Asparagus Officinalis
By Constantine Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica
Asparagus. Liliaceæ.
Introduced and proved in 1840 by Buchner, who proved sprouts ; later others made provings. Jeanes proved the root. The strongest effect must be obtained from the berries, and still more from the seed. Many symptoms may be added by practitioners if they meet with cases in which asparagus disagrees.
MIND [1]
Cheerfulness ; serenity of mind ; the 5th day.
A peculiar anxiety, with palpitation and ill humor.
Fretful and peevish, disturbed by trifles ; constant anxiety and apprehension.
SENSORIUM [2]
Vertigo : slight in afternoon ; in forehead ; with staggering.
Confusion of head.
Dulness of head.
INNER HEAD [3]
Dizziness in forehead, afterwards aching in temples, especially left.
Aching in forehead, with confusion.
Pressing pain in both temples, worse from pressure.
Heaviness, pressure in forehead, pain presses towards eyes.
SIGHT AND EYES [5]
Increased acuteness of vision.
Stitches and tickling in eyes.
Aching of brain near eyes.
Pains in eyeballs.
Drawing pain over eyebrows all across.
SMELL AND NOSE [7]
Frequent sneezing ; after smelling tincture.
Coryza, with slight dryness and swelling inside, then impeded entrance of air ; gets violent, with frequent discharge of a thin white fluid from left nostril ; irritation to sneeze, and frequent sneezing.
Later with catarrh a pressing pain from root of nose to forehead ; next day, at 9 A. M., dry coryza ; later running ; want of smell ; violent sneezing ; 3d day discharge of mucus from right nostril.
UPPER FACE [8]
Increased heat of face.
Burning of cheeks.
Countenance pale, wax-like and bloated.
General expression of anxiety and distress. See 29 .
TEETH AND GUMS [10]
Painless cavity ; exfoliation of a carious molar.
Relieved toothache.
TASTE, SPEECH, TONGUE [11]
Taste : sweetish, insipid ; coppery ; bitter-sweetish on tongue.
Smarting feeling on tongue.
INNER MOUTH [12]
Saliva increased ; sweetish, as if mixed with blood ; diminished ; later more copious.
PALATE AND THROAT [13]
Almost constant hawking, with a rough feeling in throat.
Copious discharge of tenacious mucus from throat.
Deglutition difficult. θ Hydrophobia.
Burning in throat.
APPETITE, THIRST. DESIRES, AVERSIONS [14]
Increased thirst.
Feeble appetite.
EATING AND DRINKING [15]
After breakfast : cough remitted ; pain in chest.
After eating : palpitation. See 29 .
Fulness and oppression after eating or drinking.
HICCOUGH, BELCHING, NAUSEA AND VOMITING [16]
Belching of wind.
Nausea 5 A. M., on awaking ; vomited food taken evening before, with bile and much mucus, followed by a bilious diarrhœa ; after 15 minutes another attack of difficult vomiting.
Retching bringing tears into the eyes, when attempting to cough.
Nausea after each exertion.
SCROBICULUM AND STOMACH [17]
Pain in region of cardiac end of stomach, extending thence to left shoulder.
ABDOMEN AND LOINS [19]
Sense of fulness in abdomen.
Griping in region of navel, which is painful when touched.
Drawing pains in both groins.
STOOLS AND RECTUM [20]
Discharge of much wind.
Insufficient stool in afternoon, notwithstanding a regular stool in morning.
Feces bilious after vomiting. See 16 .
Bilious diarrhœa, with colic.
A peculiar urging, with difficult, hard fecal discharge ; hemorrhoids bleed much more.
Burning and soreness at anus.
URINARY ORGANS [21]
(OBS :) Nephritis.
Nephritic colic.
Urging to urinate.
Frequent scanty discharge preceded by a sensation as if something was sticking in urethra, with slight burning.
Frequent urination, with fine stinging in meatus, followed by stitches out of urethra.
Urine scanty, straw-colored and offensive.
Cutting and burning in urethra.
Strangury.
Burning in urethra 6 A. M. ; eighth day.
After urination burning in urethra, with sensation as if some was still passing.
Increased urine beer-brown, without sediment.
Diabetes.
When urinating, particularly when voiding last drops, rheumatic, constricting pain in cardiac region, forcing him to cry out ; turns blue in face. θ Dropsy of chest.
Urine : bloody ; straw-colored, becoming turbid and full of motes, which settle as a white flocculent sediment ; of a peculiar odor ; of unpleasant odor ; strong smelling ; smells like cats' urine ; deposits a greasy sediment on sides of vessel ; reddish deposit on sides of vessel.
Lithiasis.
Gravel passing in small quantities with urination.
MALE SEXUAL ORGANS [22]
Sexual excitement.
Stitching on right side of glans penis.
Swelling of penis, with erection and urging to urinate.
FEMALE SEXUAL ORGANS [23]
Promotes flow of menses.
The flow continued a day longer than usual.
Relieved prurigo pudendi in woman, æt. 40.
VOICE AND LARYNX. TRACHEA AND BRONCHIA [25]
Continual hawking and hemming, with sensation of roughness in throat.
Talks in a nasal voice during coryza.
RESPIRATION [26]
Difficulty of breathing when moving or going up-stairs.
At night he was obliged to sit up in bed to relieve his breathing.
Great oppression ; breathing rapid, difficult, increased after being in bed some time.
Breathing : rapid, labored, sighing ; difficult when moving or ascending ; difficult at night ; must sit up in bed.
COUGH [27]
Hawking and inclination to cough ; mucus not readily loosened, paroxysms of cough, which brought it up.
Tickling and inclination to cough, but expectoration was difficult.
Cough, with inclination to vomit.
Cough distressing, with fulness of chest and copious mucous sputum.
Cough in paroxysms from mucus, which is not easily detached.
Cough remitted one hour after breakfast.
Less inclined to hawk and cough ; fifth day ; < rising from deep in throat.
Spitting blood.
INNER CHEST AND LUNGS [28]
Stitches, especially about left scapula, when inspiring.
Pains relieved by throwing chest forward and head backward.
Hydrothorax ; often with heart disease or gouty diathesis of old people.
Unusual fulness of chest.
Constriction of chest ; tension, increased by a deep breath.
Chest feels as if hollow, with external heaviness.
Sudden darting through right side of chest.
Stitching pains in region of chest.
HEART, PULSE AND CIRCULATION [29]
Slight sensation of stitching in region of heart after eating.
Heart's throb visible, especially at night ; very strong and extended over an unnaturally large area ; throbbing carotids ; murmurs.
Palpitation ; while siting, leaves of book in his hand tremble ; with anxious restlessness, increased by motion or ascending ; with oppression of chest.
Heart's action weak ; pulse feeble. See 32 .
Heart's stroke twofold, irregular, quickened.
Pulse accelerated when sitting ; slow, weak ; irregular and feeble.
NECK AND BACK [31]
Rheumatic pains between scapulæ.
Fifth and sixth vertebræ pain.
Pains in loins at beginning of false vertebræ ; 4 P. M., fifth day.
Pain at acromion process of left scapula, also under clavicle and down arm, with exceeding feebleness of pulse.
Sensation when sitting as if something was darting through small of back towards sacral vertebræ.
UPPER LIMBS [32]
Rheumatic pains in region of right axilla.
Pain in region of shoulder on touching it.
Pains on tip of left shoulder.
Pain at acromion process of left scapula, under clavicle and down left arm ; pulse feeble.
LOWER LIMBS [33]
The right leg and foot are the weakest.
On awaking and stretching cramps in left calf, > from rubbing.
While walking, pain as from dislocation in neck of right thigh bone.
Muscles in middle of thigh feel bruised, < ascending, sore pain on touching it.
Drawing in left toe, which had been cut with an axe years ago.
REST. POSITION. MOTION [35]
Sitting : breathing > ; pulse accelerated.
Throwing chest forward and head backward : pains better.
Coughing : retching and lachrymation.
Exertion : nausea worse.
When urinating : pain in cardiac region.
Moving or ascending : difficult respiration ; palpitation increased ; pain in thigh muscles.
Inspiration : stitches about left scapula.
Stretching : cramp in calf.
Walking : pain in neck of right femur.
Motion aggravates most pains.
Compelled to throw chest forward and head backward to find relief of pains in loins and elsewhere.
NERVES [36]
Great languor and disinclination to physical or mental exertion.
Very much prostrated, pulse irregular.
SLEEP [37]
Sleepiness and yawning.
Sleep uneasy and disturbed by oppressed breathing.
TIME [38]
At 5 A. M. : nausea on awaking.
At 6 A. M. : burning in urethra.
At 9 A. M. : dry coryza.
Afternoon : slight vertigo ; insufficient stool.
At 3 P. M. : some fever ; weak and drowsy.
At 4 P. M. : pains in loins.
Evening : urging to urinate.
Night : orthopnea ; heart beats visibly.
FEVER [40]
Slight chilliness with some sleepiness.
Slight fever ; weak ; drowsy.
Increased warmth.
Suppression of sweat.
LOCALITY AND DIRECTION [42]
Right : mucus from nostril ; stitching side of glans penis ; darting through side of chest ; pains in axilla ; leg and foot weak ; pain in neck of femur.
Left : ache in temple ; thin discharge from nostril ; pain cardiac end of stomach ; pain in shoulder ; stitches about scapula ; pain tip of shoulder (acromion process), under clavicle, and down arm ; cramp in calf ; drawing in toe.
Symptoms go from right to left.
Below upward : pain from root of nose ; pain cardiac end of stomach.
Above downward : pain in left shoulder.
SENSATIONS [43]
As if something was sticking in urethra ; as if urine was still passing after urination ; as if something was darting through small of back towards sacral vertebræ ; chest as if hollow.
Cutting : in urethra.
Darting : through right side of chest ; through small of back towards sacrum.
Stitches : in eyes ; out of urethra ; in glans penis ; about l. scapula ; through chest ; in cardiac region.
Stinging : in meatus.
Griping : in region of navel.
Burning : of cheeks ; in throat ; at anus ; in urethra.
Smarting : on tongue.
Soreness : at anus.
Aching : in temples ; in forehead ; of brain.
Pressure : in temples ; in forehead ; towards eyes from forehead ; from root of nose to forehead.
Drawing pain : over eyebrows ; in groins ; in left toe.
Rheumatic pain : in cardiac region when urinating ; between scapulæ ; in right axilla.
Dislocating pain : in neck of right femur.
Bruised feeling : in muscles of thigh.
Constricting pain : in cardiac region.
Constriction : of chest.
Cramps : in left calf.
Undefined pain : in eyeballs ; in chest ; in cardiac end of stomach to left shoulder ; at acromion process of left scapula ; under clavicle and down arm ; in loins.
Roughness : in throat.
Fulness : in abdomen ; of chest.
Heaviness : in forehead.
Heat : of face.
Tickling : in eyes.
TISSUES [44]
(OBS :) Gout.
Dropsies. See Hydrothorax, 28 .
(OBS :) Anasarca.
TOUCH. PASSIVE MOTION. INJURIES [45]
Touch : umbilical region painful ; pain in shoulder ; pain in thigh muscles.
Pressure : pain in temples worse.
Rubbing : cramp in calf better.
(OBS :) Soothes the pain occurring in a dislocated limb.
Numbness of the bitten part, extending over the whole arm. θ Hydrophobia.
Constant desire to be carried about in the arms.
STAGE OF LIFE, CONSTITUTION [47]
Man, æt. 74, after Digit. θ Dropsy of chest.
RELATIONS [48]
Antidote : Acon . (prostration, feeble pulse, pain in shoulder) ; Apis .
Is antidotal to Coffea .
Side relations : Convallaria maj., Medeola virg., Trillium cer., Sarsap .
Compare : Arnic., Aurum mur., Cannab., Digit . (dropsy) ; Spigel .