Gentiana lutea

Volume II — Main text

Gentiana lutea. Yellow gentian. I. Provings.-1 . D-, et. 27, bilious temperament, took, Aug. 17th, 8 a.m., 150 dr. tinct. 10 a.m. , weight and confusion of head when writing. - 18th, 7 a.m., 250 dr. After rising, 2 soft stools, head felt as after drinking spirits, discomfort and pressure in 1. hypochondrium. 10 a.m., giddiness, pressure in eyeballs. 6 p.m., nausea.- 19th, 6 a.m., 350 dr. Soft stool; immediately increased warmth in whole body, wind in stomach .- 21st, 7 a.m. , 350 dr. After 1 h. dislocation pain in l. knee, saliva more consistent than usual, shooting in middle of sinciput, pressure in r. hip near sacrum; frequent hawking, mucus hard to bring up, confusion of sinciput, increased heat of whole body, pressure in chest when moving. Pressure in sinciput after midday. 4 p.m., conjunctiva slightly reddened, eyes painful; later, shooting in 1. upper lid.-22nd, 7 a.m. , 450 dr. Frequent hawking, confusion of sinciput, return of dislocation pain in 1. knee, limited to patella; some hoarseness. At 2, 3, and 4 p.m., 200 dr. Eructations, roughness of throat ; heat and confusion of head, inclination to vomit, nausea, yawning, slight vertigo. Felt as ifshould vomit,which makes his eyes water; the heat of head, especially of cheeks, increases ; eructation and borborygmus, pressure in eyes, forcing and pressing in sinciput, tension of abdomen, increasing towards e., with dyspnea, pressure in middle of chest to 1. of sternum. Stomach empty, shooting and tearing in sole when he bends toes much while walking. In e. eats ravenously. 9 p.m., sudden urging to stool, followed by copious stool, later tenderness of abdomen, eructation and belching with taste ofsour wine, dryness of throat and mouth, pulse quick. On going to bed could not sleep for a long time, woke up at midnight, felt hot ; griping and cutting pains in abdomen,with quickened respiration. The pains continuing, he could not sleep, must toss about in bed. Lying on back with legs drawn up was the easiest position. Constant discharge of flatus upwards and downwards without relief; the bellycontinued full and distended and tender to touch, to above transverse colon, not so the gastric region. After 2 a.m. could sleep, but the pains in belly always disturbed sleep; great weariness and longing for sleep, but could not sleep, though he tried all positions.- 23rd, m., abdomen still painful, cutting when touched, especially from pubes to transverse colon. He must walk slowly, because the abdomen is painful at every step and movement, though he has had a stool. Pressive pain in hips and sacrum when he stoops, feels like a strap tightly drawn over hips. 9 a.m., soft light yellow stool after cutting in abdomen. 10 a.m., cutting in abdomen returns so violently that he must bend himself together, soon afterwards heat, proceeding from lumbar vertebræ. Pressure and weight in sacrum, aggravation of back and belly pains by movement, amelioration by sitting; earthy taste ; exhaustion and prostration. Now the chief pain when touched is under the navel ; rumbling in belly, fells as if bubbles rose up in it. 3 p.m., bilious diarrhea. By next m, all symptoms gone. (BUCHNER, Hygea, xiv, 2.)

1. E-, medical student, æt. 26 , ofirritable constitution, suffered formerly from gouty symptoms. Aug. 15th, m., 200 dr. tinct. Transient febrile attack, like shivering, arising in back and rapidly spreading all over back of body like an electric shock. This febrile attack occurred 3 times at short intervals, followed by weariness, prostration and tension in limbs, pressure and tension in stomach, slight distension of abdomen, forcing down towards anus with tenesmus.- 16th, 6 a.m., 300 dr. Soon splashing and rumbling in belly, which is distended and tense, with feeling of fulness and weight,umbilical region when touched and pressed somewhat painful ; distension and tightness of stomach outside and in, pressure there, with feeling of nausea and inclination to vomit, very transient, then forcing towards anus ; confusion and weight of head,with tensive and pressive pain in sinciput and forehead, tightness of chest.- 19th, 6 a.m., 500 dr. Anxious pressure in stomach, with feeling of nausea and inclination to vomit, tension and fulness of stomach, rumbling in bowels, distension, tightness and full feeling of abdomen, with painful feeling in hypogastrinm, especially about navel; inward pressure at navel; discomfort in whole abdomen, with forcing down to anus, numb feeling of whole body, and cross humour ; confusion and dazed feeling of head; dull out-pressure in frontal region, uncommon fulness, tightness, and distension of abdomen, with fetid flatus, general irritability and increased sensitiveness of abdominal parietes. All these symptoms worse in forenoon on moving, better in afternoon.- 21st, 6 p.m., suddenly felt in r. hand a drawing, tensive gouty pain, with inflammatory redness on skin of knuckles of index and middle fingers, with spasmodic and painful movements of this hand, especially in inflamed places. Up to 9 p.m. this pain constantly increased, wherefore he then rubbedthe forearm, palm, and back ofhand with some drops ofthetinct. ,whereupon the inflammation and pains rapidly subsided. (He had had a similar attack some years before, but the pain and swelling then increased but soon subsided, leaving a peculiar pain and weakness of hand.) Next m. felt a slight tensive pain in the affected knuckles, and since then the pain entirelydisappeared.-22nd, 6 a.m., 600 dr. Immediately irritation through nasal cavities as if coryza were coming on; soon afterwards watery discharge from nose, making him blow it; thereafter weight and pressure in stomach, with anxiety and nausea as though he would vomit, and difficult and deep breathing. The forcing and fulness of stomach and chest recurred between 8 and ro a.m. Fulness and dull aching like heavy throbbing in head; he felt a constant upward pressure in sinciput ; formicating searching in knees, aching tension in umbilical region, fixed pain in navel, as if drawn in, with dull, heavy, and full head, as if it were enlarged, and stopped-up nose; general painful feeling all over belly, with tension in hypogastrium; particularly severe tensive aching pain in r. side of belly, more towards the back ; general numb feeling through body. Constant urging to stool and frequent stools of more consistent character than usual. Urinary secretion increased.-23rd, 9 p.m., 300 dr. Sleep somewhat restless ; in m. fulness and pressure in chest, with dyspnea, some bellyache, with pressure in stomach and uring to stool. ( Ibid., 4. ) 3. St. took, on Aug. 26th, 6 a.m., a tablespoonful ofthe tinct. After 3 h., dimness ofvision lasting a few moments, during which he cannot see the person from whom he is buying pears ; soon afterwards feeling of constriction of stomach, diminished appetite, restless sleep for several d.; in afternoon aching in occiput ; frequent pappyyellow stools. (Ibid., 7.) 4. Dr. WATZKE took, October 9th, m., 10 dr. tinct. Swelling, fine shooting and constriction in throat, chiefly in back of palate, nausea, inclination to vomit, pressive pain in temples; in-pressing in umbilical region.- 11th. Forenoon and afternoon 12 dr.;during forenoon remarkably hoarse for some h.- 13th. Forenoon and afternoon, 20 dr.- 15th, 50 dr. Repeated violent eructations, pressure in umbilical region, little appetite.-16th. 100 dr., intense bitter taste for 1 h., sinking in stomach ; attacks of nausea; the plainest food caused pinching in belly and two slight slimy diarrheic stools in rapid succession. (Oest. Zeitsch. f. Hom., і, 3, 140.) II. Poisonings.-1. There can now be little doubt that gentio-picrine, the true active principle of G., is a bitter closely allied to quinine, alike in physiological and in therapeutic action. The effects of an overdose of G. itself are dulness, weight in head, oppression of forehead, and slight giddiness ; symptoms, in fact, much resembling those induced by cinchona. The face becomes flushed, and the conjunctivæ

are injected. The bowels are relaxed, and the stools have a bilious character. It is probable that, besides the gentio-picrine,there is some volatile ingredient in G. which has a slightly inebriant action, since Planché states that water distilled over pure G. possesses the latter quality. (PHILLIPS, op. cit.)