Iodium
Clarke - Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica · John Henry Clarke · 20,794 chars · source ↗
General
Iodium.
Iodium. Iodine. An element. l. (AM. 126.53). Tincture.
Clinical
Appetite, disordered. Atrophy. Brain, atrophy of. Breasts, affections of.
Cancer. Chilblains. Chyluria. Constipation.
Consumption. Coryza. Cough. Croup.
Debility. Diabetes. Diarrhoea. Diphtheria.
Emaciation. Enteric fever. Galactorrhoea. Goître Haemorrhoids.
Headaches. Heart, hypertrophy of; affections of. Hiccough. Hydrocephalus.
Iritis. Jaundice. Joints, affections of. Lactation, disordered.
Laryngitis Leucorrhoea. Liver, affections of. Lymphatic swellings. Melancholia.
Mollities ossium. Ovaries, affections of; dropsy of. Ozaena. Prostate gland, enlarged.
Rheumatic gout. Rheumatism. Salivation. Scars.
Seborrhoea. Sterility. Syphilis. Tabes mesenterica.
Throat, affections of. Uterus, affections of. Voice, affections of. Vomiting.
Worms.
Characteristics
The most prominent feature of the action of Iodium is its power of causing absorption. It is this power which has made the drug such a favourite among old-school practitioners as a paint in all kinds of swellings. Given internally its power is much greater: the absorbents are stimulated to fresh activity; muscles, fat, tissues, and glands waste away, and general emaciation is the result. When new growths and hyperplasias are present, these come under the action of Iod. before the normal tissues.
I have seen it given with excellent effect in the lower attenuations, when swollen and deformed joints have been left behind after an attack of acute rheumatism. Scrofulous and syphilitic indurations, effusions and tumours, and especially goître, are equally amenable to its resolvent action. Emaciation of single parts. In this connection must be mentioned its power to set up a ravenous appetite.
"Eats ravenously, yet emaciates," is a keynote. It seems as if the waste of tissue set up the desire for absorbing great quantities of food. Absence of appetite is also among the effects of Iod., and either condition may indicate it. I once used it with excellent effect in the case of a young woman who had had a nervous shock, and had lost all appetite and desire to live.
She was much emaciated, and had quietly made up her mind to starve herself to death. I gave five drops of Iod. 3x in a wineglass of water half an hour before meal-times, and her appetite returned with such vigour she could not choose but eat, and was soon restored to a normal mental and bodily state. I have recorded another similar case of nervous shock producing rapid emaciation and vomiting cured by Iod. in my book on Indigestion. Both these patients were somewhat dark, and Iod. is specially suited to persons of dark hair and complexion; dark, yellow, tawny skin.
Herein it is the antipodes of Bromium and Spongia. Its mental symptoms are more marked than those of Brom. There is increased erethism, patient very excitable and restless, moving about from place to place. Fears every little occurrence will end seriously.
In his anxiety shuns every one, even his doctor. Fixed ideas are among the Iod. effects; also sudden impulses. A patient of mine had once been given Iodine for goître by an allopath. She was compelled to discontinue it because it produced this inconvenient symptom: impulse to run; she felt she must fall if she walked.
Iod. produces atrophy of nerve and brain tissue, as well as of other tissues (Allen mentions that it is valuable in persistent headaches with vertigo in old people); and it also has a place in acute hydrocephalus; and in pleuritic effusions. In tubercular disease of all kinds it may be called for: tabes mesenterica; pulmonary phthisis. In rheumatism and heart affections it has a large sphere. It is indicated by indurations or atrophy of testes, ovaries, and uterus.
The salivary glands and pancreas are especially affected by Iod., and a diarrhoea of milky, whey-like stools, often indicative of pancreatic disease, is especially amenable to its action. In pneumonia and phthisical affections with lung consolidation it is of great service. The chief indications are: Dyspnoea; cough with blood-streaked expectoration; tickling all over chest; weakness and emaciation; < of symptoms in a warm room.
This last, "< by warmth," is a leading modality of Iod. In defects of growth, curvature of bones, and in children's ailments, it follows well upon Calc. In phthisis of rapidly-growing young people, thin and dark, it is especially indicated. There are many marked symptoms in the heart sphere: palpitation from slightest cause; sensation as if being squeezed; hypertrophy.
With the heart symptoms there is a "gone," exhausted feeling, and the patient is scarcely able to breathe or walk. C. S. McKay noticed lumbrici passed by an infant who had tasted Iodine accidentally, and used the experience in another case, giving a dilute solution (one part of the Ø to three of water; of this three drops every three hours), and produced the expulsion of lumbrici when Santonin had completely failed.
An Ioduretted solution of Kali iod. (Kali iod. gr. xxxv., Iod. gr. iv., Aqua one ounce; ten drops for a dose) has been used with success as a taenicide, expelling the tapeworm, dead. Erethism is marked in Iod.: nervousness; restlessness; twitching; subsultus tendinum and trembling; also sense of trembling in inner parts. Facial paralysis and epilepsy have followed suppression of goître by large doses of Iod.
Weakness is excessive. Fainting on going upstairs. (General weakness and loss of appetite and pain in temples, and pain in left chest as if something were being torn away: heart large Cooper).
Motion and exertion of all kinds <. Sitting up >, and lying down < dyspnoea and heart affections. < By warmth; by wrapping up; in warm room. < In wet weather.
Drinking cold milk > constipation. > By eating, of hunger and other symptoms, is another marked character of Iod. Iod. is a sensitive remedy, and many symptoms are < by touch and pressure. Nash thinks Iod. one of the remedies affected by the moon's changes.
In cases of goître where it is indicated he gives a powder of Iod. c.m. every night for four nights after the moon has passed the full.
Relations
Iod. must be compared with Iodoform and Kali iod. The febrile, inflammatory, and skin symptoms of Iodf. are more violent and pronounced than those of the other two. K. iod. has less erethism than Iod., has > from external warmth (though both have > in open air); and K. iod. has not the excessive appetite of Iod. or the general > from eating. Iod. is antidoted by: Starch or wheat flour mixed with water (to large doses).
Antidotes to small doses: Ant. t., Apis, Ars., Bell., Camph., Chi., Chi. sul., Coff., Hep., Op., Pho., Spo., Sul. It antidotes: Merc. Follows well: Merc.; Hep.
(croup); Ars. Followed well by: Aco., Arg. n., Calc., Merc. sol., Pho., Pul. Complementary: Lyc.
Compare: Brom. (Brom. has light hair and complexion; Iod. dark; Bro. carrion-like odour of ulcers);
Chlorum; Nat. m. (ravenous appetite yet gets thin—Nat. m. especially about the neck); Kali iod.
(talkative as if from alcohol); Bar. c. (tabes mesenterica, extreme hunger, emaciates, talkative, averse to strangers; Bar. c. suited to dwarfish persons; has not the intolerable crossness of Iod., which is < than that of Ant. c.);
Alumina (apprehensive, fears); Apis (joint effusions, sensitiveness, hydrocephalus); Cact. and Spig. (heart);
Hydrast. (uterine affections); Ars., Calc., Cin., Sil. and Staph. (ravenous hunger);
Hyo. (loss of voice; Iod. antidotes this); Sul.
Causation
Nervous shock. Disappointed love.
Mind
Lachrymose disposition and mental dejection
Melancholy hypochondriasis, sadness, heart-ache, and anxiety
Fear: shuns persons
Anxious apprehensions
Restless agitation (with inclination to move about), which will neither permit the patient to remain seated, nor to sleep
Irresistible impulse to run; feels she will fall if she walks
Cross, irascible, peevish
Heart palpitates "like lightning" when thinking of real or imaginary wrongs
Sudden maniacal impulses; to murder
Excessive mental excitement, with great susceptibility
Illusions of moral feeling
Loquacity and immoderate gaiety
Hesitation and irresolution
Indolence of mind, with great repugnance to all intellectual labour
Fixedness, immovableness of thought
Delirium
Effects of amorousness; of disappointed love.
Head
Confusion of the head (with aversion to earnest work)
In the morning, dizziness
Vertigo; throbbing in the head and all over the body
Vertigo with red face, palpitation, hysteria, nervousness
Headache, in hot air, as well as from the prolonged movement of a carriage, or from a long walk, and < by noise and speech
Pain, as from a bruise, in the brain, with want of strength in the body, as from paralysis
Acute pressive pains in the forehead
Headache, as if a tape or band were tightly drawn around the head
Pressure on a small spot, above the root of the nose
Congestion in the head, with beating in the brain
Throbbing in the head at every motion
Hair falls out.
Eyes
Pains in orbits
Feeling of depression above the eyes, as if they were deeply sunken, in the evening
Pain, as from excoriation, in the eyes
Inflammation of the eyes, sometimes after taking cold
Watery white swelling of the eyelids
Dirty yellowish colour of the sclerotica
Protrusion of the balls
Lachrymation
Convulsive movements, and quivering of the eyes; of the (lower) eyelids
Weak sight
Dimness of vision following upon application of Iodine to any part of body
Choroido-iritis
Diplopia
Sparks and scintillations before the eyes.
Ears
Buzzing in the ears
Hardness of hearing
Sensibility to noise.—(Chronic deafness with adhesions in middle ear
Deafness from Eustachian catarrh, inflamed tonsils, roaring in the ears, &c.).
Nose
Small scab in the r. nostril
Epistaxis
Red, burning spot on the nose, below the eyes
Stoppage of the nose, or secretion of mucus more abundant than usual
Dry coryza, becoming fluent in the open air (< evening)
Fluent coryza with much sneezing
Violent coryza with lachrymation and frontal headache; discharge hot, nose sore, fever
Blowing of much yellow mucus from the nose.
Face
Complexion pale, yellowish, or easily tanned; or greenish
Acneous eruption on r. side of face, with burning, and itching, twitching of r. upper eyelid, and twitchings in other parts
Sallow, distressed countenance
Bluish lips, with swelling of the superficial veins
Frequent and sudden redness of the face, with sensation of burning in the ears
Face sunken with eyes cast down
Starting of the muscles of the face
Suppurating ulcer on the l. cheek, with swelling of the contiguous glands
Swelling of submaxillary glands.
Teeth
Pressive pains in the molars
Teeth yellow, and covered with mucus, in the morning; easily blunted by vegetable acids
Inflammatory swelling and bleeding of the gums, with swelling of the cheek; the gums are painful to the touch
Teeth loose
Softening of the gums.
Mouth
Aphthae in the mouth
Ulcers in the mouth
Pain and swelling of the glands of the interior of the mouth
Exhalation of putrid odour from the mouth; after Mercury
Salivation
Tongue loaded with a thick coating
Dryness of the tongue.
Throat
Swelling and elongation of the uvula
Sore throat, with pressive pain, when not swallowing
Permanent constriction of the gullet and impeded deglutition
Increased secretion of watery saliva
Inflammation of the gullet, with sensation of burning and scraping; burning in the fauces
Ulcers in throat, with swelling of glands of neck.
Appetite
Disagreeable, saponaceous, sourish, or bitter salt taste
Increased thirst day and night
Appetite variable; at one time bulimy, at another, absence of appetite
Unusual hunger, with amelioration after a meal (after having eaten a good deal)
Great weakness of digestion
Eats too often and too much; rapid digestion, but losing flesh all the time.
Stomach
Risings, generally acid, with burning sensation
Heartburn, after heavy food
Hiccough
Pyrosis, esp. after indigestible food
Qualmishness, nausea (with spasmodic pain in the stomach)
Frequent nausea
Violent vomitings renewed by eating
Vomiting of bilious matter, or of yellowish mucus
Excessive pains in the stomach, with bilious evacuations
Aching in the stomach after every meal
Cramp-like, gnawing, or burning pains in the stomach
Inflammation in the stomach
Pulsations in the epigastrium
Gastric derangement with constipation.
Abdomen
Abdominal pains, which return after every meal
Inflation of the abdomen
Incarceration of flatulence (l. side of abdomen)
Enlargement of the abdomen, which renders it impossible to lie down without danger of suffocation
Region of liver sore to pressure; swelling and hypertrophy of liver; jaundice
Hard, painful swelling of the spleen
Cramp-like pains in the abdomen
Violent colic
Pains in the abdomen, like those of parturition
Swelling and inflammation of the mesenteric glands
Pancreas enlarged; whitish, whey-like diarrhoea
Abdominal pulsations; throbbing of abdominal aorta
Trembling in the abdomen, from the pit of the stomach to the periphery, with increased heat
Hard swelling of the inguinal glands.
Stool And Anus
Hard, knotty, dark-coloured faeces
Constipation
Loose, soft evacuations, sometimes whitish, alternately with constipation
Evacuations copious of the consistence of pap
Violent, frothy diarrhoea, or composed of sanguineous mucus
Dysenteric evacuations of thick mucus, or sometimes purulent, with retention of faecal matter
In the evening, sensation of itching and burning in the anus
Piles protrude and burn;
< from heat.
Urinary Organs
Suppressed secretion of urine
Copious and frequent flow of urine
Involuntary emission of urine at night
Urine of a deep colour, turbid, or yellowish green; or milky; or acrid and corrosive
Parti-coloured cuticle on the urine.—(Incontinence in old people with prostatic enlargement.).—(Diabetes.)
Male Sexual Organs
Complete loss of sexual power, testicles atrophied
Violent and constant erections
Sexual desire increased
Painful pullings in the anterior part of the penis
Aching, pressing, twisting, or forcing pain in spermatic cords; after sexual dalliance
Swelling and hardness of the testes
Hardness of the prostate gland
After stool, milk-like fluid runs from urethra
Hydrocele
Offensive sweat of genitals.
Female Sexual Organs
Catamenia at one time too late, at another too early
Menses premature, violent and copious
Metrorrhagia
Weakness, palpitation of the heart, and many sufferings, before, during, and after the catamenia
Atrophy of ovaries and breasts, with sterility
Pain (dull, pressing, wedge-like) commencing in r. ovary passing down broad ligament to uterus
Great sensitiveness of r. ovarian region during or after menses
Inflammation of r. ovary with an itching eruption on head and hands following application of Iodine to os uteri
Chronic oöphoritis (l.) with thick, yellow, burning leucorrhoea, > after eating (H.
N.
Martin.)
Pain in lower abdomen;
< l. ovarian region;
> by motion and by eating
Induration and swelling (cancer?) of the uterus
Uterine haemorrhage renewed after every stool
Leucorrhoea, corroding the limbs and the linen; acrid; profuse; worse at time of menses
Flaccidity and atrophy of the breasts
Mammary hyperaesthesia
Heaviness of breasts as if they would fall off
Acute pain and soreness in breasts with metritis
Bluish red nodosities size of hazel nut; in both breasts; dry, black points at tips
Galactorrhoea; thin, watery milk; weakness; emaciation
Milk suppressed; breasts atrophied and relaxed.
Respiratory Organs
Insupportable hoarseness and tingling in the throat, esp. in morning
The voice becomes deeper
Membranous croup, with wheezing and sawing respiration; dry, barking cough, esp. in children with dark eyes and hair; child grasps throat with hand
Croup, with much mucous expectoration, sometimes streaked with blood
Inflammation of the throat, of the larynx and trachea, with contractive pain of excoriation
Pain in the larynx, with discharge of hardened mucus
Contraction and heat in the larynx
Increased secretion of mucus in the trachea, with frequent hawking
Dry cough, with pressure, shooting, and sensation of burning in the chest
Cough in the morning
Cough, with expectoration of abundant, and sometimes sanguineous mucus, pains in the chest, and fever
Rattling of mucus in the chest, with roughness under the sternum and oppression of the chest
Cough, resembling whooping-cough, excited by an insupportable tickling in the chest, with anguish before the paroxysm, and excessive emaciation
Hepatization; worse upper part of r. lung.
Chest
Difficulty of respiration, and dyspnoea
Difficulty of expanding the chest on taking an inspiration
Suffocation
Shooting in the l. side, on breathing
Loss of power to breathe, esp. on going upstairs
Weakness of the chest
Congestion in the chest
Burning, shooting tension in the integuments of the chest.
Heart
Sensation of weakness in the chest (and heart)
Violent palpitation of the heart; increased by the least exertion (from walking or going downstairs)
Sensation as if the heart were squeezed together
Constant, heavy, oppressive pain in region of heart, with sharp, piercing, movable pain
Great precordial anxiety, obliging him to constantly change his position.—(Hypertrophy of heart, very like that of Arn., and like that often met with in housemaids and others from over-exertion
Fatty degeneration of heart
Cooper.)
Pulse rapid, small, weak, with tumultuous, irregular, at times intermittent action of heart.
Neck And Back
Tension in the neck
Swelling of the exterior of the neck
Swelling of the neck when speaking
Swelling of the glands of the neck, of the nape of the neck, and of the armpits
Hard and large goîtres
Constant sensation of constriction in the goîtres
Yellowish spots on the neck, and redness, as from ecchymosis
Cramps in the back
Pain in sacrum and coccyx
Spinal complaints, with gressus vaccinus.
Limbs
Chronic arthritic affections; with violent nightly pains
Stiff and enlarged joints after acute rheumatism
Subsultus tendinum
Cold hands and feet.
Upper Limbs
Pains in the bones of the arms, < when lying down, and disturbing the sleep
Lassitude in the arms in the morning, in bed
Convulsive movements and trembling of the arms, of the hands, and of the fingers
Numbness of the fingers
Tearing pains in the fingers
Startings of the tendons of the fingers
Panaris
Constant coldness of the hands, which are covered with a cold sweat during labour
Carphologia.
Lower Limbs
Cramp-like pains in the legs when seated
Heaviness, swelling, trembling and paralysis of the legs
Rheumatic pullings in the thighs and knees
Inflammatory swelling of the knee, with tearing pains, and suppuration
Hot, bright-red swelling of the knee, with inflammation, pricking and burning;
< by touch and pressure
Dropsical swelling of the knee
White swelling of the knee
Cramps in the feet, esp. at night
Startings of the tendons of the feet
Oedematous swelling of the feet
Chilblains
Acrid and corrosive sweat on the feet
Pain in the corns.
Generalities
Erratic pains in the joints Chronic rheumatism in the joints, with violent pains at night; without swelling Sensation of torpor in the limbs Convulsive starting and twitching of the tendons
Distortion of the bones Pains in the bones at night Swelling and induration of the glands Haemorrhage from different organs
Powerful over-excitement of all the nervous system Ebullition of blood, and pulsation over the whole body, increased by the slightest exertion Trembling of the limbs Tottering walk
Great weakness; even speaking excites perspiration Plastic exudations Atrophy and emaciation till reduced to the state of a skeleton (with good appetite) Emaciation; ending in marasmus; of glandular tissues (mammae, testicles, thyroid gland, &c.)
Oedematous swelling, even of the whole body.
Skin
Skin rough, dry, or clammy, moist, and of a dirty yellow
Tetters
Furfur
Panaris
Itching and itching pimples on an old cicatrix
Papulous eruptions tending to pustulation.
Sleep
Agitated dreams
Restless sleep with vivid or anxious dreams
Nocturnal sweat.
Fever
Shivering, even in a warm room
Chill alternating with heat
Cold feet all night
Internal dry heat, with external coldness
Profuse night-sweat
Increase of bodily heat
Fugitive heat
Acid perspiration in the morning
Pulse quick, small, and hard; weak, threadlike
The pulse becomes much quicker as soon as one moves about
Fever, with consumption.—(West Indian and African fevers; ague.)