Lachnanthes tinctoria

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(Spirit-weed.)

Botanical, Description. — Perianth woolly outside; six-parted down to> the adherent ovary. Stamens three, opposite the three larger or inner divisions; filaments long, exserted; anthers linear, fixed by the middle. Sty<,e thread-like, exserted, declined; pod globular; seeds few on each fleshy placenta, flat and rounded, fixed by the middle. Herb with a red, fibrous, perennial root, equitant, sword-shaped leaves, clustered at the base and scattered on the stem, which is hairy at the top and terminated by a dense compound cyme of dingy yellow and loosely woolly flowers. Grows chiefly in sandy swamps, southward near the coast, but has been seen in Rhode Island and New Jersey.

Officinal Preparations. — Tincture of the leaves and root; dilutions.

Analogues. — yEthusa, Agaricus, Belladonna, Cicuta, Crotalus, Cimicifuga, Cannabis indica, Gelseminum, Glonoine, Gymnocladus, Hyosciamuss Lachesis, Opium, Platina, Phosphorus, Sanguinaria, Stramonium.

Mental Sphere.

Ill-humored, and sleepy, whining mood, with the headache. Great loquacity, afterwards stupid and irritable. ° Delirium during pneumonia, with circumscribed red cheeks, worse from one to two a. m.

Head.

Giddiness in the head, with sensation of heat in the chest and around the heart.

Sensation as if the vertex was enlarged and was driven upwards.

Headache pressing the eyes outward {Sepia, Cimicifuga).

Head feels enlarged, and as if split open with a wedge from the outside to within; the body is icy cold, she cannot get warm; the whole face becomes yellow; the head burns like tire, with much thirst; during the cold sensation the face is moist and sticks.

Tearing in the forehead, from left to right.

A continuous stitch in the left forehead from within to without, leaves after a few minutes a pressing pain, and extends over the whole forehead, pressing from within outwards.

Sensation as if the hair was standing on end, with soreness of scalp.

Eyes.

Obscuration of sight, if he looks on anything fixedly he sees

gray fixed rings. While reading in the forenoon, a large yellow spot as large as

a hand on the paper, which follows as he reads. Looking at an object for some time, it becomes dark before his

eyes. {Gels., Calabar, Chloral.) Pupils very much enlarged, with brilliant eyes. If he suddenly moves his head it becomes dark before his eyes.

{Gels.)

° Brilliant eyes, red face, and delirium during pneumonia. Compression of the left eyeball from below upwards. Pressing in the eyes, with secretion of white mucus. When closing the eyes the upper eyelids twitch visibly; when

he closes them tight it grows worse. Redness on the left upper eyelid, covered with little vesicles;

they itch a great deal.

Ears.

Tearing in the left ear, and in the right (frequent symptom).

Crawling sensation in the ears.

0 Almost complete deafness, in pneumonia nervosa.

Nose.

Nose bleeds profusely — blood pale.

Face.

Tearing pressure in the left cheek, toward the eye, as if the eye should be pressed out.

Tearing from the right side of forehead into the cheek.

° Circumscribed redness of the face in the morning, with violent delirium and brilliant eyes in pneumonia nervosa. Mouth.

Pain in all the teeth from warm drinks.

Sensation as if the upper incisors and eye-teeth have broken loose, with sensation of soreness, worse when touching them with the tongue and when closing them.

All the teeth pain, feel loose and too long, worse in bed.

Saliva of tough mucus.

Throat.

Roughness and swelling, with pricking when swallowing; continually increasing dryness of the throat, with sleeplessness, followed by hoarseness.

0 Great dryness in the throat, especially on awakening during the night, with much coughing (in a patient who had an ulcerated sore throat).

0 Sore throat, with short cough.

0 Diphtheria, with stiffness of the neck; head drawn to one side. Appetite and Taste.

Aversion to meat.

The headache in the forehead is better after supper.

Stomach.

Rising of sweetish water, with nausea. Sudden sensation of squalmishness in the stomach. Fullness in the pit of the stomach, with borborygmus.

Abdomen.

Twirling and twisting sensation in the upper part of the abdomen.

Fermentation and rumbling in the abdomen almost constant. 0 Much flatulency in the abdomen during pneumonia nervosa. Cutting in the upper part of the abdomen, from the left to the right side.

Cutting in the right side of the abdomen. Sensation of heat through the abdomen ; feels as if the bowels would be moved.

Stool and Anus.

Frequent desire to evacuate, without result.

Evacuation as usual, but with much discharge of flatulency

and purging; after the passage the sensation of heat in

the abdomen becomes less. Continuous stitch in the anus.

Urinary Organs. Pressing on the bladder when urinating.

Generative Organs. (Male.) Violent burning, tingling and itching of the scrotum

and around it. Perspiration and itching of the scrotum and penis.

Larynx and Trachea. ° Hoarseness; dry cough from irritation of the throat, worse in bed.

Burning in the right side of the larynx.

Chest.

° Cough dry as if it came from the larynx; expectoration is streaked with blood, with severe pain in the chest, in pneumonia nervosa.

When inhaling, deep pressing pain under the short ribs near the spine.

Stitches like knives in the region of the left clavicle, previously stitches like knives in the right chest.

She feels hot and oppressed in the chest, with mild perspiration all over.

Heart.

Stitches like knives following one another in quick succession in the right side of the chest, below the mammre, while at rest and when moving:.

Boiling and bubbling in the chest and region of the heart; it

rises to the head and he becomes giddy; he breaks out with a prespi ration. Sensation of heat in the region of the heart, going and coming.

Back.

Sensation as if sprained in the neck when turning or moving

the head backwards. Pressing pain under the short ribs near the right side of the

spine, deep inside when taking a deep inspiration. Burning in the region of the left kidney, deep, extending

toward the right side. Burning in the sacrum and immediately above. Stinging, as from the sting of a bee, on the inner corner of left

shoulder-blade. Stiffness of the neck following a pain in the occiput. Sensation of pain and stiffness of the neck, which extends over

the whole head down to the nose. ° Wry neck, especially in diptheria. (Lippe.)

Upper Extremities. Tearing in the upper part of the arm, beginning at the elbow

joint and running up into the shoulder. Tearing in both elbow joints, at times upwards and then downwards, frequently through the whole day. * Burning of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Tearing in the knuckles of the middle fingers of the right hand.

Lower Extremities. Tearing in the right ischium.

Small pimples around the left gluteus muscle, which discharge a watery fluid when they are scratched open.

[tching, burning, stinging inside of the right thigh.

Burning, stinging pain above the left knee.

Burning and pressing on the right knee, which becomes red as scarlet.

Tingling in the lower extremities and feet.

Cramps in the calves of the legs and feet.

Tearing in the right big toe awaking him from his sleep.

Twitching of the muscles in various parts of the body.

[The hogs (except the black ones) which eat the roots and leaves of this plant, lose their hoofs, which fall off (from ulceration?) {Darwin.)]

Sleep.

Restless sleep at night, with disturbed dreams, followed by perspiration.

Sleeplessness, with continually increasing dryness of the throat.

• In the night, in bed, short cough, with sore throat, followed

by coryza.

Awakens at 2 a. m. with a cramp pain in his breast, extending from the right to the left side.

Fever.

Icy coldness of the body; skin is cold, damp and clammy during the coldness. Flushes of heat alternating with chilliness.

• Burning heat, with redness of the face, more on the right

side, followed by circumscribed redness of the cheeks. Evening fever, worse from 6 to 12, with redness of the face. ° Fever, with delirium, circumscribed redness of the cheeks,

and brilliant eyes in pneumonia. Pulse 74, some beats fast, some slow. 0 Pulse 110, small, thin, hard (pneumonia). 0 Perspiration, with dizziness in the head and boiling and

bubbling in the cheeks and region of the heart. 0 Pneumonia nervosa and typhus fever.

Volume II — Special Therapeutics

This remedy was introduced to the profession several years ago, but I do not remember to have seen any clinical reports of its use in disease since the publication of my “ New Remedies.”

I have not used it myself, for the good reason that I have never been able to procure any. In fact, the first and only vial of the tincture I have ever seen is the one before you, and this was lately sent in to our Materia Medica Museum by one of the Chicago pharmacies.

Judged by the provings, its sphere of action is similar to that of Agaricus, Belladonna, Hyoscyamus, Lachesis, Solanum, and other cerebral stimulants.

It causes a headache , which resembles that of Cimicifuga, Sepia, and Belladonna.

One physician claims that he found it beneficial in ameliorating the delirium occurring during pneumonia, and which was worse during an exacerbation of the fever at two p.m.

“ The eye symptoms are peculiar and should attract the attention of the oculist.” It has a symptom similar, yet differing from, Gels., Calabar, and Chloral, namely, “ On looking at an object for some time, it becomes dark.” The three remedies above named — also Coca — have the same defect of vision, only “ things look white” It has another symptom : “ A yellow spot before the eyes,” which resembles the symptoms found in Phos. ac., Bell., Canth., Dig., Hyos., Sep., Amyl, and a few others.

It has been used in diphtheria, and cured a case which had, as an accompanying symptom, “ stiff neck — it was drawn to one side.” This is a common symptom in diphtheria, ulcerated throat, and after scarlet fever, but I do not believe Lachnanthes would cure every such case, because it is not a drug whose action is penetrating enough to become a similimum to true diphtheria.

There are some mild cases of cerebro-spinal congestion in which we might try the Lachnanthes, for, besides the “ wry-neck,” it has “stiffness of the neck, following pain in the occiput; the stiffness extends over the whole head.” This, together with its power of causing cerebral congestion, would make it indicated in the milder types of brain fever, or meningitis.

The naturalist Darwin mentions a curious fact, that white hogs which eat the roots and leaves lose their hoofs, while the black ones are unaffected !

Is it possible that it might be useful in falling off of the toenails of white men and not of black ?

It would be interesting to know the pathological state which causes the hoofs to fall off. Ustilago has this symptom also.

If any physician or student of medicine in the South should observe this toxic effect of the Red root, I hope he will take notes and report the facts.