Cuprum

Hahnemann , who solved the problem how to give us insoluble substances pure and in solution, by means of potentization, thus describes the preparation, for healing purposes, of metallic copper.

He says, " A piece of pure metallic copper is rubbed upon a hard and fine whetstone under distilled water in a china vessel. The fine powder which falls to the bottom is then dried, and then triturated for three hours with sugar of milk, in order to obtain the millionth potency,* from which the dilutions are derived by means of alcohol. One or two pellets of the 30th potency are sufficient at a dose."

[" * Hahnemann having so frequently explained the preparation of insoluble substances, in order to render them soluble, does not go into details here. But when he says, " the fine powder is triturated for three hours with sugar of milk, in order to obtain the millionth potency," he refers to his usual method of arriving at that millionth potency.

The procedure is this — One grain of the powder is strongly triturated for an hour with 99 grains of sugar of milk : the result is the ist centesimal potency — one in 100. One grain of this 1st centesimal potency is again triturated for an hour with 99 grains of sugar of milk, to give the 2nd centesimal potency — one in 10,000. And a third trituration, one grain of the 2nd centesimal in 99 grains of sugar of milk, gives the 3rd centesimal potency — one in a million : " after which, all substances can be dissolved in alcohol or water."]

" The poisonous effects of this metal and its preparations, and the cruel and frequently fatal symptoms resulting from its application, have prevented physicians from using it internally."

He quotes some of the poisonous effects of copper, which are important for us, because what a poison can cause, that it can cure. " Loathing, nausea, fits of anguish and vomiting even in a few minutes, troublesome burning in the mouth, unsuccessful retching, violent pains in the stomach a few hours after the metal, obstruction of the intestines, or too violent evacuations, even bloody diarrhoea, constant uneasiness, sleeplessness, exhaustion, weak and small pulse, cold sweat, paleness of face, pains in the whole body, or in a few parts, pain in the thyroid cartilage, pain in the hypochondria, tingling sensation on the top of the head, palpitation of the heart, vertigo, painful constriction of the chest, cough with interrupted, almost suppressed respiration, extremely hurried breathing, haemoptysis, hiccough, loss of consciousness, wandering look — also convulsions, rage, apoplexy, paralysis, death."

(Here are foreshadowed the principal curative uses of copper : and in diseases, often of a very severe nature, and great suffering. One can see that it would be — what it is — one of the great remedies in cholera, in whooping-cough, in cramps and spasms, in convulsions and epilepsy.)

Hahnemann continues, " Homoeopathy alone is capable, by means of the peculiar mode of preparation to which it subjects remedial agents, and by means of its doctrine of the degree of potencies, to employ even the most violent substances for the benefit and restoration of the sick.

" Most of those violent symptoms of poisoning usually appear in groups, lasting half an hour or an hour, and recurring from time to time in the same form and combination, such as,

" Palpitation of the heart, vertigo, cough, haemoptysis, painful contraction of the chest, arrested breathing —

" Or — aching in the chest, lassitude, vaccillation of sight, closing of the eyes, loss of consciousness, quick, moaning respiration, tossing about, cold feet, hiccough, a short and hacking cough which arrests the breathing, etc. The use of Copper is therefore so much more homoeopathic as the symptoms appear at irregular intervals, and in groups.

" Several kinds of partial or general clonic spasms, St. Vitus' dance, epilepsy, whooping cough, cutaneous eruptions, old ulcers : and likewise spasmodic affections, accompanied with too fine and sensitive senses, appear to be the principal sphere of action for copper ; it was likewise indispensable either to prevent or to cure Asiatic cholera. . . .'

He adds, " Copper acts only a few days " : though later experience, perhaps in chronic disease, perhaps in the higher potencies, gives its length of action as forty to fifty days.

He quotes from Noack and Trinks , " Copper is most suitable to relaxed, irritable and nervous constitutions, with weakness and excessive sensitiveness of the nervous system, inclination to spasmodic affections, convulsions and typical diseases, especially of a chronic nature, with irregular paroxysms."

Guernsey , Keynotes, says :

" One of the strongest indications for the use of this remedy is a strong, metallic taste in the mouth. Rhus. is the only other remedy that has this symptom in as marked a form. (The Repertory black types for this symptom are, Cocc., MERC., NAT. C., RHUS., SENEG.)

" Spasms. Spasmodic affections generally ; whooping cough, where the attacks run into catalepsy. Epilepsy : spasms, particularly which begin in fingers and toes, then spread all over body. . . . Where eruptions strike in, as in scarlet fever, etc., and where excessive vomiting, great stupor, convulsions, etc., appear, Cuprum takes high rank to cause the rash to reappear."

Nash : " Spasm is the one word characterizing this remedy. Cramps or convulsions in meningitis, cholera, cholera morbus, whooping-cough, scarlatina, etc.

" Spasms begin in fingers and toes and, spreading from there, become general.

" In cholera, cholera morbus, or cholera infantum, the cramping pains are sometimes terrible.

" Dunham said (in regard to cholera) : ' In Camphor collapse is most prominent : in Veratrum alb. the evacuations and the vomiting : in Cuprum, the cramps.' "

Kent: "Cuprum is pre-eminently a convulsive medicine. The convulsive tendency associates itself with almost every complaint that Cuprum creates and cures. . . . It has convulsions in every degree of violence : — from little twitchings to convulsions of all the muscles of the body. When these are coming on, the earliest threatenings are drawings in the fingers, clenching of thumbs, or twitching of the muscles.

" Tonic convulsions, where the thumbs are first affected : they are drawn down into the palms and then the fingers close over them with great violence. . . . Spasms followed by the appearance as if the patient were dead."

Kent describes the whooping-cough that calls for Cuprum, in the language of the mother. " She says, ' that when the child is seized with a spell of this violent whooping-cough, the face becomes livid or blue, the finger-nails become discoloured, the eyes are turned up, the child coughs until it loses its breath and then lies in a state of insensibility for a long time until she fears the child will never breathe again, but with a violent spasmodic action in its breathing, the child from the shortest breaths comes to itself again just as if brought back to life.' You have here all the violence of whooping-cough and a convulsive case. . . . If the mother can get there quickly enough with a little cold water she will stop the cough. Cold, water especially will relieve the spasm."

Whenever the respiratory organs are affected there is dreadful spasmodic breathing — dyspnoea. There is also great rattling in the chest. The more dyspnoea there is, the more likely his thumbs will be clenched and the fingers cramped. .

" Cuprum is not passive in its business. Violence is manifested everywhere. Violence in its diarrhoea, violence in its vomiting, violence in its spasmodic action : strange and violent things in its mania and delirium. . .

" In the epilepsy calling for Cuprum, we have the contractions and jerkings of fingers and toes. He falls with a shriek, and during the attack passes his urine and faces . . . epilepsies that begin with a violent constriction in the lower part of the chest . . . or with contractions in the fingers that spread all over the body, to all the muscles. . . .

(In puerperal convulsions) " the urine is scanty and albuminous. During the progress of labour the patient becomes suddenly blind. All light seems to her to disappear from the room, the labour pains cease, and convulsions come on, commencing in the fingers and toes. When you meet these cases do not forget Cuprum. You will look around a long time before you can cure a case of this kind without Cuprum."

Kent also discusses cholera . He says, " Hahnemann had not seen a case of cholera, but he perceived that the disease produced appearances resembling the symptoms of Cuprum,* Camphor and Veratrum ** . . . ; and these three remedies are the typical cholera remedies. . . . You will see that the Cuprum case is, above all others, the spasmodic case. It has the most intense spasms. . . . These three remedies tend downwards into collapse and death.

[ * In regard to Copper for cholera--workers in copper mines are said to be immune from that disease : and little discs of copper are often worn next the skin for a protection. Again, some of the sporadic " cholera " in India, where a picnic party goes down in a few hours with cholera, is said to be sometimes due to badly cleansed copper utensils in which the native servants brew the tea. ]

[ ** For cholera and its remedies, and the marvellous results of homoeopathic treatment all over the world in the great epidemics of 1853-4-5, and in the Russian Epidemic of 1830-1831, see our article in HOMOEOPATHY, April 1932. Everywhere Homoeopathy reversed the mortality from two-thirds to one-third : or in some instances, (as in Rubini's cases in Naples) wiped it out. ]

Now, to repeat : Cuprum for the cases of a convulsive character ; Camphor in cases characterized by extreme coldness and more or less dryness ; and Veratrum when the copious sweat, vomiting and purging are the features. That is little to remember, but with that you can enter an epidemic of cholera with confidence." Kent here compares Podophyllum and Phosphorus with Cuprum. He says the profuse stools of Pod.

(which has also cramps) are frightfully offensive : and of Phos. he says, as with Cuprum there is gurgling. In Phos., fluids gurgle as they enter the stomach, and gurgle all through the intestines. A drink of water seems to flow through the bowel with a gurgle. " Now this gurgling in Cuprum commences at the throat : he swallows with a gurgle : gurgling in oesophagus when swallowing."

He says, " Discharges cease, or are suppressed, and sudden convulsions come on : here Cuprum will re-establish the discharge, and stop the convulsions." " Or, inflammations cease suddenly and you wonder what has happened. All at once comes on insanity, delirium, convulsions, blindness . . . metastasis. A perfect change from one part of the body to another." " The same may occur from a suppressed eruption — discharge diarrhoea, and it goes to the brain, affects the mind and brings on an insanity : a wild, active, maniacal delirium. . . .

Convulsions where a limb will first flex and then extend. In a child you will see the leg all at once shoot out with great violence, then up against the abdomen again with great violence, and them -again shoot out. It is hard to find another remedy that has that. (Tab.) Convulsions with flexion and extension are common to Cuprum.

" Jerking of the eyes : . snapping of the — lids' . Face and lips blue : — purple in convulsions. Paralysis of the tongue. " Many complaints are ameliorated by cold water. The cough is brought on by inhaling cold air, but stopped by drinking cold water, like Coccus cacti. . . . A wonderful remedy in anemia ."

One does not know how to stop quoting from Kent ! The more one reads in Kent, the more one marvels at his realization

of the characteristics of drug action, and his wonderful power of graphic expression. One of our best prescribers carried Kent's Materia Medica about with him all through the war, and his powers of assimilation must have been great ! — judging by his rapidity in spotting the homoeopathic remedy.

For beginners, Nash's Leaders is probably the better book to start with : it is less bulky, and (for a beginner) less overwhelming.

It teaches one to think homoeopathically, and is full of invaluable comparisons between drugs : — but — KENT ! . . . Kent once declared, " I have originated nothing. All the teaching is Hahnemann's." Certainly the mantle of Hahnemann must have fallen on Kent, with..a double portion of his spirit.

Coming down to commonplace recollections and experiences. Patients who come to Hospital complaining of severe cramps —

especially in calves — very often have to get either Cuprum or

Calcarea. Calcarea cramps are especially worse at night in bed, and on stretching the leg in bed. One remembers a case where

in malignant . disease — I think of uterus — Cuprum was given for the violent cramps of which the patient complained, and it not only stopped the cramps, but, for a time, ameliorated the disease-symptoms.

34 6 CUPRUM

One remembers a wee boy in hospital, very ill with pneumonia, complicated with diarrhoea and severe cramping pains. Here Cuprum very quickly brought down the temperature and cleared the lung, as well as disposing of the diarrhoea and cramps.

Peculiar and distinguishing symptoms.

Child has a complete cataleptic spasm, with each paroxysm of whooping-cough.

Cough worse by inhaling cold air : better by drinking cold water.

Cough in children, threatening to suffocate.

In asthma, clutches air with hands, unable to speak or swallow.

Muscles of calf contracted in knots.

Spasms and cramps in calves.

Spasms with blue face and thumbs clenched across palms of hands.

Spasms after vexation, or fright.

Child lies on belly, and spasmodically thrusts breech up.

Convulsions with biting.