Asparagus

A. officinalis, L.

Nat. order , Liliaceæ.

Common names , Asparagus; (Germ.) Spargel; (Fr.) Asperge.

Preparation , Tincture of the young sprouts.

Authorities.

1 , Buchner's provings, Hygea, 12, 426 (translated by Shipman in Journ. of M. M.), proving by N. (30 to 250 drops of the tincture); 2 , Proving by St., with tincture, ibid.; 3 , Buchner, effects on a girl, ibid.; 4 , Additional proving by M. with the tincture, A. H. Z., 20, 265.

MIND

• Serenity of mind the whole day (first day), 1.
• A peculiar anxiety, with palpitation of the heart, and ill-humor, 2.

HEAD

• Confusion of the head, and a vertiginous staggering, 2.
• Slight vertigo, 1.
• Confusion of forehead, 4.
• Vertigo in the forehead, 1.
• Dizziness in the forehead, afterwards aching in the temples, especially the left (soon after taking the drug), 1.
• Heaviness of the forehead, 1.
• Aching in the forehead, with confusion, 1. [10.]
• Aching of the brain near the eyes, 1.
• Slight pressure in the forehead, 4.
• Pressing pains in both temples, increased by pressure upon them, 1.

EYES

• Stitches and tickling in the eyes, 1.
• Increased acuteness of vision, 1.

NOSE

• Frequent irritation to sneeze, and even frequent sneezing, 4.
• Violent sneezing, 4.
• Frequent sneezing (from smelling tincture), 1, 2.
• Severe coryza and catarrh, with pressive pain from the root of the nose, extending over the forehead to the forepart of the head, 4.
• Severe coryza and nasal catarrh, with profuse secretion of thin, whitish fluid from the left nostril, afterwards from the right nostril, 4. [20.]
• Coryza, with commencing dryness and slight swelling of the internal nostrils, followed by impeded entrance of air, 4.
• Loss of smell, 4.

FACE

• Face pale, 2.
• Increased heat of the face, 1.
• Burning of the cheeks, 1.

MOUTH

• Painless cavity and exfoliation of a carious molar tooth, 1.
• Increased secretion of saliva, 1.
• The saliva was so sweetish that he thought it was mixed with blood, 2.
• Diminished saliva, 4.
• Sweetish, insipid taste in the mouth, 1. [30.]
• Coppery taste in the mouth, 1.

THROAT

• Inclination to hawk and cough, rising from deep in the throat, 1.
• Hawking up of mucus, 1.
• Almost constant hawking, with rough feeling in the throat, 1.
• Hawking, and inclination to cough; the mucus is not readily loosened, but is brought up by paroxysms of cough, 1.
• Copious discharge of tenacious mucus from the throat, 2.

STOMACH

• Wind in the stomach, 1.
• Increased thirst, 1.
• Eructations, 1.
• Retching, when attempting to cough, that brought water into the eyes, 1. [40.]
• Retching while coughing, 1.
• He awake with nausea before 5 A.M., and vomited four times of the food taken in the evening, with bile and much mucus; then fecal, bilious diarrhœa; one-half hour later, frequent repeated vomiting, with increased effort, 1.

ABDOMEN

• Griping in the region of the navel, which is painful when touched, 1.
• Pinching in the belly below the navel, in the evening, 1.
• Abdomen distended, 1.
• Discharge of much wind, 1.
• Sense of fulness in the abdomen, 1.
• Colic, with bilious diarrhœa, 2.
• Drawing pains in both groins, 2.

STOOL AND ANUS

• Burning and soreness at the anus, 2. [50.]
• (Itching in the anus), 4.
• Peculiar desire for stool, and somewhat difficult passage of hardish fæces, 4.
• In the afternoon an insufficient stool; the usual stool in the morning, however, occurred, 1.

URINARY ORGANS

• Burning in the urethra, 1.
• Cutting and burning in the urethra, which also occurred after eating boiled Asparagus, 2.
• After urinating, burning in the urethra, with sensation as if there was some urine yet to pass, 1.
• Urging to urinate, 1, 2.
• Increased secretion of urine, 1.
• Increased flow of urine, beer-brown, without sediment, 1.
• Frequent urinating, with fine stitches in the orifice of the urethra, 4. [60.]
• Frequent scanty discharge of urine, preceded by a sensation as if something were stitching in the urethra, with slight burning, 1.
• Urine of a tolerable strong odor, 2.
• Urine scanty and cloudy, 1.
• A little straw-colored urine is passed, which becomes turbid immediately after being passed, and is full of motes, 1.
• Urine clear, but of unpleasant odor, 1.
• Urine of peculiar odor, 1.
• At 4 P.M. the urine contained motes, as was usual at this time, 1.
• An hour and a half after dinner, the urine is turbid again, without being dark, with fine motes, which first became very manifest on reducing the urine with distilled water, 1.
• White, flocky sediments deposited, and the urine becomes clear, but on being shaken the sediment, disappears, and the motes present themselves to view again (after four hours), 1.
• The urine passed was turbid, but subsequently became clear, and formed a white, flocky sediment (after an hour and a half), 1. [70.]
• After the urine was shaken out, and the glass well washed with water, a fatty coating was manifest on the sides of the glass, 1.
• The urine, which was kept over night, formed on the sides of the vessel a reddish deposit, 1.

SEXUAL ORGANS

• Swelling of penis, with erections and urging to urinate, 4.
• Stitching on the right side of glans, 1.
• Excitement of the sexual passions, 1.
• Menses continued one day longer than usual, 3.

RESPIRATORY APPARATUS

• Tickling and inclination to cough, 2.
• Cough again, towards evening, 1.
• Straining cough, with inclination to vomit, 1.
• Distressing cough, with fulness of the chest, and copious mucous expectoration, 1. [80.]
• The cough remitted, after taking his breakfast (after one hour), 1.
• Difficult expectoration, 2.
• The mucus is more readily loosened upon each turn of coughing, without producing any retching, 1.
• Difficulty of breathing when moving or going upstairs, 2.
• He was obliged to sit up in bed to relieve his breathing, at night, 2.

CHEST

• Pain in the chest after breakfast, 1.
• Pain in the breast, with tension, when inspiring.
• Sensation as if the chest were hollow, with external heaviness of the same, 1.
• Tension of the chest increased when taking a deep breath, 1.
• Constriction of the chest, 1. [90.]
• Constriction of the chest, chiefly while writing, 1.
• When inspiring, stitches in various parts of the chest, especially about the left shoulder-blade, 2.
• Pains relieved by throwing the chest forward and the head backward, 1.
• Sudden darting pains through the right side of the chest that made him start up, at 10 A.M., 1.
• Stitching in the left side of the breast on inspiration, but of short duration, 1.

HEART AND PULSE

• Irregular, quickened, twofold stroke of the heart, 1.
• Pulsation of the heart perceptible to the feel and hearing; also upon moderate motion, 1.
• Palpitation of the heart , while sitting, so that the leaves of the book which he held in his hand trembled, 1.
• Palpitation of the heart, especially after motion, 1.
• Palpitation of the heart, with anxious restlessness, increased by motion and going upstairs, 1. [100.]
• Palpitation of the heart frequently occurred, with oppression of the chest, 1.*
• The beat of the heart hardly perceptible, 1.
• Slight sensation of stitching in the region of the heart, after eating, 1.
• Pulse slightly accelerated, 1.
• Pulse accelerated, when sitting, 1.
• Pulse small, compressible, 1.

NECK AND BACK

• Rheumatic pain between the shoulder-blades, 1.
• Shooting pains, while sitting, through the loins, in the region of the lumbar vertebræ, 1.
• Pain in the loins, at the beginning of the sacrum (after two hours), 1.

UPPER EXTREMITIES

• Pain in the region of the shoulder, on touching it, 1. [110.]
• Rheumatic pains in the region of the right axilla, 1.

LOWER EXTREMITIES

• The right leg is weaker than the left, 1.
• Pain, as from dislocation, in the neck of the right thigh-bone, while walking, 1.
• Pains, as from dislocation, while walking (four times in the forenoon, second day), in the neck of the right thigh-bone, which prevents rapid motion, and now and then compels him to limp, 1.
• Pain in the muscles, in the middle of the thigh, as if bruised, making it difficult to walk, especially when going up an ascent; on touching this parts, a sore pain, 1.
• Sore pain in the upper surface of the thigh, and, when bending the leg, at the hip and knee joints, continuing for three days, which made it very difficult to walk, 1.
• Stitching pains, first? the right, then below the left side of the left knee, when sitting, late in the evening, 1.
• Slight indications of cramps in the calves, 1.
• On awaking, as he stretched himself, there was a cramplike pain in the calf of the left leg, which compelled him to cry out, but was relieved by rubbing (after one day), 1.
• The right foot was weaker all day than the left (second day), 1. [120.]
• The right foot much more painful than the left, 1.
• Drawing in the left toe, which he had cut with an axe when a boy, at 10 P.M., before falling asleep, 1.

SLEEP AND DREAMS

• Yawning, drowsiness, in the morning, 1.
• Drowsiness and yawning, 1.

FEVER

• Slight chilliness, with some sleepiness, 4.
• Increased warmth, 1.
• Slight febrile excitement and some sleepiness, at 3 P.M., 4.

CONDITIONS

• Aggravation.
• ( Afternoon ), Insufficient stool.
• ( Towards evening ), Cough again.
• ( Evening ), Pinching in belly.
• ( Before 5 A.M .), Awake with nausea, etc.
• (

10 A.M .), Pain through right side of chest.

• (

3 P.M .), Slight febrile excitement, etc.

• (

10 P.M .), Before falling asleep, drawing in left toe.

• ( Bending leg at hip and knee ), Sore pain in upper surface of thigh.
• ( After breakfast ), Pain in chest.
• ( Deep breathing ), Tension of chest.
• ( While coughing ), Retching.
• ( After eating ), Stitching sensation in region of heart.
• ( When inspiring ), Pain in breast, etc.; stitches in various parts of chest; stitches in left side of chest.
• ( Motion ), Most of the pains; difficulty of breathing; perceptible pulsation of heart.
• ( After motion ), Palpitation of heart.
• ( Pressure ), Pressive pains in temples.
• ( Sitting ), Palpitation of heart; accelerated pulse; pains through loins; late in evening, stitching pain above right knee, etc.
• ( Touch ), Pain in region of shoulder; sore pain in muscles of thigh.
• ( After urinating ), Burning in urethra, etc.
• ( While walking ), Pain in neck of right thigh-bone.
• ( Walking upstairs ), Difficulty of breathing; palpitation of heart, etc.
• ( While writing ), Constriction of chest.
• Amelioration.
• ( After breakfast ), Cough remitted.
• ( Throwing chest backward and head forward ), Pains relieved.
• ( Rubbing ), Cramplike pain in left calf.

SUPPLEMENT: ASPARAGUS. Authorities.

5 , M. Gendrin (gaz. Méd. de Paris, June, 1833), Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. vol. xiii, 1833, p. 241, effects of the syrup on several persons; 6 , E. W. Berridge, M.D., Am. Hom. Obs., 1875, p. 101, effects on Mr. ---, after eating Asparagus.

All without exception had the quantity of their urine increased, and this commenced when the syrup was given in the doses of an ounce to an ounce and a half, but was not marked until two ounces of the medicine was taken at a dose. When taken in this dose the urine tripled, quadrupled, and even quintupled the quantity of drink in all the individuals. When this abundant diureris was established, the greater number of these persons experienced thirst, and all had an increase of appetite. M. G. repeated these experiments upon three series of persons, consisting of three, of five of four. The day after the Asparagus was suspended, the diuresis ceased, 5.

• After eating Asparagus his urine smells like cat's urine, 6.