Mygale lasiodora

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(Cuban Spider.)

Officinal Preparations. — Triturations of the spider; tincture; dilutions.

Analogues. — Apis, Agaricus, Belladonna, Cimicifuga, Doryphora, Hyo& ciamus, Tarantula, etc.

Mind.

Felt sad all day. (Howard.) Great anxiety and fear of death. (Hale.) Despondency and fear of death. (Howard.) Delirious and restless all night, with talk about his business. (Ib.)

Restless all night with ridiculous dreams. (H>.)

Head.

° Frontal headache — in chorea — vertigo.

Face.

Face flushed and hot.

Mouth and Throat.

Tongue dry and parched, or dry and brown. ° Grating of the teeth — nights.

Gastric.

Nausea, with palpitation of the heart. Excessive thirst — with the fever.

Urinary Organs. In the morning increased discharge of urine, with stinging

pain in urethra. The urine during the day was burning hot, it seemed scalding.

Chest.

Difficult respiration, with anxiety.

Heart.

Strong palpitation of the heart, dimness of sight, nausea, and general weakness.

Back.

Pain in the back, extending around to the front. Twitching in the muscles of the back.

Extremities.

The local inflammation (from a bite) was very extensive, reaching from foot to knee, leaving a large violet spot which afterwards became greenish. {Howard.)

Intense redness in streaks, following the course of the lymphatics— from the calf upward to the body, with great anxiety, twitching of the limbs, etc. {Hale.)

• Convulsive, uncontrollable movements of the arms and legs. Pulsative, stinging pains in the foot.

Fever.

Severe chill, followed by fever, with trembling of the whole body, excessive thirst, face flushed, pulse 130, tongue dry and brown, difficult breathing, despondency, fear of death, delirium.

Generalities.

• Convulsive, uncontrollable movements of the back, arms and

legs.

distorted, could not help herself; headache, vertigo, grating the teeth nights; quiet during sleep; worse in the morning. (Dr. Spooner.)

0 Chorea: jerking in left leg, facial muscles, etc. (Dr. Blake's patient improved in a short time under Mygale.)

0 Chorea — after Cimicifuga — "the twitching was now confined to the left arm (cured by Mygale 1st)." (Dr. Blake.)

Volume II — Special Therapeutics

This medicine is prepared from the virus of a poisonous spider found in Cuba. The species of the same genus found in the United States are supposed to be poisonous.

The symptoms obtained from provings and cases of poisoning show that it resembles in toxic effects the Tarantula. It deranges the motor side of the spinal cord, causing chorea and choreic spasms. You will find it useful in some cases of St. Vitus’s dance, after Cimicifuga, Agaricus, Hyoscyamus, and Stramonium have been unavailing. One characteristic symptom of the Mygale chorea is that the patient is quiet during sleep and worse in the morning.

I have only used it in one case, but it was a case of many years’ standing, and it did not seem to do much good.

The English physicians, however, have been quite successful with it.

Bv referring to the cases of Drs. Blake and Spooner, in volume i, “Materia Medica,” you will get an idea of its power in chorea.