Digitalis Purpurea
Digitalis · Clarke - Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica · John Henry Clarke · 19,520 chars · source ↗
General
Digitalis.
Digitalis purpurea. Fox-glove. N. O. Scrophulariaceae. Tincture from the leaves of the second year of the plant.
Clinical
Amaurosis. Angina pectoris. Asthma. Bright's disease. Cyanosis. Delirium tremens. Dropsy.
Fever
Gonorrhoea.
Headache.
Heart, affections of.
Hydrocele.
Hydrocephalus.
Impotence.
Jaundice.
Lungs, congestion of.
Memory lost.
Meningitis.
Noises in head.
Paraphimosis.
Prostate, enlarged.
Ptyalism.
Spermatorrhoea.
Toothache.
Urinary disorders.
Vision, disorders of.
Characteristics
There are three main symptoms in the Digitalis pathogenesis which should be borne in mind: (1) Slow, weak, irregular and intermittent pulse. (2) Enlarged, sore, painful liver. (3) White, pasty stools. Along with these is prostration from slight exertion.
The mental condition is: anxious; low-spirited; tearful, wants to be alone; tries to escape if others force themselves on her. Anxiety as if conscience-troubled. "Anxious and concentrated sadness, with sleeplessness at night, owing to pains at the heart: for instance, from unhappy love, especially in women of brown complexions, firm and obstinate dispositions. In such cases far preferable to Ignatia" (Teste).
Teste classes Digit. with Bryonia and Ignatia. The stomach symptoms (from portal engorgement) are nausea and vomiting; the mere sight or smell of food excites violent nausea, with clean tongue, thirst for water, absence of fever; the complaints may come either from excessive venery or from high living. In old men there are: enlarged prostate; impotence; lascivious thoughts. Malcolm Macfarlan (H.
P., xiii. 490) reports Digit. having produced severe urethritis, phimosis, and strangury. He has cured with it many cases of gonorrhoea. Ballard cured a man of headache and dizziness originating probably in gonorrhoea suppressed several years before. He complained of feeling bad about the head after drinking, and this keynote symptom was elicited: "after drinking cold water the pain would seat itself in the forehead and extend down the nose." Delirium tremens in high livers, stomach and liver diseases with the mental state of the drug.
Nausea < from smell of food; not > by vomiting. The food eaten comes up by mouthfuls, cannot expectorate without vomiting. Every shock, like bad news strikes her in the epigastrium. Deathly sinking in the epigastrium.
The use of Digitalis as a remedy for pneumonia in the old school is well known. It has proved a very dangerous remedy, but it has been used by homoeopaths with very good effect in senile pneumonia (E. V. Ross., H.
P., xvii. 177). Ross regards the indications as being: "Dry cough with mucous râles and no expectoration or only 'prune-juice' expectoration; cyanosis, cold extremities; feeble, intermittent pulse deathly nausea or gone sensation at epigastrium." Restlessness with great nervous weakness. Lassitude, mental and bodily. Faintness.
Convulsions, with retraction of head, syncope, and collapse. Among the peculiar sensations of Digit. are: Sensation as if the heart would stand still if he moved, must hold the breath and keep still (Gels. has "must keep moving or the heart would stop.") As if the brain were loose; as if something fell forward in the head on stooping; as if the brain were made of fine glass and shattered at a blow; as if something were running out of urethra; as of a weight attached to stomach; as if the internal parts were grown together.
As if the lungs were constricted and tied up in bundles. As if heart stood still; as if heart had torn itself loose and were swaying to and fro by a thin thread; as if the stomach would sink into abdomen. Terrible pain at root of nose after vomiting.
Discharged blood coagulates slowly or not at all. Distended veins in eyes, ears, lips, and tongue. Blue skin. Digitalis is suited to the climacteric period: sudden flushes of heat followed by great debility; least motion = palpitation.
Nervous lymphatic constitutions. Children with very white complexions, light hair, scrofulous. Most symptoms are < at night or on waking in the morning. Symptoms are > when stomach is empty;
< after meals; from cold diet; after drinking (anything); < from spirituous liquors. Motion < most symptoms and may = fatal collapse. < From being raised up in bed.
< From touch or pressure. Great sensitiveness to cold air; cold weather; changes of weather; cold food; cold drinks; all of which <. Getting heated < cough. In a room, lachrymation is <.
With fear of suffocation there is desire for open air, and the symptoms of catarrh are > in open air. < From music; sadness from music.
Relations
Antidoted by: Vegetable acids, Vinegar, infusion of galls, Ether, Camphor, Serpentaria. It antidotes: Wine, Myrica cerif. (Jaundice). Compatible: Bell., Bry., Cham., Chi., Lyc., Nux, Op., Phos., Puls., Sep., Sul., Verat.
Incompatible: Chin. (increases the anxiety); Spirit. nitros. dulcis. Compare: Acon.
(anxiety), Ant. t. (deathly nausea), Apocy., Arsen., Bell., Bry., Camph., Chi., Con., Zn., Kalm., Lach. (sleep), Lobel., Lycopus, Crataegus (weak heart), Nat. m., (frequent and intermittent pulse), Phos. (genital symptoms), Spi., Sul., Tabac.
(deathly nausea), Verat. In gonorrhoea, Sul. (prepuce indurated; Dig., puffed, infiltrated with serum); paraphimosis, Coloc.
Palpitation with diarrhoea, Ant. t. Act on base of brain, Lob., Tab. One hand cold, the other hot, Chi., Pul., Ip., Mosch. Fainting before stool, Sul.
(after stool, Nux, Crot. t.). Food eaten comes up by mouthfuls, Fer., Pho. Every shock strikes in pit of stomach, Pho., Mez., Kali c., Calc. Cracking in head, Alo.
Headache extending into nose, Diosc.
Causation
High living. Sexual abuse, or sexual excess. Alcohol.
Mind
Extreme anguish, esp. in the evening, with disposition to weep and great fear of the future
Gloomy and peevish
Indisposed to speak; inclination to lassitude
Remorse
Tearful moroseness; with sensation of internal uneasiness
Indifference
Great love of labour
Weakness of memory
Nocturnal delirium and agitation
Sadness from music.
Head
Dizziness
Vertigo with trembling
Dulness of the head, with limited power of thinking
Jerking pressure in the head, esp. during intellectual labour
Pressure in the forehead, from mental exertion
Tension in the forehead on turning the eyes
Tearing in temples and sides of the head
Shootings in the temples and in the forehead, sometimes extending to the point of the nose, esp. after drinking anything cold
Stitches in the temples (evening and night)
Itching in the brain, on one side of the head only
Sensation on stooping, as if the brain were falling forwards
Undulations in the brain, as if it contained water, with confusion in the head.—(Hydrocephalus; sensation as if waves or water were beating on the skull;
< while standing, talking, shaking the head and bending the head backward, > when lying down or bending the head forward.)
Swelling of the head
The head is constantly inclined backwards
Sudden cracking in the head (during a siesta) with starting, as in a fright.
Eyes
Aching in the eyes, greatly augmented by the touch
Burning pain and pressure above the eyes, with confused sight
Burning pain in the r. eyebrow
Shootings in the eyes
Inflammatory redness of the conjunctiva and of the eyelids, with swelling, and sensation as if sand were introduced into the eyes
Blueness of the eyelids
Inflammation of the meibomian glands
Smarting lachrymation, increased by a bright light, and by cold air
Agglutination of the eyelids, with copious secretion of mucus (in the morning)
Disposition of the eyes to turn sideways
Pupils insensible and dilated
Sight confused, as if directed through a mist
Obscuration of the sight and complete blindness, as from amaurosis
Opacity of the crystalline lens
Painless obscuration of the lens
Illusion of the sight
Phantoms, visions, and the colours of the rainbow before the eyes
Dark bodies, like flies, hover before the eyes
Objects appear green or yellow
Sparks before the eyes
Diplopia.
Ears
Hissing before the ears, like boiling water (with hardness of hearing)
Single stitches behind the ears
Otalgia, with tensive and contractive pains in the ears
Swelling of the parotids, and behind the ear.
Nose
Pain above the root of the nose.—Coryza, with hoarseness.
Face
Paleness of the face (bluish hue under the pale skin.)
Blue colour of the lips and eyelids
Convulsions on one (l.) side of the face
Cramp-like and drawing pains in the cheek-bones
Swelling of the cheek, with pain on being touched
Eruptions, with gnawing itching in the cheeks and in the chin
Pores of the face black and suppurating
Bluish swelling of the lips
Eruptions on the lips
Dryness of the lips.
8, 9.
Mouth and Throat
Roughness, excoriation and scraping in the mouth and throat, with clammy taste
Sweetish and fetid saliva
Profuse flow of frothy saliva compelling to spit all the time
Salivation with excoriation of the tongue, and of the gums
Bluish tongue
Swelling of the tongue
Ulcer on the tongue
Tongue loaded with white mucus (morning)
Stinging in throat between acts of swallowing
Peculiar sensation in fauces as if walls of pharynx swollen, or as if they were constricted by swelling of tonsils
Spasmodic constriction of throat
Sore pain on swallowing.
Appetite
Sweetish taste, esp. after smoking tobacco, sometimes with constant accumulation of saliva in the mouth
Bitterness in the mouth
Clammy taste
Bitter taste of bread
Want of appetite, sometimes even with a clean tongue
Continuous thirst, with dry lips
Thirst esp. for acid drinks
Gulping up of an acrid or tasteless fluid
Great appetency for bitter things
After a meal, pressure and inflation of the abdomen and of the stomach.
Stomach
Sour eructation and regurgitations, sometimes after a meal
Pyrosis
Nausea, with inclination to vomit, moral dejection and inquietude
Convulsive retchings
Vomitings and nausea, with fulness and pressure on the epigastrium
Vomiting in the morning (of the ingesta; of a green liquid), or at night
Vomiting of mucus, of food, or bile, with excessive nausea
Nausea in the morning, on waking
Nausea and vomiting during a meal
Vomiting of food on expectorating
Sensation or retraction in the stomach
Burning in the stomach, extending up to the oesophagus
Pressure, burning pain, and heaviness in the stomach and in the epigastrium
Nausea, as if he would die with it; continuous, and not relieved by vomiting
Sensation of weakness in the stomach, as if life would be extinguished, esp. immediately after a meal
Deathly sinking in the stomach-pit
Cramp-like pains in the stomach, sometimes with nausea and vomiting, mitigated by eructations
Shootings in the pit of the stomach, extending to the sides and the back
Fulness in the pit of the stomach.
Abdomen
Contractive tense pain in the hypochondria
Sensibility, and pressive pains, in the region of the liver
Twisting, and cramp-like pinching, in the intestines
Shooting and tearing colic, with inclination to vomit, esp. during movement and expiration
Inflation of the abdomen (ascites)
Dropsical swelling of the abdomen
Cuttings, as from a chill, or a diarrhroea
Cramp-like tension in the groins
Sufferings from flatulency.
Stool And Anus
Faeces white, like chalk, or the colour of ashes
Diarrhoea of excrement mixed with mucus, preceded by shiverings and cutting pains
Dysenteric evacuations
Involuntary stools
Retention of stool; prolonged constipation
Watery diarrhoea; with much thirst.
Urinary Organs
Retention of urine
Urgent and almost futile, inclination to make water, with discharge of hot, burning, and very scanty urine
Pressure on the bladder, with the sensation as if it were too full, continuing after micturition
Frequent emission of small quantities of water-coloured urine
While in a recumbent position the urine can be retained for a longer time
Difficult urination, as from contraction of the urethra
Wetting the bed at night
Urinary flux
Diminution of the secretion of urine, sometimes alternating with abundant emission
Incisive pains in the urethra, before and after the urinary discharge
Involuntary emission of urine
Urine of a deep colour, brownish or reddish
Nausea before and after urination
On making water, burning sensation and constriction in the; urethra
Inflammation of the neck of the bladder
Prostate enlarged.
15, 16.
Sexual Organs
Hydrocele (l.); scrotum looks like a bladder filled with water
Testes; bruise-like pain in; swelling of
Gonorrhoea; phimosis; with burning, and dropsy of prepuce
Desire strongly excited, frequent erections and pollutions
Dropsical swelling of genitals.—(Nymphomania
Menorrhagia.)
Respiratory Organs
Hoarseness (in the morning after a night sweat)
Hollow, spasmodic cough, from roughness and scraping in the throat; expectoration only in the evening, of yellow jelly-like mucus, tasting sweet
Hoarseness and coryza in the morning
Much phlegm in the larynx, which is detached by a slight cough
Cough, after a meal, with vomiting of food
Dry cough, with pains in the shoulders and arms
Cough, with expectoration of matter resembling starch
Smarting in the chest on coughing
Cough worse at midnight and during the morning hours
The cough is caused by talking, walking, drinking anything cold; when bending the body forward
Troublesome choking sensation with cough; mostly at night, and on physical exertion
Dry, cramp-like cough, excited by prolonged conversation
Sanguineous expectoration on coughing (small quantities of dark-blood).
Chest
Sensation of soreness in the chest
Respiration painfully restricted, esp. at night, when lying down, or in the day, when walking, or seated
In the morning, suffocating constriction of the chest, forcing the patient to rise up in the bed
Asthmatic sufferings as from hydrothorax
Pressure on the chest from keeping the body bent
Tension in the chest, with necessity to breathe deeply
Contractive pain in the chest, when sitting with the body bent
Smarting in the chest
Sensation of weakness in the chest, proceeding from the stomach
Congestion in the chest
Shuddering at the mammae.
Heart
Acceleration of the movements of the heart, with palpitations that can be heard (with slow pulse), anguish, and contraction in the sternum
Very slow pulse
On rising up in bed pulse becomes much more frequent and irregular
Irregular and intermittent pulse
Dull uneasiness in various parts of heart region, with sensation of weakness in forearm
Feeling of slight confusion of heart, esp. on moving, with painful sensation of weakness in wrist and forearms
Sudden sensation as though heart stood still, with great anxiety and necessity for holding breath, after dinner; must keep perfectly still
Peculiar sensation as though heart standing still; single, violent, slow heart-beats, with sudden violent heat in occiput, and transient unconsciousness (the whole lasting only a moment)
Shifting pains in heart
Oppression, must breathe deeper
Heart's action has lost its force; beats more frequent, intermittent, irregular
Palpitation easily excited on going up slight ascent
Heart seems to dilate slowly; palpitation at each movement of body; slight uneasiness at heart, cold sweats
Constant pain or anguish at heart, with palpitation, < by exercise or mental emotion; at times < without apparent cause, when perfectly at rest; paroxysms accompanied by sinking sensation, face purple; fainting, believes she is dying; dizziness ringing in ears; sharp pain in l. shoulder and l. arm, tingling in arm and fingers; paroxysms come sometimes at night, with suffocation, wakes up in anguish; terrifying dreams
Heart so weak that even sitting up in bed has caused fatal syncope
Attacks of angina brought on by any slight careless movement, esp. of arms in an upward direction; inexpressible anxiety with fainting; for a moment heart seems to stand still, and then several rapid and violent pulsations occur, with sensation as if heart had torn itself loose and were swaying to and fro by a thin thread
Cyanosis
Frightful stitches in region of heart, coming on every fifteen minutes, lasting only five or six seconds each time.
Neck And Back
Stiffness and tension of the muscles of the neck and of the nape of the neck
Drawing pains in the back and in the loins, as after a chill
Bruise-like pains in the loins on blowing the nose.
Upper Limbs
Paralytic pullings, and tearings in the arms
Heaviness or paralytic weakness of the l. arm
Sharp pain in l. shoulder and arm, tingling in arm and fingers; with heart affection
Nocturnal swelling of the r. hand and of the fingers
Coldness of the hands
Tearings in the joints of the fingers
Sudden and paralytic stiffness in the fingers
Torpor and disposition to numbness of the fingers.
Lower Limbs
Pain in the hip-joint
Great stiffness in the legs after being seated, which abates when walking
Want of energy, and paralytic weakness in the legs
Swelling in the knee, like steatoma
Incisive pains in the thigh, and burning sensation in the calf of the leg, on crossing the legs
Tension in the ham
Coldness of the feet
Swelling in the feet, by day only (diminished at night).
Generalities
Burning shootings and tearings, esp. in the limbs Penetrating pains, and painful weariness in the joints, as after great fatigue Engorgement of the glands Tense and painful swellings, esp. of the limbs
Convulsions Epileptic fits Dropsical swellings of internal and external parts Emaciation
Great dejection and nervous weakness Throbbing in every part of the body, < by pressure Gouty nodosities Pricking pain in the muscles of the upper and lower extremities
Fits of excessive weakness esp. after breakfast and dinner Sudden prostration of strength, as if about to faint, with general perspiration.
Skin
Gnawing itching, which changes, if the skin be not scratched, into a burning and insupportable pricking
Dry, and heat of skin
Desquamation of the skin from the whole body
Jaundice
Bluish skin (cyanosis), particularly at the eyelids, lips, tongue, and nails
Dropsy
Elastic white swelling of the whole body
General paleness of the skin.
Sleep
Continuous sleepiness during the day (lethargy)
Uneasy, unrefreshing sleep
Drowsiness in the day, and somnolency interrupted by fits of convulsive vomiting
At night, half-asleep with agitation
Nocturnal sleep, interrupted by anxious dreams, with starts (as if one were failing from a height or into water)
Uneasy sleep at night on account of constant desire to urinate
Feeling of great emptiness of the stomach frequently, previous to falling asleep.
Fever
Chilliness with heat and redness of face
Coldness of the body, often with cold sweat, esp. on the forehead or one side of the body only
Coldness in the hands and in the feet (with cold perspiration)
Heat of one hand and coldness of the other
Frequent and sudden flushes of heat, followed by weakness
Copious nocturnal perspiration, preceded sometimes by shivering and shuddering, with internal heat (beginning with coldness of the extremities, from them extending over the whole body), during the day
Perspiration generally at night; cold and clammy
Perspiration after the chill, no heat intervening
Pulse small, weak, and excessively slow (esp. when at rest, every other beat intermits), but accelerated by the slightest movement
Pulse irregular; intermitting.