Bryonia Alba

Generalities

Sharp pains, often with a feeling of tension, < motion and touch.

The pains, as a rule, while < motion, are > continued moderate pressure, but < sudden, hard pressure or jerking ; there is also general relief from warmth, or warm applications.

Pains nearly always sharp, sticking or tearing, sometimes bruised, or like suppurating, or like a stiffness.

General weariness, especially in the morning, also on rising ; < in the forenoon while walking, can scarcely drag himself about.

Faintness on rising from bed, with cold perspiration.

The weakness is generally accompanied by easy perspiration from a little effort.

Symptoms are usually > rest in bed ; are frequently worse in the evening.

Mind

Mental weakness, difficult holding a continuous train of thought.

General ill humor ; very easily put out of humor, with needless anxiety.

Quarrelsome.

Despondent, especially about his recovery.

Restless mood, with dread of the future, and of approaching death.

Nightly delirium, especially about business.

Head

Pressing headache ; a feeling of fullness and heaviness, particularly in the forehead, as if everything would press out, beginning in the morning on opening or moving the eyes, < rising.

Splitting headache, < by raising the eyes, inability to rise from stooping.

Sharp pains through the head from before backward, < stepping hard or coughing.

General confusion of the head, especially in the morning on walking, < rising from bed.

General stupefaction and heaviness ; a sort of rush of blood to the head.

Headache inclined to extend from the forehead to the occiput, where it becomes seated, with drawing, extending down into the neck.

The frontal headaches tend to extend downward into the face, especially drawing in the zygoma.

Vertigo, < in the morning on rising, as if the head were turning in a circle ; even on rising from a chair, somewhat > after walking ; sometimes associated with a feeling of nausea in the middle of the chest, as if faintness would ensue ; sometimes with tendency to fall backward, > after walking, by sitting down and by lying down.

The hair of the head becomes unnatural oily.

Eyes

Burning in the eyes, inflammation, < warmth.

Tearing stitches in the eyes.

A feeling of sand.

A feeling as though the eyes were being pressed out of the head.

Swelling of the lids, especially of the upper.

Lachrymation.

Intermittent pain in the left eye, < on moving it, with a feeling as if the eye became smaller, and were retracted within orbit.

Weakness, even with lachrymation, in bright sunlight, better in a dim light, and in twilight.

Ears

Roaring in the ears.

Intolerance of noise.

Nose

Painful swelling of the nose, with inflammation in the nostrils.

Frequent nose-bleed, especially if the menses are suppressed.

Nose-bleed every morning after rising (in suppressed menstruation).

Face

Red, hot, puffy, especially over the malar bones.

Yellowish paleness.

(Small nodules and indurations, like abortive boils, on the face.)

Upper lips swollen, cracked, like erysipelas, bleeding.

Cracking of the lower lip, and an eruption upon it.

Mouth

Jerking toothache, > warmth, also > lying on the painful side.

The toothache is a sticking, tearing, sometimes temporarily > cold water, or on walking in the open air.

The gums are sore about the painful teeth.

Tongue sometimes dry during fever, usually with a thick, white coat.

Aphthae on the tip of the tongue.

A general bitter taste.

Salivation ; at times soapy, frothy, rarely bloody.

Throat

Sticking pains on swallowing.

Soreness temporarily > drinking, but returning, with dryness, rawness on empty swallowing.

Stomach

Excessive thirst ; he does not drink frequently, but much at a time.

Frequent pain or empty eructations after taking food.

Regurgitation of food, without any effort to vomit.

At times, an unnatural hunger, but does not wish food when brought.

Nausea in the morning on waking, with vomiting.

Vomiting of the food, but not drink.

Bitter vomiting of liquids after eating.

Vomiting of blood.

Vomiting ; first bile, then food.

Sensation as if a stone lay in the stomach after eating, causing ill humor.

Soreness and pain on pressure, or on coughing.

Contractive pain > drawing up the legs, and by warm applications.

Gastric symptoms particularly < eating bread.

Sharp pains, arresting breathing on motion, especially on making a false step.

Great sensitiveness in the pit of the stomach to touch and pressure.

Abdomen

Sticking pains in the region of the liver on touch, coughing or breathing.

Symptoms of inflammation of the liver and of the diaphragm.

Abdomen distended.

A feeling of something heavy lying in the abdomen.

Movements, loud rumbling or a gurgling and soreness and dragging downward.

Rectum and Stool :

Burning during evacuations.

Stools large and dry.

Stools becoming pasty and loose.

Diarrhoea, putrid, followed by burning in the anus and cutting in the abdomen.

Diarrhoea generally of a brown color and very disagreeable.

In obstinate constipation, evacuations are generally dry and passed with difficulty.

Urinary Organs

Urine diminished in quantity, red and hot, or brown.

Urine whitish, turbid.

Sometimes the urine is increased in quantity and retained with difficulty.

Sexual organs, Female :

Menstruation too early and too profuse, dark red.

Clinical

Suppression of menses, with the characteristic gastric derangements, or with periodical discharge of blood elsewhere, nose, throat, etc.

Inflamed ovaries.

Puerperal fever in the early stage, with headache, pains in limbs, weakness.

Suppressed lochia.

Pelvic peritonitis.

Inflammation of mammary glands, breasts much swollen, hot, sharp pains.

Respiratory organs :

Cough generally dry, from tickling in the pit of the stomach, or from the throat ; finally, with some expectoration of mucus.

Cough on coming into a warm room, caused by sensation of a suffocating vapor, or as if he could not breathe enough air.

Cough < talking or smoking, followed by a soreness in the trachea.

Spasmodic cough after eating and drinking, followed by vomiting of food.

Cough causes bursting headache, and stitches in the sides of the chest.

Bloody expectoration, blood clotted or of a brown color.

Dyspnoea, so that he could not talk.

Dyspnoea as if he could not expand the chest, with rapid breathing.

Severe stitches in the sternum and sides of the chest when coughing, must hold with the hands.

Sticking pains in the chest, < deep breathing or motion, or coughing, > pressure, or lying upon the painful side.

A general feeling of constriction through the chest ; needs to breathe deeply, but on attempting to breathe deeply a sensation as if the chest could not be distended.

Internal heat in the chest.

Clinical

Laryngitis and bronchitis (the cough in these diseases is generally dry, hacking, with soreness of abdominal muscles, aggravated at night and on motion, aggravated on coming into a warm room, aggravated after eating or drinking, ameliorated by heat).

Pneumonia in the early stage ; Bryonia follows immediately after Aconite, high fever, sharp pains, ameliorated by lying on the affected side, thirst, profuse sweat, headache, etc.

In pleurisy it is most frequently required (the Bryonia patient sweats easily and freely), extremely sharp pain, ameliorated by pressure and warmth, cannot tolerate the slightest motion.

Sometimes useful in pleuritic exudation, when the sharp pains continue.

Heart and Pulse :

Palpitation, with dyspnoea.

Stitches.

Pulse full, hard and rapid.

External Chest :

Indurations in the mammary glands.

(Mammary glands of nursing women over-distended and inflamed.)

Neck and Back :

Pain in the nape of the neck, as if taking cold.

Drawing in the muscles on the right side of the neck, with stiffness.

Stiffness involves the right shoulder.

Stitches in the small of the back, and in the shoulder blades.

Painful sensation in the small of the back, so that one must walk bent over.

The sharp sticking or tearing pains in the small of the back are apt to extend forward, either upward to the chest, or around through the abdomen ; < sitting up, moving the legs, > at rest when bent forward.

Extremities, upper :

A feeling of tension and sticking ; drawing pains in the shoulder joints and upper arms.

Swelling of the elbow joints and hands, especially of the back of the hand.

In the right elbow a feeling as though the arm were broken, with drawing pains, extending upward ; similar pain in the wrist on motion.

Sticking pains in the fingers and finger joints, which are swollen.

Extremities, lower :

Sticking pains and cracking in the hip joints when walking.

Pains in the hip, extending along the anterior surface of the thigh to the knee.

Weakness of the knees when walking.

Tension in the bend of the knee, the pain extending along the tibia.

Painful stiffness in the knee.

Tearing pains in the calf ; during rest this changes to a sensation of numbness.

Hot swelling of the foot, with bruised pain on stretching the foot.

Stitching pains in the foot.

Pain as from sprains, specially in periosteum and ligaments, always < motion.

Acute inflammation of the joints of the toes.

Sudden pain in the balls of the great toes.

Skin

An elevated, red rash over the whole body.

Itching eruption over the whole body.

Itching stitches, > scratching, < walking rapidly.

Hard nodes in various parts of the body.

Acute swelling and inflammation, with shining redness, especially over the joints.

Sleep

Much yawning, and sleepiness during the day.

Sleeps with eyes half open.

Sleeplessness before midnight, on account of frequent shivering over one arm and leg, followed by perspiration, warmth and anxiety in the blood.

Sleeplessness on account of orgasm of blood, heat and thirst.

Sleep restless, busy with the occupations of the previous day.

Starting up in fright before falling asleep, with anxious dreams and screaming out.

Talks irrationally when he first wakes out of sleep.

Vivid, fatiguing dreams about the business of the day.

Fever

Chilliness after the midday nap, with confusion of the head.

Chilliness in the evening, with thirst and hot cheeks.

Chilliness, with heat of the head and thirst.

Internal heat ; the blood seems on fire, with thirst for cold drinks.

(Rarely without thirst.)

Heat in the head, and face particularly, which is red, with thirst.

Sweat from the slightest exertion, even when walking in the cold air.

Sweat, especially early in the morning.

Sweat oily ; of a sour odor.