Cenchris Contortrix
Clarke - Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica · John Henry Clarke · 3,814 chars · source ↗
General
Cenchris Contortrix.
Ancistrodon contortrix. Copperhead snake of North America. N. O. Ophidians. Solution of venom.
Clinical
Amaurosis. Catarrh. Diarrhoea. Eyes, swelling over. Headache. Heart, affections of. Leucorrhoea. Menorrhagia. Nightmare. Ovary, pain in. Throat, affections of. Vulva, throbbing in; eruption on.
Characteristics
Cenchris has the main features of all the serpent poisons: Coma; semi-consciousness; insensibility of cornea; swelling of upper lip; general swelling; paralysis; cold, clammy sweat. Distinctive symptoms are: a marked alternation of moods; and dreamy absent-mindedness. The dreams of Cenchris are very vivid and horrible, cannot be shaken off during waking hours; often lascivious. Swelling above eyes, below brow, like an over-hanging bag of waters.
Diarrhoea has been cured having the following characters: "Pain before stool; stool papescent cold but not chilly." Yellow Leucorrhoea; pain in right ovary herpetic eruption on labia. Hard, dry tickling cough, < 3 p.m. Restlessness and sense of suffocation; palpitation; sensation of dying. Must lie with head drawn back, she chokes so.
Tight clothing unbearable. Chill or fever beginning in afternoon. Feeling as if whole body were enlarged to bursting; < in region of heart.
"Awoke with throbbing in vulva and anus, followed by a dull aching in the sacral region, > by walking about." Symptoms < lying down; < afternoon; < evening and all night; < on waking.
Relations
Laches. is nearest, but affects left ovary more than right; Cench. has difficult empty swallowing with easy swallowing of solids and liquids; Lach. can swallow solids but not liquids; Crotal. (lost sense of position and direction); Crocus (alternating moods); Kali c. (swelling of upper lids). Antidoted by: Cham. (internal haemorrhage); Am. c. (general symptoms). Antidote to: Puls.
Mind
Memory lost
Lethargy
Anxiety, feels she will die suddenly
Alternating moods
Dreamy, absent-minded
Took the wrong car without realising where she was going
When riding in the car rode past the place she intended to get off at
Suspicious, thinks her husband is going to put her in an insane asylum; every day, 3 to 8 p.m., for ten days, yet she knew it was a delusion.
Head
Hard aching pain, commencing l. frontal eminence, spreading down l. side to teeth, thence to r. frontal eminence, then to teeth r. side.
Eyes
Swelling like bags over eyes and under brows
Aching and itching in eyes; dim vision, redness of margins and twitching
L. eye waters; from concussive cough.
Nose
Catarrh; scabs; obstruction.
Face
Expression bloated, besotted
Face sallow
Burning face
Blue circles round eyes.
Throat
Accumulation of mucus; glossy, thick, tough
Difficult empty swallowing, but easy swallowing of solids and liquids
Warm drinks grateful.
Stomach
Nausea > by ice; < by water which = vomiting.
Abdomen
Intolerance of tight clothing.
Stool
Diarrhoea early in morning, on, waking.—Stool, gushing, frequent, watery, at first without pain; after several hours, great pain before the motions.
Male Sexual Organs
Violent sexual desire.
Female Sexual Organs
Increased desire
Yellow leucorrhoea
Pain in r. ovary
Herpetic eruption on labia
Menstrual flow very profuse; light with dark clots.
Heart
Feels as if heart were distended, or swelled to fill the whole chest
Strongly conscious of heart
Hard aching and sudden sharp stitching in heart
Throbbing or fluttering under l. scapula
At 3 p.m. sensation of fluttering followed by feeling that heart fell down into abdomen; then pulse became feeble, with heat lasting until after midnight.
Respiratory Organs
Hard, dry, tickling cough, < 3 p.m., even causing escape of urine.
Fever
Chill or fever beginning in afternoon.