Verbascum Thapsus
By Constantine Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica
Mullein. Scrophulariaceæ.
A native of Europe, naturalized in North America. Inhabits fields and waste places ; the tall stems and leaves are woolly, flowers yellow on a cylindrical spike. The alcoholic tincture is prepared from the fresh plant, chopped and pounded to a pulp.
Proved by Hahnemann, Gross, Hartmann, Langhammer, Mossdorf, R. A. M. L., vol. 5.
CLINICAL AUTHORITIES.
- Migraine , Müller, B. J. H., vol. 21, p. 19 ; Deafness , Cushing, A. H. O., 1876, p. 563 ; Prosopalgia , Battmann, Gersung, Rück. Kl. Erf., vol. 5, p. 196 ; Berridge, Hom. Rev., vol. 16, p. 495 ; Y., Rück. Kl. Erf., vol. 1, p. 436 ; Facial neuralgia , Gersung, B. J. H., vol. 11, p. 299 ; Nocturnal enuresis (2 cases), Cushing, N. E. M. G., vol. 8, p. 548 ; Cough , Kurtz, Hirsch, Rück. Kl. Erf., vol. 5, p. 697 ; Hirsch, N. A. J. H., vol. 4, p. 337.
MIND [1]
Diminished memory ; it was with great difficulty he could recall thoughts he had just had.
Excited phantasies, especially of a sensual nature.
Excessive joy with laughter.
Very fretful and morose without cause ; desire and inclination for work ; he finds satisfaction in having people about him, and in talking with them.
Anxious mood all day ; more lively toward evening.
Depressed all day, all his efforts and hopes seem unavailing.
Indifferent to things to which he is usually attentive.
Disinclination for work Distraction of mind ; different trains of thought and phantasies throng upon him.
SENSORIUM [2]
Vertigo : on pressing left cheek, while supporting head ; sudden as from pressure on whole head.
Dulness of head.
INNER HEAD [3]
Dull painful heaviness of head.
Violent pressure in whole forehead.
Pressing stupefying headache, especially affecting both sides of forehead, in every position.
Incessant pressure from within outward, in forehead, especially between eyebrows ; > on stooping.
Head dull and confused, as if everything would press out at forehead.
Slow hammering in left frontal eminence.
Sticking in left frontal sinus.
Intermittent, fine needlelike stitches in left side of forehead.
Violent, slowly appearing and disappearing stitch extending from within outward in left frontal eminence.
Benumbing drawing in left frontal eminence in a draft of air.
Violent benumbing, pressing inward in left side of frontal bone.
Intermittent pressure and beating near left frontal eminence.
Deep, sharp, intermittent stitches between left frontal eminence and parietal eminence.
Violent intermittent deep sticking behind left parietal eminence.
Violent stupefying pressure deep in right frontal eminence on going from cold into warmth.
Pressing headache on crown.
Tension in left side of vertex, which gradually becomes a sharp pressure, at same time left ramus of lower jaw seems pressed against upper jaw.
Burning and prickling in left temple.
Pressure from behind forward in left temple.
Dull pressure in articular eminence of temporal bone, just in front of left ear.
Sharp, benumbing, knifelike stitches just above right temple.
A pressing pain in right temple.
Benumbing, sticking piercing, deeply in right temple while eating, < by external pressure ; after a few hours is extended into upper teeth of same side like a tearing.
Sensation as if both articular eminences of temporal bones were violently pinched and crushed together with pincers.
Sticking jerking, externally, first in left temple, then in right Jerking pressure in left half of brain.
Violent pressing, but very transient pain, extending from within outward in whole right half of brain, which gradually diminishes.
Tearing pressure in right half of brain.
Benumbing pressure in whole left side of head and face.
Pressing, long-drawn stitch from behind forward, through l. hemisphere of brain.
Stitch in left side of occiput.
Pressing pain in occiput.
Violent pressure in right occipital protuberance.
Tingling in head while walking.
Migraine of twenty years' standing ; peculiar sympathetic affection of ear on affected side ; at height of headache, which mainly consisted in pressure and pinching in temple and zygoma, there commenced an intolerable drawing in ear, with a sensation as if something stopped it up, < moving jaw and masticating.
SIGHT AND EYES [5]
Pupils dilated.
A short-sighted person became still more short-sighted ; could scarcely recognize objects a yard away, on account of watery dimness of vision ; objects seemed indistinct and enlarged, daylight less bright.
Pressing pain above left orbit.
Heat in eyes and sensation of contraction of orbits.
HEARING AND EARS [6]
Difficult hearing, as if ears closed, as if something had fallen before ear.
Numbness in left ear.
A tearing stitch in left ear, while eating.
Painful tearing and drawing in left ear, extending inward.
Tearing stitches in front of left ear, extending downward.
Sensation as if left ear would be drawn inward.
Sensation as if something stopped ears ; first left then right Violent tearing within right ear.
Sudden pressure, with a violent stitch behind right ear, disappears gradually.
Sensation as if ear (nose and larynx) were stopped up when reading aloud.
Deafness caused by water filling ears (oil of Verbascum thapsus).
SMELL AND NOSE [7]
Sensation of stoppage in nose, larynx and ears which does not affect hearing, while reading aloud.
Painful coryza from frontal sinuses, with hot, burning, profuse lachrymation.
UPPER FACE [8]
Violent pressure on right malar bone.
Intermittent, frightful sticking in left malar bone.
Sensation as if one were violently pressing upon left malar bone as far as ear, < by pressure with hand, frequently during day, in evening before going to bed, and in morning on waking.
Tension in left malar bone, in articular elevation of temporal bone, and in frontal eminence, on going into open air, and in a draft of air.
Benumbing, intermittent pressure in upper margin of l. malar bone.
Dull, pressing-sticking sensation in left zygoma.
Whole cheek becomes involved in a dull pressure in left articulation of jaw, and on pressure becomes a benumbing tension.
Facial neuralgia, like a crushing with tongs, often occurs twice a day.
For two years almost constant pain in face ; lightning-like pain shoots over right side of face on talking, sneezing, biting hard, or touching teeth with tongue ; attacks < in morning, lasting from ten minutes to an hour ; tearing, twitching, stitching, frequently intolerable pain from right temple to angle of mouth ; during attacks face red, head hot, belching of wind, expectoration of tenacious saliva, severe vertigo, pressing, tearing pains in left side of head.
Prosopalgia, left side, < at exit of supraorbital nerve, tearing cutting pains from thence to forehead, zygoma and cheek, and during height of paroxysm affecting also right side ; painful spots very sensitive to touch, not entirely lost during free periods ; attacks appear about 9 A. M., attain their height about noon, then gradually diminish in intensity until 4 P. M., and disappear ; during attack eyes dim, dull, look smaller than usual, particularly l. eye, which is swollen, face red, sees as if through a fog ; despondency ; pain < from least motion.
For two days dull hot pains in right face, and shooting from right face into right eye ; right face swollen and watery swelling below right eye ; right eye waters, and partly closed from swelling under it ; tensive pain in vertex, > on sitting up ; face pain < from a draft of air ; cause, exposure to cold air after perspiring.
Facial neuralgia ; seemed mad with agony, howling, inarticulate sounds.
Left-sided prosopalgia seated in supraorbital nerve.
LOWER FACE [9]
Violent tension in integuments of chin, masseter muscles and throat.
Pressing pinching pain on side of lower jaw.
TEETH AND GUMS [10]
Tearing in large molars of right lower jaw.
Intermittent tearing in small molars of left lower jaw.
TASTE, SPEECH, TONGUE [11]
Root of tongue brown, with a flat, nauseous taste in forenoon.
Tongue brownish-yellow, coated with tenacious mucus, without a bad taste.
Flat taste for some time after dinner.
Flat taste with an offensive odor to breath, with brownish-yellow coated tongue in morning.
INNER MOUTH [12]
Salt water collects in mouth.
PALATE AND THROAT [13]
Very severe pain in throat on swallowing ; had it many years.
APPETITE, THIRST. DESIRES, AVERSIONS [14]
Hunger without appetite throughout day ; nothing is relished, yet he wishes to eat.
Unquenchable thirst.
HICCOUGH, BELCHING, NAUSEA AND VOMITING [16]
Hiccough.
Eructations : bitter, qualmish ; tasteless ; empty.
SCROBICULUM AND STOMACH [17]
Pressure in stomach.
Sensation of great emptiness in pit of stomach, which disappears with a rumbling below left ribs.
HYPOCHONDRIA [18]
Incessant rumbling and gurgling in region beneath left ribs.
A deep, sharp stitch in left side where ribs cease.
Sticking pinching in right hypochondrium.
ABDOMEN AND LOINS [19]
Sharp intermittent stitches in left side above navel.
Intermittent dull sticking in left side beneath navel, < on bending body forward after eating.
Abdomen tympanitic, followed by frequent rumbling in region beneath left ribs, which caused violent eructations.
Acute, deep, knifelike stitches in right side of lower abdomen, above pubis.
Intermittent dull needle stitches in right side, by navel.
Tearing sticking in abdomen extending downward.
Pain in abdomen extending low down, causing spasmodic contraction of sphincter ani and a transient desire for stool.
Hard, painful pressure as from a stone upon umbilicus, < by stooping.
Stitches as from many needles in umbilical region round to back and even in dorsal vertebræ, on deep inspiration and on stooping.
Sensation as if intestines at umbilicus were adherent to wall of abdomen and were being torn away forcibly, < by external pressure.
Griping in abdomen as from incarcerated flatus, in every position.
Cutting griping in whole abdomen, with frequent eructations.
Cutting griping colic, here and there, though always rising toward ribs, where it becomes seated.
Gurgling in lower abdomen.
Constriction of abdomen at umbilical region at various times.
Cramps around navel, seems as if pain would give her a twist, burning on making water, made it often ; heels hurt her awfully ; great stiffness in left ankle joint.
STOOLS AND RECTUM [20]
Fearful diarrhœa on third day, eighteen to twenty movements a day ; griping ; a great deal of pain, as if pierced with a lance, through inside of left ankle joint ; pain in both cheek bones and above eyebrows ; menses came on early this time, and she has coughed a good deal.
Soft stool, with straining.
Stool like sheep's dung, scanty, very hard, and expelled with great effort.
URINARY ORGANS [21]
Frequent desire to urinate, with scanty or profuse discharge.
Enuresis nocturna.
MALE SEXUAL ORGANS [22]
Emissions without lewd dreams.
VOICE AND LARYNX. TRACHEA AND BRONCHIA [25]
Hoarseness from reading aloud ; deep voice.
COUGH [27]
Dry, hoarse cough, < at night ; in children during sleep.
Frequent attacks of a deep, hollow, hoarse cough, with sound like a trumpet, caused by tickling in larynx and chest.
Spasmodic, rough, deep-sounding night cough.
The cough is lessened as soon as the patient succeeds in taking a deep breath.
INNER CHEST AND LUNGS [28]
A benumbing, oppressive stitch, taking away breath, in region of first and second costal cartilages.
Sharp pressure beneath left nipple.
Violent stitch on inspiration, several times, beneath left nipple, which slowly disappeared, but which always returned on deep inspiration.
Intermittent, dull, needlelike stitches near left side of ensiform cartilage.
Intermittent benumbing, frightful cutting near left side of ensiform cartilage, below last ribs.
Painful tension across chest, with stitches in region of heart, immediately after lying down in bed in evening.
Pressing-sticking pain in next to last rib where it passes into cartilage, suddenly disappearing on external pressure, but immediately returning.
NECK AND BACK [31]
Sharp intermittent stitches in left scapula.
A very fine persistent stitch in last dorsal vertebra, when sitting bent over.
In middle, between right loin and spine, intermittent, deep, sharp, knifelike stitches, quite internal, in intestines.
Backache, < from pressure.
UPPER LIMBS [32]
Pain on top of shoulder, pressing rather than tearing, disappearing on motion.
Cramplike pressing in left elbow, extending into forearm, in every position.
Tearing extending downward in left ulna.
Tensive pain in left wrist during rest and motion.
Some dull stitches in joint where carpal bone of thumb articulates with radius, like a kind of sprain (or numbness).
Tearing sticking in palm of hand.
Pain in back of right hand, pressing rather than tearing.
Cramplike pressure now in right, now in left metacarpus, on moving arm, disappearing during rest.
Sharp sticking in first phalanx of left thumb.
Cramplike pressure in first phalanx of right thumb, disappearing on motion.
Numbness and insensibility of thumb.
Violent sticking as with a dull knife, in thick flesh between metacarpal bone of right thumb and index finger.
Violent pricking, intermittent, dull stitches in middle joint of index finger.
Violent dull intermittent sticking in last phalanx of index finger ; on moving finger pain extended into first joint.
Paralytic drawing in whole of left index finger.
Violent tearing stitch through whole of left little finger.
Pain on outer side of metacarpal bones of little fingers, as from a bruise, only noticed on touch.
Paralytic pain in left fingers, especially in their metacarpal joints.
LOWER LIMBS [33]
Weariness of lower extremities.
Tearing from above downward in leg.
Paralytic pain in inner side of right thigh, while leg is drawn up in a sitting position ; on stooping pain extended toward knee, painful like a sticking.
While riding right thigh over left, weakness and sensation of weariness in bone of right thigh, not noticed on walking.
A cramplike pain in muscles of right thigh, while walking in open air.
Drawing, pressing sensation extending from middle of right thigh to knee, while sitting.
A pressing, cramplike pain in muscles above right knee, while sitting and standing.
Dull stitches just above left patella only on stepping.
Knees tremble as if one had received a great fright.
Sudden pain through right knee, while standing, sitting and walking.
Cramplike pressure in left leg near ankle.
A cramplike pressure in sole of right foot, while standing, which disappears on walking.
Violent intermittent dull sticking in metatarsal bones of great and adjacent toes of left foot during rest.
Gait tottering, while walking in open air, as if limbs could not support body on account of weakness.
Very great heaviness in lower extremities, as if a weight were hanging upon them on going up and down stairs.
LIMBS IN GENERAL [34]
Stretching in limbs.
Stinging pains in limbs.
REST. POSITION. MOTION [35]
Rest : sticking in left metatarsal bones.
Lying : tension across chest, stitches in region of heart.
Sitting : drawing pressing from middle of right thigh to knee ; cramplike pain in muscles above right knee ; pain in right knee.
Sitting up : > pain in vertex.
Riding right thigh over left : weakness and weariness in bone of right thigh.
Standing : cramplike pain in muscles above right knee ; in right knee ; cramplike pressure in sole of right foot.
Motion : least, prosopalgia < ;> pain on top of shoulder ; cramplike pressure in metacarpus.
Bending body forward : stitches near navel <.
Stooping : > pressure in forehead ; < pressure as from a stone upon umbilicus ; stitches in umbilical region ; sticking from right thigh to knee.
Stepping : stitches above left patella.
Walking : tingling in head ; cramplike pain in muscles of thigh ; pain in right knee ; > cramplike pressure in sole of right foot ; in open air, tottering gait ; up and down stairs, heaviness in legs.
SLEEP [37]
Frequent yawning and stretching, as if he had not slept enough.
He cannot keep awake immediately after dinner, lids close.
Restless sleep at night, he tosses from side to side.
Sleep only till 4 A. M., filled with dreams of war and of corpses, several nights.
Indolence and sleepiness in morning after rising.
TIME [38]
After 4 A. M. : no sleep.
Morning : facial neuralgia < ; flat taste and offensive breath, with coated tongue ; lassitude and sleepiness.
Forenoon : flat, nauseous taste.
All day : anxious and depressed.
Night : cough < ; restless sleep.
TEMPERATURE AND WEATHER [39]
Draft of air : causes drawing in frontal eminence ; pain in malar bone ; faceache <.
Exposure to cold air after perspiring : faceache.
Going from cold into warmth : pressure in frontal eminence.
FEVER [40]
Slight transient coldness over whole body, even perceptible externally on hands and feet.
External and internal sensation of coldness over whole body.
Coldness and chill predominate.
Shivering, especially over one side of body from shoulder to thigh, as if cold water were poured over it.
ATTACKS, PERIODICITY [41]
Attacks : appear 9 A. M., attain their height about noon, gradually diminish until 4 P. M. ; prosopalgia.
Intermittent : benumbing pressure in malar bone ; tearing in molars ; stitches near navel ; stitches near ensiform cartilage ; stitches in back ; stitches in index fingers ; stitches in left metatarsal bones.
From ten minutes to an hour : attacks of facial neuralgia.
Twice a day : facial neuralgia.
For two days : faceache.
For two or three days : pimple on neck near thyroid cartilage.
For two years : facial neuralgia.
LOCALITY AND DIRECTION [42]
Left : hammering in frontal eminence ; sticking in frontal sinus ; needlelike stitches in forehead ; benumbing drawing in frontal eminence ; benumbing pressure in side of frontal bone ; pressure and beating near frontal eminence ; stitches between frontal and parietal eminence ; sticking behind parietal eminence ; tension in vertex ; ramus of lower jaw seems pushed upward ; burning and prickling in temple ; pressure from behind forward in temple ; pressure in front of ear ; jerking pressure in brain ; benumbing pressure in side of head and face ; stitch from behind forward through brain ; stitch in occiput ; pressure above orbit ; numbness in ear ; tearing stitch in ear ; tearing and drawing in ear ; stitches in front of ear downward ; sticking in malar bone ; tension in malar bone ; pressing sticking in zygoma ; dull pressure in articulation of jaw ; pressing tearing in head ; prosopalgia ; eye swollen, prosopalgia ; tearing in lower molars ; rumbling below ribs ; sharp stitch under ribs ; stitches above navel ; stitch beneath navel ; stiffness in ankle joint ; pressure below nipple ; stitch below nipple ; stitches and cutting near ensiform cartilage ; stitches in scapula ; pain in elbow ; tearing down ulna ; tensive pain in wrist ; sticking in thumb ; paralytic drawing in index finger ; stitch through little finger ; paralytic pain in fingers ; stitches above patella ; sticking in metatarsal bones ; itching, crawling, tickling on side of middle finger.
Right : pressure in frontal eminence ; stitches above temple ; pressing in temple ; sticking piercing in temple ; pressing outward in brain ; tearing pressure in brain ; pressure in occipital protuberance ; tearing in ear ; pressure and stitch behind ear ; pressure on malar bone ; lightning-like pain in face ; shooting from face into eye ; face swollen ; eye waters ; pressing pinching in lower jaw ; tearing in lower molars ; sticking pinching in hypochondrium ; knifelike stitches in lower abdomen ; stitches near navel ; stitches between loin and spine ; pain in back of hand ; cramplike pressure in thumb ; sticking between thumb and index finger ; paralytic pain in thigh ; cramplike pain in muscles of thigh ; sudden pain through knee ; cramplike pressure in sole of foot ; pimple in front of ear.
Left then right : sticking jerking in temples ; as if something stopped ears ; prosopalgia.
SENSATIONS [43]
As if everything would press out at forehead ; as if left ramus of lower jaw were pressed against upper jaw ; as if temples were pinched and crushed ; as if ears were stopped up ; as if nose and larynx were stopped up ; as if something had fallen before ear ; as if one were violently pressing on left malar bone ; as of a crushing with tongs ; facial neuralgia ; pressure, as from a stone upon umbilicus ; as from needles in umbilical region to back ; as if intestines were adherent to wall of abdomen, and were being torn away ; as of a twist around navel ; as if a weight were hanging on lower extremities ; as if cold water were poured over side of body from shoulder to thigh.
Sudden pain : through right knee.
Lightning-like pain : over right side of face.
Severe pain : in throat, on swallowing.
Jerking : in temples ; in left half of brain.
Lancinating : in left ankle joint.
Cutting : in left side of face ; in abdomen ; near left side of ensiform cartilage.
Stitches : in left side of forehead ; sharp, deep, between left frontal eminence and parietal eminence ; above right temple ; from behind forward in left half of brain ; in left side of occiput ; in left ear ; in front of left ear ; behind right ear ; in right side of face ; in left hypochondrium ; in left side, above navel ; in right side of lower abdomen ; in umbilical region ; in region of first and second costal cartilages ; beneath left nipple ; near left side of ensiform cartilage ; in region of heart ; in left scapula ; in last dorsal vertebra ; between right loin and spine ; in wrist ; dull, in middle joint of index finger and last phalanx ; through little finger ; above left patella.
Sticking : in left frontal sinus ; behind left parietal eminence ; in right temple and upper teeth ; in temples ; in left malar bone ; in left zygoma ; in right hypochondrium ; in left side beneath navel ; in abdomen ; in next to last rib, where it passes into cartilage ; in palm of hand ; in first phalanx of left thumb ; in right thumb and index finger ; in metatarsal bones of great and adjacent toes of left foot.
Pricking : in middle joint of index finger.
Stinging : in limbs ; in pimple in front of right ear.
Burning : in left temple ; on urinating.
Hammering : in left frontal eminence.
Tearing : in right temple and upper teeth ; in right half of brain ; in left ear ; in front of left ear ; in right ear ; right side of face ; in l. side of face ; in left side of head ; in molars ; in abdomen ; on top of right shoulder ; in left ulna ; in palm of hand ; in back of right hand ; in left little finger, in leg.
Drawing : benumbing, in left frontal eminence ; in ear ; in left ear ; in left index finger ; from middle of right thigh to knee.
Bruised pain : in outer side of metacarpal bones of little fingers.
Pressure : in forehead ; benumbing in left side of frontal bone ; stupefying, in right frontal eminence ; on vertex ; on l. side of vertex ; in left temple ; in articular eminence of temporal bone ; in front of left ear ; in right temple ; in left half of brain ; in right half of brain ; in left side of head and face ; in occiput ; above left orbit ; behind right ear ; on right malar bone ; in upper margin of left malar bone ; in left zygoma ; in left side of head ; in right side of lower jaw ; in stomach ; beneath left nipple ; in next to last rib, where it passes into cartilage ; on top of right shoulder ; cramplike, from left elbow into forearm ; in back of right hand ; in metacarpus ; in first phalanx of right thumb ; from middle of right thigh to knee.
Pinching : in right side of lower jaw ; in right hypochondrium.
Griping : in abdomen.
Contraction : of orbits ; at umbilical region.
Cramps : around navel.
Cramplike pain : in muscles of right thigh ; in muscles above r. knee ; in left leg near ankle ; in sole of right foot.
Tension : in left side of vertex ; in left malar bone ; in articular elevation of temporal bone ; in frontal eminence ; in vertex ; in integuments of chin, masseter muscles and throat ; across chest ; in left wrist.
Paralytic pain : in left fingers ; in inner side of right thigh.
Tickling : in larynx and chest ; on side of left middle finger.
Tingling : in head.
Weariness : in bone of right thigh.
Heaviness : of head, painful.
Emptiness : in pit of stomach.
Dull hot pain : in right face.
Heat : in eyes.
Numbness : in left ear ; of thumb.
Benumbing : in head ; in face ; in region of first and second costal cartilages.
Crawling : on side of left middle finger.
Itching : on forearm ; on side of left middle finger.
TOUCH. PASSIVE MOTION. INJURIES [45]
Touching teeth ; neuralgia of face <.
Touch : painful spots on face < neuralgia ; stinging pain in pimple in front of right ear.
Pressure : < pain in right temple ; < pressing pain in left malar bone ; < sensation as if intestines were adherent to wall of abdomen ; > pressing sticking in next to last rib ; < backache.
SKIN [46]
Pimple on cheek in front of right ear, with stinging pain when touched.
A large red pimple on neck near thyroid cartilage, painful pressure lasting two or three days.
Itching on forearm.
Itching crawling tickling on side of left middle finger, provoking scratching.
STAGE OF LIFE, CONSTITUTION [47]
Girl, æt. 8 ; enuresis.
Boy, æt. 12 ; enuresis.
Woman, æt ; 32, suffering two years ; prosopalgia Woman, æt. 45, brunette, thin, lively disposition, suffering five days ; prosopalgia.
Woman, æt. 50, suffering twenty years ; migraine.
RELATIONS [48]
Compare : Platin . in facial neuralgia.