Baptisia Tinctoria
Wild Indigo
N.O. Leguminosae
Tincture of fresh root and its bark.
The essential features
Baptisia has come down to us as a remedy for typhus, although it has been a subject for controversy over the years. Some practitioners, including Kent, have praised Baptisia highly in this condition, where others stated flatly that it was useless for the real typhus. Kent also states in his materia medica that this is an acute remedy for acute conditions only. I do not agree with either statement. In my experience Baptisia has worked well when prescribed on proper indications, whether for acute or chronic conditions.
Since the idea of typhus has overwhelmed our literature on Baptisia, and has given the impression that this remedy should be thought of only in typhoid states, I will begin by indicating the range of diseases or conditions in which this remedy is needed:
Influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, encephalitis, cholocystitis, food poisoning, enteritis, enterocolitis, peritonitis, tuberculous enteritis, psychotic conditions, anxiety neurosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, alzheimer’s disease and asthmatic conditions.
These are some of the conditions where you may see the “picture” of this remedy.
The symptomatology on which to prescribe Baptisia is one close to Arnica, Rhus-tox. and Eupat-per. but it has features of its own.
The first characteristic to consider is the “scattered” feeling experienced by the patient. Baptisia can be described as the most scattered remedy in the materia medica. That is to say that the patient has the feeling that parts of the body are scattered around. The following expression is characteristic of this sensation: “I am all scattered around. One little piece is over on the dressing table in a cup””. There is also a feeling of duality in this remedy, which, however, has nothing to do with the duality of Anacardium. There is no fear with it, no aggressiveness, nothing grotesque. This feeling of duality is a calm delusion and is described by the patient as a reality, without fear. He is experiencing one part of his body talking to another; two parts of himself are holding a conversation together. This condition appears during high fever, or during acute or chronic psychotic states.
A typical Baptisia case will always be accompanied by this type of confusion of the mind. The patient experiences conditions in which one part of the body is on the bed, the other on the floor. “Thinks she is in two parts, and, when she gets a violent paroxysm of coughing, says she must keep awake while the half coughs; thus the alternate coughing of the two halves keeps her awake the whole night.” This kind of delusion indicates Baptisia.
Kent describes this state eloquently: “His mind seems to be gone. He does not know what he is talking about. He is in confusion, and when aroused he attempts to say something, and utters a word or two and it all flits away, and he is back in his state of stupor again. No matter what disease that comes in, no matter what inflammation is present, no matter what organ is inflamed, if thatstate of the blood that can give rise to such symptoms and such sepsis is present, if that state of the mind is present, it is Baptisia.”
This does not mean that Baptisia cannot be prescribed unless such a state of confusion is present. Behind such a description lies an idea or a “picture” of the kind of confusion and disturbance that this remedy can produce. Old homeopaths used to see the typical Baptisia pictures described below; we are much less likely to see this type of case today, because most patients resort to antibiotics from the very first stage of their acute diseases. “… offensive stool associated with this typhoid state; the stool is so extremely offensive that you can smell it all over the house. It is death-like, it permeates the house, you can carry it with your clothing. We have extreme offensiveness in Bapt.; it has a little restlessness at times but he will draw up his knees and lie over on one side, and lie there for days and will not speak to anybody; he attempts to answer and falls asleep; if he has wandering, as we sometimes find him, he seems to be scattered all over the bed, and seems to want to get the limbs together; he thinks he is made up of numerous factors; he thinks his limbs are talking to each other and it annoys him; he wants to get them together.”
Other expressions during the delusion are:- arms do not belong to her; arms are cut off; bed is sinking down; someone is in bed with him; parts of the body have been taken away; tossed about bed to get the pieces of his body together; imagines legs are conversing; that toe is conversing with thumb; imagines limbs are separated.
Sensation as if there was a second self outside of patient. He thinks his legs are holding a conversation with each other.
Kent again describes: “Now, a strange thing that runs through the remedy is a peculiar kind of mental confusion, in which he is in a constant argument with his parts. He seems to feel that there are two of him. He realizes a dual existence whenever he is roused up. He will begin talking about the other one in bed with him. It is said clinically that “his great toe is in controversy with his thumb.” Or, “one leg is talking to the other leg.” Or, one part is talking to another part; or, he is scattered around over the bed; fumbles and you ask him what he is trying to do – “why, I am trying to get those pieces together.” He never succeeds; he is in delirium, of course. These are only examples; you will get a new phase every time you get a Baptisia case. Most of the time he is unconscious except when roused. Sometimes he mutters. You will see his lips go, and you rouse him to see what he is about, and he is trying to get the pieces together..
Confused as if intoxicated.” There are stages when he is not quite so stupid, and hes sleepless and restless. That is the excieption. Most generally you will find him lying upon one side curled up like a dog, and he does not want to be disturbed. Again, when the stupor is not so great he is restless and turns and tosses. In that case he cannot sleep, because he cannot get the pieces together. He feels if he could once get matters together he could go to sleep, and these parts that are talking to each other keep him awake. His mind wanders as soon as his eyes are closed. Dulness, especially at night.”
At this point we should consider the apparent similarities between Baptisia and Cann-i. The Cann-i. patient feels as though he were moving out of his body, whereas the Baptisia patient feels his body to be scattered in various places. In Cann-.i the hand appears to be moving out of the physical body, and this symptom is accompanied by a tremendous fear of going insane or dying. The Cann-i. patient experiences it as a process of separation that will result in death or insanity and feels terrified. This is not the case in Baptisia. Here the confusion and congestion of the brain are such that the question of fear does not arise. The patient does not have the awareness to feel fear.
A peculiarity of Baptisia is the rapidity with which delirium sets in at the height of a fever: constant, loquacious delirium, muttering with no sense, with open eyes; delirium on closing the eyes; delirium worse at night; the emphasis here is that the delirium appears quite early in cases where you do not expect it.
Clarke writes: “Baptisia has gained its greatest reputation as a remedy in typhoid fever, to the symptoms of which its pathogenesis strikingly corresponds. But it is only when it is used strictly in accordance with its symptoms that it will give successful results. When given as a matter of routine there are sure to be failures.
Another disease in which it has proved specific in a large number of cases is epidemic influenza.”
In influenza of course you should not expect to see such a severe mental state, but a condition where the muscles are sore and the bed feels hard, the excretions are offensive and there seems to be a slight confusion in the mind, with high fever, not much restlessness, neither extremely cold nor extremely hot, but the patient looks reddish, besotted and tired, unable to give symptoms. He says “I’m just sick all over.” The patient does not want to talk much, and you will confuse the case with Bryonia, because he just lies motionless and lifeless. The high fever, the confusion in the mind, the besotted face and the offensiveness that was not usual to the patient should make you think of Baptisia. It is this element of an early mental confusion in a case that should guide you primarily to think of this remedy. If the tendency of the delirium is to present the scattered sensation described above, you have a Baptisia case.
In cases of pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, pericarditis or endocarditis, the patient wakes up at night and breathes with great difficulty; the lungs feel tight; he cannot get a deep breath; he will give you the impression that he is out of breath, as if tired after ascending a hill. The bed feels so hard that he cannot lie long in one place. The fever is high, the skin dry, the face red and has a besotted look. There is obvious confusion in the mental region. The patient feels that he is suffocating, and gets up from bed or asks for the window to be opened. This seems to relieve him (Carb-v., Pulsatilla). His breathing is worse on lying down; there is a fear of going to bed, mostly because of a fear that on going to sleep he will suffocate and have terrible nightmares.
Having considered the features of acute Baptisia cases, I shall now concentrate on the Baptisia chronic case. This is characterized by a feeble mind; there seems to be an aversion to thinking, a dislike for mental, emotional or physical exertion. The mental powers seem to slow down and confusion supervenes. This individual cannot concentrate on a specific subject and experiences a wild, wandering feeling in his mind. The patient feels as though the forehead and eyes were pressed inside the head, and as though the forepart of the brain were stuck, preventing him from thinking, and causing him to rub his forehead all the time as though to activate the brain. The moment he tries to say something he forgets it. His thoughts wander and vanish. The brain softens, and alzheimer’s disease is on its way fast. The patientãs ideas are confused in her brain, and she is taken over by the feeling that she no longer wants to live, that she has nothing to live for, that she wants to die. In a more acute mental state the Baptisia patient becomes very restless, rubbing her hands continuously, wanting to move all the time, lying in bed and rolling her head from side to side. She is confused as to her identity. She feels she cannot catch her breath: “… will clutch her breast and act as though she wanted
to tear it open, then she would act like one dying. ‘I am choking, I will die if I do not get more air’. If the windows are opened then she appears to be better”. A further stage to be considered is the Baptisia anxiety neurosis. Here we find anxiety about health, the anxiety revolving mainly around the heart. The patient fears that the heart will stop, or that it will, or has, quit beating. This brings on a tremendous anxiety and fear. He fears that he has an incurable heart disease. He does not want to hear any conversation about sickness, especially concerning the heart, because it brings about a wild state in his mind. This is not the logical fear we find in Phosphorus, where the patient feels that he may have, or may get, the same condition. This is a “confused fear”. It is followed by despair, by a certainty that he will never recover and is sure to die. He is restless and nervous at night and his condition is aggravated by darkness, and by thinking of his pains.
His memory weakens, and as it weakens the anxiety increases.
As a final stage, the patient eventually lapses into sadness, mental depression and lastly perfect indifference. He loses all feeling, does not care about anything, no longer wants to continue living. This state is similar to Ph-acid. You could call it a state of insensibility. Insensibility is a keynote for Baptisia. The insensibility is apparent in the mental, emotional and physical regions. During a headache, the patient may feel sleepy and stupid, the hands dead, without feeling. “Hands and feet were cold, and she said they were dead; there was no feeling in them; her arms were numb, and it extended down into her hands; she felt as though she would be paralyzed”. Baptisia has loss of sensibility as a general condition.
Generalities
Again it is important to look upon the experience of Kent who apparently saw a great many cases of typhoid fevers and whose descriptions of this remedy are superb:
“All of its acute diseases and complaints have the appearance of zymosis, like scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid, and gangrenous complaints. There is one thing that is unusual about it, it brings on this septic state more rapidly than most other remedies. The zymotic complaints of Ars., Phos., Rhus., and Bry., are much slower in their pace. But Baptisia is suitable for typhoids that come on rapidly, and hence it is not so often suitable in idiopathic typhoids. When an individual comes down suddenly from cold, from malaria, from drinking poisonous waters, and from any zymotic or septic cause he is hurled into bed in a few days, instead of going through a period of four, five or six weeks. The old idiopathic typhoid fevers come on slower.
Baptisia is suitable for those blood poisons that are highly septic, such as the puerperal state, such as scarlet fever. He comes down perhaps with the appearance of a sudden violent break down, with a remittent fever. But all at once it turns continued, and takes on septic symptoms. So much for its progress and its pace. Every medicine must be observed as to its velocity, as to its pace, as to its periodicity, as to its motion, and its wave. We get that by looking at the symptoms. You take an individual who has been down in a mine, in the swamp, down in the mud, in the sewers, who has inhaled foul gases, who goes into bed with a sort of stupor, from the very beginning he feels stupid. It is not gradual, but he goes down very suddenly, and he is stupid. He is prostrated. His face is mottled. Sordes begin to appear on the teeth much earlier than in the regular typhoid. The abdomen becomes distended much earlier than in the regular typhoid. That is, one who is accustomed to observing those things knows they are postponed for a number of days; while with this remedy the third day the abdomen is distended, his mouth is bleeding, and is putrid. His odors are horrible; and he is in a marked state of delirium, such as would not be expected until the typhoid is out for many days. So it has rapid running diseases. It has velocity. That is, he is going down toward death rapidly. He is increasing in his prostration more rapidly than usual. It is not a gradual decline of days and weeks. He goes into a state of stupor. When aroused he takes on delirium. It does not matter whether it is scarlet fever, or typhoid fever, or a septic surgical fever, or a puerperal fever, or what. He has fever, and if you look at him, and talk to him, and turn him over, and rouse him up, and make him realize that you want to say something to him – which is difficult – he gives you the impression that he has been on a big drunk. That is the first thought you will have in a Baptisia case. His countenance is besotted. It is bloated and purple and mottled. Blood oozes from the mouth. You have seen the besotted countenance of drunkards, and it is like an old drunkard.
All the discharges are putrid. The odor is cadaverous, pungent; penetrating. His perspiration, if he has any, is sour, foetid, pungent, and penetrating. If he has no sweat the body gives off an odor that is unaccountable. The odor is so penetrating that on going into the front door the whole house, if the room is open, is filled with the odor. The odor from the stool is putrid and so penetrating that it can be detected on first going into the house.” The characteristic generalities of this remedy are: a. an all round sick feeling great muscular soreness, bed feels very hard
insensibility
mental confusion
prostration and
offensive discharges, offensive breath, stool, urine, sweat, etc.
Cases of convulsive contraction of esophagus with regurgitation of food have been cured by it. One of the older homeopaths, Hale, considered it a specific in threatened miscarriage from mental depression, or mental shock from bad news. Mucous membranes become dark.
Ulceration of mucous membranes. Morbid irritability of nervous system, preventing sleep. Restless, uneasy, could confine himself to nothing; wanted to be moving from place to place. Dull, heavy feeling in whole body, with indifference to everything. General malaise, weak feeling, but especially of lower limbs. Entire system feels weak, especially lower limbs and knees. Feels weak and languid, sore and bruised, especially arms and calves of legs. Feels weak and exhausted after a little labor, soon becoming tired. Feels weak, tremulous, as after severe sickness. Faintness on rising.
Great languor; wants to lie down. Lassitude and weakness of whole body, with indifference. Great prostration and restlessness. Prostration and trembling.
Prostration, with soreness of muscles. Slides down in bed; feels as if sinking away.
Paralysis of whole left side; left hand and arm are numb, powerless. Numbness and tingling in the whole of left side.
Baptisia resembles Rhus in its typhoid tendency, but the prostration of Baptisia is greater, with a drowsy, stupid condition and besotted look instead of the restless irritability of Rhus – the throat, too, is dark-red, with dark putrid ulcers and a marked painlessness, while all the discharges are very offensive. Some keynotes for Baptisia:
A feeling as if the forehead or the eyes or both were being pressed in.
A tendency to rub the forehead constantly.
A feeling as if the tongue were scalded.
Swelling at the base of the tongue.
Head
There is a dull heavy sensation in head with drowsiness and heavy eyelids.
The head feels large, with a numb feeling of head and face.
Bruised soreness as if in brain; bruised feeling in occiput. The neck is tired, cannot hold head easy in any position.
The skin of the forehead felt as if drawn tightly and to the back part of the head; a feeling as if the forehead was being pressed in.
Sensation as if a band were around forehead.
Head feels heavy as if he could not sit up, causing a wild feeling; worse from noise. Dull, bruised feeling in occiput.
Top of head feels as if it would fly off.
Sensation as if head was swelling slowly, growing larger and larger. Sharp pains by spells in right and left temples.
Eyes
Lids partially paralysed.
Cannot bear light; eyes burn, but do not water.
Occasionally delirium with confusion of sight.
Feeling as if eyes would be pressed into head; eyeballs feel sore with great confusion of sight.
Left eye for a moment feels very weak, followed by stitches in upper eyelid.
Stitches in right eye; also in left as from needles.
Eyeballs feel sore; sore and lame on moving them.
Vessels congested, eyes look red, inflamed.
Partial paralysis of lids; difficulty in keeping them open.
Ears
Roaring in ears with mental confusion.
Delirium with almost complete deafness.
Ears feel hot and burn, yet cold to touch.
Right ear sore and neck tired.
Soreness in right ear, running down neck.
Pain below left ear, midway between mastoid process and angle of lower jaw. Slight pain in left parotid gland.
Nose
An illusion of smell “as of burnt feathers”.
Sensation of great fulness, edematous swelling of affected parts. Epistaxis during typhoid fever. Severe drawing pains along nose.
Nose stopped up as if had taken a bad cold.
Thick mucus from nose.
Dull pain at root of nose.
Unpleasant sensation at root of nose as if water had passed through posterior nares while drinking. Epistaxis and oozing of dark blood from nose.
Face
Anxious, frightened look.
Dark red, with besotted expression; flushed, dusky; hot and perceptibly flushed, epistaxis ameliorates.
Discoloration with bluish spots.
Burning, prickling of left side of face and head. Burning heat in face with flushed cheeks. Sweat on forehead and face.
Face and whole head feel numb.
Muscles of jaw rigid.
Jaw dropped.
Cracked lips.
Pain in region of right mastoid process.
Mouth
A general comment here is that in spite of the fact that we have a lot of extremely offensive ulcers or ulcerations, we do not see much pain. Putrid ulceration of buccal cavity, with salivation; well-developed ulcers, slight pain. Fetid ulcers, filthy taste with flow of saliva. Gangrenous ulcers. Painless ulcers.
Sordes on teeth and lips.
Tongue coated white, yellow or yellowish-brown, and feels as if burned or scalded. Tongue has a yellow centre, or yellowish-brown coating. Tongue yellowish-brown with shining edges. Shining, glazed edges of tongue.
Saliva rather abundant, somewhat viscid and flat tasting.
Enlarged tongue, swollen, thick, making talking difficult. Roof of tongue is swollen and feels numb.
Tongue feels stiff.
Pain in root of tongue on swallowing.
Cracked, sore ulcerated tongue.
Trembling of tongue when protruding it.
Swelling of the palate.
Taste is nauseous.
Fetid odor.
Aphthae black.
Gums dark red.
Throat
Although there is severe inflammation the pain is much less than expected.
Nervous spasm of the esophagus.
Paralysis of esophagus.
Esophagus feels as if constricted from above down to stomach.
Constrictive feeling causing frequent efforts at deglutition; throat sore, feels contracted.
Can swallow liquids only; least solid food gags.
Frequent inclination to swallow, causing pain in root of tongue.
Painless inflammation of throat.
Fauces dark red; dark, putrid ulcers; tonsils and parotids swollen; unusual absence of pain.
Burning and heat in fauces, as from heartburn, extending into ears; aggravation from belching, which causes pain to extend into chest, and there producing a weak feeling.
Tonsils and soft palate very red, but not painful.
Uvula elongated.
Discoloration of tonsils, uvula dark red.
Swelling of epiglottis, mornings.
Throat sore; averse to open air.
Dark, putrid, wash leather-like exudation of membrane.
Sensation as if had eaten pepper.
Mucus abundant and viscid, can neither be swallowed nor expectorated.
Children cannot swallow solid food; the smallest solid substance causes gagging, thus they cannot use anything but milk. The larynx is very sensitive to touch, sore to swallow or speak.
Stomach
Loss of appetite.
Constant desire for water, with nausea and want of appetite.
All symptoms worse from beer.
Belching of large quantities of wind.
Nausea with eructations, followed by painful vomiting.
Feeling as if he would vomit, but no nausea, with severe shooting in left kidney and to left of umbilicus.
At night frequent pain in epigastric region; aggravation from turning over, which he had to do all the time. Sinking, “gone” feeling at stomach, fainting; tongue brown in morning.
Cramp in stomach; evening.
Severe pain every few minutes in cardiac region of stomach.
Abdomen
Dull pain in umbilicus on deep inspiration.
Dull pain at pit of stomach, with constriction of diaphragm.
Constant pain in stomach and liver; worse from walking; heavy aching in stomach and liver.
Pain in region of liver on going up-stairs.
Constant aching distress in stomach and umbilical region, with a great deal of pain in region of gall-bladder; pain extends to spine.
Pain in region of spleen, with darts of pain in body, especially in carpus, metacarpus and phalanges. Severe colicky pains in umbilical and hypochondriac regions, recurring every few seconds.
Pain in abdomen with diarrhea.
Griping pain in bowels while at stool.
Distress, dull pain in umbilical region.
Distended abdomen; fulness; flatulence, rumbling, feels as if vomiting would relieve; mushy stools.
Right iliac region sensitive.
Abdominal muscles sore on pressure, with acute intermitting pain. Abdominal tenderness, with flatulency.
Cutting in bowels, relieved for a short time by passage of flatus, which causes burning at anus.
Severe pain in left groin; better from walking, better from rest, but returning again on motion.
Glands of left groin swollen; painful on walking.
Severe pain in the region of the gall-bladder, it is almost impossible to walk, it makes the pain so severe.
Rectum
Diarrhea, with pain and soreness in bowels.
Stools of pure blood, or bloody mucus.
Fetid, exhausting diarrhea, causing excoriation.
Thin, watery, offensive diarrhea day and night.
Aphthous diarrhea.
Dark brown mucous and bloody stools.
Stools: dark, thin, fecal, offensive.
Fetid stools.
Stool very small and difficult to pass, it resembles sheep dung.
Pain before stool, weakness after stool.
Constipation and diarrhea; stools dark and blood-streaked.
Before stool: severe colic, more in hypogastrium.
Stool papescent, with a large quantity of mucus, but no real pain.
Urinary organs
Stitches in region of right kidney.
Shooting pains in region of left kidney.
Urine scanty, dark red; light green. Urine very highly colored and scanty. Urine not very copious, but of dark-red color. Urine alkaline, fetid.
Passes water often with a great deal of fiery pain.
Red sand is passed with urine, and is seen at once on bottom of vessel. Increased secretion of urine at night.
Genitalia – male
Dull drawing in right groin and testicle, also in legs and knee joints.
Orchitis; cannot sleep because he feels as if his body was scattered about bed. Pressing pain in left testicle, as if it had been squeezed. Cramps in testes, as if they had been squeezed.
Genitalia – female
Abortion from bad news, from emotions, from low fever, from night-watching.
Menses brown.
Menses too early and too profuse.
Tendency to or threatened abortion.
Lochia acrid, fetid; great prostration.
Puerperal fever, with typhoid symptoms.
Metrorrhagia.
Dysmenorrhea.
Chest
Hoarseness or aphonia.
Larynx very sore to touch, painful swallowing or speaking.
Hoarseness, must use great effort to be understood.
Sensation of weight and oppression in praecordial region, with a feeling of unsatisfied breathing; afternoon.
Fetid breath.
Asthmatic oppression of chest, with frequent yawning; worse from motion; better after rest.
Snoring respiration.
Catarrhal pneumonia; cough, night sweat and diarrhea.
Oppressed breathing, 6 p.m. , with cough; right lung sore; sneezing.
Awoke with great difficulty of breathing; lungs felt tight, compressed; could not get a full breath; must open window and get his face to fresh air; burning heat of skin; dry tongue; accelerated pulse; peculiar feeling of brain.
On lying down difficult breathing, but no constriction of chest, must rise; afraid to go to sleep, fears nightmare and suffocation; arises from want of power in lungs, not constriction.
Dyspnea, with a tight cough.
Stitches in sternum on inhalation.
Tickling in throat provoking cough; uvula elongated.
Tightness of chest; constriction.
Pain in right lung; less pain in left, with soreness.
Pain through left chest.
Sharp pains when taking a long breath.
Dull, oppressive pain in left chest at origin of serratus magnus; worse on inspiration and motion; pains in metacarpal bones. Throbbing of heart so as to be distinctly heard.
Compass and frequency of heart’s pulsations seem increased; pulsations seem to fill chest.
Pulse at first accelerated, afterwards slow and faint. Pulse accelerated or slower than in health. Sharp pain in centre of sternum.
Dull stitches in left nipple.
Dull heavy pains in region of origin of pectoralis minor, lasting about ten minutes, followed by a bruised feeling.
Back
Neck so tired she cannot hold her head easily in any position.
Cervical muscles stiff, lame.
Back and hips very stiff, ache severely.
Pain under right scapula; better on motion. Dull lumbar backache, worse walking.
Dull sacral pain, compounded of a feeling as from pressure and fatigue, from long stooping; soon extends around hips and down right leg. Feels as if lying on a board; changes position often, bed feels so hard; worst part in region of sacrum.
Rheumatic pains in muscles of back, followed by burning.
Pain in right subscapular muscle; worse on motion of arm; better from pressing part against something hard. Pain under right scapula; better on motion.
Pain in sacrum.
Extremities
Severe pain in left shoulder joint, causing a disagreeable, sickening feeling at stomach; also darts of pains in various parts of body; aggravated during rest and when thinking of them.
Feels sore and stiff about shoulders and chest.
Pain in right elbow, causing a weakness in arm and hand, scarcely able to hold pencil while noting these symptoms.
Rheumatic thrusts in left ulna (lower part), with pain in different parts of body; aggravated at rest.
Severe rheumatic stitches in metacarpal bone of left index finger, lasting several minutes.
Rheumatic stitches in left radius, lasting but a little while.
Numbness of left hand and forearm, with prickling; worse from movement; sharp darting pains through fingers.
Hands feel large, tremulous.
Rheumatic pains in left wrist and stitches in right eye.
Tearing pains in carpal bones of right hand, lasting but a short time, followed by several sharp pains in phalanges of left hand. A sharp dart of pain in first phalanx while writing.
Pain running up and down bones of left forearm.
Tearing pain in palm of left hand, and also darts in various parts of body.
Terrible rheumatic pains in metacarpal bones of left hand, lasting but a few moments, though very severe; also pain in left knee and shoulder.
Tearing pain in right metacarpus.
Rheumatic pain in metacarpal bone and phalanges of left thumb (long, severe thrusts), lasting several minutes, every thrust causes a momentary sickness at pit of stomach.
Sharp stitches under left thumb nail, lasting but a few moments, but returning in a short time as before. Rheumatic pain in phalanges of middle finger right hand, and also in right shoulder joint.
Lower limbs feel weak and vacillating when walking.
Soreness in anterior of thighs; worse after sitting awhile.
Drawing in hips and calves.
Several rheumatic stitches in outer hamstring.
Severe pain in left knee (outer side), running down into fibula.
Rheumatic pain in left knee joint.
Dull pain in right patella and right tarsal bones.
Cramp in calves whenever he moves them.
Pains in lower part of left ulna and tarsus.
Left foot numb, prickling.
Burning of top of right foot, from toes to back of foot.
Rheumatic pain on inner side of right os calcis.
Tearing pains in os calcis of right foot, lasting about half a minute.
Pain in first phalanx of right great toe, as if hair on it was steadily and continually pulled; aggravated at rest, better on motion; after moving a little while toe feels hot, and then pain leaves, but when at rest heat leaves, and pains return.
Rheumatic pain in right (lower part) ulna, also in muscles on posterior part of right thigh and metacarpal bones of right index finger. Rheumatic pain in right shin bone, also in bones of left wrist and hand.
Rheumatic pains in left elbow and knee, and also right ankle and heel.
Rheumatic stitches in right subscapular muscle, with pains in different parts of body, especially in metacarpal bones and phalanges, lasting but a few moments; pains in hand seem to be deep in bones.
Aches from his finger ends to his toes.
Soreness, bruised feeling in extremities during chill.
Paralysis, hemiplegia, left.
Aching in limbs.
Drawing in arms and legs.
Sleep
Dreams of snow.
Lies curled up like a dog.
Excessive drowsiness. Feels very drowsy, can hardly keep awake. Drowsiness, can only keep awake by great effort; pains in body still continue. Drowsy, stupid, tired feeling; disposition to half close eyes.
Feels dull and sleepy; with slight headache.
Feels sleepy and drowsy; lay down to doze, but soon lower limbs suddenly start as if had been frightened.
Feels drowsy; while sitting on a chair and lying with head on arms, and arms on table (dozing, yet conscious), had a sensation as if some person touched him very gently in both sides; followed by a want of power to sit up, made several efforts to do so, but was perfectly helpless; in a short time had a similar attack of about same duration, but more severe; felt weak for some time afterwards.
Delirious stupor; falls asleep while answering a question or while being talked to. Lies semicomatose, looks as if dying.
Slept well until about 3 a.m., then restless until morning, tossing about. Restless; does not sleep quietly. Sleep restless, frequent wakings. Wants to get up and yet does not want to.
Sleepless, with wandering of mind.
Delirious disturbance at night, varying from a mere uneasiness and inability to sleep to delirium proper.
Cannot sleep; head or body feels scattered about bed; tosses about to get pieces together. Wants to get out of bed.
Restless, with frightful dreams. Sleep restless and troubled with dreams, but inability to remember what had been dreamed, and weariness, as if had not slept enough. Sleep very restless, dreams; heavy gnawing at stomach; pains in hands. Nightmare.
Sleeplessness.
Worse on awaking: difficult breathing; parts rested on feel very painful; flashes of heat.
Fever
Shivering. Shivering preceded by a sense of weakness.
Chilly all day; whole body feels sore.
Chilly on going into open air; chills over back and lower limbs; evening. Chilly over back while sitting by a fire; forenoon. Chilliness alternated with heat.
Chilliness of lower limbs and back, with fever at night.
Chill followed by fever, with severe aching in muscular portion of body.
Whole surface hot and dry, with occasional chills, mostly up and down back. Extremities feel hot, except feet, which are cold. Flashes of heat from small of back in all directions; dull, heavy aching, great prostration. On awaking at 3 a.m. , flashes of heat, feeling as if sweat would break out.
Gentle flashes of heat over whole body.
Fever set in with headache.
General fever and malaise.
Heat of face, flashes over face.
Burning, pungent heat over whole body, especially in face.
Heat at night; burning in legs preventing sleep. Heat of skin.
Uncomfortable burning all over surface, especially face; had to move to a cool part of bed, and finally to rise and open a window and wash his face and hands. Gentle flushes of heat over whole body, followed by a slight perspiration. Frequent sweats.
Causes sweat to break out and relieves; critical sweat on forehead and face.
Fetid sweat.
Chills, fever and sweat every other afternoon.
Fever cases, with peculiar delirium; dullness of intellect and abdominal tenderness. Sensation as if there was a second self outside of patient. Fever, delirium, headache, pain in back and limbs; [Rhus].
General fever and malaise.
Aspect of low fever, determination of blood to surface and profuse sweating.
Early stages: white tongue, red edges; or brown, or yellow brown down centre; bitter or flat taste; cannot digest food; stools frequent, yellow; gurgling and slight. Sensitiveness of right iliac region; pulse high; fever tends to increase; parts rested on are sore.
Typhus and typhoid fever, with a tendency to putrescence.
Fever originating from confinement on shipboard, without good care or food.
Beginning of typhus, when so-called nervous symptoms predominate.
Cerebral forms, especially with excessive drowsiness, delirium, confusion of ideas, stupefying headache; restless sleep, head feels scattered about; frightful dreams; great debility and nervous prostration, with erethism, etc.
Typhoid and cerebral forms of fever; delirium, drowsiness, confusion, gives slow answer or falls asleep attempting a reply; erethism; tries to escape from bed; sleepless because she cannot get herself together; head feels scattered, and she tosses about to get pieces together; sensation of a second self outside of patient; indifferent; low delirium, stupor; sordes on teeth; face dark, besotted looking; hearing dull; epistaxis; involuntary, scanty stool; difficult breathing; fever increases each afternoon.
Skin
Burning all over skin, worse in face.
Livid spots over body and limbs, not elevated, of irregular shape, size of a pea up to bean, without any sensation. Rose-colored spots.
Eruption like measles or urticaria.
Pimples thick on palatine arch, tonsils and uvula; breath fetid; salivation; prostration. Foul, gangrenous, phagedenic syphilitic sores.
Smallpox confluent, tardy eruption.
Gangrenous sores, aphthae, sore nipples (locally).
Clinical
Threatened abortion. Apoplexy. Brain softening. Cancer. Diphtheria. Enteric fever. Affections of gall-bladder. Gastric fever. Hectic fever. Hysteria. Influenza. Mumps. Stricture of esophagus. Plague. Relapsing fever. Sewer gas-poisoning.
Shivering. Stomatitis. Tabes mesenterica. Tinea capitis. Tongue ulcerated. Typhus. Worms.
Relations
Cognates : Arnic., Arsen., Bryon., Gelsem. (especially in the malaise, nervousness, flushed face of drowsiness, and muscular soreness in early stages); Hyosc., Kali chlor., Laches., Mur-ac., Nitr-ac. (in typhoids); Nux vom., Opium, Rhus tox.
When Arsen. has been given in typhus improperly.
Silic., like Baptis., has ability to swallow only liquids, (like milk), but unlike the latter, it has also aversion to milk. Terebinth. and Nitr-ac. acted well after Baptis.
Hamam. speedily checked copious, repeated epistaxis.
Compare: Ecchin-angust., Kali mur.,; Ecchinacea angustifolia is perhaps its nearest analogue.
Dosage
From 6x to the highest.
