Category: Materia Medica

General Action.
Alkaloid obtained from the roots and stems of Aconitum napellus, presenting rapid and intense symptoms chiefly characterised by constrictive burning sensations ascending from the extremities; initial local application produces heat followed by burning pains, acute pricking and pruritus, ending in numbness and anaesthesia; frequently symptoms develop from below upwards; all symptoms > by vomiting; useful in hydrophobia of convulsive or paralytic type; recovery, if it occurs, is rapid and complete; < by mental exertion, agitation, touch; nausea produced by upright posture.(M)

Mind.
Anxiety with fear of death; intellect clear though ideas flow slowly, attention impaired; sensation as if dreaming or stupefied; forgetfulness with tremulous extremities.

Head.
Vertigo with confusion and roaring in ears, leading to almost instant collapse; fullness of head with inability to support it; headache with stabbing pains in face and head, sometimes accompanied by vomiting (hemicrania cured).

Eyes.
Tired sensation; pupils dilated, insensible to light; complete blindness with dilated pupils, vision returning as they contract; blurred vision with vertigo and muscular weakness.(M)

Ears.
Pressure and roaring noises; complete deafness.

Face.
Fullness of cheeks and temples changing to painful tension, tingling and pricking; tense, swollen appearance; peculiar drawing, stretching and pressure along trigeminal distribution, alternating with occipital stabbing, progressing to sustained severe neuralgic pain; trigeminal neuralgia with supraorbital shooting pains causing vomiting; subsequent tonic facial contractions, trismus, then clonic convulsions; hypocratic facies.

Mouth.
Burning of lips and tongue tip; dry, acrid, constrictive sensation in mouth and fauces; rigid tongue; foul, bitter taste or complete loss of taste; increased tooth sensitivity; salivation.

Throat.
Burning constriction extending from mouth to stomach; each swallow followed by hydrophobic-like spasm not renewed by sight of water; difficulty swallowing with pain in neck and parotid region, requiring manual support (M); burning in fauces as if a hot coal present (M).

Stomach.
Immediate eructations; severe vomiting every two to three minutes initiated by sudden abdominal muscle contraction accompanied by loud cries; vomiting ameliorates all symptoms; marked heat in stomach region; nausea induced by erect posture (M).

Abdomen.
Intestinal rumbling occurring immediately in some or two hours after dose in others; sudden diaphragmatic contraction; post-mortem: enlarged dark liver and spleen.

Urinary Organs.
Copious diuresis; difficulty and pain in micturition, occasional retention with hypogastric distress (M).

Male Sexual Organs.
Unusual nocturnal emissions in experimental subjects.

Respiratory Organs.
Oppressive dyspnoea; precordial constrictive anguish; sighing respiration.

Heart.
On entering warmth pulse at first rapid then small, weak, intermittent; heart sounds audible only at apex.

Extremities.
Weakness, trembling, burning, tingling, pricking and numbness; subsequent relaxation following convulsive exertion.

Skin.
General tingling.

Sleep.
Somnolence with uneasy, tossing sleep.

Fever.
Surface cold, moist and very pale; intense chill followed by sudden heat of head and face extending over body, most marked in stomach region, accompanied by sweat.

General Action.
Acts primarily as a depressant, producing excessive exhaustion and weakness; anaemia with waxy pallor of the face; intense thirst; burning in the throat; nausea; retching; burning, ulcerative pains in the stomach, as in cancer and debility; profuse exhausting diarrhoea; venous congestion with varicosities and oedema; tendency to hæmorrhages and putrid-typhoid fevers with night sweats; antidotal to narcotics and anaesthetics; local antidote to poisoning by sauces and insect stings .

Mind.
Very stupefied and depressed; irritable; alternates between stupor and delirium; confusion of ideas; frequent sighing; attacks of terrible anxiety with breathing difficulty; vertigo with weakness and fainting.

Head.
Heaviness and dull, bruised pains in forehead and vertex; vertigo on lying down; headaches from tobacco, opium, coffee or alcohol excess.

Eyes.
Black floaters before the vision; burning and smarting as if from smoke.

Ears.
Roaring, ringing and singing noises in the ears.

Nose.
Frequent catarrhal attacks; epistaxis, especially after falls or blows; itching in the nares; discharge thick, pus-like, streaked with blood, with foul odour.

Face.
Wild expression; dilated pupils; pale, waxy, emaciated countenance; cheeks intensely red during fever; localised sweating on the forehead.

Mouth.
Tongue pale and flaccid; white film on buccal mucosa; rotten taste; fetid breath; scorbutic ulcers and odontalgia.

Throat.
Burning in throat; false white membrane in diphtheria; intense thirst in children, who swallow with difficulty even teaspoonfuls of water.

Stomach.
Insatiable burning thirst, screaming for water at night; loathing of salt and cold food; cold drinks lie heavy; bread and butter refused, potatoes excepted; violent burning, ulcerative pain in stomach and chest, followed by cold skin and cold sweat on forehead; sense of pyloric induration and stricture.

Abdomen.
Flatulent distension; colicky pains; ascites; sensation of sinking in supine position.

Stool and Anus.
Profuse diarrhoea with intense thirst; exhausting colic; haemorrhage from intestines; chronic constipation with great thirst and copious pale urine; ascarides; tensive haemorrhoids; painful burning at stool.

Urinary Organs.
Polyuria of pale, phosphate-laden urine; burning along urethra; diabetes with unquenchable thirst and great weakness.

Male Sexual Organs.
Weak emissions; seminal loss on coition; painful, fissured, non-retractile prepuce with intolerable pruritus.

Female Sexual Organs.
Metrorrhagia; post-partum thirst and exhaustion.

Respiratory Organs.
Hoarseness with laryngeal irritation; croup-like barking cough with membranous exudate; hollow inspiration; whistling and rattling in trachea; haemoptysis.

Back.
Myelitis with polyuria; back pain relieved only by lying on abdomen.

Extremities.
Oedematous swelling of feet and legs; bruised, sore sensation.

Generalities.
Convulsions with wild agitation; great emaciation; waxy, anæmic skin; universal anasarca; burning internally and externally.

Skin.
Ecchymoses; urticarial eruptions; nevi, warts and callosities.

Sleep.
Insomnia; restless night with screaming.

Fever.
Cold skin; insidious hectic fever with profuse night sweats; putrid and typhoid types.

Relations.
Compare Apis, Ars (although Acetic acid exhibits more prominent gastric symptoms); Carbol ac., Lac defl., Lact ac., Uran nit. Large overdoses antidoted by Magnesia or Calcarea; for depression and agonising sensation, Tabac., Acon.; for febrile, gastric or pulmonary symptoms, Nat mur., then Sep. Antidotal to anaesthetics, Acon., Asar., Coffea, Euphorb., Ignat., Opium, Plumb (colic), Sep., Stram., Tabac. Counteracts poisoning by sauces. Aggravates following Bell., Merc., Arn., Lach.; incompatible after Borax, Caust., Nux v., Ran b.; Scilla and Colchicum more effective when prepared with acetic acid than with alcohol.

General Action.
Acts chiefly on the respiratory and alimentary tracts of adults and children. The principal sphere of action is in the mucous membranes of the bronchi, producing a violent dry cough followed by haemorrhagic expectoration; and upon the digestive canal, causing burning, weight at the stomach, profuse flatus, and explosive diarrhoea.

Mind.
Patient is markedly weak and restless; disinclined to move or exert oneself; emotional state low, with tearfulness and melancholy accompanying the physical exhaustion.

Head.
Slight headache, with giddiness and nausea accompanying the pulmonary haemorrhage.

Eyes.
Vision may become blurred during paroxysms of cough and haemoptysis.

Ears, Nose, Throat.
Epistaxis may occur in conjunction with pulmonary bleeding; throat and larynx feel raw, with an urgent inclination to cough.

Stomach.
Burning in the stomach; sense of weight; eructations with acidity; nausea, especially when coughing or with haemorrhagic vomiting.

Abdomen.
Marked flatulence with audible borborygmi; colic-like pains preceding stools; diarrhoea of thin, watery stools, often sudden in onset. Progressive emaciation ensues.

Stool and Anus.
Sudden, explosive diarrhoea; stools watery or semi-fluid; sometimes streaked with blood.

Respiratory Organs.
Severe, dry, convulsive cough, most violent at night; initial paroxysm unproductive, then followed by expectoration of bright red blood in the morning and dark blood with clots in the evening. Chest dull on percussion, with constant severe chest pain.

Generalities.
Profound weakness and progressive emaciation; patient often prefers to lie still. Symptoms < at night and during paroxysms of cough; > by spitting blood.

Relations.
Compare: other Euphorbiaceae (e.g., Mercurialis annua, Manihot); in pulmonary haemorrhage: Hamamelis, Ipecacuanha, Millefolium, Phosphorus, Aconitum.

General Action.
Acts chiefly on the cerebro-spinal axis and muscular system; produces congestive headache and spinal cord erythema; relieves or provokes epileptiform convulsions; allays or excites restlessness and insomnia; promotes otorrhoea; useful in chlorosis, dyspepsia and typhoid conditions.

Mind.
Great anxiety and moroseness; forgetfulness for recent events; brutal insensibility during convulsions; alternation of stupor with dangerous violence; visions of terror and fearful hallucinations; delirium with loss of consciousness preceded by tremors; excitable and irritable, refuses all companionship.

Head.
Vertigo on rising, with tendency to fall backwards; confusion of the brain; bruised sensation in occiput and vertex; severe congestive headache compelling the patient to lie with head low; aching pressure in head and spinal cord congestion.

Eyes.
Conjunctiva intensely injected; smarting and burning as if from smoke; heaviness of lids.

Ears.
Purulent discharge, especially after hemicrania; pulsations and ringing during convulsions.

Nose.
Epistaxis with relief of headache; ozzæna with scabs and fissures; constant purulent secretion.

Face.
Flushed or pale; transient flushes in epileptics; distorted features during attacks; frothing with blood-tinged saliva at convulsion’s end.

Mouth.
Maxillary joints firmly clenched; tongue protuded, tremulous and paralysed; bites tongue during convulsions; scanty speech.

Throat.
Scalding sensation in œsophagus; rawness and burning on swallowing.

Stomach.
Anorexia with repugnance to food; food feels heavy and cold; eructations and nausea, especially from gall-region; vomiting of sour or bilious matter.

Abdomen.
Sensation of hepatic and splenic swelling; colic from excessive flatulence; distension around waist as after malaria.

Stool.
Alternating constipation and atonic diarrhoea; haemorrhoidal protrusion with burning and aching in sacral region, > by pressure.

Urinary Organs.
Constant urging to micturate; dark orange urine of strong odour as of horse’s urine.

Sexual Organs.
In females: uterine pains with stabbing in right ovary; promotes menses. In males: none characteristic.

Respiratory Organs.
Dry cough with hepatic discomfort; oppression of chest during convulsions.

Back.
Aching in sacrum and sacro-iliac joints; spinal congestion and bruised soreness.

Extremities.
Marked trembling of limbs and tongue before convulsions; cold feet; general debility.

Skin.
Cold, clammy perspiration; pitting œdema in typhoid states; no primary eruptions.

Sleep.
Sleeplessness with tossing and restlessness; vivid terrifying dreams; inability to remain in bed.

Fever.
Typhoid-type fever with cerebral and medullary congestion; alternate heat and cold; chills rushing up spinal column.

Modalities.
All symptoms < on rising; < in evening and at night; < exposure to cold; > by pressure on haemorrhoids; convulsions preceded by tremor.

Relations.
Compare: Artemisia vulgaris, Abrotanum, Cicuta, Hyoscyamus, Belladonna, Stramonium. Orina odour: Benzoic acid, Nitric acid. Use as intercurrent in minor epilepsy where consciousness is partly preserved.

General Action.
Acts chiefly to produce emaciation and “consumption,” especially of the lower extremities; marked gastrointestinal irritation with intense hunger and inability to assimilate food; rheumatic metastasis from joints to heart and spine; sudden sore pains in back relieved by motion; skin lax and prone to boils; exudation of blood and moisture from the umbilicus of the newborn.

Mind.
Great anxiety and depression; irritability, moroseness; violent fits of anger in children; impulses to cruelty; difficulty of thought; sensation of softening in the brain; occasionally secondary loquacity and exhilaration after cessation of the remedy.

Head.
Cannot hold the head up; left cerebral hemisphere easily fatigued by mental exertion; chills along cerebral convolutions with shooting pains; scalp sore, especially on the left, with itching.

Eyes.
Dark circles under eyes; vision dulled; spots before the eyes.

Ears.
(No prominent clinical symptoms recorded.)

Nose.
Dryness; epistaxis in boys.

Face.
Wrinkled, pale, aged appearance; comedones with emaciation; hollow cheeks.

Mouth.
Viscid, acid taste.

Throat.
(No distinct symptoms beyond those of the mouth.)

Appetite.
Intense gnawing hunger; craving for boiled bread in milk; voracious appetite despite marked emaciation; loss of appetite with gastralgia.

Stomach.
Sensation as if the stomach were hanging or swimming in water, with coldness; burning, gnawing, constrictive pains in the stomach, worse at night.

Abdomen.
Marked distension; weak, sinking sensation in the intestines; hard nodules movable beneath the abdominal walls.

Stool and Anus.
Food passes undigested; alternation of diarrhoea and constipation; rheumatism after suppressed diarrhoea; protruding, burning haemorrhoids tender to touch or pressure, appearing or aggravating as rheumatic pains lessen, with frequent ineffectual desire and only bloody discharge; expulsive of roundworms, especially Ascarides.

Urinary Organs.
(No prominent clinical symptoms recorded.)

Male Sexual Organs.
Hydrocele in children.

Female Sexual Organs.
Stitching ovarian pains, chiefly left; twisting pains in both ovarian regions, extending to the back; blood and moisture exuding from the newborn’s umbilicus.

Respiratory Organs.
Raw, sore sensation of the respiratory tract in cold air; in pleurisy with residual pressure on one side, impeding free respiration (after Acon. and Bry.).

Chest.
(No additional symptoms beyond those under respiratory organs.)

Heart and Pulse.
Sharp, severe chest pain in heart region from rheumatism; rheumatic metastasis to the heart; weak, small pulse.

Back.
Sudden, sore pain in the sacrum, better for motion.

Extremities.
Lower limbs emaciated (marasmus) and weak; inability to move them; bruised soreness and weakness worse in the morning; chilblains, itching, frost-bite of fingers and toes; gouty pains of wrists and ankles; early inflammatory rheumatism before oedema.

Generals.
Debility and aching all over; inability to move; trembling on slightest exertion; prostration after influenza; numbness of parts; tendency to boils following Hepar sulph.; profound emaciation.

Skin.
Flaccid; hangs loosely; boils; impaired healing; chilblains; superficial ulcers after suppressed eruptions.

Sleep.
Restless; frightful dreams.

Fever.
High fever in rheumatism; hectic fever with chill, profound weakness (marasmus).

Modalities.
Worse at night; worse in cold air; better for motion.

Relations.
Compare : Artemisia absinthium, Chamomilla, Cina, Gnaphalium and other Compositae; Nux vomica, Agaricus; Bryonia and Barosma for chilblains.
Follows well : Aconitum and Bryonia in pleurisy; Hepar sulphur in chilblains.

General Action.
Acts principally on the upper digestive tract and the respiratory mucosa. Characteristic is a hard, indigestible sensation lodged at the cardia or lower œsophagus, as of a boiled egg; relieves dyspepsia due to tea or tobacco; eases cough with or without haemoptysis when this sensation as if a hard substance must be expectorated is present.

Mind.
Melancholic, depressed; easily nervous and unable to concentrate or think clearly when the gastric symptoms predominate.

Head.
Vertigo; sensation of malaise or heaviness in the head with flushed, hot cheeks; headache aggravated after eating and accompanied by epigastric distress.

Eyes.
Vision sometimes disturbed by black specks; burning smart in eyes as from smoke; conjunctiva may be mildly injected.

Ears.
Dull aching pain in the left external meatus; hearing easily fatigued when digestive disorder is marked.

Nose.
Frequent coryza with crusting; nasal mucosa dry or alternately congested and runny; nostrils cracked.

Face.
Cheeks flushed or red with concurrent dyspeptic head-symptoms; complexion may appear sallow when chronic.

Mouth.
Tongue coated; eructations of sour or bitter fluid; frequent belching relieves pressure pain.

Throat.
Sensation of choking or constriction low in the throat; as though something is sticking in the lower œsophagus at swallowing.

Appetite.
Great hunger at night with inability to sleep; complete loss of appetite on rising, with ravenous hunger at midday and in the evening; craving for cold drinks.

Stomach.
Pain always appearing after eating; sensation of a hard lump or “egg” in the epigastrium which must be “coughed up” though nothing is expelled; frequent eructations; constant gnawing sense of discomfort, worse when weak.

Abdomen.
Distension and fullness of epigastrium; sensation as if food remains undigested at cardia; flatulence and griping when debilitated.

Stool.
Constipation with atonic rectum; may alternate with occasional semi-fluid evacuation.

Urinary Organs.
No prominent urinary symptoms unless secondary to general weakness; urine normal or slightly scanty.

Female Sexual Organs.
Menstruation delayed by several months; uterine hypochondriasis with dyspeptic headache and epigastric distress.

Respiratory Organs.
Shortness of breath on slightest exertion; cough dry or loose when the “hard body” sensation descends into chest, with or without haemoptysis.

Cardiac.
Pulse slow and heavy; heart-beats laborious, with occasional sharp, cutting pains.

Back.
Tensive or bruised pain in the lumbar region; occasional sensation of coldness across sacrum.

Extremities.
Rheumatic, aching pains in bones and muscles; alternation of heat and chilling in limbs; general weakness.

Generalities.
Marked prostration; tendency to chill around the stomach region even when body otherwise feels cold.

Sleep.
Daytime somnolence yet restless, wakeful night; vivid, unpleasant dreams.

Fever.
Chilliness after meals or when epigastric sensation is severe; overall chill greatly relieved by ingestion of food.

Modalities.
Worse after eating; worse on lying down; ameliorated by external warmth around the stomach.

Relations.
Compare: Abies canadensis, Cupressus species, Thuja, Sabina (all with painful dyspepsia); Nux vomica, Bryonia, Pulsatilla, Kali carbonicum, Natrum muriaticum (for tea and tobacco effects).

Causation.
Symptoms often follow excessive tea or tobacco; aggravated by eating.

General Action.
Acts principally on the digestive and hepatic systems and the uterine ligaments; produces great appetite with tendency to overeat; relieves epigastric sinking with copious eructations; mitigates hepatic congestion; supports displaced or relaxed uterine structures.

Mind.
Quiet, negligent, yet easily displeased; irritable when touched or spoken to; great loquacity in secondary proving .

Head.
Vertiginous sensation as if the head were full of water; confused, stupefied feeling when lying down; bruised pain in occiput.

Eyes.
Sensation as of a stye at the outer canthus of the left eye.

Ears.
No significant auricular symptoms recorded.

Nose.
No significant nasal symptoms recorded.

Face.
Pallid countenance with cold, clammy skin; expression of faintness as if the vertex were congested.

Mouth.
Slight thirst; saliva increased.

Throat.
Unrecorded.

Appetite.
Ravenous hunger with gnawing sensation in epigastrium; intense craving for meat, cucumbers, and other raw foods; tendency to eat beyond digestive capacity.

Stomach.
Distension of stomach and epigastrium with burning; sensation of faintness in the pit of the stomach; strong heart­beat following distension.

Abdomen.
Sickening sensation in intestines; loud rumbling after meals despite great hunger; sensation as if the liver were small and hard and bile deficient.

Stool and Anus.
Burning in rectum; constipation.

Urinary Organs.
Frequent micturition by day and night; urine pale straw-coloured.

Female Sexual Organs.
Sensation of uterine debility—fears miscarriage; aching in fundus of uterus, ameliorated by pressure.

Respiratory Organs.
Difficulty of breathing; sensation as if the right lung were small and hard; dry cough deep in chest with soreness.

Heart.
Laboured cardiac action; increased palpitations when stomach is distended.

Neck and Back.
Pain under right scapula; weakness in sacral region; sensation of cold fluid between shoulders.

Extremities.
Cold, shrivelled hands; general muscle contractions; lies with legs drawn up.

Skin.
Cold, clammy skin; great prostration; desires constant recumbency.

Sleep.
Frequent yawning; somnolence by day; great restlessness at night, tossing from one side to the other.

Fever.
Chilliness as if the blood were turned to cold water; violent shaking chills descending over the body.