Pothos
NAT. ORD., Araceae.
COMMON NAME, Skunk Cabbage.
PREPARATION.--The fresh root gathered in spring is macerated in twice
its weight of alcohol.
(Contributed by Dr. S. A. Jones to the Homoeopathic
Recorder, 1889.)
This perennial, odorous member of the natural order Araceae is one of
our most common meadow and bog plants. From its very realistic,
skunk-like odor when cut or bruised, and its resemblance in shape of
leaf and mode of growth to the cabbage, it has been commonly well known
as the skunk cabbage.
Belonging to the same family as the Calla lily and Indian turnip, the
shape of its flower becomes at once familiar to anyone who observes it.
Among the first plants to flower in spring is this species, and by
closely observing the surface of any boggy meadow in the latter part of
March or early April one will find irrupting the earth like mushroom the
points of many beautiful spathes gaping open to extend invitations to
the earliest slugs and carrion beetles of the season. These are the
flowers of Pothos appearing some time before the leaves, and when
divested of the mud that clings to them, and polished with a damp cloth,
as the apple-woman serves her pippins, they shine out in beautiful
mottled purple, orange, and deep red, and, being very fleshy, will keep
up appearances many days if cut deep and placed in hyacinth jars.
The root is large, thick, and cylindrical, giving off its lower end
numerous long, cylindrical branches; the leaves which appear on the
fertilization of the ovary are large, smooth, entire, and deeply plaited
into rounded folds. On opening the pointed spathe or floral envelope, a
club-like mass will be noted arising from its base. This is the spadix
bearing the naked flowers, which are perfect, consisting of a
four-angled style and four awl-shaped stamens. The fruit, when mature,
is a globular, ill-smelling, glutinous mass, consisting of the enlarged,
fleshy spadix and changed perianths, and enclosing several large
bullet-like seeds.
The roots are easily gathered, one alone being sufficient to make a
year's stock of tincture for the most lavish practitioner.
THE TINCTURE.
Take the fresh root stalks and rootlets, gathered in spring on the first
appearance of the flowers, and chop and pound them to a pulp, and weigh.
Then taking two parts, by weight, of alcohol, mix the pulp with
one-sixth part of it, add the balance, and, after stirring the whole
well, pour it into a well-stoppered bottle and let it stand for eight
days in a dark, cool place. After straining and filtering, the resulting
tincture should be of a light brown color and have a slightly acrid
taste and a neutral reaction.
CHEMISTRY.
The active principle of this plant is doubtless volatile, as the dried
root presents none of the acridity of the fresh, and is odorless as
well. Dr. J. M. Turner determined in the root a volatile fatty body, a
volatile oil, a fixed oil, and a specific resin.
* * * * *
On the 16th of December, 1887, there came into my hands a case that the
family physician (a homoeopath) had pronounced epilepsy and declared
incurable. Upon being consulted, his diagnosis had been confirmed and
his prognosis corroborated by the late Prof. E. S. Dunster, of the
University of Michigan.
Up to date that identical patient has had neither a "fit" nor any
approximation thereto, and that fact is an occasion of this paper. One
who already discerns the first gray shadows of that night which comes to
all, does not now write at the urging, or the itching, of the Ego. He
disclaims any merit, having evinced only a monkey-like imitativeness. He
had from the Infinite, the gift of a good memory, and an old book,
picked up one happy day at a street stall, flashed into recollection
some twelve years later, and enabled him then to imitate the much
earlier doing of its worthy author--
"Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust."
This dead worthy--he that was James Thacher, M. D.--more than any other,
made known the virtues of Pothos foetida, and gratitude for what his
book had taught me to do made me feel that to write up this forgotten
remedy were the fittest return that I could make for his well doing.
A second incentive, ample enough, is found in the fact that the first
homoeopathic paper on Pothos foet. has never had a faithful
translation into our language, and has not been critically reproduced in
any other. A study of the Homoeopathic Bibliography, as given in
this paper, will teach an impressive lesson not only to the real
student of Materia Medica, but also to those who assume the
responsibilities of editorship.
A third inducement, and perhaps a pardonable, is the singular fact that
much search in our literature has not enabled me to find any assistance
of the clinical application of Pothos foet. by a homoeopathic
practitioner. If any reader knows of any such, he will greatly gratify
the writer by making it known.
AN EMPIRICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.[K]
[K] As my researches are confined to my own library, I do not
profess to be exhaustive. I have not given all the references
at my command, but have aimed to include such writers as have
made positive contributions to our knowledge of this drug. Of
my list, only Rafinesque is a mere (but a useful) compiler.
1785. Rev. Dr. M. Cutler.--Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences. Boston.
1787. D. J. D. Schoepf, M. D.--Materia Medica Americana potissimum
Regni Vegetabilis. Erlangen. (Not in my possession. Quoted from
Barton.)
1813. James Thacher, M. D.--The American New Dispensatory. Boston.
(This is the second edition wherein Pothos is mentioned for the first
time. Our citations are from the fourth edition. Boston, 1821.)
1817. James Thacher, M. D.--American Modern Practice, etc. Boston.
1818. Jacob Bigelow, M. D.--American Medical Botany, etc. Vol. 2.
Boston.
1820. Wm. M. Hand.--The House-Surgeon and Physician. Second edition.
New Haven.
1822. Jacob Bigelow, M. D.--A Sequel to the Pharmacopoeia of the U.
S. Boston.
1822. John Eberle, M. D.--Materia Medica and Therapeutics.
Philadelphia. (The citations are from the fourth edition. Philadelphia,
1836.)
1825. Ansel W. Ives, M. D.--Paris' Pharmacologia. Third American
edition. New York.
1830. Elisha Smith.--The Botanic Physician, etc. New York. (The title
page proclaims him "president of the New York Association of Botanic
Physicians.")
1838. C. S. Rafinesque.--Medical Flora, etc. Philadelphia.
It was admitted into the catalogus secundarius of the second edition
of The Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America, and dropped
into the dust-heap when the men who knew how to use it had passed away.
EMPIRICAL APPLICATIONS.
In dealing with authors who have gone to their reward, it has always
seemed to me a duty to give their own words as far as possible. It
brings them face to face with the reader, and is as if one brushed the
moss from their gravestones, or perhaps, like Old Mortality, carved
afresh a half-obliterated name.
It is not the briefest way, but it has the merit of showing from whence
the bricks came of which the edifice is built. I shall, then, cite the
authorities in chronological order, and copiously enough to include
essentials.
Cutler.--The roots dried and powdered are an excellent medicine in
asthmatic cases, and often give relief when other means are ineffectual.
It may be given with safety to children as well as to adults; to the
former, in doses of four, five or six grains, and to the latter in doses
of twenty grains and upwards. It is given in the fit, and repeated as
the case may require. This knowledge is said to have been obtained from
the Indians, who, it is likewise said, repeat the dose, after the
paroxysm (sic) is gone off, several mornings, then miss as many, and
repeat it again; thus continuing the medicine until the patient is
perfectly recovered. It appears to be anti-spasmodic, and bids fair to
be useful in many other disorders.--Op. cit., 1,409.
Schoepf.--I am obliged to cite at second hand, as I have never been
able to find a copy of his opus. One may judge of its rarity, when a
foreign advertisement by a German bookseller some years since failed to
obtain it for me.
Prof. W. P. C. Barton, op. cit., gives the gist of the Hessian
surgeon's contribution in a style and manner as prim and orderly as that
of Surgeon Schoepf himself on a dress parade.
"Pharm. Dracontii Radix.
Qual. Acris, alliacea, nauseosa.
Vis. Incidens, califaciens, expectorans.
Usus: fol. contrita ad vulnera recentia et ulcera.
Tussis consumptiva. Scorbutus et elii morbi radix.
Ari officin. utilis."
"Incidens": Young reader, you must go back more than a century to
understand the "pathology" that is wrapped up in that word like a mummy
in its cerements. Don't laugh at that "pathology," for some graceless
graduate will laugh at yours in 1989. Note, however, in passing, that
Schoepf says nothing, save tussis, that suggests the vis
anti-spasmodica of Cutler.
Thacher.--The roots and seeds, when fresh, impart to the mouth a
sensation of pungency and acrimony similar to Arum.
It may be ranked high as an anti-spasmodic, experience having evinced
that it is not inferior to the most esteemed remedies of that class. In
cases of asthmatic affections, it alleviates the most distressing
symptoms, and shortens the duration of the paroxysms. * * * Rev. Dr.
Cutler experienced in his own particular case very considerable relief
from this medicine, after others had disappointed his expectations. * *
* The seeds of this plant are said by some to afford more relief in
asthmatic cases than the root.
In obstinate hysteric affections this medicine has surpassed in efficacy
all those anti-spasmodics which have generally been employed, and in
several instances it has displayed its powers like a charm. In one of
the most violent hysteric cases I ever met with, says a correspondent,
where the usual anti-spasmodics, and even musk had failed, two
teaspoonfuls of the powdered root procured immediate relief; and on
repeating the trials with the same patient, it afforded more lasting
benefit than any other medicine. In those spasmodic affections of the
abdominal muscles during parturition, or after delivery, this root has
proved an effectual remedy. In chronic rheumatism, and erratic pains of
a spasmodic nature, it often performs a cure, or affords essential
relief.
It has in some cases of epilepsy suspended the fits, and greatly
alleviated the symptoms.
In whooping cough, and other pulmonic affections, it proves beneficial
in the form of syrup.
During every stage of nervous and hysteric complaints, and in cramps and
spasms, this medicine is strongly recommended as a valuable substitute
for the various anti-spasmodic remedies commonly employed. It is free
from the heating and constipating qualities of Opium. [Yet Schoepf
endowed it with the vis colifaciers.]
Having in a few instances tested its virtues in subsultus tendinum,
attending typhus fever, its pleasing effects will encourage the future
employment of it in similar cases.
Two instances have been related in which this medicine has been supposed
to be remarkably efficacious in the cure of dropsy.
The roots should be taken up in the autumn or spring, before the leaves
appear, and carefully dried for use. Its strength is impaired by long
keeping, especially in a powdered state.--Mat. Med., 4th ed., p. 249.
A young woman, about eighteen years of age, was harassed by severe
convulsive and hysteric paroxysms, almost incessantly, insomuch that her
friends estimated the number at seven hundred in the course of a few
weeks; her abdomen was remarkably tumefied and tense, and there was a
singular bloatedness of the whole surface of her body, and the slightest
touch would occasion intolerable pain. At length her extremities became
rigid and immovable (sic), and her jaw was so completely locked that
she was unable to articulate, and liquids could only be introduced
through the vacuity of a lost tooth. She had been treated with a variety
of anti-spasmodic and other medicines, by an experienced physician,
without relief. Having prepared a strong infusion of the dried root of
skunk cabbage, I directed half a teacupful to be given every few hours,
without any other medicine; the favorable effects of which were soon
observable, and by persisting in the use of it about ten days the
muscular contractions were removed, the jaw was relaxed, and her faculty
of speech and swallowing, with the use of all her limbs, were completely
effected.
Another young woman had been exercised with the most distressing
paroxysms of hysteria for several days, without obtaining relief by the
medicines prescribed, when the skunk cabbage infusion was so
successfully directed that her fits were immediately arrested, and in a
few days a cure was completely effected.
The brother of this patient was seized with violent convulsions of the
whole body, in consequence of a cut on his foot; the skunk cabbage was
administered, and he was speedily restored to perfect health.
A woman was affected with violent spasmodic pains, twenty-four hours
after parturition; six doses of skunk cabbage entirely removed her
complaints.--American Modern Practice, p. 530.
Barton.--The smell from spathe and flowers is pungent and very subtle.
Experience leads me to believe they possess a great share of acridity;
having been seized with a very violent inflammation of my eyes (for
the first time in my life), which deprived me of the use of them for a
month, by making the original drawings of these plates. The pungency of
the plant was probably concentrated by the closeness of the room, in
which many specimens were at the time shut up.--Veg. Mat. Med., 1,
128. [The italics are not in the original text.]
The seeds are said to afford more relief in asthmatic cases than the
root; and this I believe very probable, for they are remarkably active,
pungent, and, as has before been mentioned, exhale the odor of
Asafoetida.--Op. cit., p. 131.
The bruised leaves are frequently applied to ulcers and recent wounds,
and, it is said, with good effect. They are also used as an external
application in cutaneous affections; and I have heard of the expressed
juice being successfully applied to different species of herpes. The
leaves are also used in the country to dress blisters, with the view of
promoting their discharge. * * * For this purpose I can recommend them
where it is desirable to promote a large and speedy discharge, and no
stimulating ointment is at hand.
Colden recommends the skunk cabbage in scurvy.--Op. cit., p. 132.
Bigelow.--The odor of the Ictodes resides in a principle which is
extremely volatile. I have not been able to separate it by distillation
from any part of the plant, the decoction and the distilled water being
in my experiments but slightly impregnated with its sensible character.
Alcohol, digested on the plant, retains its odors for a time, but this
is soon dissipated by exposure to the air.
An acrid principle resides in the root, even when perfectly dry,
producing an effect like that of the Arum and the Ranunculi. When chewed
in the mouth, the root is slow in manifesting its peculiar taste; but
after some moments a pricking sensation is felt, which soon amounts to a
disagreeable smarting, and continues for some time. This acrimony is
readily dissipated by heat. The decoction retains none of it. The
distilled water is impregnated with it, if the process be carefully
conducted, but loses it on standing a short time.--Amer. Med. Bot., 2,
45.
To insure a tolerably uniform activity of this medicine, the root should
be kept in dried slices, and not reduced to powder until it is wanted
for use.--Op. cit., p. 49.
A number of cases have fallen under my own observation of the catarrhal
affections of old people, in which a syrup prepared from the root in
substance has alleviated and removed the complaint.--Op. cit., p. 48.
In delicate stomachs I have found it frequently to occasion vomiting
even in a small quantity. In several cases of gastrodynia, where it was
given with a view to its anti-spasmodic effect, it was ejected from the
stomach more speedily than common cathartic medicines. I have known it
in a dose of thirty grains to bring on not only vomiting, but headache
(sic), vertigo and temporary blindness.--Op. cit., pp. 48-49.
Hand.--The root is a pungent anti-spasmodic in colics and griping of
the bowels.
Leaves bruised relieve painful swellings, whitlows, etc.--House Surg.
and Phys., p. 250.
Eberle.--In chronic cough attended with a cold, phlegmatic habit of
body, I have employed the powdered root of this plant with the most
decided benefit. In an old man who had been for many years afflicted
with a very troublesome cough and difficulty of breathing, I found
nothing to give so much relief as this substance.
In cases of chronic catarrhal and asthmatic affections, and very
generally with evident advantage.--Mat. Med. and Thur., 2, 154.
Ives.--The root loses its pungent taste, and appears to be nearly
inert in a few weeks after it is gathered. I prepared, however, an
alcoholic extract some years ago, by digesting the fresh roots and
evaporating the tincture in the sun, which possessed and retained all
the acrimony of the recent root. The fresh leaves are actively
rubefacient.--Pharmacologia, p. 147.
Smith.--Skunk cabbage is not only a good anti-spasmodic in all cases
where such are indicated, but it is also a powerful emmenagogue,
anthelmintic, and a valuable remedy in dropsy, in spasms, rheumatism,
palpitations, etc. It is frequently used in childbed to promote the
birth. * * * * For expelling worms, the pulverized root should be
administered in molasses for a sufficient length of time, following it
up with a purge.--Op. cit., p. 511.
Rafinesque.--Powerful anti-spasmodic, expectorant, incisive,
vermifuge, menagogue, sudorific, etc. Used with success in spasmodic
asthmas and coughs, hysterics, pertussis, epilepsy, dropsy, scurvy,
chronic rheumatism, erradic and spasmodic pains, parturition,
amenorrhoea, worms, etc.--Op. cit., 2, 230.
III.
THE HOMOEOPATHIC BIBLIOGRAPHY.[L]
[L] The definite article is used because it is believed to be
complete, thanks to the scholarship and courtesy of Dr. Henry
M. Smith, of New York. To him, also, am I indebted for the
original text of Pothos foet. from the
Correspondenzblatt.
1837. Correspondenzblatt der Hom. Aerzte, January 18th, 2d part, No.
1, p. 6. Allentown, Pa. Hering, Humphreys, and Lingen.
1843. Symptomus Kodex, vol. 2, p. 392. Jahr. (Taken from the
Correspondenzblatt, and not correctly.) Handbuch der Hom.
Arzneimittellehre, vol. 3, p. 613. Noack and Trinks. (Taken from the
Correspondenzblatt, and incompletely.)
1847. Manual of Hom. Mat. Met.--Jahr. Translated by Curie, 2d ed.,
vol. 1, p. 462. London. (This is the first appearance of the Allentown
"abstract of symptoms" in English. Curie credits his data to some
"United States' Journal," probably meaning the Correspondenzblatt. His
translation is erroneous, and yet, up to date, it is the fullest source
of information for him who reads English only.)
1848. New Manual or Symptomen Codex.--Jahr. Translated by Hempel, vol.
2, p. 573. (This is a singularly incomplete translation from the German
Kodex, with no reference to any source. A literal copy of this
translation is all there is of Pothos foet. in the Encyclopaedia.
It omits the only symptom in the Correspondenzblatt abstract that made
my application of this remedy not purely empirical.)
1851. Jahr's New Manual. Edited by Hull, 3d ed., vol. 1, p. 797.
1851. Characteristik der Hom. Arzneien. Possart, part 2, p. 506.
1860. "Hull's Jahr." A New Manual of Hom. Practice. Edited by
Snelling, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 977.
1866. Text-Book of Mat. Med. Lippe, p. 545.
1878. Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica. Allen, vol. 9, p. 155.
1884. American Medicinal Plants. Millspaugh, vol. 1, p. 169.
POTHOS FOETIDA SYMPTOMATOLOGY.
Translated from the Correspondenzblatt by T. C. Fanning, M. D.,
Tarrytown, N. Y.[M]
[M] Literalness rather than elegance has been sought in the
translating.
Because the odor is quite like Mephitis it is considered a so-called
anti-spasmodic.
Abstract of symptoms from Hering, Humphreys, and Lingen.
So absent-minded and thoughtless that he enters the sick rooms without
knocking; pays no attention to those speaking to him. Irritable,
inclined to contradict; violent.
Headache of brief duration, in single spots, now here, now there, with
confusion. Pressure in both temples, harder on one side than on the
other alternately, with violent pulsation of the temporal arteries.
Drawing in the forehead in two lines from the frontal eminences to the
glabella, where there is a strong outward drawing as if by a magnet.
Red swelling, like a saddle, across the bridge of the nose, painful to
the touch, especially on the left side near the forehead, while the
cartilaginous portion is cold and bloodless; with red spots on the
cheek, on the left little pimples; swelling of the cervical and
sub-maxillary glands.
Unpleasant numb sensation in the tongue; cannot project it against the
teeth; papillae elevated; tongue redder, with sore pain at point and
edge.
Burning sensation from the fauces down through the chest. With the
desire to smoke, tobacco tastes badly.
Pain in the scrobiculus cordis as if something broke loose, on stepping
hard.
Inflation and tension in the abdomen; bellyache here and there in
single spots; on walking, feeling as if the bowels shook, without pain.
Stool earlier (in the morning), frequent, softer.
Urging to urinate; very dark urine.
Painful, voluptuous tickling in the whole of the glans penis.
Violent sneezing, causing pain in the roof of the mouth, the fauces and
oesophagus all the way to the stomach, followed by long-continued
pains at the cardiac orifice.
Pain in chest and mediastinum posticum, less in the anticum, with
pain under the shoulders, which seems to be in connection with burning
in the oesophagus. Pressing pain on the sternum.
Sudden feeling of anxiety, with difficult (or oppressed) respiration and
sweat, followed by stool and the subsidence of these and other pains.
Inclination to take deep inspirations with hollow feeling in the chest,
later with contraction in the fauces and chest.
The difficulty of breathing is better in the open air.
Pain in the crest of the right tibia.
Rheumatic troubles increased.
Sleepy early in the evening.
All troubles disappear in the open air.
In attempting to analyze this "abstract of symptoms," to see if the
internal evidence tends to show that the recorded effects are genuine
results of the drug, it is well to remember that these provings--for we
infer that three observers participated therein--were made in the light
of the empirical history of Pothos foet. The said history was on
record before the date of these provings, and it cannot have escaped
Hering's eye; he was too wide a reader for that. He was, beyond doubt,
aware of the pathogenetic effects observed by Bigelow--headache,
vertigo, temporary blindness, vomiting, even from small
quantities. Having, then, this clue to its physiological action, these
symptoms should reappear in his proving if his imagination furnished his
symptoms. As only a mild headache is noted in the Correspondenzblatt,
it is evident that these provers did not work from a pattern. It is
also evident that the usus in morbis did not suggest the Allentown
symptomatology, for the anti-asthmatic virtue of Pothos foet. is one
feature on which the greatest stress had been laid, and yet the only
pathogenetic suggestion of its applicability in asthma is: "Sudden
feeling of anxiety with difficult (or oppressed) respiration and sweat,
followed by stool and the subsidence of these and other pains." Who
ever heard of an asthma relieved by stool? Who could have invented
such an odd modality? As it stands it is an unicum, and by every rule
of criticism this single symptom-group gives the stamp of verity to the
Allentown "abstract of symptoms." But there is other and singularly
convincing evidence of the genuineness of this abstract. As the reader
is aware, Thacher had emphasized the efficiency of Pothos foet. as an
anti-spasmodic in hysteria, although the "key-note" that indicates it in
hysteria had wholly escaped his discernment.
Now this very "key-note" appears in the Allentown pathogenesis, but so
unobtrusively as to show most conclusively that the prover who furnished
it did not recognize its singular import and value. Such testimony is
absolutely unimpugnable by honest and intelligent criticism.
It is also apparent that some of the less pronounced of its empirical
virtues are reflected in the proving. For instance, Thacher found it
efficacious in "erratick pains of a spasmodick nature." Is not this
"erratic" feature reproduced in such conditions as:
"Headache, of brief duration, in single spots, now here, now there?"
"Pressure in both temples alternately, harder on one side than on the
other?"
"Bellyache, here and there, in single spots?"
Brevity of duration and recurrence "in single spots, now here, now
there," are phenomena at once spasmodic and erratic. It must be
admitted that the trend of its pathogenetic action and the lines of its
therapeutical application are parallel, and, therefore, that the latter
are confirmatory of the former.
With such an anti-hysterical reputation as the empirical use had given
to Pothos foet., it might fairly be anticipated that its
pathogenesis would be distinguished by a paucity of objective data,
for only a tyro in pharmacodynamics, or a "Regular," would expect to
find a full-lined picture of hysteria in any "proving." And so we have
in the "abstract" a flux of subjective symptoms, "erratic" enough for
hysterical elements, and still further characterized by an apparent
evanescence, as if its phenomena of sensory disturbance were as fleeting
and unsubstantial as those of an hysterical storm.
The will-o'-the-wisp-like character of its subjective symptoms, and
its physometric property (hinted at in the pathogenesis and emphasized
in Thacher's case) are the features that will chiefly impress one in
studying this distinctively American remedy.
That the "abstract of symptomes" evinces a cautious trial of this drug,
and that more heroic experiments will add to our knowledge of its
pathogenetic properties, are plain deductions from the absence in the
"abstract" of such pronounced effects as Bigelow observed and also from
the evidence of the usus in morbis. The remedy needs an efficient
proving, especially in the female organism.
AN APPLICATION OF POTHOS FOETIDA.
Miss B----, aet. 20; a tall, spare brunette, and a good specimen of
Fothergill's Arab type, brainy and vivacious. General health has been
good, but she was never robust; could not go to school regularly.
Between her thirteenth and fifteenth years grew rapidly in stature, and
then she was easily wearied on walking; knees tired and limbs ached. Had
good digestion through the growing period, but subsequently became
subject to "bloat of wind" in abdomen. These meteoristic attacks came
when lying down. A "weight rises from the abdomen up to the heart." She
must at once spring up. This condition is relieved by eructating, by
liquor, and by drinking hot water. The night attacks of meteorism are by
far the worst. She is now subject to them.
[Her grand-mother had such "spells of bloating;" would spring out of bed
at night, lose consciousness, and "bloat up suddenly." If she had such
an attack when dressed, they had often been obliged to cut open her
clothes.]
Patient has found that apples, tomatoes, cabbage and onions disagree
with her; no other food. She is constipated--"wants to and can't."
Her hair is unusually dry; scalp full of dandruff; skin, generally, soft
and flexible.
She has frequent epistaxis; has had four and five attacks a day. Blood
bright red, "runs a perfect stream," does not clot at the nostrils. Has
previously a "heavy feeling" in the head, which the bleeding relieves.
In appearance she is "the picture of health;" good complexion, fairly
ruddy cheeks, sparkling eyes--in a word, she is an incarnated protest
against "single blessedness."
In the latter part of July, 1886, had her first "fit." She had arisen
with a headache, which kept on increasing in severity. Just after a
light meal had the attack; "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" and fell insensible.
Stiffened at first, then had clonic spasms. Neither bit the tongue nor
frothed at the mouth. No micturition or defecation. On coming to, did
not remember that she had fallen, but recollected being borne up stairs.
Had a "dreadful nosebleed" after the attack. Left her very weak; could
hardly lift her feet from the floor. Before the "fit" the headache had
become unbearably severe.
Had her second "fit" on August 7th, 1887. Headache came on and kept
growing worse; was in temples, beating and throbbing, and in eyes,
"light hurt"--also on vertex, "pressing-down" pain. At 4 P.M. suddenly
fell down insensible. No cry. Tongue bitten. Slight frothing at the
mouth. First "stiff all over," then clonic spasms. After the "fit" knew
that something had happened to her. Was prostrated for nearly a month,
but not so much as after first attack.
December 10th, 1887, third "fit." On the night of the 9th her mother had
been very ill, and she herself was very uneasy and alarmed. Had the
attack before breakfast. Blurred vision, headache, fall; no biting of
tongue, nor frothing. First rigid, then clonic spasms; after attack,
nose bled profusely, head ached all day, face flushed and dark.
Prostrated as usual.
In none of the attacks was there any involuntary micturition or
defecation, nor was it ever necessary to use any force to hold her on
the bed.
One other fact I gathered from her brother, namely: during her "fits"
her abdomen bloated so rapidly and to such a degree that the family had
learned to remove her clothing as soon as possible after she fell.
Of course, Thacher's case, wherein the "abdomen was remarkably tumefied
and tense," came into memory at once. The old volume was taken down, and
that case re-read. Then followed the Encyclopaedia, and then the
English Symptomen Codex. No pathogenetic light or corroboration
there. Then Curie's "Jahr." Ah! "Inflation and tension in the
abdomen." Only a straw, but a pathogenetic, and I grasped it
thankfully. I found also, "aching in the temples with violent arterial
pulsation."
It was an open winter; my son dug some skunk cabbage roots in a swamp; a
tincture was made; ten-drop doses, four times daily, were taken until
six ounces had been consumed.
No "fit" up to date; no epistaxis; only once a slight headache.
I never made a diagnosis in this case; have not reached one yet, nor am
I grieving over that omission. I did rashly declare that it was not
epilepsy, because Sauvages tympanites intestinalis is a feature of
hysteria, but not of epilepsy. But not a word of this was said to the
patient. It was not a "mind cure," for I have no "mind" to spare; nor
was it "Christian science," for I am not up to that. I had an amnesis
in which grand-mother and grand-daughter participated. Nature had put
the "key-note" in italics, not only in the patient but also in the drug.
Thacher stumbled upon it empirically; Hering found it pathogenetically,
and that led to its application under the guidance of the only
approximation to a law in therapeutics that has yet been discovered by
any of woman born: similia similibus curantur!
(Anent the foregoing paper Dr. W. C. Campbell sent the
following to the same journal:)
POTHOS FOETIDA, HYSTERIA.
November 6, 1889, was called in haste to see Miss N----, aged 19 years.
Found her lying upon the floor, exhibiting all the phenomena of
epilepsy, clenched hands, frothing at the mouth, clonic spasm, etc.
On questioning the family, I learned that she had been subject to such
seizures for about two years, and that they were increasing in
frequency. She had been dismissed from the various cotton mills in which
she had been employed because of them. The father had been informed that
she had epilepsy, and she had been treated accordingly by three old
school physicians.
The sister informed me that although she had frequently fallen near the
stove she had never struck it. Further questioning elicited the fact of
her never having injured herself more seriously than to bite her tongue.
It was then I became suspicious, and later felt convinced that it was
hysteria and not epilepsy with which I had to deal.
I remembered having read in The Recorder an article by Dr. S. A.
Jones, of Ann Arbor, on Pothos foetida, with the record of a case in
some respects similar to mine. After again reading it up, I made a
tincture of the roots and tendrils gathered at the time, of which I gave
her a two drachm phial, directing her to take ten drops three times per
day.
On the second day she had a slight seizure while at dinner. After two
months she again resumed her place in the mill, where she has since been
steadily employed, and is strong and well in every way.
Have used Pothos in epilepsy, also in dropsy, with negative results.
More
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Echinacea Angustifolia
NAT. ORD., Compositae. COMMON NAME, Pale Purple Cone-flower. PREPARATION.--The whole plant including the root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (This rather famous drug first came to notice as "Meyers'... Echinacea Angustifolia
A collection of symptoms from twenty-five different provers, anatomically arranged: MIND. 3 Dullness in head, with cross, irritable feeling. 2 So nervous could not study. 3 Confused feeling of the brain. 2 Felt depressed and much out ... Epigea Repens
NAT. ORD., Ericaceae. COMMON NAMES, Trailing Arbutus. Ground Laurel. Gravel Root. PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (In the subjoined paper by Dr. E. M. Hale, North ... Eryngium Aquaticum
NAT. ORD., Umbeliferae. COMMON NAMES, Button Snakeroot. Water Eryngo. PREPARATION.--The fresh root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (Although a well-known remedy, the following concerning its ea... Euphorbia Corollata
NAT. ORD., Euphorbiaceae. COMMON NAMES, Milk Weed. Wild Ipecac. Blooming or Flowering Spurge. PREPARATION.--The fresh root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (In North American Journal of Homoeopathy, D... Fagopyrum
NAT. ORD., Polygonaceae. COMMON NAME, Buckwheat. PREPARATION.--The fresh mature plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following paper was published in the Transactions of the Homoeopathic ... Fagus Sylvaticus
NAT. ORD., Cupuliferae. COMMON NAME, European Beech. PREPARATION.--The Beech Nuts are pounded to a pulp and macerated in five parts by weight of alcohol. (In volume XIII of the American Observer, Dr. E. W. Berridge, contributes the... Fraxinus Excelsior
NAT. ORD., Oleaceae. COMMON NAME, European Ash. PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol. (In the Union Medicale, November, 1852, two French physicians detailed several ... Fucus Vesiculosis
NAT. ORD., Algae. COMMON NAMES, Sea-wrack. Bladder-wrack. Sea-kelp. PREPARATION.--The fresh alga gathered in May or June are pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following letter, by Dr. J. Herbert Knap... Gaultheria
NAT. ORD., Ericaceae. COMMON NAME, Wintergreen. PREPARATION.--The distilled oil from the leaves of Gaultheria procumbens is used and dispensed in one or two drop tablets. (These two papers were contributed to the Homoeopathic Recor... Heloderma Horridus
PREPARATION.--The virus, obtained by irritating the animal and allowing it to bite on glass, is triturated in the usual way. (Dr. T. L. Bradford furnishes us with the following classification of this reptile): The heloderma is classed... Jacaranda Gualandai
NAT. ORD., Bignoniaceae. COMMON NAME, Carroba. PREPARATION.--The dried leaves are crushed and macerated in five parts by weight of alcohol. (Of this South American remedy the Dispensatory says it is used in Brazil and other South A... Lac Caninum
PREPARATION.--The fresh milk from a bitch is triturated in the usual way. (The late Dr. Sam. Swan had a proving of this remedy, dog milk, in the Materia Medica he attempted to publish, but of which only one volume appeared. The wor... Lapis Albus
SYNONYM. Silico-Fluoride of Calcium. PREPARATION.--The residue obtained by evaporation, from the waters of the mineral springs of Gastein, Germany, is triturated in the usual way. (It was Von Grauvogl who first called attention to this ... Lathyrus Sativus
NAT. ORD., Leguminosae. COMMON NAMES, Wild Vetch. Chick pea. PREPARATION.--Trituration of the dried pea. (Dr. W. A. Dewey contributed the following paper concerning this remedy to the Medical Century, 1899): HISTORY AND DESCRIPTI... Latrodectus Mactans
PREPARATION.--The spiders are triturated in the usual way. (The following paper by Dr. Samuel A. Jones appeared in the Homoeopathic Recorder, July, 1889, under the title, "Latrodectus Mactans: a Suggested Remedy in Angina Pect... Lemna Minor
NAT. ORD., Lemnaccae. COMMON NAME, Duckweed. PREPARATION. The fresh plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following is by Dr. Robert C. Cooper, of London, and appeared in the Hahnemannian ... Levico
PREPARATION.--Dilutions made from the mineral water or triturations from the residue obtained by evaporation of the water. (Dr. Burnett has called the attention of the profession to this water in his books. The following concerning its ... Liatris Spicata
NAT. ORD., Compositae. COMMON NAMES, Dense Button-Snake-root. Gay Feather. Devil's Bit. PREPARATION.--The root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following, by Dr. T. C. Duncan, was called forth by... Lolium Temulentum
NAT. ORD., Gramineae. COMMON NAMES, Darnel. (G.) Taumellolch. PREPARATION.--Trituration of the dried seeds. (The following concerning this little used drug was reported by Dr. Bonino, an Italian physician, translated by Dr. Mo... Lycopus Virginicus
NAT. ORD., Labiatae. COMMON NAME, Bugle Weed. PREPARATION.--Tincture of the whole plant by macerating one part by weight of the fresh plant in two parts by weight of alcohol. (Although a well-known remedy, the following concerning ... Malaria Officinalis
PREPARATION.--It is prepared in three degrees of strength: No. I. Is the water that stood on decomposed vegetable matter for one week at a temperature of 90 deg. F. No. II. Is the water that decomposed vegetable matter for two weeks. No. III.... Mucuna Urens
NAT. ORD., Leguminosae. COMMON NAME, Horse-eye. PREPARATION.--The pulverized bean is macerated in five times its weight of alcohol. (Delgado Palacios, of Venezuela, in 1897, wrote Messrs. Boericke & Tafel concerning this remedy): ... Mullein Oil
PREPARATION.--Fill a bottle with the blossoms from the Verbascum thapsus, cork tight, and hang in the sun for four or five weeks. By that time there will be an oily liquid distilled. Mix with ten per cent. of alcohol. (Dr. A. M. Cushing intr... Naphthalin
ORIGIN--A chemical compound procured from coal, alcohol, ether vapor, etc. PREPARATION.--Trituration of the pure naphthalin. (Two clinical cases illustrating the use of Naphthalin. The first is by Dr. W. L. Hartman, in Transaction of ... Narcissus
NAT. ORD., Amaryllidaceae. COMMON NAME, Daffodil. PREPARATION.--The young buds, stems and leaves are macerated in two times their weight of alcohol. (The following is from the Homoeopathic Recorder for May, 1899): "Agricola," on... Negundo
NAT. ORD., Sapindaceae. COMMON NAMES, Box Elder. Ash-leaved Maple. PREPARATION.--The bark of the root is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (In the California Medical Journal, 1898, Dr. O. S. Laws, of Los Angeles, California... Oenthe Crocata
PREPARATION.--The fresh root is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following paper on OEnanthe crocata was kindly sent to the editor by Dr. W. A. Dewey, of the Ann Arbor University, Michigan): OEnanthe crocata bel... Onosmodium Virginianum
NAT. ORD., Borraginaceae. COMMON NAME, False Cromwell. PREPARATION.--The entire plant with root is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (This paper was prepared by Dr. W. A. Vingling for the Kansas State Homoeopathic Society, ... Origanum Majorana
NAT. ORD., Labiatae. COMMON NAME, Sweet Marjoram. PREPARATION.--The whole plant without the root, gathered when in flower, is macerated in two times its weight of alcohol. (A treatise on the "Sexual Passion," by the late Dr. Gallav... Oxytropis Lamberti
NAT. ORD., Leguminosae. COMMON NAMES, "Loco" Weed. Rattle Weed. PREPARATION.--The whole plant without the root is macerated in two times its weight of alcohol. (The following proving of the "loco weed" was conducted by the late Dr.... Paraffine
PREPARATION.--The purified Paraffin is triturated in the usual way. (This proving was made by Dr. Wahle, of Germany, who was the chemist of Hahnemann. He never published it, but gave the manuscript to his son, who in his turn gave it to Dr. Held, ... Parthenium Hysterophorus
NAT. ORD., Synanthereae. COMMON NAME, "Bitter broom." Escoba amaya. PREPARATION.--The dry plant is macerated in five parts by weight of alcohol. (Dr. Edward Fornias contributed to the Homoeopathic Recorder, 1886, two papers on this... Passiflora Incarnata
NAT. ORD., Passifloraceae. COMMON NAME, Passion flower. PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves and flowers gathered in May are macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. A preparation may also be made from the expressed juice of the fresh leaves. ... Penthorum Sedoides
NAT. ORD., Crassulaceae. COMMON NAME, Ditch Stone Crop. PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant with the root is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The Medical Advance for June, 1887, contains a paper by Dr. D. B. Morrow, fr... Phaseolus Nana
NAT. ORD., Leguminosae. COMMON NAME, Dwarf Bean. PREPARATION.--The crushed beans are macerated in five parts by weight of alcohol. (In 1896 and 1897 Dr. A. M. Cushing wrote several articles on this new remedy, and among them the ... Pothos
NAT. ORD., Araceae. COMMON NAME, Skunk Cabbage. PREPARATION.--The fresh root gathered in spring is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (Contributed by Dr. S. A. Jones to the Homoeopathic Recorder, 1889.) This perennial, od... Primula Obconica
NAT. ORD., Primulaceae. COMMON NAME, Primrose var. obconica. PREPARATION.--The entire fresh plant in flower with root is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (Dr. E. V. Ross, of Rochester, N. Y., thus summarizes the various pa... Pyrus Americana
NAT. ORD., Rosacae. COMMON NAME, Mountain ash. PREPARATION.--The fresh bark is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (We find the following in the American Observer, 1878, credited to Northwestern Analist and written by Dr. H. ... Salix Nigra Aments
NAT. ORD., Salicaceae. COMMON NAME, White Willow. PREPARATION.--The fresh aments are macerated in twice their weight of alcohol. (Dr. John Fearns writes of this remedy in Chicago Medical Times, 1896:) At this writing I wish to s... Salvia Officinalis
NAT. ORD., Labiatae. COMMON NAME, Common sage. PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are macerated in twice their weight of alcohol. (Although scarcely used in the present day sage runs back in medical history to the Greeks, and, accordin... Saururus Cernuus
NAT. ORD., Piperaceae. COMMON NAME, Lizard's Tail. PREPARATION.--The entire plant including the root is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (The following short notice of this almost unknown remedy appeared in the Homoeopathi... Scolopendra Morsitans
PREPARATION.--The insect is triturated with sugar of milk in the usual way. (In the case of a man bitten in the arm by a centipede, reported in Nashville Journal of Medicine, 1870, among the striking symptoms was no perspiration in... Scutellaria Laterifolia
NAT. ORD., Labiatae. COMMON NAME, Mad-dog skullcap. PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (The following proving of Scutellaria lat., from University Bulletin, 1897, was made, under the au... Sisyrinchium
NAT. ORD., Iridaceae. COMMON NAME, Blue-eyed grass. PREPARATION.--The fresh root is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (Dr. W. U. Reed, of Northmanchester, Ind., contributed the following in 1892 to the Hom. Recorder, concer... Skookum Chuck
(Some readers may be startled at this name, applied to a remedy, but under that name it came before the profession and the name has stuck. It is the Western Indian's designation of the waters of what is now known as "Medica... Solanum Carolinense
NAT. ORD., Solanaceae. COMMON NAME, Horse-nettle. PREPARATION.--The fresh, ripe berries are macerated in twice their weight of alcohol. (In 1889 Dr. Napier called attention to Solanum Carolinense as a remedy in the treatment of epi... Solidago Virga-aurea
NAT. ORD., Compositae. COMMON NAME, Golden Rod PREPARATION.--The fresh blossoms are macerated in twice their weight of alcohol. (The following is to be found on p. 131 of Dr. Gallavardin's "Homoeopathic Treatment of Alcoholism:") ... Spiritus Glandium Quercus
NAT. ORD.--Cupuliferae. COMMON NAME--European or English oak. PREPARATION.--The spirit is destilled from the tincture prepared by macerating the acorn kernals from the Quercus robur, in five times their weight of dilute alcohol. (The fo... Stellaria Media
NAT. ORD.--Caryophyllaceae. COMMON NAME.--Common Chickweed. PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant in bloom is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (Frederick Kopp proved this remedy and the results were published in the Homoeopa... Stigmata Maidis
A Tincture of the Fresh Corn Silk. NAT. ORD.--Gramineae. COMMON NAME.--Corn Silk. PREPARATION.--One part of fresh corn silk is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (A great deal has been published lately concerning this ... Succinic Acid
PREPARATION.--The pure chemical is triturated in the usual way. (The following is by Dr. Morris Weiner, of Baltimore, 1892:) About twelve years ago I decided to prove Succinic acid (Acidum succinicum). Agricola mentions this acid, 154... Symphoricarpus Racemosus
NAT. ORD., Caprifoliaceae. COMMON NAME, Snow Berry. PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh ripe berries is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (In 1882 Dr. Edward V. Moffat read the following paper on this remedy before the H... Symphytum Officinalis
NAT. ORD.--Borraginaceae. COMMON NAME.--Comfrey, Healing Herb. PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh root gathered just before blooming is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following concerning this remedy, which dates back... Tela Aranearum
COMMON NAMES, Spider's Web, Cobweb. PREPARATION.--Triturate in the usual way. (The following paper is by Dr. S. A. Jones, it was published in the American Observer, 1876): Dr. Gillespie, of Edinburgh, "cured an obstinate intermitten... Thallium
PREPARATION.--Triturate the pure metal in the usual way. (The following is from the Homoeopathic World, 1893): In the "French News" column of the Chemist and Druggist we came across a note on the effect of Thallium, which we have no doubt h... Thlaspi Bursa Pastoris
NAT. ORD., Cruciferae. COMMON NAME, Shepherd's Purse. PREPARATION.--Three parts of the fresh plant in flower are macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following paper on this remedy is by Dr. E. R. Dudgeon and appeared ... Thyroid
PREPARATION.--The dried thyroid gland of the sheep is triturated in the usual way or an extract may be prepared from the fresh gland. (The following paper on the effects of Thyroid was written by Dr. F. G. OEhme, Roseburg, Oregon:) Th... Trychosanthes Dioica
NAT. ORD., Cucurbitaceae. COMMON NAME, Patal. PREPARATION.--One part of the entire fresh plant is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (In 1893 H. L. Saha, homoeopathic practitioner, Pabna, Bengal, sent the following to Hom... Usnea Barbata
NAT. ORD., Lichens. PREPARATION.--The fresh lichen is macerated in five times its weight of alcohol. (This appeared in No. 284 of the U. S. Med. Investigator signed "---- M. D."): In March, 1878, I was cutting wood. I cut down a so... Verbena Hastata
NAT. ORD., Verbenaceae. COMMON NAMES, Blue Vervain, Purvain, Wild Hyssop. PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh plant, in flower, is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (An extract from a paper by Dr. J. N. White, Queen City, ... Viscum Album
NAT. ORD., Loranthaceae. COMMON NAME, Mistletoe. PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh leaves and berries is macerated in twice its weight of alcohol. (The following account of this ancient remedy was published in the Allgemeine Hom.... Wyethia Helenioides
NAT. ORD., Compositae. COMMON NAME, Californian compass plant. PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh root is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. (The following, by Dr. J. M. Selfridge, Oakland, Cal., was published in Pacific...