Free Materia Medica booksMateria Medica by Cyrus Maxwell Boger
Materia Medica
Helleborus niger
[Hell.]
Mind.-- Blank despair. Stupefaction. Blunting of internal senses, like a sort of stupor. Mental obfuscation, with somnolency. Frequently he stares at one point as though' absorbed in though. A kind of diminished power of mind over body, just as soon as she ceases to exert her will power and attention, the muscles refuse to do their duty, i. e., if spoken to when drinking, she unconsciously drops the glass. Extraordinary anguish. Woeful melancholia mood. Hypochondriasis. Involuntary sighing. Homesickness.
Head.-- Stupefying ache, with fluent coryza. Feels heavy and thick - headed. Dull ache and confusion in. Burning heat in, with a pale face. Inward pressure ache. Bruised pain of the internal and external vertex and occiput, with chaotic obfuscation therein. He bores the back of his head into the pillow or rolls it from side to side. Meningitis. Hydrocephalus. Worse: Thinking of the pain, steeping hard, stooping, waling, touch, motion, afternoon from 4 to 8. Better: open air, lying at rest, diverting attention.
External Head.-- The occipital scalp feels drawn tightly downward. Painful external occiput. Falling of hair, not from head only, but also whole body, with sticking, boring pains in scalp, more in occiput. Humid scurfs on.
Eyes.-- Sensation as though' lids were pressed downward. Dilated pupils. Inclination to stare. Photophobia without perceptible inflammation of.
Face.-- Pale, yellowish color. Pale, dropsical swelling of, and of rest of body. Wrinkled forehead. Upper lip cracked. White vesicle on the swelled lips. Excoriation of angles of mouth, from constant flow of saliva.
Teeth.-- Sticking, tearing ache in molars in evening and at night in bed, which tolerates neither cold nor heat.
Mouth.-- Vesicles and aphthae in, and on tongue. Dry palate. Extraordinarily profuse salivation. Swelling and numbness of tongue.
Stomach.-- Fullness and distension of pit of. Burning and biting in. Painfulness within, when stepping hard or coughing.
Appetite: Great voraciousness. Loathing of fats and vegetables. Thirstlessness. Intense thirst.
Eructations: Empty.
Nausea: In stomach, with great ravenousness, but repugnance to food.
Abdomen.-- Distended. Pinching in navicular region. Ascites. Sense of coldness in.
Flatulence: Discharge of foul - smelling.
Stool.-- Frequent, watery. Gelatinous, mucous diarrhoea, with tenesmus.
Urine.-- Dark. Frequent urging, with scanty discharge. Feeble urinary stream.
Sexual Organs.-- Suppressed sexual desire
Respiration.-- Difficult, as from hydrothorax. Suffocative attacks as from constriction of nose. Larynx and chest.
Cough.-- Dry, hacking, when smoking.
Upper Extremities.-- Boring, sticking in wrist and finger - joints. Vesicular eruption between fingers and toes. Panaritia
Lower Extremities.-- Stiffness of lip (hip and) knee joints. Boring sticking in knee and ankle joints. Humid eruption on feet.
Generalities.-- Sudden relaxation of every muscle. the muscles refuse their service when not governed by strong attention, unconsciously he staggers when walking, lets his food fall when eating, etc. Sticking, boring pains in the periosteal, coverings worse in cool air. Convulsive twitchings in the muscles, especially during sleep. The pains (sticking, tearing and pressure) frequently move transversely across the parts. Symptoms are intensified in the house and toward evening. In the open air he feels better, with a sensation as though' he had been sick a long time, and were just recovering, especially after the fever. Restlessness. A dark remedy, there is a dark, duskiness about the face and the nostrils seem filled with dust or soot, the upper lip looks dusky, the hands look dark and evidences of imperfect oxidation of the blood are uppermost. On arm and hand are move up and down while the other lies motionless. Somber despair, mental stupefaction and ailments, accompanied by it. Stupid headaches, coryza etc.
Tissues.-- Cervical glands swollen.
Skin.-- Pale color of. Sudden, dropsical swelling of, (anasarcatous). Hair and nails fall out. Desquamation of epidermis of entire body. Painful where it lies in close proximity to bones.
Sleep.-- He lies in deep slumber. Great day sleepiness. Somnolency, eyes half open and turned upward.
Fever.-- Pulse: Generally small, slow and hardly perceptible. Chill: Predominates during day, as long as he is up, with heat of face. Alternating with pains in joints. Shaking, with goose flesh and pains in joints. And coldness of entire body, but with heat of head and not thirst. The shuddering proceeds from the arms. Heat: In evening and during day, as soon as he lies down generally accompanied by sweat. Burning over the whole body, in evening in bed, with internal shivering and aversion to drink. First heat than chill, with pains in abdomen, in repeated attacks. Sweat: In bed, during heat, increased toward morning. Cold, sometimes sticky.
Relationship.-- Allied Remedies: AP., Bell., Chin., Gel. Phos. Phos.
Complementary: Zinc.
