Cicuta Virosa

(Express the juice from the root of the plant when it begins to blos- som, and mix it with equal parts of Alcohol.)

The following list of symptoms of this drug, is very imper- fect. I am confident that further provings of this drug will show that it corresponds to symptoms which no other agent is possessed of, and that it will even be a valuable remedy in chronic affections ; I have seen it act three weeks.

The old school has never employed Cicuta internally ; sev- eral years ago, when Cicuta was prescribed, which was fre- quently the case, Conium maculatum was the drug designated as Cicuta.

Upon the recommendation of Linne, the juice of Cicuta was employed in the so called Cicuta plaster, especially by the Danish pharmacopceia ; this plaster was intended to cure arthritic pains.

The juice of the recent root (it has no effect whatever when dried) is so powerful that the old school practitioners could not venture upon giving it internally, owing to the magnitude of their doses.'

The 30th potency is sufficiently powerful to exhibit all the curative powers of that agent.

FROM NOACK AND TRINKS.

Convulsions, especially in women and children, hence eclampsia, also spasms during delivery (also Hysoc. Cham. Ing. Bell.), and during confinement ; convulsions brought on by the abuse of opium. — Hysteric spasms and tetanus (also Bellad. Cham. Mosch. Bryon. Nux v.) ; catalepsy, tetanus (opis- thotonus), trismus (after a cold). — Tremor of the limbs. — Conse- quences of the penetration of foreign bodies into the soft parts. — Strophulus confertus (Cham. Caust.) — Lichen agrius (Lye.

' " Nee ulli auctor essem,ut interno usui dicaret." Murray. (Appa- rat. medicam. tom. I. edit, see p. 402.)

76 CICUTA VIROSA.

Sulp., Acidum mur.) — Achor (also Sep., Hep., Lye, Calc. c.) — Impetigo sparsa (Lack., Sulp., Merc, sol.) ; Impetigo rodens also (Calc. c, Sulph., Ars., Rhus., Sep.,) Porrigo larvalis Hej-pes furfuraceus (aided by Sulph., Merc, Anac, Thuya, Calc. c, Lye, Lach., Graph., Bor.,) ; herpes exedens ; herpes labialis

Long-lasting pustulous, confluent cutaneous erup- tions, forming thick yellow crusts, with burning pain Acne gutta rosacea, (Canth., Cann., Caust., Sep., Led., and Lach.) — Mentagra (Lye) — Worm-fever, with colic and convulsions Febris nervosa stupida Asiatic cholera

Mental aflec- tions Cerebral affections Vertigo Nervous headache, me- grim

Illusions of sight Hemorrhage from the ears Hard- ness of hearing Ozaena

Nervous toothache, when the pain comes from the pressure of the gold in filled teeth Stuttering — Spasms of the pharynx Swelling of the neck, threatening suffocation (caused by swallowing a splinter). Gastric condi- tions

Chronic abdominal and urinary affections. Paralysis of the bladder Spasms of the chest Swelling of the knee, walking with the feet turned inwards, and archlike motion of the limb when walking.

Antidotes of large doses : Arn. Tab.

(by HAHNEMANN.)

In the morning, when waking, headache, as if the brain were loose, and were shaken by walkmg ; when reflecting on the real nature of the pain, it had disappeared. Megrim, a sort of aching, rather externally. Violent headache in the occi- put, resembling a dull pressure, and accompanied with some coryza. (a. 48 h.) (Violent headache, for two days, after a sick feeling in the abdomen : stitching, extending from the nose and the right eye to the occip>ut.) (a, 15 d.) — 5.

(Headache is followed by a gloom, lasting two days.) The headache went off" when sitting erect. The headache is relieved by the emis- sion of flatulence.

A slight twitching under the lower eyelid, in the orbicula- ris muscle. Heat and burning around the eyes.

Yellow discharge from the nose. A kind of cramp in the cer- vical muscles ; when looking around, he is unable to turn the head back again immediately ; the muscles do not yield, and he would suffer a good deal of pain if he were to use violence.

Want of appetite, owing to a feeling of dryness in the mouth ; food has no bad, but not its full taste. Appetite for dinner, but

CICUTA VIROSA. 77

the appetite disappeared after swallowing one mouthful. He did not relish his breakfast, the food pressed in the abdomen, as if he had eaten already a good deal. Cutting in the abdomen shortly after a meal. Pressure in the pit of the stomach, shortly after a meal, which obliges her to take a deep inspiration ; ac- companied with an inclination to eructation.

Colic and drow- siness, immediately after a meal. Tightness in the pit of the stomach, and anxiety, for 8 days ; he would like to walk out all the time, to get cool. In the morning, nausea in the abdo- men ; in the afternoon, after the nausea left, headache, a stitch- ing in the right side of the head, extending from the right eye and nose, in both of which organs it was most violent, to the occiput, lasting three days, after the lapse of which time the nose began to run and secreted a yellow mucus, (a. 9 d.)

Accumulation of a quantity of mucus, with continual anguish and ill humor. Itching in the rectum, close above the anus ; rubbing induced a burning pain, this pain always inducing a shuddering, after walking, when standing still, and during stool.

Obstruction of the nose, accompanied with secretion of a profuse^quantity of mucus. S welling on the inner side of the bend of the left elbow, as if an ulcer would form ; when mov- ing the arm, a pain was felt in that part similar to what is felt when pressing against an ulcer.

Burning itching all over.

About noon, anxiety, sweat in the face and trembling of the hands ; sensation about the heart (in the middle of the chest) as if he would faint.

Vivid dreams, at night, about the everits of yesterday. Obtusion of the head, early in the morning after rising. Sweat on the abdomen, at night.

He became indifferent to all things, and began to doubt whether he was really in the condition he was in. He con- founded things of the present with those of the past. Think- ing of the future made him feel anxious, and he was sad all the time. Suspicious.

Excited, and apprehensive about the fu- ture ; he imagined that every thing which might occur to him would be dangerous. He was sad when others were cheerful. He imagined he was not living in his usual condition and cir- cumstances ; every thing appeared to him strange and almost terrible ; he felt like one waking from an acute fever, and seeing all sorts of visions, but without feeling bodily sick. He felt like a child of 7 or 8 years, as if he .were as fond of objects as a child is of his toys.

OBSERVATIONS OF OTHERS.

' Head: Stupid and dull. (a. 10 m.) Stupid feeling in the head, with chills ; at the same time the neck felt stiff, and the muscles too short. Loss of sense, absence of all thought Intoxication, staggering. — 5.

Vertigo, when walking, as if he would fall forwards, (a. 72 h.) When stooping, his head feels as if it would fall forwards, (a. 8U h.) Vei^tigo, reeling. Reeling, and staggering when walking, (a. 82 h.) He feels like one intoxicated when sitting, standing or walking, (a. 5 m.) — 10. All objects seem to him as if they moved in a cir- cle, especially when sitting for many hours, (a. 2 h.) All objects seem to him moving to and fro, from one side to another, although every thing has its proper form, (a, 10 m.) She imagines she has to sit, or to place herself more firmly, because every thing she sees before her seems to vacillate, which in- duces her to believe that she is vacillating herself ; every thing dazzles her.

(a. 15 m.) She imagines she is vacillating from side to side, or that things around her move from side to side ; the objects around her seem to her to move like a pendulum to and fro. When she is to stand still, she desires to hold on to something, because the objects seem to her now to come nearer, now to recede. — 15. She reels and imagines she has to fall, (a. 6 h.) Vertigo, he fell down. He is constantly on the point of falling down.

He fell down, without uttering one word. He falls down and rolls about. — 20. Hammering pain in the forehead, from morning till evening, (a. 2 h.) Anxiety in the head. The head feels stupified and heavy, (a. 74h.) Heavi- ness of the head, when sitting.

Compressive headache from both sides. — 25. Pressure in the left parietal bone. Stupefy- ing headache, externally, in the forehead, increasing when at rest. (a. 1, 36 h.) Formication in the forehead, (a. 2 m.) .

Stitching pain in the region of the frontal bone.

Drawing stitches along the eyebrows, (a. 12 h.) — 30. Considerable eruption upon the hairy scalp and in the face.

Pimples, of the size of lentils, in the whole face (and on both hands,) causing a burning pain when coming out' afterwards becoming collected into one, dark-red, lastino- nine days ; at the lapse of this period they peeled off, this process lasting three weeks. (I have cured chronic eruptions in the face, flowing together into one mass of pus, by means of one or two doses of a drop of the juice ; when one dose was not sufficient, I never gave the second till three or four weeks had

^ ^

CICUTA VIROSA. 79

elapsed.) Redness of countenance. Swelling of the face (and neck). Eyes protruding. — 35. Staring look.

Staring at one and the same place, every thing looking to him like black cloth, (a. 6 m.) Staring, (a. i h.) She stares at one place for a quarter of an hour, and cannot do otherwise, although she makes an effort to do so ; she is not quite possessed of her senses, and has to be stirred up a good deal, in order to answer correctly ; when turning her head away with a sort of force, she loses her senses, and her sight becomes obscured. She is unable to distinguish an object correctly, however much she may stare at it ; things looked blurred, as they do when look- ing too long and steadily at the same object. — 40.

Although one may rouse her ever so much from her state of staring, nev- ertheless she relapses back again into the same state, the pulse being at fifty. If one leaves her sitting on a chair for some time, the head gradually sinks forward, whilst the eyes con- tinually stare at the same point, so that the pupils, in propor- tion as the head inclines forward, get behind the upper eyelids ; after which she feels a jerk internally, which brings her back to her senses for some time ; after this she relapses again into a state of insensibility, from which she is roused from time to time by an internal shaking, which she declares to be a sort of chill.

At times she saw things double and black ; at times she became hard of hearing. Cotitractlon of the pupils after one and a half^ two and a half hoicrs ; followed by considera- ble dilatation of the pupils, (a. 8, 9 h.)— 45. Pressure in the right internal canthus ; he had to close his eyes, to relieve them.

^

80 CICUTA VIROSA.

VOL. II. 7

i

82 CICUTA VIROSA.

CICUTA VIROSA. 83

Portions of the limbs, the upper part of the body and head, with a bluish face and the breathing being interrupted for a few moments, with foam at the mouth ; after the convulsions, when the breathing had become free, he had lost his senses, he lay like one dead, remaining insensible even when called to, pinch- ed, etc. (The body of a young man who died two hours after the poisoning, remained warm for a whole day, without blue- ness or swelling ; the limbs were stiff, the lungs were full of blue and yellow spots, the blood was red and fluid, the heart empty, the oesophagus bluish and dry.) She lies like one dead, with lock-jaw. Immobility. — 185. They were all lying in a state of weakness and insensibility, like dead persons.

84 CINA, SEMEN SANTOCINI.