Cactus grandiflorus

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(Night-Blooming Cereus.) Description. — Stems cylindrical, rooting and very long, provided with five or six slightly prominent ribs, and furnished with small spines or thorns, disposed in radicated forms. Fruit shaped like an egg, covered with scaly tubercles, fleshy, of an orange or fine reddish color, filled with very small seeds of an acid taste. Flowers have an extremely sweet odor: of benzoic acid and vanilla.

Officinal Preparation. — Tincture of the stems and flowers, equal!

parts; dilutions.

Sphere of Action. — Specifically on the heart and blood-vessels.

Analogues. — Aconite, Agaricus, Belladonna, Crotalus, Oelseminum, Iberis Kalrnia, Lachesis, Naja, Lilium, Stramonium, Spigelia, Veratrum viride.

Sensorium.

Hypochondria and invincible sadness; unusual melancholy. Fear of death, extreme and continuous. Love of solitude.

Head.

• Vertigo from sanguineous congestions to the head. Heavy pain like a weight on the vertex; worse from noise.

• Face bloated and red, with pulsating pain in the head. Feeling of emptiness in the head.

Very severe pain in the right side of the head, which is increased by the sound of talking and by a strong light.

• Pulsating pain in the temples, becoming intolerable at night.

Eyes.

Loss of sight; there appear circles of red light before the eyes,

which dim the sight. ° Dimness of sight; weakness of sight recurring periodically.

Ears.

Pulsations in the ears day and night.

Noise like the running of a river, continuing all night.

0 Hearing diminished from the buzzing in the ears.

° Otitis, from checked perspiration.

0 Rheumatic otitis

Nose.

Dry and unpleasant coryza. Fluent and very acrid coryza; nostrils sore. Profuse epistaxis, soon ceasing; from acute congestion.

Throat.

° Constriction of the throat, preventing swallowing. Fetid breath in the morning.

Appetite and Gastric Symptoms. °Loss of appetite and loss of taste for food, with nausea. Great appetite, but weak and slow digestion. Bad digestion; all food causes weight and suffering in stomach. 0 Nausea in the morning, and all day long.

Stomach.

Acrid acid in the stomach, making food taste acid. Violent burning in the stomach Great thirst during the fever.

° Continuous pulsation in the stomach, in an old lady at the

change of life. Heaviness in the stomach after eating.

Liver.

0 Acute and chronic engorgement of the liver from cardiac diseases.

Abdomen.

Distressing sensation in the bowels.

Very violent pains in the bowels, with burning sensation.

° Enteritis; also peritonitis.

Stool and Anus.

Bilious evacuations, with pain in the abdomen.

Morning diarrhoea, watery, preceded by great pain.

Sensation of great weight in the anus, with itching, with or without copious hemorrhage.

° Constipation from hemorrhoidal congestion.

Urinary Organs.

Constriction of the neck of the bladder.

Great desire to pass water, but cannot.

Frequent desire to urinate, with copious flow, straw color.

Urine passed by drops, with burning.

Urine reddish, turbid.

Generative Organs.

Women. — Painful constriction around the pelvis, which gradually extends upwards to the stomach.

Pain in the uterus and its ligaments, returning every evening.

Pulsating pain in the uterus and ovarian regions, extending to the thighs.

0 Very painful menstruation.

Menstruation copious and painless.

Menstruation eight days too soon.

Larynx, Cough, etc.

Obstinate, sterterous cough, worse at night. Spasmodic cough, with copious mucous expectoration.

Cough, with thick yellow expectoration. Dry cough from tickling in the chest. ° Various kinds of cough due to cardiac disorders. (Hale.)

Heart.

• Sensation of an annoying movement from before backward in

the cardiac region, worse by day than by night.

• /Sensation of constriction in the heart, as if an iron band

prevented its normal movement. Dull heavy pains in the region of the heart, increased by external pressure.

Pricking pain in the heart, impeding respiration and the movements of the body.

• Very acute pain and such painful stitches in the heart as to

cause him to cry out loudly, with obstruction of respiration.

• Palpitation of the heart, continues day and night, worse

when walking, and at night, when lying on the left side. 0 Nervous palpitation of the heart, aggravated by the near

approach of the menses. ° Functional disorder of the heart, from mental emotions,

aggravated at the menstrual period. ° Angina pectoris.

0 Palpitations, acute and chronic, even in organic diseases of the heart.

0 Acute inflammatory affections of the heart, idiopathic, and even from rheumatism.

0 Acute carditis, with blueness of the face; oppression of breathing; dry cough; pricking pain in the heart; cannot lie on left side; pulse quick, throbbing, tense and hard.

° Chronic carditis, with cedematous and cyanotic face, suffocating respiration, continued dull pain in the heart, dropsical effusion all throughout the body; cannot drink or speak, hands and feet cold, pulse intermittent.

° Hypertrophy with dilatation; patients pulseless, extremely exhausted, panting and sad, cannot lie down, or speak; has scarcely slept for fifteen days; forgetful, feet oedematous. (Is soon relieved, lies down and sleeps 12 hours.)

' Organic diseases of the heart; valvular diseases, (an invalu able palliative for many distressing symptoms.)

edy has this symptom.)

0 A constant fluttering sensation in the stomach, over the location of the coeliac axis, in a spot about the size of a dollar; a burning line extends down from it to the lower ribs on either side; a hot flash shoots downward, frequently, (cured by a few doses.)

° Rheumatic inflammation of the heart, with severe pain in apex of heart, and pain shooting down left arm to the end of the fingers; dyspnoea, pulse feeble, 120, etc.

0 Palpitation of the heart from any exertion, with excessive pain all over the left side between the scapulae and sacral region.

0 A whizzing, to and fro sound, or bruit de soujflet.

° Endocardial bruit, increased precordial dullness, excessive

impulse of heart's action, and evident enlargement of

right ventricle.

° Great irregularity of heart's action — intermittent at times and of varying character — great frequency of action alternating with slowness. (Enlargement of left ventricle, with great irritation of cardiac nerves.)

° Irregularity of heart's action, from reflex irritation.

° Palpitation, with vertigo, dyspnoea and loss of consciousness. Extremities.

Formication and weight in the arms.

(Edema in the hands — worse in the left.

° Pain in left arm, down to fingers, (in disease of heart.)

(Edema of the feet and legs, up to the knees.

Restlessness in the legs — cannot keep them still.

Sleep.

Sleeplessness without apparent cause; or from pulsations at the

stomach, or in the ears. Delirium during sleep.

Fever.

Chills, with chattering of the teeth ; at 10 o'clock a. m., followed by burning heat with shortness of breath.

Burning heat at night, followed by a chill, then perspiration.

° Intermittent fever, quotidian, with chill, heat, dyspnoea, headache, stupefaction, great thirst, then perspiration.

Volume II — Special Therapeutics

I doubt if this medicine has come up to the expectations of some members of our school of practice. It was heralded by the most fulsome laudations of its great value, not only in diseases of the heart, but in all other acute inflammations. I do not remember, however, to have seen any record of diseases other than disorders of the heart cured by the Cactus.

It is my opinion, from careful observation and study of its action, that all the symptoms and conditions caused and cured by Cactus are due to its affinity for the heart, and its pathogenetic action thereon.

It appears to me that its action on the heart is that of an intense irritant of the ganglia of that organ. It may thereby cause the several conditions of hyper cesthesia, irritability, neuralgia, spasm, irregular action, and, finally, inflammation. It differs from Digitalis in this, that it seems to have an action on the circular fibres of the muscular tissue of the heart, while Digitalis acts on all the muscular fibres alike. Cactus is capable of causing carditis and pericarditis ; Digitalis is not. Cactus resembles Bryonia, Aconite, and Spigelia more than it does Digitalis. In only one condition does it resemble Digitalis, namely, cardiac failure, and in both the failure is a secondary effect.

If you will carefully study the symptomatology of Cactus, you will see that the mental, cerebral, ocular, aural, nasal, pharyngeal, gastric, hepatic, urinary, ovarian, uterine, and thoracic symptoms can all be traced back to a profound cardiac disturbance.

It will be useless, therefore, for you to prescribe Cactus in disorders of the above-mentioned organs, unless the great central organ of circulation is at fault.

I wish to call your attention particularly to the haemoptysis of Cactus. It is not indicated in spitting of blood, unless it is caused

by an excited action of the heart, acting on pulmonary vessels weakened by disease of the lung-tissue.

In haemoptysis, with weak, small pulse, it is not indicated ; but if the heart’s action is hard, tumultuous, and the pulse similar, then Cactus will arrest it. The blood must be bright and fluid (arterial).

It is recommended in pneumonia and pleuritis , but has not attained any popularity in those diseases. In the few cases reported the pulse was hard, vibrating, 120. I suspect, in all cases when it is useful, some cardiac inflammation or abnormal excitement must be present, as a complication, or as a cause.

The bronchitis and asthma ■ in which it is indicated is, without doubt, always a cardiac complication.

The characteristic symptom of Cactus heart-trouble is “ a sensation as if the heart was constricted as by an iron band” This sensation is very distressing, and whenever felt is a pretty sure indication for this remedy, or for Iberis, Arnica, and sometimes Digitalis, but in a less degree.

Valvular diseases of the heart may be palliated by Cactus in a large proportion of cases, unless the disorganization is too far advanced, when Digitalis will be of greater service.

Hypertrophy with enlargement is more under the control of Cactus than is hypertrophy with dilatation, which is just the reverse of Digitalis, Iberis, or Lycopus.

For the numerous cases cured or relieved by Cactus, see the extended collection made in the fourth edition of “Symptomatology of New Remedies,” which I copy.

• Sensation of constriction in the heart, as if an iron band prevented its normal movement.

• Palpitation of the heart, continues day and night, worse when walking, and at night when lying on left side.

° Functional disorder of the heart from mental emotion, aggravated at the menstrual period.

° Angina pectoris.

° Palpitation, acute and chronic, even in organic diseases of the heart.

° Acute inflammatory affections of the heart, idiopathic, and even from rheumatism.

° Acute carditis, with -blueness of the face ; oppression of breathing; dry cough; pricking pain in the head; cannot lie on the left side ; pulse quick, throbbing, tense, and hard.

° Chronic carditis, with oedematous and cyanotic face, suffocating respiration, continued dull pain in the heart, dropsical effusion throughout the body; cannot drink or speak; hands and feet cold, pulse intermittent.

° Hypertrophy with dilatation ; patient is pulseless, extremely exhausted, panting, and sad ; cannot lie down or speak ; has scarcely slept for fifteen days ; forgetful ; feet cedematous. (Is soon relieved, lies down, and sleeps twelve hours.)

0 Organic diseases of the heart; valvular diseases (an invaluable palliative for many distressing symptoms).

0 Heart disease, with oedema of left hand only (no other remedy has this symptom).

° A constant fluttering sensation in the stomach over the location of the cceliac axis, in a spot about the size of a dollar; a burning line extends down from it to the lower ribs on either side; a hot flash shoots downwards frequently (cured by a few doses).

° Rheumatic inflammation of the heart with severe pain in the apex of the heart, and pain shooting down the left arm to the ends of the fingers; dyspnoea, pulse feeble, 120, etc.

0 Palpitation of the heart from any exertion, with excessive pain over the left side between the scapulae and sacral region.

° A whizzing to-and-fro sound, or bruit de soufflet.

° Endocardial bruit, increased praecordial dulness, excessive impulse of the heart’s action, and evident enlargement of the right ventricle.

° Great Irregularity of the heart’s action — intermittent at times and of varying character — great frequency of action alternating with slowness. (Enlargement of left ventricle, with great irritation of the cardiac nerves. — Sandford.)

° Irregularity of the heart’s action, from reflex irritation.

° Palpitation, with vertigo, dyspnoea, loss of consciousness.

Indications for Cactus in cerebro-spinal meningitis:

Melancholic and hypochondriac mood.

Vertigo from congestion to the head.

Heavy pains, like a weight on the vertex, worse from sounds, even talking.

Pulsative pains in the temples, intolerable at night. Dimness of sight, circles of red light before the eyes.

Pulsations and buzzing in the ears.

Contraction in the throat and oesophagus, preventing swallowing.

Oppression on the chest, like a great weight, or as if the chest were compressed, with fainting, cold perspiration, and loss of pulse.

Sensation of constriction around the heart, as if an iron band was around it.

Very acute pain, and such fearful stitches in the heart as to cause him to cry aloud, with distressing palpitation, faintness, dyspnoea, etc.

(Pains everywhere — head, arms, legs, back, chest, heart; darting, springing like chain-lightning, terminating with a sharp, viselike grip, only to commence again a moment afterward, with restlessness and groaning.)

This last symptom is a curative one, observed bv Dr. Lilienthal, and doubtless would be found pathogenetic in a full proving.

This sense of constriction seems to alfect all portions of the body. Dr. Farrington writes me that “a very intelligent lady, who for years has used homoeopathy, took many doses of Cactus30. She complained of irresistible inclinations to cry. She felt as if her whole body was in a wire cage, and that each several wire was being twisted tighter and tighter.”

Dr. F. also sends me a case of rheumatism of the diaphragm, cured by Cactus 30th and 200th. The symptoms were “constriction around the lower part of the chest as from a cord, the constriction marking the periphery of the diaphragm; jerking breathing ; sharp pains shooting through the body, towards the back and upwards into the chest, with sensation of rush of blood to the chest.” The C. Bonplanti and another species have lately been used successfully in place of C. grand.