Linum Catharticum

Linum catharticum, Linn.

Natural order , Lineae.

Common name , Purging Flax.

Preparation , Tincture of whole plant.

Authorities. (Dr. James Gelston's provings, Br. Jour. of Hom., 16, 147.) 1 , Dr.

Stokes took repeated doses of the infusion; 1 a , same, took 1st cent. dil., repeated doses, first, second, fifth, sixth, and ninth days; tincture, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days (1 and 2 drachm doses); 2 , J. F., took infusion; 3 , Mrs. G. (nursing a baby), took infusion; baby similarly affected; 3 a , same took tincture; 4 , J.

Gelston, took infusion first, second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth days; 4 a , same, took large doses of 1st dil. first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth days (on sixteenth day took 2 drops of tincture of Sumbul, and at night 10 grains of Rhubarb; eighteenth day took 4 drops of Sumbul; nineteenth day Nux vom. before breakfast, and 1/2 ounce of Rochelle salts at 10 P.M.); 4 b , same, subsequent proving with tincture and infusion, 30 to 80-drop doses of tincture, 1/2 ounce doses of infusion; 4 c , same, proving with tincture in water, 10, and afterwards 100 drops to 4 ounces, teaspoonful doses; 5 , J.

M., subject to praecordial pain, year previous had an attack of haematemesis, took of same mixture as last, three or four times a day, a teaspoonful, five days.

Depression of spirits (fourth day), [4] .

Congestive headache, left side especially, better in open air (third day), [4c] . [10.]

Dull head at night (second day), [4c] .

Headache (third day), [5] ; (eleventh day), [4a] .

Headache lessened in the open air (second day), [4] .

Headache less after eating (sixth day), [4] .

Forehead. Frontal headache (fourth day), [4] .

Severe frontal headache, obliging to lie down after dinner; took for this 2 drops of Bell. θ , but this having no efficacy, in afternoon tried 3 drops of Sulph. θ , in 3ij of water, a spoonful every two or three hours; found much relief from this (twentieth day), [4a] . Congestive frontal headache (second day), [4] . [20.]

Congestive headache, as of weight in forehead (sixth day), [4a] . Slight, dull frontal headache (fifth day), [4a] .

Dull headache, as of a weight in brow, worse on holding his head backward and after reading (first day), [4b] .

Temples. Severe pressive pain in both temples, temporary, in the evening (eleventh day), [1a] .

Lancinating pains in right temple (second day), [4] . Sides.

Fulness of the head at the region of the ear, worse out of doors, in the evening (second day), [1] .

Ear.

Singing in the left ear for some hours in the evening (second day), [1] .

Sneezing (nine hours after second dose, second day); at night, (ninth day), [4] .

Mucus from nose occasionally rose color (tenth day), [4a] . Fluent coryza (twelfth day), [1a] . [30.]

Stuffing of the nose towards night (ninth day), [4] .

Odontalgia (second day), [4] . Tongue.

Tongue furred (after second dose, third day), [4] . Tongue much furred (fourth morning), [4] .

Tongue deeply furred (second day), [4] .

Tongue foul, [3a] . General Mouth.

Dryness of the mouth, without thirst (second day), [4] . [40.] Much scraping at the arch of the palate and larynx, with hawking of mucus, all day (third day), [1] .

Insipidity (second day), [4] .

Bilious taste, [3a] ; in evening (second day), [1] . Sick, bilious taste (third day), [5] .

Objective. Slight catarrhal symptoms in the throat and larynx; hawking (tenth day); catarrh increases (eleventh day), [1a] .

Much hawking of yellow mucus, sometimes tinged with blood (fourteenth day), [4a] . [50.] Hawking of sanguineous mucus (ninth day), [4a] .

Subjective. Slight heat in the throat in the afternoon; increased in the evening (second day), [1] .

Rawness in the throat when out in open air after breakfast (third day), [4] .

Impaired appetite (second day), [4] ; (third day), [4c] .

Little appetite (sixth day), [4] . Eructation.

Eructations tasting of bile all day (third day), [1] . Rising of food in the evening (second day), [1] .

Nausea. Sick after supper (fifth day), [4a] .

Repletion (third day), [1] . Pressive pains in the stomach in the forenoon (second day), [1] .

Passed a good deal of flatus (ten hours after second dose), [1a] .

Pressing downwards with abdominal muscles; incarcerated flatus displaced, with rumbling; in evening (first day), [4] .

Uneasiness in the belly between 7 and 8 P.M. (nine hours after second dose), [1a] .

Feeling of uneasiness in bowels, as of call to stool (fifteenth day), [4a] .

Slight pains in the bowels (sixth day), [4] .

Griping pains in the bowels, [3a] ; occasionally (tenth day), [4] . [80.]

Griping pains (after two hours), and towards night, with ineffectual efforts at stool (ninth day), [4] .

Some griping and rumbling (seventh day), [4] .

Occasional gripes and distension of the belly, especially after food, troublesome (nineteenth day), [4a] .

Colicky pains for some hours, followed by purging and tenesmus, with griping, [3] . Colicky pains below umbilicus, with tormina, continued half an hour, with solicitation to stool (resisted), (ten minutes after third doses), [4] .

Abdomen tender on pressure (seventh day), [4b] .

Griping in lower belly (after third dose, third day), [4] .

Rectum And Anus. [90.]

Much griping and urging downwards of the rectum (seventeenth day), [4a] .

At night, pressing at the rectum, as if swollen (sixteenth day), [4a] .

Tenesmus (eighteenth day), [4a] .

Copious feculent formed stool (seventeenth day), [4a] .

Urgency to evacuate the bowels; faeces solid, copious (half an hour after third dose, second day), [4] .

Soft stool (ten hours after second dose), [1a] ; at night (eleventh day), [2] .

Full, soft stool, with some urging; feeling, as if more should be evacuated; in the evening (eleventh day), [1a] .

Urgency to stool; faeces soft, but formed (one hour after first dose, third day), [4] . [110.] Stool soft and bilious (fifth day), [1a] .

Stool of slender faeces, with downward urging; second stool, two or three hours after, scanty large-sized faeces (twentieth day), [4a] .

Feculent stool of slender coils, sinking to bottom of ustensil, contrary to previous observation (after two hours, ninth day), [4] . Stool at night, with pressing down (fifth night), [4] .

Frequent desire to evacuate the bowels; a mere trace of faeces, with a little mucus (eighteenth day), [4a] .

Motions hard and dry, though copious (ninth day), [1a] . Difficult stool, with pressing down of rectum; faeces covered with epithelial-like shreds, resembling worms; gelatinous mucus in form of rolls, like inkle tape; in evening (seventh day), [4] .

Colicky, very scanty stool, with rumbling (seventh day), [4b] .

Constipation. [120.] Constipation for several days, [3a] .

Bowels rather constipated up to seventh day (after four days), [4c] .

Bowels continued costive ever since leaving off the medicine (on the tenth day); once in two or three days, hard stools (fifteenth day), [4a] .

Bowels continued costive for several days, then relaxed with pressive force of rectum, then alternately costive and relaxed (eleventh and twelfth days), [4b] . Bowels costive (second day), [4c] , [5] .

Costive stool, with much pressure (third day), [4b] .

Copious costive stool, with great pressing down (bread mixed with bran had been used), (tenth day), [4b] . [130.]

Bowels quite closed (nineteenth day), [4a] .

No motion till evening (seventeenth day), [4a] .

No motion from bowels for three days (fourth day), [5] . No motion since taking (third day), [4c] .

No stool (fifth day), [4b] .

Itching at orifice of urethra (after third dose, third day), [4] .

Frequent desire to urinate (thrice made), (after third dose, third day), [4] .

Plentiful urine towards night (ninth day), [4] . Urine straw-color, strong-smelling, rather scantier (nine hours after second dose, second day), [4] .

Feeble erection (third night), [4] . [140.]

Diminished sexual desire (third day), [4c] .

Slight sexual desire (fifth night), [4] .

Catamenial period passed with no menses appearing (fourth day); catamenia delayed (sixth to eighth day), [5] .

Cough and Expectoration. Cough excited in the open air (had a catarrh a week before, which had almost subsided, leaving only a dry, hard cough, especially of a morning), (second day), [4] .

Occasional cough (eleventh day), [4a] .

Cough at night (fourth day), [5] . [150.]

Cough, especially in open air, or returning from (after second dose, third day), [4] . A little hacking cough (fourteenth day), [4a] .

Tickling cough in open air (fourth day), [4] .

Tickling, teasing cough, and frothy mucous expectoration, when out in open air, after breakfast (third day), [4] .

Dry cough (eighth day), [4b] .

Dry cough towards night (ninth day), [4] .

Hard, dry cough (tenth day), [4] .

Dry, tickling cough (third day), [5] ; after walking (eleventh day), [4] .

Cough dry, tickling, after walking (eleventh day), [4] . Cough and phlegm (tenth day), [4b] . [160.]

Difficult expectoration (eighth day), [4b] .

Frothy expectoration (second day), [4] .

Frothy sputa, tasting as of seawrack (after second dose, third day), [4] .

Expectoration, with much difficulty, of frothy and some yellow mucus (tenth day), [4] . Respiration.

Respiration 30 (fifth day), [4a] . Slight dyspnoea (tenth day), [4b] .

Pulse full and quickened (nine hours after second dose, second day), [4] .

Superior Extremities. Slight shooting down the muscles of the arms in the evening (second day), [4b] .

Slight shooting pains in left and right shoulder-joints (fourth night), [4] .

General Symptoms.

Languor towards night (ninth day), [4] .

Sleep And Dreams.

Sleepiness. [180.] Inclination to sleep after dinner (second day), [4] .

Drowsiness (after first dose, second day); at night (sixth day), [4] .

Drowsy after dinner, slept (fourth day), [4] .

Drowsy after being awakened (fourth morning), [4] . Prolonged sleep (second morning), [4] .

On waking after dinner, supposed it morning (fourth day), [4] . Sleeplessness.

Want of sleep (fourth night), [4] .

Lascivious dreams (sixth night), [4] .

Dreams of travelling to Isle of Man, some danger and trouble (usually dreams of water, but seldom dreams), (second night), [4] . Dreams of cholera (in others), with sloughing off of the prepuce (ninth day), [4] .

Chilliness. A cold feeling, in shoots, as from a blast of cold air (sixth day), [4b] .

Heat. Feverish (second day), [5] .

Much heat of body, and perspiration moderate (second night), [4] .

Sweat. Perspires freely (first day), [5] .

( Evening ), Out of doors, fulness in head at region of ear; singing in ear; heat in throat.

( Night ), Cough; debility. ( Open air ), After breakfast, rawness in throat; cough.

( Open air ), Congestive headache;

( Eating ), Headache.