Coca. (Erythroxylon Coca.)
By Constantine Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica
Coca. Lineæ (suborder Erythroxyleæ).
Nearest related to the Malpighiaceæ and Sapindaceæ, next to the Aceripaceæ and the Rhizoboleæ.
A bush six or eight feet high, small white flowers and bright green leaves. The leaves are two and half inches long and half as wide ; the characteristic sign of the leaf is an arched line on each side of the midrib. Coca was first used in the United States as a tobacco antidote. It is known to have been in use with the Peruvians since the Conquest. In the time of the Incas the Coca was regarded as sacred. It is largely cultivated in Bolivia for the sake of its leaves, which are much used in that country for chewing. In 1856 the sale of the leaves secured an income to the Republic of thirteen million francs. It is now in general use among the Indians as a narcotizing beverage. The plant, which is propagated from the seed in nurseries, begins to yield in eighteen months and continues productive for half a century.
In 1856 it was proved by Clotar Müller, Hom. Viert., vol. 7, p. 443. Proving by Stokes, in Mon. Hom. Rev., vol. 3, p. 275, in 1859. Provings were suggested in 1867, by W. S. Searle, in N. A. J. of H., vol. 16, p. 1, and made in the same year by Berridge, Croker, Ray and Scheibler. Other provings were made, in 1869, by Lilienthal, Safford, Williams, Ferguson and Labeau. In 1870, C. Hering made a complete arrangement of the effects, from all available sources, in the form of a monograph, for the Journal of Materia Medica.
CLINICAL AUTHORITIES.
- Shocks in the head , Searle, Organon, vol. 3, p. 359 ; Chronic constipation , Stokes, Organon, vol. 3, p. 267 ; Cough , Berridge, H. M., vol. 10, p. 110 ; Phthisis pulmonalis , E. W. Berridge, H. M., 1874, p. 110 ; Heart disease , Œhme, A. H. Z., vol. 101, p. 101 ; Overexertion in ascending heights , Richter B. J. H., vol. 34, p. 163 ; Three years sickness caused by removal of cancer , N. Williams, Hom. Clinics, vol. 2, p. 269 ; Morphine and Opium habit , Œhme, A. H. Z., vol. 101, p. 100.
MIND [1]
Melancholy from nervous exhaustion.
Hypochondriasis. θ Amenorrhœa. θ Dysmenorrhœa. θ Veta.
Bashful, timid, ill at ease in society.
Sadness, irritability ; he delights only in solitude and obscurity ; frequently he gives proof of obstinacy.
Remarkable aversion to exertion of any kind in consequence of nervous exhaustion.
Loss of energy.
Slow in finding the words to express himself at times.
Mental depression with beginning of atrophy.
Overpowered by an indescribable anxiety. θ Veta.
Feeling of anguish increased with failure of every effort to strive against the weariness ; torment only diminishes with perfect rest. θ Veta.
Stupidity. θ Veta.
Brain feels so muddled that he cannot read understandingly.
Gentle excitement, followed by wakefulness.
Peevish temper. θ Veta.
Imparts unusual buoyancy ; cheers the heart, brightens the mind and renews bodily strength for the vigorous tasks of life.
Want of will power ; shakiness and mental depression.
SENSORIUM [2]
Giddiness and dizziness.
Vertigo. θ Veta.
Fear of falling when walking ; vertigo with involuntary quick stepping when walking, head inclined forward, with giddiness and fear of falling ; nausea and dizzy feeling make him unfit for mental work ; giddiness, with pressing on back of head and weariness.
Fainting and violent sickness. θ Veta.
Fainting fits from nervous weakness.
INNER HEAD [3]
Sensation of tension over forehead, as if an india-rubber band was stretched over it.
Fulness in forehead and dull feeling over whole brow.
Violent headache just over eyes, with low ringing in ears.
Headache just above eyebrows, not constant ; < by elevating head or turning eyes up.
Dull frontal headache, which vanishes with the setting of the sun, followed by a state of mental exhilaration.
Slight shooting pains in right temple.
Headache in right temple in morning, sharp on first rising and all day when looking up, pain darts from temple in straight line to top of head, leaving a sore feeling.
Pressing headache on right side of occiput and on right side of forehead, with giddiness and chill after dinner ; > towards evening.
Shocks in the head, dull, full feeling in occiput, with vertigo, < by lying down, often only possible position in bed is on face.
Occiput painful, tender to touch ; pains < on coughing.
Headache in occiput, with chilliness and mild fever.
Occipital headache.
Headache in afternoon, with chilliness.
Headache with sensation of dryness in throat.
Flow of blood to head and lungs.
Headache > after eating, returning in three and a half hours and leaving at sunset.
Nervous sick headache ; megrim.
OUTER HEAD [4]
Occiput painful and tender to touch, pain < on coughing. θ Phthisis.
SIGHT AND EYES [5]
Great intolerance of light, with remarkable dilatation of pupils.
Dark cloud before eyes ; eyes deeply reddened until bloody tears gushed out. θ Veta.
White, dark or fiery spots before eyes ; flickering or flashing ; letters seem to run together.
Indistinct vision, soon followed by headache and nausea. θ Veta.
Aching pain behind eyes, making them feel as if they were squinting inward.
HEARING AND EARS [6]
Ringing in ears with fever.
Loud ringing, buzzing and humming in ears. θ Veta.
Deafness of three months' duration, in an old soldier, æt. 102 ; complained of noise in head and inability to hear himself when he read aloud.
SMELL AND NOSE [7]
Epistaxis passing from right to left.
UPPER FACE [8]
Lips blue, swollen, chapped. θ Veta.
Lips and gums pale ; dryness of lips and mouth.
Ulcerations at commissure of lips.
TEETH AND GUMS [10]
Prevents caries of teeth.
TASTE, SPEECH, TONGUE [11]
Taste and Tongue
No taste in morning.
Much furred tongue.
INNER MOUTH [12]
Dryness of lips and mouth, especially on awaking.
At night and in morning a sensation in mouth and palate as if he had eaten pepper.
Fetid breath.
PALATE AND THROAT [13]
A distinct feeling of swelling of uvula, difficulty of swallowing.
Early in morning, sensation of dryness in throat, very disagreeable on swallowing, as if swollen.
APPETITE, THIRST. DESIRES, AVERSIONS [14]
Great appetite.
Retards hunger and thirst.
Great satiety, without longing for nourishment, for a long time.
Loss of appetite, especially for solid food.
Great thirst.
Longing for spirituous liquors and tobacco, accustomed stimulants.
EATING AND DRINKING [15]
Can eat but little at a time. θ Chronic constipation.
Ailments from salt food.
HICCOUGH, BELCHING, NAUSEA AND VOMITING [16]
Nausea with vertigo.
Hiccough after supper.
Frequent eructations.
Flatus rises with such force that it seems as if œsophagus would be rent by it. θ Chronic constipation.
SCROBICULUM AND STOMACH [17]
Feeling of emptiness or fulness in stomach.
Weak and difficult digestion.
Catarrh of stomach ; gastralgia ; dyspepsia.
Confirmed dyspepsia, especially in hypochondriacs.
HYPOCHONDRIA [18]
Pressure and tension in hypochondria, after meals.
ABDOMEN AND LOINS [19]
Flatulence.
Violent palpitation from incarcerated flatus, which sometimes rises with such force that it seems as if œsophagus would be rent by it. θ Chronic constipation.
Violent bellyache, with tympanitic distension of abdomen, > by frequent discharges of inodorous flatus.
Puffing up of abdomen.
Spasmodic colic ; enteralgia.
Pituitous diseases of abdominal organs.
STOOLS AND RECTUM [20]
Flatus from bowels smells like burnt gunpowder.
Constant desire to stool. θ After gonorrhœa.
Dysentery. θ Veta.
Every day bowels moved one hour later.
Constipation from inactivity of rectum.
Piles painful on walking or sitting.
URINARY ORGANS [21]
Rises in night to urinate.
Urine copious, with a dark red sediment adhering to vessel.
Pain in perineum at end of urination ; stream of urine twisted ; dribbling ; orange colored, flocculent sediment collects in one spot "like a sponge ;" ammoniacal odor. θ Following checked gonorrhœa.
Urine after standing deposits a yellow white gelatinous sediment, adhering to vessel, sometimes an iridescent oily film on surface. θ Phthisis pulmonalis. θ Cough.
Urine becomes turbid after standing and is covered with a light pellicle.
Nocturnal enuresis.
MALE SEXUAL ORGANS [22]
Nervous prostration from sexual excesses.
Spermatorrhœa and partial impotence.
FEMALE SEXUAL ORGANS [23]
Menses flow in gushes, awakening from sound sleep.
VOICE AND LARYNX. TRACHEA AND BRONCHIA [25]
Weakness of voice.
Phthisis laryngea, when from irritability of pharynx stomach would retain no food.
Feels much stronger in voice ; can sing much louder and clearer.
RESPIRATION [26]
Painful shortness of breathing. θ Veta.
In evening in bed, most severe oppression with great anxiety and prostration.
Painful oppression of chest and continued need of deep respiration.
Oppression of breathing during nocturnal hours.
Obliged to stand still and draw breath, scarcely able to do so. θ Veta.
Heaviness in chest and obstructed breathing obliged him to walk slowly.
Impeded respiration, violent palpitation, with feeling of weariness, making further progress impossible. θ Veta.
Frequent spasmodic dyspnœa. θ Chronic constipation.
Dyspnœa, from emphysema, asthma or disease of heart.
Want of breath in those engaged in athletic sports ; or in those using tobacco or whisky to excess.
Hæmoptysis. θ Veta.
COUGH [27]
Trifling cough, causing tingling in hands.
On coughing, pain in occiput.
Cough, in morning, with whitish-yellow expectoration, dense and viscous, at same time dryness of mouth and throat with thirst.
Cough dry in evening, in bed.
Cough from cold air and fast walking.
Sputa scanty, but relieving. θ Cough.
Expectoration of small lumps, like boiled starch, immediately after rising in morning.
INNER CHEST AND LUNGS [28]
Vainly endeavors to fill lungs with air by full inspirations and utmost enlargement of chest. θ Veta.
Pains under clavicles, more severe under left.
During the whole day, feeling of constriction in upper portion of both lungs.
Transient shooting pains in left lung, between third and sixth ribs, < during a deep inspiration.
Suddenly attacked with cramp in chest ; she became quite cold and could not continue the ascent. θ Overexertion in ascending heights.
Rush of blood to chest with slight headache. θ Veta.
Emphysema. θ Phthisis pulmonalis.
HEART, PULSE AND CIRCULATION [29]
Throbbing of heart against ribs audible. θ Veta.
Palpitation of heart with general weakness. θ Veta.
Violent palpitation from incarcerated flatus. θ Chronic constipation.
Angina pectoris while climbing ; she became quite cold.
Exhaustion of heart with irregular action.
Disease of heart, functional, from overexertion.
Increased frequency of the pulse, in one instance from 70 to 143 beats per minute.
Pulse 108 to 120. θ Veta.
Pulse weak, quickened, small.
Pulse intermitting every fifth beat. θ Heart disease.
OUTER CHEST [30]
Spasm in chest. θ From overfatigue while ascending a mountain.
UPPER LIMBS [32]
Pain in fourth finger of right hand, it was cold and remained so for weeks, also affecting little finger.
LOWER LIMBS [33]
Weakness in walking.
Impaired power of walking. θ Chronic constipation.
LIMBS IN GENERAL [34]
Feeling of internal cold, with numbness of hands and feet. θ Veta.
Rheumatism, coming from slightest cold.
REST. POSITION. MOTION [35]
Rest : anguish, weariness and torment only diminish with perfect rest ; after every ten steps obliged to take rest.
Sitting : piles painful.
Lying down : < shocks in head, dull, full feeling in occiput.
Obliged to stand still and draw breath, scarcely able to do so.
He lays himself upon the earth, unable to drag himself any farther.
Impossible to make any exertion, lassitude, desire to remain constantly in bed.
Head inclined forward, with giddiness and fear of falling.
Only possible position in bed is on face.
Awakes at night lying on back.
Elevating head or turning eyes up < headache.
Walking : fear of falling ; involuntary quick stepping ; piles painful ; cough ; weakness.
Heaviness in chest and obstructed breathing, obliging him to walk slowly.
NERVES [36]
Retards hunger and imparts unusual buoyancy, enabling one to ascend great heights, carry burdens, or run rapidly without the sense of fatigue or breathlessness.
Erethism in the sensitive sphere.
Nervousness and nightly restlessness of children during dentition.
Can find red nowhere. θ Veta.
Nervous depression, result of overwork, mental anxiety, sexual excesses or abuse of tobacco.
Trembling ; he lays himself upon the earth, physically and mentally unable to drag himself any farther, half unconscious. θ Veta.
Feeling of weariness amounts to an impossibility of advancing, owing to impeded respiration and violent palpitation of heart. θ Veta.
Impossible to make any exertion, lassitude with desire to remain constantly in bed. θ After operation for cancer.
Debility during convalescence from typhus.
Fainting fits from nervous weakness.
Hysterical complaints.
SLEEP [37]
Inclination to sleep and constant weariness, which do not induce refreshing sleep. θ Veta.
Inclination to sleep, but can find no rest.
Awakes at night, lying on back.
Sleeplessness in the night, or sleep too sound and heavy.
TIME [38]
Early in morning : sensation of dryness in throat.
In morning : on first rising, sharp headache in right temple ; no taste ; sensation in mouth and palate as if he had eaten pepper ; cough, with whitish-yellow expectoration, dense and viscous ; dryness of mouth and throat with thirst.
In afternoon : headache with chilliness.
After dinner : giddiness and chill.
After supper : hiccough.
In evening : in bed, most severe oppression with great anxiety and prostration ; in bed, dry cough.
At night : sensation in mouth and palate as if he had eaten pepper ; rises to urinate ; enuresis ; oppression of breathing ; awakes lying on back ; sleeplessness, or sleep too sound and heavy, heat and sleeplessness, with throbbing in arteries.
TEMPERATURE AND WEATHER [39]
Cold air : cough from.
Cold : rheumatism from slightest.
Worse in all stages of weather with a low barometer, also if remissions come during the high tides of barometer.
FEVER [40]
Chilliness and headache in afternoon.
At night heat and sleeplessness, with throbbing in arteries.
Flushes of heat on back and burning in abdomen.
The fever distinguished by extreme weariness accompanying it.
Debility during convalescence from low fevers.
Night sweats.
ATTACKS, PERIODICITY [41]
Spasmodic : colic ; dyspnœa.
Sudden : attack of cramp in chest.
Transient : shooting pain in left lung.
Frequent : eructations ; discharges of inodorous flatus.
Constant : desire to stool ; need of deep respiration ; weariness and inclination to sleep.
For a long time : great satiety.
All day : headache in right temple when looking up ; constriction in upper portion of both lungs.
Every day : bowels moved one hour later.
Dull frontal headache, which vanishes with setting of sun.
Headache > after eating, returning in three and a half hours and leaving at sunset.
Nightly : restlessness of children, during dentition.
Aggravations from midnight to 4 A. M., or from 10 A. M. till 2 P. M.
For weeks : pain and coldness in fourth finger of right hand, also affecting little finger.
Deafness of three months duration.
Chronic : constipation ; dyspepsia.
LOCALITY AND DIRECTION [42]
Right : slight shooting pains in temple ; headache in temple darting to top of head ; pressing headache on side of occiput and side of forehead ; pain and coldness in fourth finger of hand ; also affected little finger.
Left : severe pain under clavicle ; transient shooting pains in lung, between third and sixth ribs.
From right to left : epistaxis.
SENSATIONS [43]
Feeling of anguish increased with failure of every effort to strive against the weariness.
As if brain was muddled ; as if a rubber band was stretched over forehead ; as if eyes were squinting inward ; as if he had eaten pepper ; as if throat was swollen ; as if œsophagus would be rent by force of rising flatus.
Pain : in perineum at end of urination ; in piles on walking or sitting ; in occiput on coughing ; under clavicles ; in fourth finger of right hand, also affecting little finger.
Violent pain : just over eyes in right temple.
Shooting : in right temple ; in left lung between third and sixth ribs, < during a deep inspiration.
Burning : in abdomen.
Sore feeling : from right temple to top of head.
Tension : over forehead ; in hypochondria, after meals.
Pressing : on back of head and weariness ; on right side of occiput and right side of forehead.
Pressure : in hypochondria, after meals.
Oppression : of respiration ; of chest.
Cramp : in chest.
Constriction : in upper portion of both lungs.
Spasm : in chest.
Shocks : in head.
Aching : behind eyes.
Fulness : in forehead ; in occiput ; in stomach.
Heaviness : in chest.
Tingling : in hands, caused by trifling cough.
Numbness : of hands and feet.
Weakness : general ; in walking.
Weariness : amounting to an impossibility of advancing ; extreme with fever.
Lassitude, impossible to make any exertion.
Dull feeling : over whole brow ; in occiput.
Emptiness : in stomach.
Dryness : in throat ; of lips and mouth.
Heat : on back, flushes of ; of skin.
Coldness : in fourth finger of right hand, also affecting little finger ; feeling of internal.
TISSUES [44]
Retards destructive metamorphosis and imparts temporary vigor.
Overexcitement of nervous and muscular systems.
In mental or physical fatigue or exhaustion ; dyspepsia ; hysteria ; nervous erethism ; protracted fevers ; spinal irritation and convulsions ; bad effect of stimulants, alcohol, tobacco, etc.
Diminished secretion of solid ingredients of urine.
Emaciation.
Marasmus of children.
Rheumatism, coming on from slightest cold.
Scurvy from anemic conditions.
Scrofula.
TOUCH. PASSIVE MOTION. INJURIES [45]
Touch : occiput painful and tender to.
Ill effects from climbing mountains or æronauting.
SKIN [46]
Increased heat of skin.
Dry papular eruption on back of hand.
Protection to cutaneous diseases.
STAGE OF LIFE, CONSTITUTION [47]
Suits persons who are wearing out under the mental and physical strain of a busy life, suffering from exhausted nerves and brains.
Suits bashful, timid people, ill at ease in society.
Old people, not only when losing their breath, but for other ailments.
Children with marasmus.
Weakly, nervous, fat or plethoric persons and such as have disease of heart and lungs suffer more from veta.
Miss R., æt. 24, tall, slim, black eyes and hair, very pale ; sick three years after removal of mammary cancer.
Man, in consequence of dissipation ; heart disease.
An old soldier, æt. 102 ; deafness.
RELATIONS [48]
Has been used for centuries by the natives of Peru, Chili and Bolivia as a substitute for tobacco, betel, hashish and opium.
Compare : Stramon . patient likes company, Coca patient solitude ; Stramon . light, Coca , darkness ; Arsen ., injurious effects of climbing heights ; Paullinia, Scutellaria, Cyprip . and Valer ., tea, coffee, Cann. ind ., and tobacco.