Caladium seguinum

Volume I — Main text

CALADIUM.

CalaSum tigulnumf Vert. (Arum itguinum, L.). Dumb-cafle. Kat. Ord., df^aa*

L Frovings.^i, a Hering proved i»ingle dosrs of 4 dr. or more of tinct. Soon after ingestion* or during d., appeared following symptoms i — He must lie down and close eyes, feeling then as if being rocJced (4 \J) ; confu-sion and whirling in bead; pressive headache after midday sleep, or after lying on side^ going ofl' on twitting uj) j neat ascends from below into head; biting, burning stitches in cheek; bummg in eyes} something seems put before ears which makes him deaf} extremely scn!»it»v^ to noise, especially when he wishes to ^leep ; mouth sticky and berby {kranttrig) ^ drawing through back teeth, from above downwards; dryness in fauces and phar)-n]r4 not in mouth, without I hirst, with aversion to cold water (which he was not able 10 ilriiik throughout proving) \ longing for beer, without decided thirst \ after mtaU he drank only to relieve a sense of dryness in stomach, there was no real thirst, whicJi, indeedf he never felt ; he eats also only because stomach seems hollow (not because hungry), and then hastily and with speedy satiety ; frequent eructations of very little wind, as if stomach were full of dry food ; incomplete eructations, hindered by burning pressure in abdomen ; nausea, with confusion in head j burning in stomach after tea and chocolate drinking, not relieved by water ; dull interaal burning iiv fftomach and upper abdomen,* which then becomes a very severe pressure, and finally a gnawing at cardiac orifice, hindering deep breathing and causing cough ; pain deep within when pressing on epigastrium \ cuttings, as with glas, across epigastrium j stitches as with needles deep in epigastrium j stitches in scrobiculu» cordis, which is drawn inwards at every one, they make him faint and sick (worse when sitting) j strong pulsations in upper abdomen and above navel to r. ; ahdomeo pains when touched, especially in hypogastric region; sudden twiting pain in abdomen (e,) 1 spasmodic cuttings about navel, obliging him to bend double ; stitches, jerking, and pressure in splenic region ; very scanty pappy stool ; 7 motions, the first watery, the rest pappy; no motion ist d., with diarrhoric feeling in c, j region o( bladder painful } bladder feels full without desire to micturate, then mode rate urination ; spasmodic drawing sideways, from bladder lo penis, or deep behind and close to bladder ; sexual organs seem larger, as if puffed, relaxed, and sweating ; penis remains relaxed during excitement and sexual desire, or undergoes incomnlete erection, semen escaping too soon — former alternates one m* with painful ervctions, without sexual desire; during connection, no orgasm and no emission^ sore corrosive pain on prepuce \ after coition it remains drawn back, will not cover glans, with pain and swelling ^ it is swollen, sore on margin, with biting on urinating, obliein^ him to rub it frequently ; glans is very red, covered with fine and still redder points, and very dry (after 2nd d.). The symptoms of prepuce soon disappear after mere. 6, but return after coition for two months.

b. Sudden burning in upper nares, as from pepper, then sneezing and coryza (e«) ; irritative toneless cough in short slight paroxysms, with expectoration of small lumps of mucu*, after which chest seems hollow and empty; larynx and trachea seem constricted, so that de<"p breathing is hindered, and the attacks of cough seem to originate above larynx ; he would cough, but the weight at scrobiculus cordis* hinders it; throbbing in prarcordia after w;ilking, making him soon tired ; stitches on chest (e.), also on >imall spot between I. nipple and shoulder^ going very deep, but uninfluenced by motion or breathing; on straightening body, cracking under last ribs, as if put out of place and snapped back ag;iin ; under heart peculiar throbbing^ not palpitation, perceptible only when hand is applied; bruised feeling in sacrum

and ribs on rising in m. ; sudden violent pain in 1. knee, as if it would l)c torn asunder, it cracks on stepping, hindering walking ; frequent and sudden violent burning in small spots on skin, cheeks^ nose, toes, compelling him to touch thi-m ; eruption on inner forearm of large red pimples, itching and burning very much (4 d.) ; when this disappean, immediately great oppression of chest, so that he can hardly breathe, as if mucus would sutfocate him, but without anxietas, especially after meals and the midday sleep; the same eruption on chest, alternating with simil:^ dyspnoea for several weeks, — the <asthma'at last removed by ginger ; dislike to movement, wants to lie down whole time ; after writing or reflecting, and <m rising up after lying, feeling as if he would become faint ; drawing pains between bones of forearm and behind tendo Achillis ,* compelled to He down during d., but cannot sleep, shivers, and head is very confused ; in a confused sleep he remembers what he had forgotten while awake ; restless sleep, with confused dreams j very clear vivid dreams ; everything troubles him in sleep ; he groans and moans with much anguish in sleep, several times in i n., and for several n., so that he wakes his neighbours; violent starting in sleep $ cramp at n. in soles ; before midnight, heat of hands, face, and abdomen, with cold fetrt; after midnight, belly cold, feet hot, without thirst; thirst, with dry lips, wakes him at n. ; internal fever, exhausting sweat, as from oppressive heat ; fever goes off during sleep, but perspiration is so great as to attract flies annoyingly ; hard, jerking pulse (6 h.) ; after midday sleep, heat, then swear, and coldness on going into open air; chilly in e. without thirst, coldness extends from abdomen to fret, which, and the fingers, are icy cold ; apprehensiveness before going to sleep ; violent irritation at everything. {Archi*v^ xi,-2, 160.)

1. CowPERTHWAiTE. [This physician, having undertaken a proving of the drug for the American Institute of Homoeopathy, caused ao provers to take the 30, diL Of these only 3 reported symptoms. He next caused 15 provers to take the 6x, ■ and at the same time 15 others to take the 3X : of the former, 9 reported effects, of the latter 7. He then instituted provings with the mother tincture, ao provers taking doses varying from 10 to 1000 drops, but obtaining no effects whatever, not a single sjrmptom having been reported. Dr. Farrington also administered the drug ([manner not stated) to 25 provers, but 6 only (mostly taking the 6x) reported satisfactorily. The result is -a schema of 144 symptoms.

In view of the inertness here of even large doses of the mother tincture, as contrasted with the effects ascribed to half-drop doses of it by Hering, and especially ^ith the extreme acridity of the plant as displayed in poisonings by it, we are compelled to doubt the genuineness of the specimen employed in these« provings. Dr. Cowperthwaite, indeed, tells us that he obtained expressly for them a supply of the fresh bark and leaves from Jamaica; but the ineffectiveness of what was sent Bcmains. Under this grave suspicion, and in the absence of test experiments to determine whether the symptoms ascribed to the dilutions were really produced by them, we must, for the present at least, refrain from admitting them to our pages. — Ed8.J (Trans, ofAmer. iMst. of Horn, for 1 8 8 1 , p. 1 46.)

If. Pouommgf. — I. Dr. E. Chairon was caAeti one night to see a stove-setter. He by in bed in a state of extreme excitement, breathing oppressed, grasped frequently at his throat. Ccmstant cough of hoarse sound. The cough was nut in fits, no expectoration, and was aggravated every time he attempted to speak. On asking him where he suffered he always pointed to his larynx, then to his mouth, and lastly to his stomach. He could not speak a single word. Pulse 72, regular; breathing quick, incompletely jerking. When inspiring the sinklng-in of stomach region was very obvious; abdomen hard, distended, painful when pressed. M.m. of mouth very red, but not swollen, velum palati more intensely red, uvula slightly swollen. Epiglottis and its lateral folds swollen and very sensitive to touch. This state lasted 36 h.; then the cough gradually subsided and he could speak a few words, but his voice did not resume its tone for 3 to 4 d., and the feeling of burning in mouth and fauces lasted longer. He had eaten a radish rubbed with root of Caladium. [It seems to be commonly known that a trick of this kind will cause subject to lose voice.] (VUmoM MAi.9 186a, xvi, 538.)

a. Two children ate a few pieces of stalk. They had delirium, occasional tendency to stupor, from which they would rouse up, cry, and talk incoherently, then perhaps drop off into stupor again ; intense headache ; eyes injected and watering ; hct flushed scarlet ; lips swollen to even three times normal size ; mucous membrane

of mouth and fauces greatly inflamed, saliva flowing profusely, with choking sensation and desire to swallow, which could only be accomplished with difficulty; saliva as it poured from mouth copiously streaked with blood; difficult articulation^ patients talked as if they had filled their months with mush ; intense burning pain in stomach, with frequent retching, but no vomiting; breathing laboured. iireguW, and quickened; jactitation of limbs; pulse lao, very weak; temp. 103^. (J. C. BiSHor» M.D., T/t£ dime, vii, 306 i trom Allen.)

1. Mother of above ate a stalk about one inch long, said **hcr throat wanted t© shut up, and telt as though ten thous^and needles were sticking into it ;" pain kept shooting up towards cars ; burning and intense pain in stomach. {Ibid,)