Cause: Fevers occurring during cold, damp, rainy weather, worse when weather suddenly becomes colder, caused by exposure, living in damp rooms, sleeping in a damp bed.
Chill: With violent thirst. Commencing in or spreading from the back, not relieved by warmth (relieved by hot applications, Caps. ), shaking, with a feeling of coldness, or actual coldness over the whole body, so that he could not get warm near the hot stove, with shuddering from time to time. Chilliness of the back, without thirst, in the open air, but especially in a draught (Cantharis). Chilliness mostly toward evening, over the back, nape of the neck, occiput, with a feeling as if the hair stood on end (Baryta). With nausea and frequent or involuntary urine.
Heat: General, dry, burning heat all over. Dry heat over whole body, heat and burning in the back. Burning in the skin of the whole back as if he were sitting by a hot stove, with sweat in the face and moderate heat.
Sweat: Offensive sweat, night and morning, over the whole body, during the day more over back, in axillae, and palms of hands. Badly smelling sweat, with profuse discharge of transparent urine. Often wanting.
Tongue: Dry, swollen, as if paralyzed with cold. Bitter taste. Ptyalism, the gums are loose and spongy, saliva tenacious, soap – like. Great desire for cold drinks.
Analysis. – Like Aranea, the fevers to which dulcamara is adapted, are rare. They are caused by rheumatic exposure, living in damp rooms, sleeping in a damp bed, during cold, rainy, changeable weather, but the fever of Aranea comes on with great regularity, while that of Dulcamara has no reference to time. Compare Crocus and Staphysagria.
Typhoid fever, when patient distinctly remembers having taken cold, tongue clean, stools yellow, liquid, with rumbling, cutting, digging or griping pain in umbilical region or whole abdomen.
