by E. A. Farrington — A Clinical Materia Medica
Pothos foetida is a remedy you ought to remember in asthma. It is useful for asthma that is worse from any inhalation of dust, as, for example, the inhalation of the dust in a hay-loft.
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Ictodes foetida appears in 6 of the 21 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.
“Symplocarpus fœtidus, Salisb. (Ictodes fœtidus, Bigelow; Phothos fœtidus). Natural order , Araceæ. Common name , Skunk-cabbage. Preparation , Tincture of the root. Authorities. Vertigo, 1. Headache, 1. Headache here and there, of short duration, 2. Drawing from both sides of the forehead to the glabella, very violent…”
“Skunk-cabbage-Ictodes (POTHOS FOETIDUS) For asthmatic complaints; worse from inhaling any dust. Hysteria . Erratic spasmodic pains. "Will-o'-the-wisp" like character of its subjective symptoms and its physometric property are special features (Samuel Jones). Inflation and tension in the abdomen . Millar's asthma…”
“Ictodes Fœtida. Pothos fœtidus. Symplocarpus fœtidus. Skunk-weed. Skunk Cabbage. N. O. Orontiaceæ (Calliaceæ, Orontoidæ, allied to Araceæ). Tincture of whole fresh plant-including root. Asthma / Catarrh / Cough / Dropsy / Herpes / Hysteria / Rheumatism The Treasury of Botany thus epitomises the traditional uses of…”
“Skunk Cabbage. Araceæ. Experiment by Bigelow, Amer. Med. Botany, vol. 2, p. 48. Symptoms in Jahr's Symptomatology are from provings by C. Hering and others. Cross ; impetuous ; inclined to contradict. Absence of mind and inattention ; enters sick room without knocking, does not listen to patient. Vertigo and dimness…”
“Above the nasal bone, swollen and red, forming a saddle, painful to the touch, especially on the left side of the nose; the cartilaginous part is cold and bloodless, with red spots on the cheeks; on the left side of the face small pimples. Sensation of numbness of the tongue, cannot touch the teeth with it. Papillæ…”
Kent's Repertory lists Ictodes foetida in 44 rubrics. These are the ones where it carries the highest grade — the symptoms Kent treated as most characteristic. Most of them sit in MOUTH (9), NOSE (9), RESPIRATION (6), CHEST (3), HEAD (3).
