Cuprum Sulfuricum

5H2 O; Blue vitriol; Cuprum vitriolatum.

Preparation , Solution in water.

Authorities.

A , Hahnemann, from Fragmenta de viribus.

1 , Greding udov, Adv., I, 535, effects of grain doses in epileptics, from Hahnemann's Cuprum in Chr. Kn.; 2 , Kinglake, Lond. Med. Phys. Journ., V, 438, from Cup. sulf., given for epilepsy, from Hahnemann; 3 , Simmons, Med. and Phil. Comm., IV, 33, from touching wound in hand with cup. sulf., from Hahnemann; 4 , Journ. de Chim. Méd., 3, 639, a man took 10 grains in by water, from Wibmer; 5 , Rust's Mag., 1824, a workman swallowed some by mistake (Frank's Mag., 1, 465); 6 , Willich, Baldinger neues Mag., 1785, a woman was poisoned by blue vitriol becoming mixed with pepper in a mortar; 7 , Moschka, translated in Hahn. Month., 7, 66, F. H., aged 16 swallowed some; 8 , Med. Times., 1847, a woman, aged 36, swallowed about 1 1/2 scruples; 9 , Todd, Lancet, 1841, a woman, aged 18, took some in a solution; 10 , Andral, Brit. Ann. of Med., 1837, from Bull. Gén. de Thérap., a man took an ounce (Berridge's coll.); 11 , Simon, effects of inhaling vapor and dipping hands into a solution, The Chemist, 1840 (Berridge's coll.).

MIND

• Emotional.
• Anxiety,

[A], 6

• Greatest apathy (seventh day), 7.
• Intellectual.
• Remarkable disturbance of mind; all the utterances of the patient were distorted, 6.
• [He lost his senses and thoughts for a short time, immediately], 1.
• All his senses vanish,

[A]

HEAD

• Vertigo.
• Vertigo,

[A]

• Vertigo, with prostration of strength, and dim sight, 11.
• General Head.
• Headache, 11.
• Complained in the morning of severe headache, 7. [10.]
• Throbbing and roaring in the head, 6.
• Vertex.
• Crawling, dull sensation in vertex, as if going to sleep, together with a pressing-down sensation, and some stupefaction (after one hour),

[A]

• Pressing-down sensation in the vertex,

[A]

EYE

• Eyes stiff and dim, 6.
• Lids.
• Twitching of the closed lids (immediately),

[A]

• The ability to open eyes and to speak returns later than the consciousness,

[A]

• Conjunctiva.
• Conjunctiva of icteric color (second day), 7.
• Ball.
• Eyes moving to and fro,

[A]

• Pupil.
• Pupils equal (after two days), 7.

FACE

• Became pale, 11. [20.]
• Face puffy, red, covered with great drops of sweat, 6.
• Lips.
• Lips pale, bluish , at the corners and internal edges (after half an hour), 7.

MOUTH

• Tongue.
• Tongue white and furred (after six days), 9.
• Tongue coated, bluish, cold (after half an hour), 7.
• Tongue swollen, stiff, and as if paralyzed, 6.
• The nervous papillæ of tongue became tumefied and horribly annoying; at first thought he had scalded tongue with hot broth, but the symptoms increased, tongue became ulcerated in centre, and considerably swollen on each side, and was furred as if a thin layer of spermaceti ointment had been nicely spread over it, 11.
• Mouth.
• Burning in the mouth, and œsophagus in the morning, 7.
• Taste.
• Sweetish taste in the mouth,

[A]

• Bitterness in the mouth, 7.
• Coppery taste in the mouth, 7. [30.]
• Unpleasant coppery taste in mouth (after six days), 9.
• Often felt a copperish cold subacid taste, particularly in opening mouth to inhale fresh air, 11.

THROAT

• Pains in throat, stomach, and nose (immediately), 8.
• Throat became very painful and felt burnt, 9.
• Uvula.
• Soft palate coated with petechiæ, resembling measles, with tumefied gums, and slight ptyalism, 11.
• Fauces and Pharynx.
• Fauces tumefied and inflamed, 11.
• A choking and contracting sensation in pharynx, 7.

STOMACH

• Appetite.
• Loss of appetite for two days, 1.
• Thirst.
• Complained of being thirsty, 7.
• Hiccough.
• Hiccough,

[A]

• Nausea and Vomiting. [40.]
• Nausea without vomiting (after six days), 9.
• Nausea and qualmishness, lasting a quarter of an hour (immediately),

[A]

• Occasional nausea, 2.
• Excessive nausea, 1.
• Qualmish nausea,*

[A]

• Sickness at stomach (soon); followed by incessant vomiting, 8.
• Vomiting, 1, 5.
• Vomiting (after five minutes); vomited everything, solid and liquid (second day), 9.
• Vomiting forcible, returning from time to time,*

[A]

• Vomiting of mucus, 1. [50.]
• Vomiting of greenish-brown mucus, 4.
• Frequent and painful vomiting of a bluish matter, 10.
• Copious Vomiting. The vomited matter was of a bluish color, afterwards copiously mixed with mucus and magnesia, 7.
• Stomach.
• Pain in the epigastrium, in the morning, 7.
• Pain in epigastrium which is sensitive to pressure, 7.
• Occasional pain in epigastric region, 11.
• Constant pain in region of stomach (second day), 9.
• Violent pain in the stomach followed by faintness, 4.
• Sense of burning in the stomach, 8.
• Pressure in the pit of the stomach,

[A]

ABDOMEN

• Hypochondria. [60.]
• Liver evidently enlarged (after two days), 7.
• Tearing pain in the hypochondria, on inspiration, which are painful on touch as if bruised,

[A]

• General Abdomen.
• Abdomen swollen, tender, and painful, 9.
• Abdomen drawn in (after two days), 7.
• Constant burning and cutting in the abdomen, 6.
• Violent cutting in the abdomen, 5.
• Constant burning, cutting pain in the bowels, 6.
• Colic, 6.
• Violent colic, 10.

RECTUM AND ANUS

• [Bleeding of the hæmorrhoids for four days], 1 . [Repudiated by the reporter as caused by Cuprum. -Hughes.]

STOOL

• Diarrhœa. [70.]
• Diarrhœa, 1.
• Four pultaceous, greenish-yellow stools , without the least trace of blood (after half an hour), 7.
• Copious abdominal evacuations (after fifteen minutes), 8.
• Stool pultaceous, brown-red with streaks of blood, and tenesmus during stool (after two days), 7.
• Constipation.
• Constipation for several days, 1.

URINARY ORGANS

• Micturition.
• Urine scanty and containing much blood (after two days), 7.
• Diuresis scanty, containing blood, albumen, and some bilious pigment, 7.
• No urine secreted for twelve hours, 8.
• Urine.
• The scanty urine, passed per catheter, contained neither albumen nor blood, 7.

RESPIRATORY ORGANS

• Cough and Expectoration. [80.]
• Cough,

[A]

• Cough interrupting, and almost suppressing the respiration,

[A]

• Cough uninterrupted for half or a whole hour, or even lasting two hours, very early in the morning,

[A]

• Hacking cough that impedes respiration (on returning to consciousness),

[A]

• Hæmoptysis,

[A]

• Respiration.
• Rapid sobbing respiration,

[A]

• Breathing short and labored, 6.

CHEST

• Anxiety in the chest, 6.
• Painful contraction of the chest, especially after drinking,

[A] . ["Especially after drinking" is not found in the Fragmenta, but in the Chronic Diseases. -T. F. A.)

• A pressive pain in the chest,

[A]. [90.]

• Complains of oppression in the chest (after two days), 7.

HEART AND PULSE

• Heart's Action.
• Sounds of heart weak and limited; on the base of the heart a slight friction-sound (after two days), 7.
• Violent palpitation,

[A]

• Pulse.
• Pulse frequent (after two days); small, filiform (seventh day), 7.
• Pulse quick and small, 8.
• Pulse small, accelerated (after half an hour), 7.
• Pulse, 150 (after six days), 9.
• Pulse full and hard, 6.

NECK AND BACK

• Uneasiness between shoulders, 11.

SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES

• [Inflammation of the lymphatics from the hand to the shoulder, with great swelling of the hand], 3. [100.]
• [Pain in the axillary glands], 3.

INFERIOR EXTREMITIES

• Lower extremities flexed over abdomen (after two days), 7.

GENERAL SYMPTOMS

• Objective.
• Visible mucous membranes remarkably pale (after two days), 7.
• After having washed hands three or four times, water became blue from sulphate of copper absorbed into the system, 11.
• Frequent subsultus tendinum, 8.
• Lassitude,

[A]

• Debility increases (fifth and sixth days), 7.
• Patient feels very weak (after two days), 7.
• Was unable to hold the head erect, or stand upon the feet, for several days, 6.
• Exhaustion (after six days), 9. [110.]
• Patient dies, with all the symptoms of total collapse (seven day), 7.
• Restlessly throws himself about in bed (after two days), 7.
• During the night the patient was very restless, groaned, moaned, 7.
• Jactitation,

[A]

• Subjective.
• Sudden feeling as if going to faint, 11.

SKIN

• Objective.
• Skin pale (after half an hour), 7.
• General exsanguined state of the surface (after six days), 9.
• Skin of icteric color (after two days), 7.
• Eruptions.
• A kind of dry itch, 1 . [Occurred in the course of treatment, but no reason to suppose it caused by Cuprum. -Hughes.]
• Subjective.
• Considerable itchiness, 11.

FEVER

• Chilliness. [120.]
• Temperature of skin diminished (after two days), 7.
• Skin cold, 8.
• (Chilliness, with gnashing of the teeth), 1 . [In association with slight manifestations of the malady.]
• Shivering, 11.
• Extremities cold, with cyanotic nails (after half an hour), 7.
• Cold hands, 6.
• Coldness of the feet,

[A]

• Sweat.
• Cold sweat on forehead and extremities (seventh day), 7.

SUPPLEMENT: CUPRUM SULFURICUM. Authorities.

12 , Dr. D. B. Hillis, Chicago Med. Journ., vol. xxvii, 1870, p. 30, Miss W. R., æt. eighteen years, took two spoonfuls blue vitriol in brandy, recovery; ( 13 to 18 , E. W. Berridge, M.D., U. S. Med. Invest., New Ser., vol. iii, 1876, p. 282, with corrections by Dr. Berridge in a letter to the editor); 13 , Mrs. --- took 2 glob. 100, 000th (Fincke) at 8.45 A.M.; 14 , Mrs. --- took 10 drops 30th cent. in water at 5.55 P.M.; 15 , Mr. --- took same; 15 a , same, took 10 drops 3d cent. in water; 16 , Mr. --- took 30th without effect; then several doses of 3d cent; 17 , Mr. --- took 3d cent.; 18 , Mrs. --- took 2 glob. 100, 000th (Fincke); 19 , J. F. Home, Brit. Med. Journ., 1877 (2), p. 292, two children, æt. six and eight years, ate some wheat soaked in Sulphate of copper.

HEAD

• Intense pain in head (after five hours), 12.
• After rising from bed, pain like a tight narrow band all around head, on a level with upper part of forehead, and feeling as if top of head would come off; this lasted all day, varying in severity; worse on laughing or stooping; relieved by cold wind. It was accompanied by a desire to be quiet (after two days), 17. [130.]
• Shooting inward in temples at short intervals, the left being first affected, relieved by pressing temples with hands, and causing irritability of temper (after three hours and three-quarters), 14.
• Throbbing in left temple (after four hours and a quarter), 14.

MOUTH

• Awoke next morning with a metallic taste in the mouth, 15a.

STOMACH

• Sick feeling in stomach (after three hours and a quarter), 14.
• At 9 P.M., after sunset, directly after supper, nausea and once vomiting of food, with much straining; the nausea lasted all night (first day); nausea at times (second day); nausea in the morning (third day), 13.
• Obstinate vomiting, food being regurgitated back as soon as taken, of a blue or green color, 19.
• Complained of pains, especially in stomach, declaring she was "burning up" (after nine hours); anything like continued pressure on the epigastric region caused great suffering (after nine hours), 12.
• Cramps in stomach and bowels (after five hours), 12.

STOOL

• This morning diarrhœa as soon as she rose from bed, preceded and attended by griping, lasting all day, frequent (third day), 13.

HEART AND PULSE

• Feeling as if there were a throbbing lump in the heart internally; the beating of the heart seemed louder; this lasted five minutes, then went away gradually, 16. [140.]
• Pulse full, hard, and 120 per minute (after nine hours), 12.

INFERIOR EXTREMITIES

• Dull, aching soreness in middle of right tibia, felt when walking, not when at rest, with tenderness on pressure, 13.

GENERALITIES

• Convulsions (after five hours), 12.
• Severe clonic spasms of the jaws, arms, and legs (after nine hours), 12.

SKIN

• Sore pustule in left nose near tip and dorsum (fourth day), 13.

SLEEP

• Very restless; did not sleep till 3 or 4 A.M. (first night); slept better (second night), 13.

FEVER

• Heat beginning on dorsa of feet, first left , then right , then extending up anterior part of legs as far as knees; it lasted thirty minutes and then went off, leaving a sensation as if needles were pricking the parts, for five minutes (after two hours and five minutes), 14.
• All night there was coldness in and on the abdomen (both subjective and objective), and weight, and griping in abdomen; the abdomen was relieved by warmth (first day); abdominal symptoms at times (second day); all day the coldness and weight, but less (third and fourth days), 13.
• All night felt hot, except in abdomen (first day), 13.
• Coldness beginning in small of back, going all over body, then suddenly going into legs, first the left, then the right, with shivering, so that she sat near the fire; this lasted a few minutes (after two hours and a quarter), 14.