Category: Materia Medica

PREFACE NINTH EDITION

In preparing the ninth edition of this work, I have followed the lines laid out for all the previous editions, namely, to present in a condensed form the homśopathic Materia Medica for practical use.

The book contains the well known verified characteristic symptoms of all our medicines besides other less important symptoms aiding the selection of the curative remedy, All the new medicines and essentials of the published clinical experience of the school have been added. In its present compact form it contains the maximum number of reliable Materia Medica facts in the minimum space.

I have tried to give a succinct resume of the symptomatology of every medicine used in Homśopathy, including also clinical suggestions of many drugs so far not yet based on provings, thus offering the opportunity to experiment with these and by future provings discover their distinctive use and so enlarging our armamentarium.

I am aware that there is a difference of opinion about the advisability of further introduction of remedies, especially of such as seem obsolete or to some minds illusory. But it is not for the compiler to leave out information about any substance that has received the clinical endorsement from a reliable source.

Our Materia Medica must include all substances which have been proved and which have been used with apparent efficacy. It rests with the individual student to judge for himself the accuracy and, reliability of such observation. In this connection, I cannot forego to avail myself of the high authority of that master of Homśopathy, Dr. Constantine Hering, favoring the introduction of all remedies capable of producing reactions in the body that may guide to their medicinal employment. “Homśopathy is essentially not only many-sided but all-sided. She investigates the action of all substances, whether articles of diet, beverages, condiments, drugs or poisons. She investigates their action on the healthy, the sick, animals and plants. She gives; a new interpretation to that ancient, oft quoted saying of Paul, Prove all things–a new meaning, a new application that acts universally. Elimination of the useless may gradually take place with the growth of accurate physiological and pathological knowledge.”

Again, imperfectly proved remedies necessitate the use of names of diseases at times instead of the component symptoms that alone are the legitimate guide to the choice of the curative remedy. Here, too, I have Hering as pioneer guide for the ligitimacy of this method, which he also followed in his great work, the Guiding Symptoms. He said that he used the disease designations not for the purpose of recommending the particular remedy for that disease, but to show the great variety of remedies that may be used for any form of disease when otherwise indicated. For the same reason I have included nosological terms in the symptomatology and Therapeutic Index, as this is a practical handbook for every-day service, and any aid for finding the curative remedy ought to be utilized. As Dr. J. Compton Burnett expresses it:

“The fact is we need any and every way of finding the right remedy; the simple simile, the simple symptomatic similimum and the farthest reach of all-the pathologic similimum, and I maintain that we are still well within the line- of Homśopathy that is expansive, progressive, science fostered and science fostering.”

The dosage needs some apology. It is, of course, suggestive only; more often to be wholly disregarded. I have followed the lines of the earlier Homśopathists in this regard, and given what was then considered the usual range of potency, to which I have added my own experience and that of many observing practitioners. Every teacher of Materia Medica is constantly importuned by students to suggest the potency–something to start with at least.

The book is in no sense a treatise, and must not be considered or judged as such. It is as accurate and reliable a compilation and the fullest collection of verified Materia Medica facts and clinical suggestions as it is possible to obtain within the compass of the volume. It supplements every other work on Materia Medica, and if used as a ready reminder of the essential facts of our vast symptomatology and as an introduction to the larger books of reference and record of provings, it will fulfill its purpose and prove a useful aid to the student and general practitioner. As such it is again offered with much appreciation of past endorsement to his professional brethren.

I have been aided in seeing this edition through the press by the efficient help of Mr. F. O. Ernesty, who has lightened the labor of making the manuscript more acceptable to the printers, and I desire to express my hearty appreciation of this kind and helpful service.

BOERICK MD

  • LINARIA VULGARIS

    Toad-flax-Snap Dragon
    (LINARIA)

    Acts prominently within the domain of the pneumogastrics. Eructations, nausea, salivation, pressure on stomach. Jaundice, splenic and hepatic hypertrophy. Enteric symptoms and great drowsiness very marked. Cardiac fainting. Enuresis. Rectal symptoms. Tongue rough, dry; throat constricted. Coldness. Confusion in head. Irresistible sleepiness. Symptoms worse walking in open air.

    Dose.–Third potency.

  • LIMULUS CYCLOPS

    Horse-foot-King-crab
    (LIMULUS – XIPHOSURA)

    Limulus was introduced by C. Hering and partially proved by him and Lippe. Hering was surprised to see the blood of the King-crab that he dissected, blue, which on investigation, was found to contain copper as he had surmised and which he thought would prove to be another medicine for Cholera. Further provings are necessary to establish this, though symptoms so far observed make this probable. Hering’s fertile mind always lead him to pioneer paths into practical therapeutics.

    Bodily and mental exhaustion; drowsiness after sea bathing. Gastro-enteric symptoms. Painful fullness of whole right side of body.

    Head.–Mental depression. Difficult to remember names, confused with heat of face, rush of blood to face, worse when meditating. Pain behind left eye-ball.

    Nose.–Fluent coryza. Sneezing worse drinking water. Constant nasal dropping. Pressure above nose and behind eyes.

    Abdomen.–Colic with heat. Cramp-like pain with watery stools. Abdomen hot and constricted. Piles, constriction of anus.

    Respiratory.–Husky voice. Dyspnœa after drinking water. Oppression of chest.

    Extremities.–Crural neuralgia. Soles of feet ache, feel numb. Pain in right hip-joint. Heels sore.

    Skin.–Itching spots and vesicles on face and hands. Burning in palms.

    Relationship.–Compare: Asterias; Homarus; Cuprum.

    Dose.–Sixth potency.

  • LILIUM TIGRINUM

    Tiger-lily

    Manifests powerful influence over the pelvic organs, and is adapted to many reflex states dependent on some pathological condition of uterus and ovaries. More often indicated in unmarried women. The action of the heart is very marked. Pain in small spots (Oxal ac). Rheumatic arthritis.

    Mind.–Tormented about her salvation. Consolation aggravates. Profound depression of spirits. Constant inclination to weep. Anxious; fears some organic and incurable disease. Disposed to curse, strike, think obscene things. Aimless, hurried manner; must keep busy.

    Head.–Hot, dull, heavy. Faint in warm room. Wild feeling in head.

    Eyes.–Hyperæsthesia of retina. Pain, extending back into head; lachrymation; and impaired vision. Myopic astigmia. Useful in restoring power to the weakened ciliary muscle (Arg nit).

    Stomach.–Flatulent; nausea, with sensation of lump in stomach. Hungry; longs for meat. Thirsty, drinks often and much, and before severe symptoms.

    Abdomen.–Abdomen sore, distended; trembling sensation in abdomen. Pressure downwards and backwards against rectum and anus; worse, standing; better, walking in open air. Bearing down in lower part of abdomen.

    Urinary.–Frequent urging. Urine milky, scanty, hot.

    Stool.–Constant desire to defecate, from pressure in rectum, worse standing. Pressure down the anus. Early-morning urgent stool. Dysentery; mucus and blood, with tenesmus, especially in plethoric and nervous women at change of life.

    Heart.–Sensation as if heart were grasped in a vise (Cact). Feels full to bursting. Pulsations over whole body. Palpitation; irregular pulse; very rapid. Pain in cardiac region, with feeling of a load on chest. Cold feeling about heart. Suffocating feeling in a crowded and warm room. Angina pectoris with pain in right arm.

    Female.–Menses early, scanty, dark, clotted, offensive; flow only when moving about. Bearing down sensation with urgent desire for stool, as though all organs would escape. Ceases when resting (Sep; Lac c; Bell). Congestion of uterus, prolapse, and anteversion. Constant desire to support parts externally. Pain in ovaries and down thighs. Acrid, brown leucorrhœa; smarting in labia. Sexual instinct awakened. Bloated feeling in uterine region. Sub-involution. Pruritus pudendi.

    Extremities.–Cannot walk on uneven ground. Pain in back and spine, with trembling, but oftener in front of a pressing-down character. Pricking in fingers. Pain in right arm and hip. Legs ache; cannot keep them still. Pain in ankle joint. Burning palms and soles.

    Sleep.–Unrefreshing, with disagreeable dreams. Unable to sleep, with wild feeling in head.

    Fever.–Great heat and lassitude in afternoon, with throbbing throughout body.

    Modalities.–Worse consolation, warm room. Better, fresh air.

    Relationship.–Compare: Cact; Helon; Murex; Sep; Plat; Pallad.

    Antidote: Helon.

    Dose.–The middle and higher potencies seem to have done best. Its curative action sometimes is slow in developing itself.

  • LIATRIS SPICATA

    Colic Root
    (LIATRIS SPICATA – SERRATULA)

    A vascular stimulant. Increases functional activity of the skin, mucous membranes.

    Of use in dropsy due to liver and spleen diseases, also renal dropsy. Here the suppressed urination is most favorably influenced. General anasarca due to heart and kidney disease. Diarrhœa with violent urging and pain in lower part of back. Colic. Locally, applied to ulcers and unhealthy wounds.

    A prompt diuretic.

    Dose.–1 to 4 drams of tincture of infusion.

  • LEPTANDRA VIRGINICA

    Culver’s Root
    (LEPTANDRA)

    A liver remedy, with jaundice and black, tarry stools. Bilious states. Enfeebled portal circulation. Malarial conditions.

    Head.–Dull frontal pain; vertigo, drowsiness, and depression. Smarting and aching in eyes.

    Stomach.–Tongue coated yellow. Great distress in stomach and intestines, with desire for stool. Aching in region of liver extending to spine, which feels chilly.

    Stool.–Profuse black, fetid stools, with pain at umbilicus. Bleeding piles. Typhoid stools turn black and look like tar. Clay colored stools with jaundice. Prolapse of rectum with hæmorrhoids. Rectal hæmorrhage.

    Relationship.–Compare: Podop; Iris; Bry; Merc; Ptel; Myrica.

    Dose.–Tincture, to third potency.

  • LEPIDIUM BONARIENSE

    Cress-Brazilian Cress

    Affections of breast, heart, lancinating pains.

    With heart symptoms, numbness and pain in left arm, sensation of sinking in pit of stomach.

    Left side of head, face, chest, hip to knee, all have lancinating pain.

    A streak of pain from the temple to the chin, as if the face were cut with a razor. Burning in throat, roaring in ears. Sensation of a tight girdle around chest, as of a knife piercing the heart. Pain in neck, back, and extremities. Compare: Arnica; Lachesis.

  • LEMNA MINOR

    Duckweed

    A catarrhal remedy. Acts especially upon the nostrils. Nasal polypi; swollen turbinates. Atrophic rhinitis. Asthma from nasal obstruction; worse in wet weather.

    Nose.–Putrid smell; loss of smell. Crusts and muco-purulent discharge very abundant. Post-nasal dropping. Pain like a string from nostrils to ear. Reduces nasal obstruction when it is an œdematous condition. Dryness of naso-pharynx.

    Mouth.–Putrid taste on rising in the morning. Dry pharynx and larynx.

    Abdomen.–Disposition to noisy diarrhœa.

    Modalities.–Worse, in damp, rainy weather, especially heavy rains.

    Relationship.–Compare: Dulc (damp surroundings and foggy weather). Calc; Teucr; Calend; Nat sulph.

    Dose.–Third to thirtieth potency.

  • LEDUM PALUSTRE

    Marsh-Tea
    (LEDUM)

    Affects especially the rheumatic diathesis, going through all the changes, from functional pain to altered secretions and deposits of solid, earthy matter in the tissues. The Ledum rheumatism begins in feet, and travels upward. It affects also the skin, producing an eruption like Poison-oak, and is antidotal thereto, as well as to stings of insects. There is a general lack of animal heat, and yet heat of bed is intolerable. For punctured wounds, produced by sharp-pointed instruments or bites particularly if the wounded parts are cold, this is the remedy. Tetanus with twitching of muscles near wound.

    Head.–Vertigo when walking, with tendency to fall to one side. Distress when head is covered. Nosebleed (Mellilot; Bry).

    Eyes.–Aching in eyes. Extravasation of blood in lids, conjunctiva, aqueous or vitreous. Contused wounds. Cataract with gout.

    Face.–Red pimples on forehead and cheeks; stinging when touched. Crusty eruption around nose and mouth.

    Mouth.–Dry, retching with eructation. Musty taste with catarrhal affection.

    Respiratory.–Burning in nose. Cough, with bloody expectoration. Dyspnœa; chest feels constricted. Suffocative arrest of breathing. Pain along trachea. Bronchitis with emphysema of aged. Oppressive constriction of chest. Tickling in larynx; spasmodic cough. Hæmoptysis, alternating with rheumatism. Chest hurts when touched. Whooping-cough; spasmodic, double inspiration with sobbing.

    Rectum.–Anal fissures. Hæmorrhoidal pain.

    Extremities.–Gouty pains shoot all through the foot and limb, and in joints, but especially small joints. Swollen, hot, pale. Throbbing in right shoulder. Pressure in shoulder, worse motion. Cracking in joints; worse, warmth of bed. Gouty nodosities. Ball of great to swollen (Bothrops). Rheumatism begins in lower limbs and ascends (Kalmia opposite). Ankles swollen. Soles painful, can hardly step on them (Ant c; Lyc). Easy spraining of ankle.

    Fever.–Coldness, want of animal heat. Sensation as of cold water over parts; general coldness with heat of face.

    Skin.–Acne on forehead, sticking pain therein. Eczema (facial). Itching of feet and ankles; worse, scratching and warmth of bed. Ecchymosis. Long discoloration after injuries. Carbuncles (Anthracin. Tarant cuben). Antidote to Rhus poisoning (Grindel; Cyprip; Anac).

    Modalities.–Better, from cold, putting feet in cold water. Worse, at night, and from heat of bed.

    Relationship.–Compare: Ledum antidotes spider poisons. Ruta; Ham; Bellis; Arnica.

    Dose.–Third to thirtieth potency.

  • LECITHINUM

    A Phosphorus-containing Complex Organic Body prepared from the yolk of egg and animal brains
    (LECITHIN)

    Lecithin is important in the vital processes of plant and animal organisms. Lecithin has a favorable influence upon the nutritive condition and especially upon the blood hence its use in anæmia and convalescence, neurasthenia and insomnia. Increasing the number of red corpuscles and amount of hemoglobin. Excellent galactagog, renders milk more nourishing and increases quantity.

    Causes an immediate decrease in the excretion of the phosphates. Mental exhaustion and impotency. Tuberculosis, causing marked improvement in nutrition and general improvement. Tired, weak, short breath, loss of flesh; symptoms of general break-down. Sexually weak.

    Mind.–Forgetful, dull, confused.

    Head.–Aching, especially in occiput-pulsating and ringing in ears. Pain in zygoma; face pale.

    Stomach.–Loss of appetite, thirsty, craves wine and coffee; bloated, sore pain in stomach rising toward throat.

    Urine.–Scanty, with phosphates, sugar or albumen.

    Sexual.–Male power lost or enfeebled. Anaphrodisia and ovarian insufficiency.

    Extremities.–Soreness, aching, lack of energy. Tired and weak.

    Relationship.–Compare: Phosphor.

    Dose.–One-half to 2 grains of crude and potencies. Twelfth potency.

  • LAUROCERASUS

    Cherry-laurel

    Spasmodic tickling cough, especially in cardiac patients, is often magically influenced by this drug. Lack of reaction, especially in chest and heart affections. Drink rolls audibly through œsophagus and intestines. General coldness, not ameliorated by warmth. Violent pain in stomach with loss of speech. Spasm of facial muscles and œsophagus. Asphyxia neonatorum.

    Fever.–Coldness; chills and heat alternate. Thirst, with dry mouth in afternoon.

    Respiratory.–Cyanosis and dyspnœa; worse, sitting up. Patient puts hands on heart. Cough, with valvular disease. Exercise causes pain around heart. Tickling, dry cough. Dyspnœa. Constriction of chest. Cough, with copious, jelly-like, or bloody expectoration. Small and feeble pulse. Threatening paralysis of lungs. Gasping for breath; clutches at heart.

    Heart.–Mitral regurgitation. Clutching at heart and palpitation. Cyanosis neonatorum.

    Sleep.–Spells of deep sleep, with snoring and stertorous breathing.

    Extremities.–Toe and finger nails become knotty. Skin blue. Sprained pains in hips, thighs and heels. Cold, clammy feet and legs. Clubbing of fingers. Veins of hands distended.

    Relationship.–Compare: Hydrocy ac; Camphor; Secale; Ammon carb; Ambra.

    Dose.–Tincture to third potency. Cherry-laurel water, two to five drop doses.