Moschus

Mind

Moschus cures many hysterical girls who have come to adult age without ever learning what obedience means.

They are self-willed, obstinate and selfish. When they have been encouraged to resort to crafty cunning, to have every whim gratified from infancy to eighteen years of age they become fit subjects for Mosch., Asa f., Ignatia and Valer.

They not only have volumes of real and imaginary symptoms, but they become adepts at producing at will a kaleidoscopic complex of symptoms, increasing in quantity and intensity until all their own desires are attained, and the onlooker, be he or she nurse, physician or bewildered mother, is overwhelmed, dismayed and in retreat.

However much they pretend to be honest and truthful their reported sensations are untrustworthy. They have traded upon their sensations and imagination so long that a direct effort to give a truthful statement is unsuccessful. The most erratic and unexpected neuropathic phenomena are always in appearance.

The physician cannot measure these cases by his experience and say what is common and uncommon. He is compelled to fall back upon the one word that covers a multitude of these manifestations, viz., " Hysteria."

Moschus is often indicated in these constitutions and cures much that is morbid, when its own peculiar symptoms agree. When one of these girls becomes sick from taking cold the acute symptoms will be told with a host of her imaginary sensations.

The globus hystericus is generally present, hyperesthesia of the skin, quivering of the muscles, wakefulness, palpitation, excitement, fainting and trembling.

" Dreadful " pain all over the body, rush of blood to head, cramps in hands and feet, convulsions of whole body. It is not generally known that the morbid sensations and functions correspond with the mental state of the individual. When the functions and tissue symptoms are hysterical or erratic the mental state will be found to be correspondingly hysterical.

When the peculiar Moschus symptoms of the face is present, viz.: one cheek red and cold, the other pale and hot, there is certainly some hysterical perversion in the mind of that patient. Many times it is possible to suspect morbid mental states by knowing morbid sensations and functions. There is a kind of order in all morbid expressions seen in sick people.

Sensitive to cold, and complaints come on from becoming cold. In addition to numerous hysterical mental symptoms she has violent fits of anger with rage and scolding until she is blue in the face and falls in a faint.

Dread of death, and talks only of death when there is no serious complaint. Anguish and palpitation. Peevishness and quarrelsomeness. In a constant hurry, and lets things fall from her hands. Foolish gestures and complaint of pain. Apprehension, trembling and palpitation. Fear of lying down lest she die. Sensation of falling from a height, or as if rapidly turned around.

Head

Vertigo on moving head or eyelids, ameliorated in open air; with nausea and vomiting and fainting.

The headaches are ameliorated from becoming warm, and in the fresh air. Tension in back of head and nape. Aching in head, with cold feeling. Pressive, stupefying headache, mostly in forehead, with nausea, aggravated on motion, ameliorated in fresh air.

Hysterical headaches, with copious colorless urine. Constriction as with cord. Pain as if a nail in occiput, aggravated in room, ameliorated in fresh air.

Eyes

Eyes staring. Sudden blindness or dim vision, coming and going. Eyes turned up, fixed and glistening.

Ears

Rushing sounds in ears as from wind, or fluttering as the wing of a bird. Detonation in ears as from the report of a cannon, with a few drops of blood. Nervous deafness in paroxysms, or after a mad fit,

Face

Epistaxis and illusions of smell.

One check is red and cool, the other is pale and hot. Heat in the pale face and dim vision. Tension in face. Pale face with sweat. Earthy pale face. Moving of lower jaw as if chewing.

Mouth and throat dry and hot; bitter, putrid taste; great thirst, especially in hysterical conditions.

Stomach

Craves beer or brandy.

Aversion to food. The sight of it makes her sick. Vomiting. Pressive, burning pain and distension of stomach. Fainting during meals. Waterbrash. Hysterical hiccoughing. Nausea when thinking of food. Drawing in at the umbilicus ( Plb.).

Prolonged vomiting of food. Fullness in stomach after eating. Vomiting blood. Stomach easily disordered.

Abdomen

Tympanitic distension of abdomen with sharp pains. No flatus up or down, yet greatly distended. Cramping pains.

Involuntary stools during sleep. Copious watery stools during night. Stitching in anus to bladder.

Copious colorless watery urine. Urine passed during the night is offensive and full of mucus.

In the male, violent sexual excitement. Emissions without erections.

In the female, violent sexual desire. Menses too early and profuse, with drawing pains; tingling in genitalia and fainting. Bearing down sensation.

Erratic nervous phenomena during pregnancy.

Respiration

Laryngismus stridulus in self-willed girls when they fail to have their own way.

Constriction of larynx as from vapor of sulphur. Spasms of larynx when becoming cold. Spasmodic croup in nervous children after punishment.

Dyspnoea and oppression of chest and heart. Spasmodic asthma in extremely nervous women and children.

Constriction of chest. Spasms of chest and diaphragm, turns blue in face and foams at mouth on becoming cold. Paralysis of chest, rattling, cannot expectorate; fainting.

Palpitation in hysterical girls, Palpitation, oppression of chest, fainting, excitement, with copious colorless urine. The heart seems to quiver when the pulse is normal.

Limbs: Aching in limbs. Restlessness in legs, and tibia cold. One hand hot and pale, the other cold and red.

Heat in evening in bed, on right side only; wants to uncover. Perspiration smelling like musk in the morning.

Cold skin, trembling, fainting and palpitation.