Oleum Animale Aethereum
Oleum Animale · Clarke - Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica · John Henry Clarke · 20,196 chars · source ↗
General
Oleum Animale.
Oleum animale aethereum. Oleum cornu cervi. Dippel's Oil. Bone-naphtha. Dilutions in alcohol.
Clinical
Asthma. Breasts, affections of. Cancer. Constipation. Coryza. Facial paralysis. Gonorrhoea. Migraine. Polyuria. Prostate, affections of. Spermatic cord, neuralgia of. Testes, neuralgia in; retraction of.
Characteristics
Ol. an. is an empyreumatic oil obtained in the preparation of bone-black, and further distilled and rectified for medicinal use. It was discovered in 1711 by Johann Conrad Dippel, the alchemist, and discoverer of Prussian-blue. Dippel obtained it in the first instance by distillation of stags' horns: hence the name Oleum cornu cervi, with which the Ol. an. as at present prepared is considered identical; the deciduous horns of the stag partaking more of the nature of bone than the permanent horns of cattle.
As rectified it is "a colourless or slightly yellow, thin, oily liquid, with a penetrating but not disagreeable odour and an acrid, burning taste, which changes to a cool and bitter one. It darkens and thickens on exposure to air and light, and is extremely volatile. A drop on paper evaporates without leaving a greasy stain." Its composition is extremely complex, but it may be regarded as belonging to the group of volatile carbons. Sircar (Calc.
J. of Med., xvi. 249) gives an interesting account of Ol. an., and quotes from Hahn. Adv. of April, 1897, a valuable paper on the remedy by C. L. Olds with a discussion thereon.
Though it is not the panacea which Dippel imagined it to be when he discovered it, Ol. an. is a very powerful medicinal substance, and since it has been well proved by Nenning, Schreter, and Trinks, it has a definite place in the homoeopathic materia medica. As is usually the case with combustive products, Ol. an. has burning pains and burning sensations in almost all parts, and like the carbons and K. carb. it has also stitches and sometimes combinations of the two, "stitches as with red-hot needles." Stitches and pressure may be in all directions, but from behind forward is particularly characteristic.
"Stitches from behind forward in breasts; pressure from both sides of the back extends forward." Guided by the former I gave great relief in a case of scirrhus of right breast in which pains darting forward out of the nipple were complained of. "Pulled upward" is another characteristic sensation. It occurs in the malar bones: "Sensation in both malar bones as if pulled forcibly upward." And it also occurs in the testicles. "Both testicles are drawn up and very painful." This led to the cure of a "long-standing neuralgia of spermatic cord; excruciating attacks three or four times every year; pains as if testicles were seized by a hand and pulled very severely." Ol. an. 18 gave almost instant and permanent relief (Blakely Raue's Rec., 1870, p. 241).
The cure of a case of migraine is quoted in H. M., July, 1895. Zwingenberg, after failing with Sang., gave Ol. an. 2x, five drops in warm water, morning and evening, to a lady who always suffered from migraine the day after a fashionable party, at which she usually wore a heavy diadem on her head. Polyuria of perfectly clear urine accompanied the migraine and suggested the remedy.
This accompaniment may indicate Ol. an. in any nervous disorder. Zwingenberg also cured a case of nervous asthma following repelled foot-sweat. In the discussion on Olds' paper some cures were mentioned. Dever cured toothache in an extremely irritable patient, pain > by pressing the teeth together.
The provings have "stitches in right upper molar removed by pressure, after dinner." Dr. Leggett related one case: A very stout Dutch lady, 56 (who had been under constitutional treatment for uterine tumour, engorged liver and cerebral congestion), presented the following symptoms: Sensation as if water rushing back and forth in stomach; fancied the tumour had increased to size it was years ago. She had been walking, standing, and shopping, and had eaten many sweets. Of the remedies having "stomach as if full of water," Ol. an. was chosen as more similar to the case than Mill. or Phell., and was given in 1m attenuation, a single dose.
A month later she was better in every way, and a second dose brought still further improvement. This case in connection with my case of breast tumour still further shows the relationship of Ol. an. to new growths. Olds in his paper brings out the striking and peculiar symptoms of the remedy very clearly. Olds speaks of a proving by himself, but he gives no details of it.
Some symptoms mentioned by him I cannot find in Allen or Hering. These I have entered in the Schema and give his authority for each. The Conditions of Ol. an. give the most characteristic general features: > from rubbing; < from eating.
< In warm room. > In open air. These are general, but there are exceptions. Among the Peculiar Symptoms mentioned by Olds are: Twitching of lips and swelling beneath right lower jaw.
Malar bone feels as if pulled forcibly upward. Greasy feeling in mouth and accumulation of quantities of saliva white as snow. Relaxation of buccal mucous membrane, patient cannot avoid biting cheek when he eats. Soreness of tongue as if scalded.
Sensation as of white of egg dried on lips. Sensation as if cold air penetrated throat although the air is warm; > eating and drinking, < empty swallowing. Desire for soft-boiled eggs or for bread only with aversion to meat.
Sensation as if water were in stomach; as if a lump of ice there. Eructations taste like urine, and burn. Sensation as if testicles were seized and pulled forcibly upward. Menses too early and too scanty.
Cracking in vertebrae of neck on raising head. Sensation in scalp as if skin had been cut and reunited. Other sensations are: As if blood were rushing to head; to occiput on entering a warm room. As if red-hot needles in chest.
As if thumb (and toe) would ulcerate. Cramp-like pains in different parts. Indolence and inclined to sit; taciturn; ill-tempered. Winans (Med.
Adv., xix. 503) gave Ol. an. with success in a case of bilious fever, the patient being a rather fleshy old lady. The indicating symptoms were: Slow pulse (55). Desire for soft-boiled eggs. Itching of left lower eyelid.
Sad mood; morose; nothing delights her. Absorbed in self, sad, speaks little. Sepia was required to complete the case, one of the new symptoms being yellowness of palms of hands. The left side is predominantly affected; when direction is noted it is from before backward and from behind upward.
> By rubbing is very characteristic. > By stretching. > By pressure. Ol. an. is a chilly medicine, but the chilliness (and also coryza) are < in a warm room and > in open air.
Tearing in all fingers is > by washing in cold water. Drinking cold water = pressure in stomach. < From hot drinks. Motion > some rheumatic pains.
Raising head = cracking of vertebrae. < Eating (sweat; lachrymation; headache). Especially < after dinner. > Swallowing food or drink, < empty swallowing (throat).
< By motion; by mental exertion. > Changing position. Sneezing = bursting pain in chest. The majority of symptoms are < in afternoon; also 2 p.m.
< Before, during and commencement of menses. < By noise (noises in the head).
Relations
Antidoted by: Camph., Nux, Op. Follows well: Bry. Is followed well by: Sep. Compare: In headache with concomitant polyuria, Ign., Gels.
Twitching eyelids, Agar. Gastric symptoms after drinking cold water, Ars., Pho., Carb. v. Pains in testicles, Puls. < By noise (Graph.
> by noise). > By rubbing, Pho., Nat. c., Carb. ac., Canth. Coryza < in open air, Cepa. Numb head, Graph.
Cracking in nape on moving head, Nicc. Dried white of egg sensation, Alum., Bar. c., Mg. c., Ph. ac., Sul. ac. > Eating and drinking, < empty swallowing, Lach. Eructations taste like urine (Ag. cast., smell like old urine).
Sad, despondent, Puls. (unlike Puls., bad tempered). Slow pulse, Apocy. Headache from behind forward; scalding sensation on tongue, Sang.
Chilly, Nux, Cyc., K. ca. (but these are < in open air). Burning during micturition, Caust., Naph. Coryza, Naph.
Stitches, K. ca., Carb. an. Gnawing in occiput, Glo., Na. sul. Desires bread (Nat. m., aversion to bread). Movements in abdomen, Crocus.
Suppressed foot-sweat, Sil., Sul. < From hot drinks (Lyc. >). Cracking in joints, Benz. ac.
Causation
Suppressed foot-sweat.
Mind
Sadness, concentration in self
Taciturn and thoughtful
Distraction, and frequent absence of mind
Loss of ideas (frequent vanishing of thought).
Head
Head confused, with cloudiness, as if stunned
Pressure on vertex, shifting to occiput
Dizziness and vertigo, when stooping
Painful dizziness, early in morning in bed
Painful sensation of reeling and giddiness, in open air, when stooping
Numb and paralytic sensation in (l.) side of head
Aching in head, principally in forehead, sometimes from least intellectual exertion
Drawing and tearing in head, as after a chill
Violent boring, and shootings in head, esp. just above eyes (in l. frontal protuberance)
Congestion, with heat and beating in head
Pressure extending from occiput forward, an hour after dinner
Semilateral headache, and beating at base of brain and extending to eye on corresponding side;
< by motion; by exertion; after eating;
> by rubbing (Olds)
Pain in l. occiput, obliging him to hold his head forward
Dull pressure in small spot on occiput (l.)
Gnawing pain in occipital region (less on l. side)
Boring in small spot l. occiput
Stitching in occiput
Tension on scalp with soreness as if skin had been cut and reunited
Sensation as if blood were rushing to occiput, on entering a room
Tearing in outside of head, with tension and sensation of excoriation
Itching, and burning shooting pain in scalp.
Eyes
Pain in eyes as if a grain of sand had been introduced into them
Pressure and drawing in balls of eyes
Itching, smarting and shooting in eyes, which disappear on rubbing them
Burning pain in eyes, esp.
(in the open air or on waking or) by candlelight in evening
Lachrymation, and nocturnal agglutination
Lachrymation when she eats (Olds)
Quivering and starting in eyelids, and eyebrows
Frequent twitching in l. upper lid
Confused sight (esp. in the afternoon when writing)
Myopia
Dark clouds before eyes
Sensation as if a skin were hanging down over eyes (Olds)
Sight and hearing vanish for a moment.
Ears
Shooting in ears
Sticking in ears
Boring and tearing in ears (with dryness of throat)
Singing, tinkling, and buzzing in ears, < by noise.
Nose
Itching burning at tip of nose
Tickling and tingling itching in nose
Excoriation of interior of nose
Burning and running pimples on septum of nose
Drawing pressing pain at root of nose when in house, nose and head feel stopped; out of doors constant dripping with > to head (Olds)
Sneezing, with painful sensation of bursting, and of excoriation in chest
Dryness of nose
Coryza, with thick mucus in nose, which occasions painful tension
Violent dry coryza
It seemed as though he had an offensive breath.
Face
Pale, earthy complexion
Tingling in face
Burning pains in cheeks, and zygomatic process
Redness of the cheeks, even when the skin is cold
Itching pimples and vesicles on the cheeks
Tension, and cramp-like, and paralytic drawing in face, sometimes semi-lateral (l.)
Paralysed sensation in r. half of face
The malar bones feel as if pulled forcibly upward
Itching of the lips
Sensation as of dried white of egg on lips (Olds)
Lips cracked
Jerking of lips, in morning, when sleeping
Cramp in jaw, which scarcely permits mouth to be opened
Violent cracking in l. articulation of jaw always on opening mouth
Swelling beneath lower jaw.
Teeth
Odontalgia, with drawing and tearing pain, often commencing from ear
Jerking tearing, and pulsation, in root of a carious tooth, with sensation of coldness coming out of tips of teeth
Stitches in r. upper molar, removed by pressure, after dinner.
Mouth
Dryness with sour taste in mouth
Dryness of mouth (and throat) on waking in morning
Greasy feeling in mouth and on palate
Abundant accumulation of snow-white saliva in mouth
Relaxation of buccal mucous membrane; almost impossible for patient to prevent biting cheeks when eating (Olds)
Tongue sore as if scalded
Burning on tongue posteriorly as from tobacco
Smarting, and burning sensation in tongue.
Throat
Pain in throat, as if a hard body were introduced into it, esp. during deglutition
Choking and constriction of throat, particularly in morning and evening
Dryness of throat, esp. perceptible during empty deglutition
Retching, constriction, dryness and scraping in throat
Throat dry with sour taste in mouth
Throat very dry in morning with sensation as if cold air penetrated, which she was constantly obliged to swallow; swallowing difficult, though food and drink passed easily through pharynx and oesophagus
Burning pain in throat
Accumulation of viscid mucus in throat
Hawking of tenacious mucus after a meal.
Appetite
Fat and clammy taste
Sourness in mouth
Want of appetite
Aversion to meat, and to all food, except bread
Desire for soft-boiled eggs.
Stomach
Risings, with taste of the food, or of urine
Empty and burning risings
Frequent empty eructations, > the nausea and the urging to vomit
Disgust and nausea, with inclination to vomit, esp. during and after a meal, or with pressure on chest
Sudden inclination to vomit; stomach seems to turn over; after eructating twice, it disappears
Stomach very sensitive to external pressure
Sensation as if stomach were fun of water
Aching in stomach and praecordial region, sometimes after drinking cold water
Stinging in the stomach
Constriction of the stomach
Sensation, as if something were turning in stomach; as if stomach turned quite over
Contusive pain in region of stomach
Sensation of icy coldness, or of burning heat, in stomach
Burning and heat from stomach to chest.
Abdomen
Dull shootings, and pressure in hepatic region, and spleen (with every breath)
Fulness and distension of abdomen, with painful sensitiveness to least movement of body
Cramp-like pain in abdomen, in circumscribed places
Pinchings in abdomen, and esp. after eating or drinking anything hot
Incisive pains in abdomen, esp. in umbilical region, sometimes With diarrhoea
Contractive pains in abdomen, extending as far as stomach, with nausea
Digging and cuttings throughout abdomen
Drawing in region of the groins, extending into testes
Accumulation of flatus, with gurgling and movement in abdomen
Shifting of flatulence in abdomen with rumbling
Frequent expulsion of fetid flatus.
Stool And Anus
Constipation
Hard, scanty, difficult stools, which are not passed without straining
Difficult stool even when natural
Soft, frequent evacuations
Diarrhoea, with cuttings, before, during, and after an evacuation
Burning and stinging in anus and rectum
After a stool, pain, as from a bruise in abdomen, or burning pain and aching in anus.
Urinary Organs
Frequent and urgent want to urinate, with tenesmus and scanty emission
Pressure on bladder
Small stream of urine
Pale, and more abundant, urine, which speedily deposits a cloudy sediment
Greenish urine
Turbid urine, with clay-like sediment
Burning pain when making water
Itching in urethra.
Male Sexual Organs
Drawing shootings and incisive pains in penis
Burning stinging about root of penis (afternoon)
Drawing pains in testes
Swelling and retraction of testes, with painful sensitiveness to the touch
Pressing in prostate gland
Nocturnal erections and pollutions.
Female Sexual Organs
Catamenia premature, with scanty discharge of black blood, (preceded and) accompanied by incisive pains in abdomen and loins, lancinating pains in head, and lassitude in hands and feet.—Leucorrhoea, with serous and clear mucus.
Respiratory Organs
Hoarseness and roughness in throat
Hoarseness with inability to talk loud
Roughness in throat, inducing dry, hacking cough
Cramp-like contraction in trachea, esp. at night
Small dry cough, generally in single shocks, with tickling in throat.
Chest
Obstructed respiration, when lying on back, as if pharynx were compressed; disappearing on a change of position
Oppression of the chest, when going up stairs, or a hill, from distension of the abdomen
Contusive pain in the chest
Aching and shootings in the chest
Incisive pains in chest
Rushes of blood to chest with dry heat of face
Anxious ebullition with sensation of heat, and burning in chest, accompanied by a sensation of heat which seems to rise from abdomen
Violent stitch in upper part of chest, near sternum, as with a red-hot needle; the breast continued to burn for a long time; at 2 p.m
Violent, sharp stitch in chest by r. axilla
Stitches in clavicles
A very long stitch beneath l. mamma
A sharp stitch in mamma, extending forward, while standing
Some dull stitches beneath l. mamma, that disappear on rubbing, but return; stitches on r. ring and middle finger at same time
A pain almost like a shaking beneath and behind l. mamma, disappearing, after rubbing, followed by warmth over whole body
Tearing in r. mamma.
Heart
Aching, and pain as of a bruise in heart.—Pressure and crushing sensation about heart.
Neck And Back
Painful sensitiveness, rigidity and tension in the nape of the neck and back
Cracking in joints of nape on raising head
Tearing in muscles of r. side of neck whence it extends into r. malar bone, together with tearing in two r. upper molars
Sensation as if a warm breath extended up the nape with an agreeable feeling
Drawing and stiffness in r. cervical muscles, not < by motion but < by touch
Pressure extending forward from both sides of the back
Fine sticking in back behind l. mamma
Sudden sticking in region of r. false ribs near spine; spot sensitive to touch
Burning tearing and stitches above l. scapula
Throbbing and pressure at times very violent in sacrum
Wrenching pain in loins, esp. when stooping and when seated.
Limbs
Lameness of the l. lower limb and l. arm.
Upper Limbs
Drawing and tearing in the arms, hands, and fingers
Drawing and digging in r. thumb as if it would ulcerate
Shootings in arms and hands
Tingling in fingers
Numbness of fingers.
Lower Limbs
Cramp-like drawing and tension in thighs and hams, as if the tendons were too short
Drawing and tearing in thighs, legs, feet and toes
Shootings in the knees and feet
Tingling in the limbs
Great weakness of the legs
Stiffness of the legs when walking
Sticking in the sole
Tingling at one spot in middle of sole, in evening
Cramp in toes
Tearing in big toe, which is painful as if ulcerated, particularly near nail.
Generalities
Cramp-like drawings in different parts.—Drawing and tearing in limbs.—Tingling in different parts.—Tension in some of the limbs, as if tendons too short.—Rigidity, and paralytic weakness in limbs, with dejection and trembling.—Languor with indolence; inclination to sit.—Fainting.—Unsteady gait.
Skin
Violent general itching, and sometimes smarting or burning in different parts of skin
Vesicles, resembling scabious pimples
Excoriation in bends of joints.
Sleep
Urgent inclination to sleep during day, with yawning and frequent stretching, esp. after dinner
Prolonged sleep in morning
Retarded sleep in evening
Frequent or premature waking in morning, without power to go to sleep again
Very light sleep, disturbed by least noise.
Fever
Shivering, shuddering, and coldness, frequently accompanied by heat in other parts, or alternating with heat
Coldness after a walk in open air
Coldness of whole l. lower limb
Shuddering from vertex to chest
Shuddering: in the house; after entering the house; by a stove; entering a warm room from the open air
Icy coldness creeps up back
Increase of natural heat, esp. after walking in open air
Dry heat, in evening
Dry, pricking heat, particularly in face
Transient heat, often with sweat in head, chest, and hands
Transient fits of sweating, esp. during repose
Perspiration during a meal.