Aurum Metallicum

Aurum met. \ 3.

Induration.

I 4.

Bones. ^5.

Fatty degeneration.

r Belladonna.

Mercurius, Nitric acid Arsenic, Asafcetida.

Ammonium carb.

Natrum mur.

Aurum is a remedy of not very extensive application, but still it is well marked in its limited sphere.

Its antidotes are principally He- par, Belladoyina and Mercurius.

I am not positive that there is a com- plement to Aurum.

Now, in studying the action of this remedy, we are to keep in mind, first, its marked power of producing hyperemia; and, secondly, its action on the emotional mind more than on the in- tellectual.

First, let us study the hypersemia of Auyum.

We find this in every part of the body upon which the drug acts.

It affects the heart, caus- ing increased activity of that viscus, as shown by increased force of the

heart-stroke, just as you find in pure cardiac hypertrophy without dilatation.

As a result of this increased action, there is enlargement and secondarily, actual rrypertroph}- of the heart.

Consecutive to this trouble, you have a list of symptoms that are very characteristic.

The lungs are too full of blood, so that the patient on attempting to walk up hill, or use any little exertion, feels as though there were a crushing weight under the sternum.

He feels that if he did not stop walking the blood would burst through the chest.

Auriun relieves this kind of a case very nicely.

According to Kafka, Aurtim muriaticum is here preferable to the mctallicum .

Owing to this condition of the heart there is necessarily hypersemia in other organs.

We find, for instance, this tendency to rush of blood to the head aggravated by mental labor, because study always increases the amount of blood in the brain, if there is any tendency to cerebral congestion.

There is a feeling of fulness in the head, accompanied by roaring in the ears.

The head feels sore and bruised, and the mind is confused.

The face, in extreme cases of congestion, is rather bloated, and has a glassy look.

Sparks or flashes of light before the eyes show pressure on the retinal vessels.

Still further evidence of the hypersemia in the eye is revealed b}' the ophthalmoscope.

You find a sensation in the eye as though it were being pushed out, with a certain amount of tension there.

Two errors of vision may be associated with these symptoms; either he sees double, or he suffers from what is known as half-sight.

Xow, these symptoms are suggestive of hyperemia of the brain, which may occur from various causes, among the most promi- nent being overuse of the eyes, or working in hot places.

In scrofulous ophthalmia we frequently find Aurum indicated, if there are present those sjmiptoms of congestion.

The bloodvessels are very much injected; pannus is present; great vascularity is a characteristic in these cases calling for Aurum.

In addition, you will find profuse scalding lachrymation.

The eyes are very sensitive to the touch.

Aurum may be used in cases of syphilitic iritis when the eye is de- cidedly worse from touch.

There is a very characteristic soreness around the eye, as if in the bones.

Especially is it indicated in syph- ilitic cases after the abuse of mercury.

In syphilitic iritis, with that sore, bruised sensation around the eyes, compare Asafcetida.

This remedy, however, has it in less de- gree.

You may also compare here, Mercurius corrosivus and Nitric acid.

The nose, too, is congested and has a red, knobby tip, greatly dis- figuring the face.

This may exist as a sequel to the long indulgence in alcohol, or it may be found in children as a symptom of scrofula.

If the latter is the case, it is often accompanied by the characteristic catarrh for which Awtum is the remedy.

In nasal catarrh or ozaena the nostrils are sore and cracked.

There is foetid nasal discharge, often accompanied by caries of the nasal bones.

There is ulceration of the soft parts with perforation of the nasal septum.

It is especially indicated in cases of scrofulous or mercurio-syphilitic origin.

The Aurum ear symptoms are not very numerous but are suggest- ive.

The ears are congested, and you find roaring in the ears, as I suggested a few moments ago.

Further than this, you find great sen- sitiveness to noises.

Now, it is sometimes indicated in catarrh of the' middle ear.

In these cases you note a foetid otorrhoea.

In addition to this you will very likely find the membrana tympani seriously dam- aged.

The external auditory meatus and the mastoid process of the temporal bone become affected by direct spread of the disease.

There are boring pains in the mastoid process.

The trouble may progress to caries.

I have already shown you illustrations of the effect of Aurum on the bones.

You noticed that it was indicated in iritis with pains in the bones around the orbits; and you know also that it affects the nasal bones, producing caries there. .

Aurum has some throat symptoms.

The tonsils are apt to be red and swollen, and the parotid gland on the affected side feels sore, as if contused.

The hard palate may be carious.

With all this, there is a mercurial or syphilitic history.

I have dwelt on these symptoms be- cause they are those which Aurum has most frequently removed.

Returning to the circulatory disturbances of Aurum, we find a hyperemia of the kidneys.

This is shown in the beginning by simple increase in the amount of urine passed.

By and by the kidneys begin to undergo fatty degeneration.

The urine then grows scanty and albuminous, or there may be granular or cirrhosed kidney.

Aurum will not do any good in these cases, unless the renal trouble is second- ary to some heart affection.

We find, too, that the genital organs are affected by this hyperemia and there is strong tendency to erections.

The testicles become in- flamed, particularly the right.

Aurum is especially suited to chronic orchitis, particularly when the right testicle is affected.

As another sequel to this effect of Aurum, we find hepatic conges- tion.

The liver is swollen consecutive to cardiac disease.

This hyperemia is associated with burning and cutting in the right hypo- chondrium.

As the hyperemia continues, the liver becomes cirrhosed or else undergoes fatty degeneration.

Ascites appears.

The stools are of a grayish or ashy-white color from defective secretion of bile, and we have here, as in almost all ailments in which Aurum is the remedy, a peculiar state of the emotional mind, a melancholy or a low-spiritedness, which I shall describe to you presently.

The lungs are also hypersemic.

There is great oppression of the chest, which is worse at night, particularly in the first part of the night; it is worse from prolonged exercise, from prolonged walking.

The face may be purple.

In extreme cases, syncope may take place.

On the female organs we find Aurum acting powerfully, causing congestion of the uterus.

The uterus becomes prolapsed from its great weight.

It is enlarged from chronic congestion.

This is the form of prolapsus which Aurum will cure, and no other.

The ordi- nary remedies for prolapsus, such as Lilhim or Nux vomica, cannot relieve this case, because the prolapsus is not the main characteristic.

The cause of the prolapsus is the weight of the organ and not the relaxation of the ligaments or weakness of the general system.

all cases in which it is the similimum, there is present a melancholy, with disposition to weep, or with a feeling of self-condemnation, as if he was not fit to live.

This feeling of self-condemnation or worthless- ness may amount to despair, sometimes even taking the form of religious mania.

He prays all the time.

He is sure that he is going to be condemned to the lower regions.

He has suicidal thoughts, if he does not make actual attempts at suicide.

With all this there is a great deal of mental anguish, associated with precordial distress, by which I mean distressed feeling referred to the cardiac region.

In ad- dition to the melancholy, Aurum also produces weakness of the memory.

Decided anger may also be characteristic of the remedy.

Any contradiction or dispute excites the patient furiously.

He be- comes red in the face and his pugnacity is aroused.

Mental labor be- comes irksome to the patient.

He is very apt to suffer from head- aches which are of a congestive character, as has already been de- scribed.