Causticum is one of the great polychrest medicines of the Chronic Diseases. It is both antipsoric and antisycotic and antisyphilitic. The leading feature of the Causticum effects is Paralysis, showing itself both in voluntary and involuntary muscles. The weakening effect of potassium in allopathic overdosing is well known, and is strongly brought out in the Causticum provings. Paralytic weakness. Paralysis of single nerves or single parts. Ptosis; facial paralysis; paralysis of tongue; of extremities; of vocal cords; of bladder; of rectum; lead paralysis. Allied to paralysis are convulsions, chorea, cramps, starting, restlessness, twitching. Contraction of flexor tendons. Trembling. Neuralgic and rheumatic affections; tearing, drawing pains. There is a headache which draws and tears through the body. Glandular indurations are prominent. In children there are many symptoms of scrofula. There is a weakened and emaciated appearance, especially about the face, the abdomen being large. Skin dirty-white. Scrofulous inflammations about eyes, ears, and scalp. The paralytic element comes out in slow learning to talk and walk, and stumbling on attempting to walk. In chorea the right side is more affected than left words seem to be jerked out. During the night the legs are constantly "on the go." This kind of restlessness is characteristic of Caus. The mental state is timid, nervous, anxious. Apprehensive of impending misfortune. Conscience-stricken as if she had committed a crime. Full of fearful fancies, < at twilight. Sees fearful images when closing eyes. Melancholy. Taciturn and distrustful; inclined to fits of anger with scolding. Memory fails (mental paralysis), any attempt at mental exertion = symptoms, such as stitches in temples, tension in head and scalp, especially forehead to temples. There is a sensation as if there was an empty space between the bone of the skull and the brain, > by warmth. Headache; cannot keep upper eyelids up. Vertigo, excitement of brain and spine, incapable, tends to fall forward or sideways (locomotor ataxy); with anxiety, weakness in head, sight as if through a fog; skin dry and hot; constipation. Eruptions on scalp behind ears. Sounds re-echo unpleasantly an ordinary voice sounds loud. Facial paralysis from cold draught neuralgia of right cheekbones to mastoid process < at night. Jaw joints affected with rheumatism. Sickly, sallow, low-spirited expression. Nash cured an obstinate case of prosopalgia with Caust. The patient was emaciated and debilitated by long Suffering; pains came in paroxysms, and were of a drawing nature. She had suffered from eczema at times before the neuralgia appeared. Sulph. had been given in vain. Caust. 200 rapidly cured. The Caust. weakness may result from grief of long standing or from disease. Accumulations of mucus in larynx and fauces; catarrh of throat and Eustachian tubes with tinnitus and reverberation. Difficult swallowing of liquids. Constant sensation as if lime were burning in stomach; with water-brash. Pressure and fulness in abdomen as if it would burst, much < by food. Griping cutting > by bending double, < after least food or tightening clothes; menstrual colic (Caus. will cure after failure of Coloc.). Obstinate constipation (paralysis of rectum); stools covered with shiny coating of mucus; piles, unbearable by walking, by thinking of them, by touch. No remedy has such well-marked aggravations of anal symptoms as Caus. A characteristic is "Passes stool best standing." Spasm of rectum prevents walking. Painful pustules near anus discharging pus, blood, serum. Itching at orifice of urethra. Difficult, frequent micturition; with spasm of rectum. Paralysis of bladder is apparent. Enuresis, especially during first sleep; < winter, > in summer. Tendency to escape during the day, from any extra exertion, laughing, walking. Epilepsy has been cured by Caust., when fit occurs in sleep and urine escapes. Coughing expels urine. (Kraft has cured cases of incontinence following over-distension of the bladder owing to want of opportunity to attend to the call to urinate at the time, such as occurs in shop-girls and school-girls, who cannot leave their tasks.) Prostatitis and urethritis. Itching scrotum; cannot retain urine. Blood with semen. Sexual appetite in women is abolished. Constant indifference, the only time there is any inclination is after the period. Sadness during period. Period too early, too abundant; after it, a little blood passes occasionally, smelling badly. Nursing women lose their milk after exertion or long sleep. Hoarseness (with dry cough and redness of fauces), the result of weather or catching cold, < in morning. Aphonia: paralysis of vocal cords. Dry, hollow cough with mucus on chest; patient cannot expectorate, must swallow phlegm raised. A characteristic is: "Cannot cough deep enough for relief." Rawness and burning down throat and trachea. Rheumatism tends to stiffen joints and contract limbs. Warts are a notable feature in Caust.—on hands, on face, and especially on margins of eyelids. When on hands they are usually found on finger-tips or close to nails. Nails are crippled. Old, large, inflamed and indurated warts. Burning itching on face, discharging acrid fluid which forms crusts. Guernsey commends Caust. in the after-effects of burns and scalds. Patients say, "I have never been well since that burn." Its caustic properties may be its "signature" here. "Burning," indeed, is one of the notes of Caust. Guernsey gives "sensation as if lime were being slaked in the stomach." "Soreness" or "rawness" are also very characteristic, appearing in piles and anal affections (< walking or sitting), in which Caust. is in the very first rank among remedies. Soreness and rawness accompany cough symptoms and urinary symptoms. Malcolm Macfarlan confirms the following symptoms: "Forearms in front very sore to touch and pressure; muscles of extremities sore generally." "Sudden severe pain commences in left hip-joint; lasts a short time; feels as if it had been injured; legs very sore, or rather the lower extremities ache and feel tired." Caust. is a remedy to be remembered in intermittent fevers. One peculiar symptom is, "sweat coming after the chill without intervening heat." Teste places Caust. at the head of a group (including Coccul., Coff. c., Corall., Nux v., Staph., Ars.) the common characteristic being according to him: "Two series of successive and opposite phenomena; the former of short duration, consisting in a sort of universal exaltation of all the functions; the latter, which succeed the former more or less rapidly, consist in a general depression of the vital forces, and constitute the real and permanent action of the drugs of this group." Among instances, he gives mirthfulness followed by ill-humour; sleeplessness followed by yawning and drowsiness; moisture of skin followed by dryness; flow of saliva followed by dry mouth and throat; coryza fluent, then dry. Teste found Caust. of great efficacy in small-pox in alternation with Merc. cor. Periodicity is marked: Periodic, paroxysmal attacks; twice a day to every two, three, or four weeks an attack; at new moon. Symptoms are < at night (great restlessness of body, especially legs). < Early morning (cramp). < On waking. < In morning: hoarseness. < Evening: 6 to 8 p.m. heat. Causticum is one of Grauvogl's hydrogenoid remedies, hence is a chilly medicine; < washing, bathing, open air, draught, becoming cold, after wetting; < every change of weather. Heat, especially getting warm in bed > (rheumatism ceasing on getting warm in bed, but beginning again as soon as he gets up.) On the other hand cold water > face and eruptions, and a swallow of cold water > cough; headache is < entering a warm room; damp weather > pains in scalp, ulcers; rhinitis. Heat < eruptions. < In dark; fear of darkness. < From coffee. < After stool. < From walking. < From taking hold of anything. < In clear, fine weather. Suited to dark-haired persons with rigid fibre; delicate skins; lymphatic, torpid temperament.