Hydrocotyle asiatica

Volume II — Main text

HYDROCOTYLE .

HydrocótyleAsiática, L. Thick-leaved pennywort, Bevilacqua. Nat. Ord., Umbellifera.

I. Provings.-1 . Dr. AUDOUIT proved H. on himself and several others. [The symptoms obtained are given in schema-form only] . a. From 12 dr. of tinct., gurgling at several spots in abdomen ; pretty sharp pains in bowels, especially in transverse colon ; sensation as if all abdominal organs were in movement ; gripings every 5 m. without stools . b. From 20 dr. of same (in man of 30), constriction at heart with pulse calm and regular, or with some isolated throbbings in certain arteries, or with flushes of heat at divers parts of face. c. From 10 dr. of same (in youth of 18), pressive grasping at heart ; pricking in eyes ; obscuration of sight. Tinnitus aurium ; beatings in r. ear ; pretty sharp pain in 1. meatus auditorius. Slight erythema of face, neck, back, chest, arms and thighs ; prickings and insupportable itchings at various points of surface ; spot of light lilac colour and auricular shape on plantar surface of r. foot, walking hurts it pretty sharply ; yellowish spots on both legs ; small red points on eyelids, 1. side of neck, and both hands. d. From 25 dr. ofsame (in man of 24), painful drawings in almost all cranial nerves ; neuralgic pains in supra-orbital nerves. e. From 10 dr. of 3rd dil., flat or bitter taste ; distaste forsmoking ; . some whitish patches on 1. side of tongue, three on dorsum, one underneath (of size of half-franc) ; vivid redness ofvelum palati, accompanied by pain in deglutition . f. From 6 dr. of same (in woman of 25), spasm of heart. g. From 15 dr. of same, small red points covered with whitish scales and seated on 1. side of neck . h. From 8 dr. of 6th dil., slight embarrassment in constrictor muscles of pharynx ; pricking in pharynx ; roughness and dryness, heat and pricking in esophagus ; anorexia, followed by keen appetite ; anxiety and weight in gastric region ; swelling of stomach ; acid risings ; feeling as if flatus formed a ball in stomach ; crampy pains in stomach without nausea ; heat in region of stomach ; some nausea. i. From same dose taken daily for 6 weeks by one æt. 19,-three nearly complete discs, with edges slightly elevated and scaly. They began to decrease immediately on suspending drug, and had completely disappeared after 14 d. j. From 10 dr. ofsame (in young man of 19), neuralgic pains in supra-orbital nerve.

k. From 4 dr. of 3rd dil., exceedingly sharp pains in uterus and appendages, compared by their subject (a woman of 35) to those of labour. 1. From 3 dr. of 4th dil., in a woman of 25, pretty sharp intermittent pain in l. cheek ; dull pain in ovarian regions. m. Without specification ofsubject or dosage,-constriction in whole abdomen ; heat throughout hypogastrium ; weight in rectum; burning at anus ; augmented evacuations, without colic. Frequent desire to micturate ; increased quantity of urine ; urine becoming brown on cooling ; cloudy urine, depositing no sediment. Weakened voice ; speaking soon tires ; sense ofdryness in larynx ; intolerable pricking in neighbourhood ofglottis ; slight embarrassment of speech ; roughness all along trachea ; difficulty in expelling bronchial mucus ; occasional oppression at chest ; embarrassment of respiration. Irregularity of heart-beats ; flushes ofheat at several spots in face, but especially in temporal regions ; afflux of blood to head ; weight of head ; slight chills p.m.; coldness of hands and feet, accompanied by a state like that preceding fever, but without change of pulse ; febrile movement. Obstruction of nose; feeling as if nose would bleed; slight epistaxis Re- ; tickling in nostrils, especially 1.; dry coryza ; swelling of nose. laxation of scrotum ; slight drawing in spermatic cords, chiefly 1.; prolonged indifference to sexual intercourse ; sense of weight in uterus ; heat deep in vagina, prickings and itchings at its orifice ; redness of neck of womb, disappearing on leaving off medicine, returning on its resumption ; menstrual flow anticipates by 5, 10, or even 15 d. Vertigo ; lassitude of whole body ; impossibility to keep upright ; painful constriction of posterior and upper scalp ; drawing at base of cranium ; acute sensibility of occiput, aggravated by touching ; intense pains with a little swelling in posterior part of cranium. Slight irritation of terminal mucous membranes generally, including pruritus ani. Bruised feeling in all muscles ; painful fatigue in muscles of shoulder ; sensation as of damp cold in forearm and hand, leg and foot, of 1. side, removed by rubbing, but returning when this ceases, and lasting in spite of external warmth for 25 m.; crampy numbness in r. forearm and hand ; contractions in forearms and legs ; wandering pains in muscles of chest and legs ; fatigue in muscles of thighs, and crampy movements in calves ; drawing in sacral muscles ; sense as of contraction in muscles of stomach, intestines, and bladder. Increased activity of salivary glands ; redness of tonsils ; slight creepings in kidneys, and uneasiness there and in liver and prostate. Irresistible desire to stretch upper limbs ; pains in various joints ; heat in tibiæ as if hot water circulated through marrow. Sombre thoughts ; profound ennui ; misanthropy ; indifference ; desire for solitude ; in reaction, gaiety, hope, loquacity, general expansion. (Etudes II. Poisonings.-1 pathog. . The first et thérap. effect producedsurby l'H. a.drug this ) is a sense ofheat and pricking in the skin, especially of the hands and feet, which is followed after some d. by general heat of the skin of the trunk, and in some cases by an intolerable itching, and sometimes there supervenes a slight redness of skin, the capillary circulation being generally accelerated, the pulse becoming stronger and fuller. After the medicine

has been taken for a week the appetite is sensibly augmented, in some patients even to voracity. The visceral functions do not appear to be disturbed, even when the drug has been taken in large doses. (HUNTER, in Ibid.) 2. The most remarkable and constant effects are :- Considerable increase of the urinary seeretion, augmented heat of surface, and somewhat copious sweats . Its inconveniences are, after the manner of the solanaceæ, flushes of heat in face, malaise, anorexia, weight in head, vertigo. ( CAZENAVE, in Ibid.) 3. I treated a case of leprosy, where the general health was but litt'e altered, with pills of the extract. When 7 of these were taken in the d. the patient became the subject of remarkable phenomena like those produced by the narcotico-acrid poisons, dizziness, dazzlings, uncertain look more or less fixed, vacillation of limbs, physiognomy more or less like that of intoxication, general malaise, anorexia, enfeeblement, uncertain gait, headache, drowsiness. This state did not pass quickly away, notwithstanding that the medicine was left off; it lasted 5 or 6 d., losing little by little its intensity, but leaving lasting prostration and disgust for food, which was somewhat pronounced for a fortnight. (DEVERGIE, Ibid.)