Stramonium

[THORN-APPLE. NATURAL ORDER, SOLANE.E.]

A well known bush, from one to three feet high, stem smooth, branched, forked, spreading, leafy; leaves broad toward the base, pointed at the extremeties, variously and sharply shraated and toothed, of a dark-green color; flowers large, auxiliary, upright, white; fruit prickly, of the size of a walnut; seeds kidney-shaped, black. It grows in waste places, on heaps of rubbish, in this country and in Europe, A yellow tincture of the seeds is the best preparation. A tincture made of the leaves has a dark-green color.

This is a powerful narcotic agent. Pereira ranges the effects of stramonium on man into three classes: In small, but gradually in- creased doses, it diminishes sensibility, and thereby frequently alleviates paid. It does not usually affect the pulse ; it slightly and temporarily affects the pupil, and has no tendency to cause constipa- tion, but rather relaxation. Though it allays pain, it does not usually produce sleep.

In larger doses it causes thirst, dryness of the throat, nausea, giddiness, nervous agitation, dilatation of the pupil, obscurity of vision, headache, disturbance of the cerebral functions, perspiration, occasional relaxation of the bowels, and, in some cases, diuresis. It has no direct tendency to induce sleep, and hence it cannot be called soporific; but indirectly, by alleviating pain and thereby producing serenity and ease, it often disposes to sleep. In fatal doses, the leading symptoms are : flushed counte- nance, delirium (usually maniacal), dilatation of the pupil, dryness of the throat, loss of voice, difficulty of deglutition, convulsions and, in some cases, palsey.

A woman rather advanced in life, took two grains of the extract of stramonium in two doses within eight hours ; she was attacked with stupefaction, anxiety, convulsions of the limbs, and involuntary weeping ; these symptoms were frightfully increased by partaking of coffee ; they rapidly disappeared after swallowing a few ounces of strong vinegar.

In relating this case Hahnemann remarks that stramonium causes extraordinary waking dreams, unconsciousness of what is going on, loud delirious talking like a person speaking in sleep, with mistakes respecting personal identity. A similar kind of mania it cures specifically. It excites very specific convulsions, -and has thus often proved useful in epilepsy ; both properties render it serviceable

STRAMONIUM. 821

in cases of persons possessed. Its power of extinguishing recollec- tions should induce us to try it in cases of weak memory. It is most useful when there is great mobility of fibre, because its direct action, in large doses, is increased muscular mobility. It causes heat and dilatation of the pupil, a kind of dread of water, swelling and redness of the face, twitching of the muscles of the eyes, retarded stool, difficult breathing ; small doses cause perspiration and sleep.

A little girl, aged two years and a half, swallowed, without the knowledge of her parents, upward of one hundred of the seeds. The first symptoms were great irritability of temper, accompanied by general itching over the whole surface of the body, more especially of the face, and conduct as if intoxicated. To these succeeded flushed countenance, wildness of manner, suffused eyes, maniacal expression, ineffectual efforts to vomit, incoherent and rapid utter- ance, screaming, catching at imaginary objects in the air, or rather striking at them ; it was evident that these spectra were of a fright- ful nature, for there wTas an expression of horror in her face ; she screamed violently and hid her face ; her eye would, to appearance, follow the imaginary object for a moment or two before she made an effort to escape from its supposed approach ; she rapidly became furiously delirous, struck at, pinched, or attempted to bite every person who came near her, or any object that was offered to her.

In two hours the child had lost all power of utterance and of voice ; she could only utter a hoarse, croaking sound, alternated with a sonorous, crampy, barking cough, and was unable to swallow in con- sequence of the violent spasm which affected the mnscles of degluti- tion when she made the effort ; the pupils were dilated, had been so from the first; the voluntary power of the extremities was gone, and the limbs were violently agitated by spasmodic twitching and tossing (not by regular convulsions) alternating with short parox- ysms of opisthotonic spasms.

The pulse was almost imperceptible from the first; coma came on in five hours; a tympanitic state of the abdomen, with paralysis of the bladder; and death ensued twenty-four hours after swallowing the seeds.

The blood was found to be semi-fluid throughout the body. The few coao'ula met with in the auricles of the heart and large veins were very fully formed and easily broken down. A slight unusual blush pervaded the pharynx and oesophagus to about one-third of its extent ; the larynx was similarly injected. The rima glottidis was thickened and very turgid ; the stomach and intestines presented an extremely healthy appearance throughout. {London Lancet, 1845.)

A chlorotic woman, twenty years old, had swallowed a number of the seeds. Her face was hot and red, pupils very much dilated,

822 STRAMONIUM.

eyes injected ; she was delirious, complained of vertigo, ringing in the ears, dryness of the lips and tongue, which was very red, sub- sultus tendinum, twitching of the extremities, sensitiveness of the stomach to pressure, accelerated and full pulse. A marked effect of the poison was an excitement in the sexual sphere, which might be inferred from her actions and from the expressions she used in her delirium.

Other cases of poisoning have revealed the curative virtues of stramonium in tetanic convulsions :

A robust woman, who had pleurisy, prepared a decoction of the leaves and seeds of stramonium, of which she swallowed three cup- fuls. Soon after, she was taken with sickness at the stomach, anxiety, her eyes became closed and her jaws were locked and im- movable ; the pulse beat violently and the extremities twitched. She was bled two pounds, after which she opened her eyes, looked about wildly, with her pupils dilated and insensible to light or con- tact. She opened her mouth, but the tongue was immovable and she was unable to utter a sound.

She was attacked with opis- thotonos. Stimulants and injections restored her.

A girl, three years old, after eating a considerable quantity of the seeds, was attacked with convulsive twitchings of the arms, paralysis of the lower extremities, protrusion of the tongue, staring of the eyes, dilatation of the pupils, muttering delirium, loss of senses. After recovering her consciousness, she complained that the room was very dark and she desired a candle to be lighted. She passed bloody stools and recovered.

Stramonium causes paroxysms of rage. In this respect it acts similarly to belladonna. A little boy who had swallowed the seeds and showed the usual symptoms of poisoning, redness of the face, glistening eyes, dilatation and insensibility of the pupils, shrill and crowing sound of the voice, was likewise attacked with paroxysms of rage ; he attempted to bite the people who were in the room.

A case of poisoning is reported in Hufekmd's Journal, where the patients, about a fortnight after the poisonous symptoms had disap- peared, were attacked with pustulous eruption which covered the whole of the left leg, The pustules were small and caused a good deal of burning and inflammatory redness ; they were tilled with an acrid fluid.

A little girl of two years and a half, ate a quautity of the seeds, after which she was attacked with extraordinary mirthf illness. She alternately laughed, screamed and sang, changing witli wonderful rapidity from one to the other. Her face exhibited" an intense scarlet-redness, the skin was likewise of a sinning red as in scarlet

STRAMONIUM. 323

fever, and very dry; her face, neck, and chest were covered with small, shining, star-shaped petechias. The poisonous symptoms were speedily subdued, but the petechias remained about a week after the poisoning occurred.

Stramonium poisoning has been produced by the application of the leaves to painful ulcers, etc.

Dr. Dunham states that he was called to see a patient who had been under his care for irritable ulcers on both legs. " I found him dressed and lying on a lounge. He recognized me and immediately apologized for not rising, stating that his limbs were not under his control, and, in fact, I found afterward that they were paralyzed.

His face was covered with patches of an irregular shape, not elevated above the rest of the skin and of a brilliant fiery red color. The conjunctiva was injected, the pupils immensely dilated ; the expression of the eye was brilliant, restless, suspicious and roving. The brow was corrugated. The appearance of the patient suggested mania and I might have at once pronounced it a case of delirium tremens, had I not well known the temperate habits of my patient.

The tongue was moist, the papillae enlarged and projecting through a soft white fur. The limbs were motionless. The arms, on the contrary, were constantly reaching forward and upward with an uncer- tain tremulous motion, as if the patient were endeavoring to seize some object, which he indistinctly perceived in the air. As I sat observing him, he suddenly turned toward the wall, exclaiming: 'There are those bugs! help me to catch them!' 'What bugs?' I asked. 'There,' he replied, 'a long train of bed-bugs, and after them a procession cf beetles, and here comes crawling over me a host of cock- roaches.' He shrank back in much alarm.

Then suddenly he turned to me, saying, 'I believe I know they are not really bugs, but, except -once in a while, they seem real to me ! ' * * * At length the peculiar, almost convulsive, motions of his upper extremities, while the lower extremities were nearly paralyzed, together with the aspect of the face and the mental condition, suggested stramonium to my mind. * * * I found a quantity of the bruised green leaves on his legs, applied the night before, in the hope of relieving pain." (Lectures on Materia Medica, vol. i., page 298.)

These cases of poisoning show that stramonium acts principally upon the brain and spinal cord ; in fatal cases death takes place by paralysis of these nervous centres. The iris and the lower extremi- ties seem to be most speedily and constantly affected by the poison. Functional derangements of the abdominal organs seem to result from a sympathetic irritation rather than from the direct action of the poison.

After death the vessels of the brain, the ventricles of the heart and the pulmonary parenchyma are found gorged with a black, fluid blood. The stomach and bowels show signs of inflammation ; their vessels are partially injected.

CEREBRO-SPINAL GROUP.

MANIA. — Stramonium, as we have seen, causes mania of differ- ent degrees of violence. The patient strikes, jumps, dances, sings, is furious, melancholy, happy; stubbornly silent or foolishly talk- ative; has odd hallucinations, sees bugs, spectres, ridiculous or frightful things. We use this drug in the treatment of correspond-

824 STKAMOls'IUM.

ing states, when there is no active fever, when we find convulsive movements of the arms while the legs are nearly paralyzed ; also : dilatation of the pupils, double vision, suppression of urine, dryness of the throat, with a choking sensation ; imbecility, destructiveness, frightful fancies. The remedy is of great value in religious mania and in the ravings of delirium tremens.

J. K., a musician by profession, got a dreadful shock by the sudden death of his brother, who fell dead in his arms. He talked incoherently, struck all around him with his feet and hands, raved and spat in the face of his attendants, tore his clothes, spoke at one time in the Hungarian and then in the Wallachian language; sang Latin paternosters, declared that he was God and then that he was the Devil. He was brought to the asylum on the 24th day of August, and presented the following appearance : He talks incessantly unintelligible nonsense ; sits down and then rises again.

He kneels, and then pushes against the wall, alternately stretching out his hand to the full extent, and laying his finger in his mouth; he tore his clothes and broke a very strong chain and padlock with wonderful rapidity; before he was brought here he had bored large holes in the brick wall of his house with his fingers alone. He will not answer any questions ; avoids the eye; his pupils are contracted, his eyes weary and collapsed. He cannot sleep nor eat. Prescribed stramonium3, one drop.

Half an hour afterward, he became so furiously outrageous that his keep- ers scarcely dared to approach him, and they required to use much force to restrain him. This powerful aggravation went off in the course of some hours ; he became tranquil, fell asleep, and when he waked every trace of his malady was gone. (Dr. C.

Sztaraveski in the Brit. your, of Horn., vol. i., p. 364.)

A girl, thirty years of age, of weakly constitution and of a timid, despondent tem- perament, was frightened and became melancholic. Symptoms : Exceedingly anxious and depressed ; thinks she is unworthy of eternal salvation, because she cannot discharge certain duties imposed upon her. In the evening, she insists upon lighting several candles in the room and begs piteously not to be left alone. She spends her nights sleepless, praying and weeping.

She replies to questions ; at other limes she is silent and brooding and startled by the least noise. She takes food if requested to do so. The head and forehead feel hot. Pupils dilated.

Pulse feeble and rapid. Prescribed stramonium3, one drop morning and night, later at night only. In two weeks she enjoyed her usual health. (Mayerhofer in luygea, xx., 231.)

A man, thirty-six years old, has been deranged for several months. Symptoms : He imagines himself in the grave, makes confessions, prays, desires to be killed. He laughs, as if tickled. Wants everybody to kiss him ; accuses his wife of infidelity.

He scolds, strikes about him; does not permit his keepers to hold him. He thinks his keepers are dogs, and he barks to be understood by them. He imitates the Jew- ish dialect, something very unusual in him ; he thinks the house surrounded by Jewish peddlers and geese, and that the former expose their bodies indecently ; this makes him very angry. He is pale, eats nothing, does not sleep.

Constant contractions of the muscles of the face. He shows the thumb through the fingers. Stramonium' cured him in a few days. (Schellhamm in Archiv., xvi., 2, 81.)

PHRENITIS comes within the curative range of stramonium. Many of the symptoms which we have indicated so far may occur in phrenitis. All our cases of poisoning by stramonium show that the cerebral vessels are engorged with blood under the action of stramonium. The symtomatic indications likewise point to stramo- nium. The glistening eyes, the flushed face, the expression of terror and pain in the features, the peculiar delirium, generally of the maniacal character, justify the use of stramonium in this disease. In

STRAMONIUM. 825

CEREBRAL CONGESTIONS and in inflammation of the brain arising from certain causes, stramonium may be useful. Among such causes we may number the sudden retrocession or the imper- fect development of an acute rash, dentition, gastric irritation, a peculiar miasmatic condition of the atmosphere. A phrenitis of this kind may be characterized by the toxicological effects of stramo- nium, such as : glistening of the eyes, with dilatation of the pupils, redness of the face, boring with the head into the pillow, muttering or furious delirium, stupor, burning pain in the brain, etc.

CEREBRAL TYPHUS — These and similar symptoms might characterize a case of cerebral typhus, to which stramonium is homoeopathic ; in addition to which we may have carpolagia, dry and parched tongue and lips, petechias, offensive discharges from the bowels.

TETANIC CONVULSIONS.— We have seen that stramonium causes convulsions, trembling of the extremities, paralysis. Hence we recommend it in tetanic convulsions, especially when excited by the sight of a sparkling object, water, a looking-glass, candle. Striking symptoms of cerebral congestion are always present during the paroxysm. In

TRAUMATIC TETANUS stramonium may be used; convul- sions have been induced by introducing stramonium into the cir- culation through a wound. In

CHOREA stramonium may effect a cure, especially in recent cases where the attack was induced by a fright, by the sudden •checking of the perspiration, or by self-abuse.

In the selection of the remedy for tetanus and chorea it must be remembered that stramonium will be of no service unless we have ■evidence that the brain is the seat of the lesion, and unless we find the mental symptoms in the strictest harmony with the pathogenesis of the drug ; the importance of the latter can hardly be over- estimated.

A boy, eleven years old, was greatly frightened some fifteen weeks ago ; he ex- perienced, in consequence of this fright, symptoms which seemed to indicate mental •disturbance, but terminated, at last, in chorea. Symptoms : He reels, as if dizzy ; his walk is staggering; it is impossible for him to walk straight unless he is guided. The head is drawn backward upon the shoulders. Trembling of the arms and legs. •Great freedom of motion of all the limbs, and yet he is not able to raise himself up.

The muscles of voluntary motion fail to obey his will force; one can see the useless efforts of the patient to moderate the untoward motions of the limbs. He can hardly conduct his hand to the glass ; it is still more difficult to raise the glass to the lips, which can be done only after several efforts. He frequently presses his hand upon •the small of the back and then bends backward with an expression of pain, as if he were suffering from violent distress. The countenance expresses stupidity and a loss

826 STRAMONIUM.

of balance as well as great dullness of the special senses. The eye is staring and watery, the pupils enlarged and do not react promptly. Loss of memory ; cannot recite verses which he knew perfectly, and does not remember occurrences of a few days ago. If he wants to speak (and he does this only to answer repeated questions) he stammers ; shows a visible effort, which is accompanied by a peculiar contraction of the facial muscles, especially of the mouth, which is drawn to either one side or the other.

He complains rarely about pains in the head or in the bowels. The appetite is regular, perhaps a little increased; there is violent thirst; the bowels are hard. Constipation of several days' standing is followed by diarrhoea. Scanty urina- tion.

Frequent hawking, as if from a pressure in the throat. Occasional nausea, but no vomiting. Oppressed and frequent breathing. Pulse small and spasmodic.

Stiffness and coldness of the hands and feet with unusually flushed and full counte- nance ; in fact, there is quite a tendency to chilliness ; uneasy sleep ; he lies with his limbs drawn up, swings the arms about in various directions ; snores and makes inarticulate sounds. He likes to lie down. In the morning, immediately afier rising, he cannot distinguish objects, although he sees them well enough, he runs against the table and chairs, as if he were feeling his way in the dark.

Formerly obedient, he is now very stubborn, but withal very shy and timid before strangers. Prescribed stramonium9, one drop in the morning. On the very next day he spoke of his own accord and dressed himself. On the third day he sat down to the table and ate heartily; his movements were passably regular,. his gait still irregular, but surer than it had been.

His conduct and behavior are nearly natural. Prescribed a second dose of stramonium. Within three days all spasmodic action had disappeared. A few stray symptoms demanded china12.

The cure was permanent. (Aegidi in Archiv., vii., 2, y$.)

EPILEPSY. — Stramonium has cured epilepsy in persons of pale, weary look, with obstinate constipation, snoring, risus sardonicus and that peculiar group of mental and brain symptoms which has- been described as characteristic of this drug.

Kleinert relates the case of a hearty man, forty years old, who has suffered for four years from epilepsy, which recurred with great regularity, and violence, and which made its appearance after a dislocation inward of the xiphoid cartilage. The following were the symptoms of the case : Perfect unconsciousness at the commence- ment of the convulsions with incessant, and exceedingly rapid, throwing of the head to the right; blue color of the face ; blood-shot, staring eyes; tongue fastened be- tween the teeth at the right corner of the mouth ; violent striking with the arms, opisthotonos of the spine and legs.

This spasm lasts from three to five minutes, closes with slight vomiting of mucus and gall and with nearly normal breathing, to- give way to a second and less violent spasm, which lasted nearly an hour and con- sists of a semi-circular motion of the left arm and foot, with perfect rest of the body. After this collapse sets in, followed by about one hour's profound sleep, to have the spasms recommence in the above-mentioned gradation. The attack is always pre- ceded by a violent contractive pain in the stomach, pressure in the epigastric region, increased to excrutiating pain, if touched; stubborn constipation; despondency; anticipation of death ; desire to be alone.

HYSTERIC SPASMS. — Stramonium may cure hysteric spasms when characterized by the globus hystericus, sardonic smiles, dis- charge of watery urine.

HYDROPHOBIC CONVULSIONS have been successfully treated with stramonium. This poison causes a spasmodic constriction of the fauces so that not even water can be swallowed. Bnckner informs us, in his Toxicology, that he once macerated, Over night, two grains of the seeds of stramonium in a glass of beer, which he

STRAMONIUM. 827

swallowed next morning before breakfast. He was attacked with vertigo and dryness and constriction of the throat, so that he was unable to swallow his own saliva. In violent cases, the attempt to swallow liquids has resulted in hydrophobic convulsions. Hence in spurious hyhrophobia, and perhaps in genuine hydrophobia, stramo- nium may prove useful.

PARALYSIS Stramonium has caused, and may therefore cure, paralysis, partial or complete, when accompanied by, or remaining after, convulsions. Disturbances of the special senses and of the intellectual functions are very generally present in paralysis to which stramonium is homoeopathic. This kind of paralysis may occur in consequence of a sudden mental or moral shock, sudden retrocession of an acute rash, sudden checking of the perspiration.

In a case reported in Frank's Magazine, the patient became paralyzed and lost his voice in consequence of the sudden suppression of a diarrhoea by opium ; stramonium restored him very speedily.

CATALEPSY. — Stramonium has acted curatively in catalepsy caused by religious excitement or by excesses in venery. This dis- ease is also found in connection with hysteria, chorea, mania and other diseases which come within the curative range of stramonium. The totality of symptoms must indicate the remedy.

A robust girl of twenty-three years of age, who has never been sick, has not been pregnant, but has led an irregular life, was taken ill with ovaritis on September 6th, for which she was bled and blistered and had calomel and, later, arsenic given her. Symptoms on September 20th : She has an attack once or twice a day, commencing with headache, stabbing pain in the forehead, vertigo ; heaviness of the head ; great prostration. She lies quietly, with her eyes half open, rigid ; there is slight spas- modic motion of the upper lids.

The mouth is open ; pulse full and wavy. The limbs can be moved by others without resistance from her, and retain the position in which they are placed; the eyelids only open again when closed by another person. The head remains as placed ; if the foot is bent forward or backward in the joint, it remains in that position for some time, and then gradually resumes its former posi- tion. This condition lasts about half an hour.

She then commences to breathe louder but more labored, and moves her head ; the eyes resume their natural lustre ; she tumbles about in bed and complains only of exhaustion. She is hopeless, in despair; cannot sleep at night. Prescribed stramonium9, one drop. She was more quiet during the following night, slept some, and on the next evening she had the headache which usually precedes the attack, but the spasm never returned.

Later, Pulsatilla was given to regulate her digestion. (Rueckert in Archiv. iv., 2.)

OEBITAL GEOUP.

The action of stramonium upon the sense of vision is very remark- able. It causes : Dilatation of the pupils. Glistening eyes. Staring eyes. Swelling and redness of the eyes, also with sensitiveness to light. Diplopia, the patient sees objects double, but in an oblique direction one from the other. Black objects look gray. He sees objects which are not present. He sees a reddish-gray border

828 STRAMONIUM.

around white objects, such as paper. Letters seem to move, look blurred, objects are seen obliquely ; in one case. Amaurosis set in for six hours ; in other cases. Paralysis of the upper lid took place.

These symptoms generally co-exist with cerebral affections or violent irritations of the ganglionic system. Some of these phe- nomena may remain as sequeke of acute cerebral diseases; more particularly amaurosis, amblyopia, paralysis of the upper lids, and the various optical illusions which may characterize a general amau- rotic condition of the eye.

In inflammation and ulceration of the lids stramonium may be of great use. In the previously mentioned nervous affections of the eyes stramonium may be tried, whether they exist as consequences of cerebral diseases or from any other source.

BUCCAL GKOUP.

The symptoms which are to be recorded here do not exist inde- pendently of the cerebral symptoms ; in this range we have : Dryness of the mouth. Screaming until the patient is hoarse. Stammering, uttering inarticulate sounds. Loss of speech, he ex- presses his wishes by signs ; sometimes the loss of speech is accom- panied by furious delirium.

Swelling of the tongue, it hangs out at the mouth. Bloody froth. Ptyalism, discharge of tenacious saliva. Constriction of the throat.

All these symptoms occur incidentally to more general affections of the brain or nervous system, in phrenitis, typhus, convulsions, and so forth.

CHYLO-POIETIC GROUP.

We have the following record : Food tastes like straw ; vomiting of sour mucus ; feeling of anxiety in the pit of the stomach ; burn- ing distress in the stomach ; tympanitis ; rumbling in the bowels ; blackish diarrhoea ; diarrhoea having a cadaverous smell ; discharge of coagulated blood from the anus.

All these symptoms constitute so many elements of more compre- hensive pathological groups. In the various cerebral affections, and in the various typhoid inflammations and nervous irritations, to which stramonium is homoeopathic, these symptoms may occur. The vomiting, for instauce, may occur as a sympathetic result of cerebral congestion. The burning and tympanitic distention of the bowels, and the blackish and cadaverous diarrhoea, may occur in certain forms of typhus, or as a consequence of a repelled malignant eruption, scarlet rash or small-pox.

STRAMONIUM. 82 &

URINARY GROUP.

Stramonium causes retention of urine ; in one case this was accompanied by a seusation as if a cylindrical ball were pushed through the urethra.

This symptom reminds us of the hysterical ball as a symptom of hysteria. It confirms the use of stramonium in

HYSTERIA, especially when the difficulty gradually terminates, as it often does, in the secretion of copious quantities of a watery urine, a kind of urine which is generally designated by the term spastic.

This retention of urine may likewise occur as a mere symptom in paralysis, typhus, etc.

SEXUAL GROUP, i

Stramonium causes a violent unnatural irritation of the sexual organs of women, enabling us to use this agent in that dreadful form of mania,

NYMPHOMANIA, where stramonium is particularly indicated by co-existing cerebral congestions or even paroxysms of convulsions with loss of consciousness, hot head, dark-red face, dilated pupils, copious ptyalism, gritting of the teeth, trembling, feeling of anguish.

Constipation and signs of abdominal plethora constitute indica- tions in other cases. This disease has been successfully treated with stramonium.

PUERPERAL MANIA. — Stramonium also causes metrorrhagia and a discharge of black blood from the womb. These symptoms may occur in puerperal mania, the paroxysm setting in with symp- toms of unnatural mirthf ulness ; the patient becomes uncontrollable? wants to bite, the face looks flushed, and the eyes glisten.

Called to see Mrs. B., a light blonde, aged twenty-six years. She was delivered six days since. Found her in an ecstasy, singing, clapping her hands, and breaking out into boisterous expressions, such as, " O, how happy I am," etc.

She would seize every one by the hand, showing great pleasure on meeting; would talk about going to heaven, of being dead and laid out in black. Says she is the handsomest corpse that ever was ; refuses to nurse her child, saying it, too, was dead. Acuses her husband of infidelity, and all women around her of being guilty of criminal con- duct, yet speaks lightly of it, and accuses herself of previous wantonness. Find some tenderness about the pubes ; thirst and accelerated pulse.

Prescribed stramo- nium800. Convalescent next day. (Dr. G.

N. Brigham,. JV. E.

Med. Gazette, May, 1871.)

PUERPERAL CONVULSIONS. — In puerperal convulsions stramonium may be indicated by similar cerebral congestions. In

TYPHOID CONDITIONS of the womb, with discharge of foul blood, stramonium may compete with belladonna, hyoscyamus and other drugs.

830 .. STRAMONIUM.

RESPIRATORY GROUP.

ASTHMA The shrill, hoarse and crowing sound of the voice,

which stramonium causes, may indicate its use in certain forms of convulsions. They may also occur in dyspnoea or asthma, where stramonium haa frequently exhibited curative effects, especially in asthma caused by the retrocession of an acute rash, with spasmodic constriction across the chest and expectoration of small quantities of mucus. A method of using stramonium in this disease has been to smoke it like tobacco, one or two pipes a day.

WHOOPING- COUGH. — Stramonium causes a spasmodic cough, especially in the evening ; hence it has been used with more or less advantage in dangerous forms of whooping cough, when the attack results in vomiting, discharge of blood from the nose, and the little patient becomes emaciated and prostrated under the disease. In

HAEMOPTYSIS, with spasmodic coughing tits, stramonium has likewise proved useful.

EXANTHEMATOUS GROUP.

Stramonium has caused a fiery redness of the whole body and a petechial rash on the chest and back, and likewise upon the lower ex- tremities. Observation seems to bear out the doctrine that there exists a deep relation between such a rash and the functional power of the brain. We avail ourselves of this knowledge for the purpose of pro- moting the development of cutaneous eruptions, such as measles, scarlatina, or even small-pox, if the brain seems to become exhausted by its efforts to free itself from the depressing influences of the eruptive disease.

The existence of a petechial rash in typhoid diseases, where exuda- tion of a sanguineous fluid is taking place, affords confirmatory evidence of the homoeopathicity of stramonium to the existing disease.

• FEVER GROUP.

ACUTE ERUPTIVE DISEASES— We have seen that stra- monium is used by homoeopathic physicians in acute eruptive diseases, if the eruption does not come out fairly and the brain seems to be unsuccessful in its endeavor to relieve itself. The patient may be in a state of sopor, from which he starts up every now and then with a sudden cry. The faqe looks flushed and bloated, the skin feels dry and hot, except the extremities, which may be cold. The paticut is frightened by visions, rats, mice,

SULPHUR. 831

furious animals, from which the children endeavor to hide them- selves. These symptoms may partially occur in

TYPHUS OF THE BRAIN OR BOWELS, where the delirium is generally of the furious kind, also alternating with singing and whistling, the patient wants to jump out of bed, has frightful visions, petechias may show themselves.

M., of robust constitution and of nervous temperament, forty-five years old, took cold while convalescing from a miliary fever, had a violent, beating headache and the following symptoms in about twenty-four hours : With an increasing headache, he had complained, about half an hour ago, that everything was turning black, and soon after, that he could neither see nor hear ; he then felt very faint and I found him on a couch, grasping and kicking about him; he was delirious, did not know his wife and children, called loud for several persons who were right with him, but refused to recognize them even if they replied to him.

The pupils were enormously dilated and refused to react; pulse slow; the beat of the carotids and the bodily tempera- ture were normal. Our patient was treated allceopathically for twenty-four hours, then took nothing for another twenty-four hours and continued in the same condition with suppression of the urine. He called: "Mother, help me! I am dying!" etc.

Then he fell into a sopor, with loud snoring and dropping jaw, from which he rallied again. Prescribed one drop of stramonium3. In six hours he was conscious, laid quietly in bed, recognized my voice and called me byname; he had become quiet soon after taking the medicine, had slept for two hours and wakened without know- ing what had happened. Soon a copious evacuation of pale urine took place.

The pupils contracted properly and his hearing returned. (Rueckert in Arckiv., ii., I, 91.