Boletus laricis

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(Larch Agaric.)

Description. — This is a fungus, nourished on the Abies Excelsa tree. The hymenium is concrete, with the substance or the pileus, consisting of sub-rotund pores, with their simple dissepiments.

It is acrid, irritating mucous surfaces with which it comes in contact.

Officinal Preparations. — Tincture or trituration of the fungus.

Analogues. — Agaricus, Bryonia, China, Cornus, Gelseminvm, Ipecacuanha, Nux vomica, Podophyllum.

[This is a fungus growing on the Larch tree, in all countries. It was formerly called Boletus. These symptoms are taken from Dr. Burt's Monograph, 1868.— Hale.]

Mind.

Low spirited, gloomy, desponding, irritable. Absence of mind and loss of memory.

Head.

• Headache, dull, frontal, with fever.

Head feels light and hollow, with deep, frontal headache and faintness.

° Sick headache, from organic lesion of the liver. {Burt.) ° Periodical headache. {Shepherd.)

Tight feeling in the forehead, and headache in temples all day.

Face.

0 Facial neuralgia, of a periodical character. ( Wakeman.) ° Intermittent prosopalgia — a burning pain in all the upper

teeth, left jaw and temple, commencing at twelve m., and

lasting till midnight. {Burt.)

Mouth and Throat.

• Bitter, nauseous taste in the mouth.

• Not much thirst.

• Tongue coated white or yellow. Rawness and scraping in the throat.

Gastric Symptoms. Is ausea and sometimes vomiting of bile. Bilious temperaments; sickness of stomach; coldness of stomach.

In evening, feeling as of lump in stomach. Burning distress in region of stomach.

Abdomen.

More or less pains in the abdominal viscera, especially the liver.

• Intermittent diarrhoea or dysentery.

Bowels inclined to be torpid, or loose papescent mucus stools. Some uneasiness, and severe griping pains in bowels. Much flatus in bowels, and feeling as if diarrhoea would set in. Sensation as if diarrhoea would come on; then slight motion of the bowels.

Uneasiness of the abdomen, with looseness of the bowels. ° Has a decided curative action in hepatic complaints, espe dally jaundice. (Burt.)

Urine.

Urine thick and high-colored, or red and scanty. Profuse flow of urine; constant desire to urinate.

Stool and Anus. Loose, papescent stools, without pain.

Stools of pure mucus, or mucus and blood, and bile, with great faintness and distress in the solar plexus, after stools from portal congestion.

*Lienteria; stools undigested.

Loose, yellow stool, with pain afterwards. Desire for stool, with much flatulence. Copious fluid stool, expelled with force. 0 Chronic dysentery and diarrhoea. (JJolcombe, Wood, Burt.) Fever and Chills.

• Chill alternates with the fever several times a day.

• Intermissions very short; almost continued fever.

• Chill, light and short; fever, long, followed by slight perspiration.

Hectic chills and fever, in consumptives.

• Very restless all night, with fever and aching distress in the

large joints.

• Chilliness along the spine, with frequent hot flashes of fever. Fever all one afternoon and night.

• Skin hot and dry, especially the palms of the hands. Awoke at midnight, two different nights, in a profuse perspiration.

Disposition to yawn and stretch when chilly.

Slight chilliness creeps up the hack, to the nape of the neck, most noticeable between the shoulders.

This was succeeded by a general feeling of chilliness, lasting for several minutes.

0 Intermittent, remittent and bilious fevers. (Burt.)

Back and Loins.

Great languor, with severe aching pains in the large joints and bones of 4the back and legs.

Great aching distress in all the large joints.

Severe backache; back is very stiff, can hardly rise after sitting down a few moments.

Volume II — Special Therapeutics

This remedy is prepared from a fungus found growing on the Larch tree in all countries. It was formerly called Boletus laricis. It grows in masses, varying from the size of an apple to that of a large nutmeg melon.

It contains 72 per cent, of a resinous matter, some Benzoic acid, and various saline compounds. The Indians of the Rocky Mountains use it habitually as a purge. It requires twenty or thirty grains to act as a cathartic. Forty grains in divided doses, taken in twenty-four hours, is said to check the nightsweats of consumptives.

Dr. Burt collected the provings — one of which was made by the late Professor F. A. Lord — and published them, together with clinical cases, in the form of a monograph.

The chief reputation of this medicine has been gained in the treatment of obstinate intermittent fevers, or those agues which have been aggravated by exposures and neglect, or abuse of Quinine.

Dr. Lord reported many cases of ague, all previously drugged with Quinine, which were promptly cured by Polyporus. He also reported a few cases of ague which had not been subjected to any treatment. Some were benefited by the remedy ; in others no apparent effect was observed. He incidentally remarks, that in one case it had no other effect than to remove a jaundice.

Many other physicians in the West communicated the results of their use of this fungus in malarial fevers. A large amount of testimony was collected both for and against its value. Some were quite enthusiastic, and believed it would rival Quinine; others thought they had found an ague-specific at last. Many claimed to have tested it thoroughly during a year or more, and found it wanting in any curative powers. Others, still, found it to act finely in one epidemic and fail in the next.

Such was Dr. Burt’s own experience as well as my own.

I quote Dr. Burt’s clinical results, also his opinion as to its sphere of action. His views correspond very nearly to my own. He says :

The first six months I commenced using the Polyporus I had universal success with it. Gave the remedy in more than one hundred cases, with but five failures. The cases where it failed were four of them tertian type, one quotidian, a desperate case, that tried me three months. Could only suppress it for one or two weeks at best, when it would return again. Last fall, when intermittent fever became an epidemic, and raged almost everywhere, my Polyporus commenced failing me. I could not cure more than one case out of five. I finally abandoned its use altogether for three months, then I commenced using it again with the same universal success that I had at first. I am using the remedy now with the best results.

The cases that the Polyporus will give us the best satisfaction in are those of long standing, that have been thoroughly saturated with Quinine and all kinds of remedies ; where there is more or less disorder of the liver and abdominal viscera, with anaemia ; sallow, jaundiced appearance of the skin ; the bowels loose or torpid ; but does better if the bowels are costive. Type, quotidian or tertian ; acts better in quotidians. During the apyrexia the patient is far from being well ; has headache ; bitter taste in the mouth ; tongue coated white or yellow, or may be anaemic ; loss of appetite ; more or less pains in the abdominal viscera, and especially the liver. Is very languid ; may or may not perspire after the paroxysm ; if he perspires very profusely it is rather against the remedy. Also, I have noticed in those cases where the patient perspires a good deal during the fever, the Polyporus will have but little, if any, effect upon the disease. If the food passes the patient undigested, the Polyporus is strongly called for,

and will cure the lientery like magic. Those cases where the patient seems to have almost continued fever, the intermissions are very short, can hardly be noticed, the fever is not very high, the remedy in my hands has acted like a charm. In acute cases I have had the best results with the remedy in quotidians, where the fever lasted a long time — might almost be called a remittent fever; during the apyrexia the patient feels very ill, with loss of appetite or canine hunger ; has more or less gastric symptoms, with dull headache and great languor. During the paroxysm has more or less gastric symptoms ; may or may not vomit; has severe headache, with pains in the back and limbs. The chill is generally light and short, the fever of long duration, and followed by perspiration, but not profusely ; may or may not want water during the chill and fever, but not during the sweat ; never craves water intensely during the paroxysm, like they do in fevers that call for Arsenicum. If the patient has a hard chill, strong fever, and profuse perspiration, has no gastric symptoms, and gets up as soon as the sweat is over, feeling well, the Polyporus will not cure him, at least that is my experience. In sporadic cases, the type may be quotidian or tertian, but better in quotidians, the remedy will be found to be one of the best now known to the profession, ranking equally with Quinine. But when intermittent fever becomes epidemic, and rages over large sections of the country, the Polyporus cannot be depended upon. If the patient is more or less jaundiced, it is a good indication for the Polyporus. Also, I have noticed that in consumptive patients the remedy will cure almost every form of intermittent fever that they may have. If the patient has a bilious temperament, it is a strong indication for its use. I have given it with excellent success in double quotidians. I think that the remedy will act better if the paroxysm comes on in the forepart of the day ; if it comes on in the evening or at night I have not had such good results from its use. Acts best in the spring, summer, and winter ; acts poorly during the fall.

As we might expect from the nature of the medicine, it has cured many cases of ‘periodical headache, appearing at a regular hour every day ; also cases of prosopalgia of an intermittent character.

One physician reported a case of “ bilious sick-headache,” in a woman past the climacteric, cured by drop doses of the mother tincture.

Dr. Burt believes that its effects upon the liver are similar to those produced by Leptandra. He says he has given it in many cases of jaundice with good results.

The enteric symptoms of Polyporus give a very good picture of malarial epidemic diarrhoea and dysentery. It has been found successful in such cases by Drs. Holcombe, Wood, and others. Even in chronic cases it has been used advantageously. You will find that diarrhoea and dysentery of an intractable character often

attend epidemics of ague. Sometimes the ague-paroxysm, i. e., the chill, fever, and sweat, are replaced by intermittent or remittent attacks of diarrhoea or dysentery. In such cases no remedy will prove of any service unless it corresponds to the antimalarial genius of the malady, and possesses antiperiodic powers. Often have I had the most brilliant success with China, Quinine, Arsenicum, and Gelseminum when the ordinary remedies failed. They were only indicated by the periodical appearance of the symptoms, not the special ones, the stool, pain, etc. The periodicity of the disease is often masked, and will require your closest scrutiny to discern it. When you do, treat it as you would any ague. In this form of disease the Polyporus has made many excellent cures.

The presence of Benzoic acid in the Polyporus may give it some power over urinary and rheumatic affections.