Platina

The action of Platina is to be studied under three headings, namely: the mental symptoms, its action on the nervous system in general, and its effects on the sexual organs of both the male and the female.

The Platina patient is rather haughty and proud, egotistical.

She seems to look down upon everybody and everything as beneath her.

There is often accompanying this mental condition a peculiarity of vision; objects look smaller to her than natural.

Platina also pro- duces an excitation of the mind and of the whole nervous system.

Things seem horrible to her.

In her imagination she sees ghosts, demons, etc.

Here it resembles Kali bromatum and Hyoscyamus, both of which have this symptom.

Everything seems strange to the pa- tient.

When she enters her own home objects appear strange to her; she does not know where she is.

At other times the patient is de- cidedly melancholy.

She thinks that death is near at hand and she fears it, very much as we found under Arsenic and Aconite.

Aconite predicts the hour or time of death, but otherwise the two drugs differ immeasurably.

She may have a decidedly hysterical mood, with alter- nation of attacks of laughing and crying, especially when these are respectively inappropriate.

Now these mental symptoms seem to de- pend upon excitement in the sexual sphere.

The genitals, particu- larly those of the female, are acutely sensitive.

There is constant titillation or tingling in the sexual organs, internally and externally.

This excites the unfortunate victim to such a degree as to produce that horrible disease known as nymphomania.

The patient seems to have the strength of a giant.

She wishes to embrace everybody.

These nymphomaniac symptoms are accompanied by prolapsus with in- duration of the uterus, just like Aurum.

The ovaries are very sensi- tive, and are the seat of burning pains.

Platina has even succeeded in curing ovaritis when pus has formed, and Hepar and Lachesis have been insufficient to effect its evacuation.

The menses are too early and too profuse, and consist of dark, stringy, clotted blood.

They are accompanied by spasms, or by painful bearing-down in the uterine region.

Now these spasms of Platina are quite frequently met with in hysterical subjects.

They consist of a sort of tetanic rigidity with trismus, and this alternates with dyspnoea.

The Platina patient often suffers from neuralgia in various parts of the body.

These neuralgias are very easily studied on account of their well-marked characteristic symptoms.

The pains are of a cramp- ing character, and cause numbness and tingling in the parts affected.

You find them frequently in the head.

There will be pain at the root of the nose, as though the part were squeezed in a vise, and this is fol- lowed by tingling and numbness, which will indicate to you that it is in the course of the nerves that this symptom lies.

The pains in- crease gradually, and decrease just as gradually as they came, as you will find under Stannum.

I have yet a few words to say about the action of Platina on the male system generally.

We find it indicated for the ill-effects of pre- pubic masturbation.

It is called for by the melancholy and the sheep- ish look that the children have.

Also when, as a result of this un- natural vice, spasms of an epileptiform character appear.

The youth has hollow eyes and yellow skin.

During the attack the face is pale and sunken; in fact, it may be so at all times.

Consciousness is not often lost.

The limbs are usually drawn up and thus spread apart.

It may also be used for spasms during labor.

Teething children may require Platina when they are anaemic and pale; the jaws are locked, and after the spell the child lies on its back with flexed legs and knees widely separated.

The spasms, both in adults and children, alternate between convulsive actions and opisthotonos.

Platina may also be used in hysterical spasms or spasms caused by nervous excitement, when they are preceded or followed by constric- tion of the oesophagus and respiratory embarrassment, a sort of asthma in other words; sudden arrest of breathing when walking against the wind.

In this last symptom it is similar to Calcarea ostrearum and Arsenicum.

Moschus is similar to it in hysteria.

In its abdominal symptoms, Platina very much resembles Plumbum, and it has been used very successfully for the cure of the well-known colic produced by the latter remedy.

Like Plumbum, Platina produces a constipation from inertia of the bowels.

It is attended with frequent unsuccessful urging to stool.

The stools when passed seem to be like putty or glue, and adhere tenaciously to the anus.

It has been highly recommended for the constipation of emigrants.

Platina has some further action on the female genital organs, as I have already intimated.

It is useful in cases of indurated and pro- lapsed uterus, associated with continual pressure in the groins and back; parts are painfully sensitive to touch.

The patient exhibits sensitiveness, even vaginismus, during coitus.

Palladium is chemically and symptomatically near to Plati?ia.

It is of use principally for its action on the female genital organs.

Its characteristic mental symptoms seem to find origin in the sexual symptoms, and form, with the latter, a useful and precise group for practical use.

The patient is inclined to weep.

She suffers from mental excitement, particularly in company.

She always, has an ag- gravation of her symptoms* the day following an evening's entertain- ment.

She is easily put out of humor, and is then inclined to use pretty strong language.

She imagines herself very much neglected, and as she attaches great importance to the good opinion of others, this annoys her very much.

The Platina woman is very different.

She is egotistical in another form.

Under Palladium, pride is easily wounded.

In Platiiia the patient is haughty and egotistical; she looks down on others as not being good enough for her.

Palladium has a very characteristic headache, which makes the pa- tient very irritable.

It extends across the top of the head from ear to ear.

The face is sallow, with blue rings around the eyes.

There are also nausea, usually worse in the evening, and very acid eructations.

The bowels are constipated, the stools often being whitish in color.

Argentum metallicum, like Palladium, has affections of the ovaries and uterus.

It is useful in prolapsus uteri when accompanied by symp- toms of the left ovary.

The special characteristic sensation in Ar- gentum metallicum is a feeling as though the left ovary were growing enormously large.

Still another drug is Lilium tigrinum.

This resembles Palladium and Platinum both, and you will have to keep these three remedies to- gether in your minds.

They all have irritability, "easily angered," and " things don't go right," but only Palladium has this over-sensi- tiveness to offence, and only Platinum the hauteur.