The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica

Abrotanum abrot.

Hering, 1879–91 (1879)In every bookSave

General

Southernwood. Compositæ .
Artimisia abrotanum, or southernwood , growing on sunny hills in Southern Europe, and cultivated in gardens. Celebrated as an old popular medicine. Introduced into our practice by Deventer. Proved by Gatchell on two women.

Mind

Feebleness and dulness of mind.
No capacity for thinking, as if all bodily and mental power were gone.
Thinks her brain is softening.
Excited, loquacious, feels like shouting.
Taciturnity.
Indolence, aversion to physical exercise.
Good humored, happy.
Gloomy, desponding.
Great anxiety and depression. θ Gastralgia.
The child is cross and depressed. θ Marasmus.
Ill-natured, irritable, violent.
Exceedingly peevish, feels as if she would like to do something cruel ; no humanity.
Easily fatigued by conversation or mental effort.

Inner head

The left brain seemed especially weak ; easily fatigued by conversation or mental effort.
Sensation as of creeping chills along convolutions of brain, accompanied by prickling.

Outer head

Head weak, could not hold it up.
Scalp sore, especially side.
Itching of scalp.

Sight and eyes

Blue rings around dull looking eyes. θ Chlorosis.
Inflamed eyes.

Smell and nose

Dryness of inner nose.
Nosebleed with boys.

Upper face

Face wrinkled, old, pale. θ Marasmus.
Comedones with emaciation.
Face feels cold.
Drawing pains in upper maxilla.

Teeth and gums

Drawing and tearing pains in carious teeth.

Taste, speech, tongue

Slimy taste. θ Gastralgia.
Acid taste.

Palate and throat

Scraping in throat.

Appetite, thirst. desires, aversions

Gnawing hunger ; craves bread boiled in milk.
Appetite great ; ravenous while emaciating ; marasmus.
Loss of appetite. θ Gastralgia.

Scrobiculum and stomach

Burning in stomach as from acidity.
Fulness and bloating in region of stomach.
Sensation as if stomach was hanging or swimming in water, with a peculiar feeling of coldness and a dulness to all irritants. θ Gastralgia.
Pains cutting, gnawing, burning, sometimes contracting and stinging, mostly < at night ; never entirely free from pain, even in intervals. θ Gastralgia.
Disturbed digestion. θ Chlorosis.

Abdomen and loins

Weak, sinking feeling in bowels.
Frequent colicky pain. θ Marasmus.
Distended abdomen. θ Chlorosis ; marasmus ; colic.
Hard lumps in different parts of abdomen.

Stools and rectum

After sudden checking of diarrhœa, rheumatism.
Piles appear and become < as rheumatic pains abate ; frequent inclination to stool ; hardly anything but blood passes.
Constipation. θ Gastralgia.
(OBS :) Worms, especially ascarides. θ Marasmus.
Alternate diarrhœa and constipation ; food passes undigested. θ Marasmus.
Protruding hemorrhoidal tumors, burning when touched and when pressing.

Urinary organs

Bladder full, urging to urinate.
Urine scanty.

Male sexual organs

Hydrocele of children.

Female sexual organs

Darting pain in region of left ovary.
Twitching in ovarian regions, seems to extend to back.
(OBS :) Ulcers on os tincæ.
Dysmenorrhœa ; suppressed catamenia.

Pregnancy. parturition. lactation

Difficult parturition.
Blood and moisture oozing from navel of newborn children.

Voice and larynx. trachea and bronchia

Sudden hoarseness ; weak voice.

Respiration

Impeded breathing.

Cough

Troublesome cough. θ Rheumatism.

Inner chest and lungs

Raw feeling in respiratory tract from cold air.
In pleurisy (after Acon. and Bryon.), when a pressing sensation remains in affected side, impeding free breathing.

Heart, pulse and circulation

Pain across chest, sharp and severe in region of heart. θ Rheumatism.
Pulse weak and small. θ Chlorosis.
Ebullitions, with general heat and distended veins on forehead and hands. θ Hemorrhoidal colic.

Outer chest

Drawing pains in chest-muscles, especially from motion.

Neck and back

Weak back, with ovarian pains.
Pains in sacrum. θ Hemorrhoidal colic.

Upper limbs

Fugitive pains in shoulders all night, preventing sleep.
Aching from shoulder joints to elbow.
Arms very weak.
Numb sensation in fingers.
Dull aching in first finger of right hand, followed by similar pain in other fingers of right and left hand.
Pricking and coldness of finger tips.

Lower limbs

Emaciation, mostly of legs. θ Marasmus.
Drawing sensation in ankle joint.
Deadness and coldness of feet.
Sticking, tearing and itching sensations in old foot-sores.

Limbs in general

Inability to move arms ; legs only with difficulty. θ Rheumatism.
Frost-bitten limbs.

Rest. position. motion

Lies prone ; cannot hold head up.
Motion : pains in muscles of chest ; averse to exercise ; rheumatic pains <.
Inability to move arms ; legs with difficulty.

Nerves

Remains very much relaxed and incapacitated.
Disposed to lie prone.
A weak, sickly feeling continued many days, with internal trembling when excited.
Very lame and sore all over. θ Rheumatism.
Great weakness and prostration, and a kind of hectic fever with children, after influenza.
Head so weak, cannot hold it up.
Hysteria.

Sleep

Sleepless and restless. θ Hemorrhoidal colic.

Time

Night : cutting, gnawing, stinging in stomach < ; fugitive pains in shoulders.

Temperature and weather

Cold air produces raw feeling in chest.
Itching chilblains.

Fever

High fever. θ Rheumatism.
Hectic fever, very weakening. θ Marasmus.

Attacks, periodicity

Suddenly : hoarseness.
Piles < as rheumatism gets >.
Alternating : diarrhœa and constipation.

Locality and direction

Left : brain seems weak ; scalp sore ; darting in ovary ; sharp pains in region of heart.
Right to left : dull aching in fingers.
Right and left : twitching in ovarian region ; aching in fingers.

Sensations

As of creeping chills along convolutions of brain, with prickling ; as if stomach was hanging or swimming in water ; weak with internal trembling.
Aching : in shoulder joints and first finger of right hand.
Pain : across chest, sharp in region of heart ; in sacrum.
Darting : in left ovary.
Cutting : in stomach.
Sticking : in foot-sores.
Stinging : in stomach.
Pricking : in brain ; in stiff joints ; finger tips.
Tearing : in teeth ; in foot-sores.
Burning : in stomach and hemorrhoids.
Soreness : of scalp all over.
Aching : from shoulder joints to elbow ; in fingers.
Contracting : in stomach.
Gouty pains : in wrists and ankle joints.
Fugitive pains : in shoulders.
Gnawing : in stomach.
Drawing : in upper maxilla, carious teeth, chest muscles ; ankle joint.
Pressing : in pleurisy.
Scraping : in throat.
Rawness : in respiratory tract.
Twitching : in ovaries.
Numbness : in fingers.
Deadness : of feet.
Coldness : in face, stomach, finger tips ; feet.
Weak sinking feeling : in bowels.
Dryness : of inner nose.
Itching : of scalp, foot-sores, chilblains.

Tissues

Gout : painful and inflamed wrists and ankle joints.
Joints stiff, with pricking sensation.
Painful, inflammatory rheumatism before swelling.
Chlorosis.
(OBS :) In phagedenic diseases.
Rheumatism from suddenly checked diarrhœa, cannot move her head, arms or limbs, and suffers much pain, no swelling.
After suppressed gout. θ Gastralgia.
Marasmus of children.
Contractions of limbs from cramps or following colic.

Skin

Furuncles, if Hepar sulph. is insufficient.
The skin is flabby and hangs loose. θ Marasmus.
Itching chilblains.

Stage of life, constitution

Children : emaciation, especially of legs. θ Marasmus.
Boys : epistaxis ; hydrocele.

Relations

After Acon . and Bryon ., in pleurisy ; after Hepar sulph ., in furuncle.
Itching chilblains ; compare Nux vom . and Amanita .