Ambra Grisea ambr.

Boger's Synoptic Key — Materia Medica

C. M. Boger · Boger's Synoptic Key — Materia Medica · A Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica, 1915 — the Materia Medica half

Region

NERVES: Pneumogastric. Solar plexus. Spinal. Mind. Female organs. One side. Chest, left.

Worse

Slight causes: Presence of others. Music. Embarrassment. Agitation. Worry. Thinking of it. Old age. Evening. Warmth. Milk.

General

Dry, nervous, meager habit. Early senility. Weakness of upper part of body with trembling of lower parts. Worn out, yet overimpressionnable; slight things < the breathing, the heart, start the menses, etc. Symptoms suddenly change place; asleep, numb feeling (in spots), twitching, itching, trembling, ebullitions, etc. General pulsation.

Particulars

Dreamy, flitting ideas or fixed disagreeable fancies. Slow grasp. Does not understand what she reads. Sad. Bashful. Vertigo; senile. Nosebleed, during menses. Coldness in abdomen. Confusion, in occiput; also sprained feeling in. Imaginations. Coldness of body with twitching. Asthma: dry; senile; < coition. Flatulence. Can't have others present when urinating (Nat-m.) or during stool; < during pregnancy. Itching labiæ. Spasmodic cough, then eructations. Bluish, white expectoration. As a lump in chest (l). Palpitation. Sweat on abdomen and thighs.

Related

Related: Bar-c. Ign.

Keynotes and Characteristics with Comparisons of some of the Leading Remedies of the Materia Medica

H. C. Allen · Keynotes and Characteristics with Comparisons of some of the Leading Remedies of the Materia Medica · homeoint.org / Medi-T HTML text; edition not stated by the mirror (first edition 1898, Allen d. 1909)

Keynote

For children, especially young girls who are excitable, nervous and weak; nervous affections of old people, nerves "worn out.". Lean, thin, emaciated persons who take cold easily. Great sadness, sits for days, weeping. After business embarrassments, unable to sleep, must get up (Act., Sep.). Ranula with fetid breath (Thuja). Sensation of coldness in abdomen (Cal.). The presence of others, even the nurse, is unbearable during stool; frequent, ineffectual desire, which makes her anxious. Discharge of blood between periods, at every little accident - a long walk, after very hard stool, etc. Leucorrhoea; thick, bluish-white mucus, especially or only at night (Caust., Mer., Nit. ac.). Violent cough in spasmodic paroxysyms, with eructations and hoarseness; worse talking or reading aloud (Dros., Phos.); evening without, morning with expectoration (Hyos.); whooping cough, but without crowing inspiration.

Relations

Similar: to, Act., Asaf., Coca, Ign., Mosch., Phos., Val.

Aggravation

Warm drinks, warm room; music; lying down; reading or talking aloud; the presence of many people; after waking.

Amelioration

After eating; cold air; cold food and drinks; rising form bed.

Key-Notes to the Materia Medica

Henry N. Guernsey · Key-Notes to the Materia Medica · homeoint.org / Médi-T HTML text (Guernsey d. 1885; public domain)

General

Lean, delicate, sickly-looking persons remind us of this remedy. Also one-sided complaints.

Mental

Memory impaired. Slow of comprehension, has to read a sentence over and over again, and then does not understand; thinking powers are quite impaired. The mind runs upon unpleasant fancies, diabolical faces and sights; melancholy.

Head

Vertigo, with weakness in head and stomach, must lie down. Falling off of the hair. Much tearing pain in the whole upper half on the brain.

Ears

Increasing deafness; deaf in one ear, roaring and whistling in the ear.

Nose

Copious nosebleeding early every morning.

Face

Flushes in the face. Jaundice-colored.

Mouth

Drawing toothache, sometimes on one side and then on the other. Fetid odor from the mouth. Ranula.

Throat

Grayish phlegm in the throat, which is difficult to hawk up. Sensation of soreness and rawness in the throat. Asthma in lean and delicate old people.

Stomach

Frequent empty or sour eructations. Every evening, stomach seems disordered: regurgitation of an acrid substance, as high as the larynx, like heartburn. After eating, cough and gasping, and a feeling as if food did not go down into the stomach. Eructations and cough, so as almost to cause choking. Heartburn from drinking milk.

Abdomen

Sensation of coldness in the abdomen. Aching in a small place in the region of the liver, rather better from pressure or lying on the part:

Stool and Anus

Frequent urging, but no stool, with much anxiety; meanwhile the near presence of any one, even if in the next room, is intolerable. Constipation. Large flow of blood with the stool. Hæmorrhoids.

Urine

The urine is turbid, even whilst being emitted; brown sediment; sour-smelling urine: burning, smarting, itching, titillations in the urethra and vulva while urinating.

Sexual

Male: Voluptuous itching in scrotum. Soreness between the thighs. Female: Swelling, soreness, and itching of the labia and the surrounding parts. Too early and too profuse menses. Discharge of blood at every little accident or unusual physical exertion. Stitches in the ovaries on drawing in or pressing upon the abdomen.

Chest

Cough only at night, or every evening with pain under left ribs. Violent convulsive cough, accompanied by frequent eructations, and hoarseness. Very saltish expectorations when coughing. Violent cough from titillation in the larynx, throat or trachea. Cough worse from talking or reading aloud. Spasmodic cough, and asthma of elderly or effeminate persons. Choking and vomiting whilst hawking up phlegm. Pain in the lower part of the right chest, relieved by lying upon it. Violent palpitation, with pressure in chest, as if a lump lay there. Sense of rawness in the chest. Wheezing in the chest. Tearing pressure in left side of the chest.

Extremities

Upper: Tearing in left shoulder-joint. The arms go to sleep when lying upon them, and often at other times and under various circumstances. Apt to drop what one is carrying. Finger-nails brittle in old people. Lower: Cramps in the calves almost nightly. Itching of the inside of the soles of the feet. Nervousness of the legs. Tearing pain in the left leg.

Generalities

Infantile or other spasms. Twitchings in the muscles. Arms and legs "go to sleep" easily. Weakness and lassitude of the whole body, in the morning in bed, in knees as if they would give way, of the feet, with loss of sensation in the stomach, must go and lie down.

Sleep

Cannot sleep, must get up. Worriment from business embarrassments. Uneasy sleep with anxious dreams.

Worse

When waking up; in evening; lying in bed.

Better

When rising from bed.

Remedies following

Lycop., Pulsat., Sepia, Sulphur.

Antidotes

Nux vom., Pulsat.

Homœopathic Materia Medica

William Boericke · Homœopathic Materia Medica · 9th edition

Common name

Ambergis-A Morbid Secretion of the Whale

General

Suitable to excitable, nervous children and thin, nervous patients. Extreme nervous hypersensitiveness. External numbness of whole body in the morning and weakness. Nervous bilious temperament. Thin, scrawny women. Adapted to hysterical subjects, or those suffering from spinal irritation, with convulsive cough, eructation, etc. Also for patients weakened by age or overwork, who are anæmic and sleepless. Great remedy for the aged, with impairment of all functions, weakness, coldness and numbness, usually of single parts, fingers, arms, etc. One-sided complaints call for it. Music aggravates symptoms. Ebullitions and pulsations after walking in open air. One-sided complaints.

Mind

Dread of people, and desire to be alone. Cannot do anything in presence of others. Intensely shy, blushes easily. Music causes weeping. Despair, loathing of life. Fantastic illusions. Bashful. Loss of love of life. Restless, excited, very loquacious. Time passes slowly. Thinking, difficult in the morning with old people. Dwells upon unpleasant things.

Head

Slow comprehension. Vertigo, with weakness in head and stomach. Pressure on front part of head with mental depression. Tearing pain in upper half of brain. Senile dizziness. Rush of blood to head, when listening to music. Hearing impaired. Epistaxis, especially in the morning. Profuse bleeding from teeth. Hair falls out.

Stomach

Eructations, with violent, convulsive cough. Acid eructations, like heartburn. Distention of stomach and abdomen after midnight. Sensation of coldness in abdomen.

Urinary

Pain in bladder and rectum at the same time. Burning in orifice of urethra and anus. Feeling in urethra as if a few drops passed out. Burning and itching in urethra while urinating. Urine turbid, even during emission forming a brown sediment.

Female

Nymphomania, Itching of pudendum, with soreness and swelling. Menses too early. Profuse, bluish leucorrhœa. Worse at night. Discharge of blood between periods, at every little accident.

Male

Voluptuous itching of scrotum. Parts externally numb; burn internally. Violent erections without voluptuous sensations.

Respiratory

Asthmatic breathing with eructation of gas. Nervous, spasmodic cough, with hoarseness and eructation, on waking in morning; worse in presence of people. Tickling in throat, larynx and trachea, chest oppressed, gets out of breath when coughing. Hollow, spasmodic, barking cough, coming from deep in chest. Choking when hawking up phlegm.

Heart

Palpitation, with pressure in chest as from a lump lodged there, or as if chest was obstructed. Conscious of the pulse. Palpitation in open air with pale face.

Sleep

Cannot sleep from worry; must get up. Anxious dreams. Coldness of body and twitching of limbs, during sleep.

Skin

Itching and soreness, especially around genitals. Numbness of skin. Arms "go to sleep".

Extremities

Cramps in hands and fingers, worse grasping anything. Cramps in legs.

Modalities

Worse, music; presence of strangers; from any unusual thing; morning, warm room. Better, slow motion in open air; lying on painful part; cold drinks.

Relationship

Do not confound with Amber-Succinum q v. Moschus frequently follows advantageously. Compare: Oleum succinum (hiccough). Sumbul; Castor; Asaf; Crocus; Lilium.

Dose

Second and third potencies; may be repeated with advantage.

Text Book of Materia Medica

Adolph Lippe · Text Book of Materia Medica · homeoint.org / Médi-T HTML text (Lippe d. 1888; public domain)

Mind and Disposition

Great restlessness. Hastiness and nervous excitement when talking. The fancy is crowded with fantastic illusions. Aversion to talking and laughing. Embarrassed manner in society. Despair, loathing of life.

Head

Vertigo when walking in the open air, with weakness in the stomach. Congestion of blood to the head, when listening to music. Dartings in the head. Pressing pain in the forehead and vertex, with heat in the head, with pale face on alternate days, with fear of losing his senses. The hair is sensitive to the touch, it falls out. The scalp feels sore in the morning when waking : this is followed by a sensation of numbness, extending over the whole body.

Face

Flushes of heat to the face. Yellow color of the face. Spasmodic trembling and twitches of the facial muscles. Cramp of the lower lip.

Mouth

Offensive smell from the mouth, (in the morning).

Appetite and Taste

Entire thirstlessness.

Stomach

Sour eructations. Heartburn from drinking milk.

Abdomen

Sensation of coldness in the abdomen, (on one side only). Pressure in the liver. Pain in the spleen, as if something were torn off.

Stool and Anus

Itching, smarting, and stinging at the anus.

Urinary Organs

Frequent micturition during the night, and in the morning after rising. Increased secretion of urine, much more than the amount of fluid drank. Urine, when passing, in turbid, brown, smelling sour.

Sexual Organs

Men. Violent erections in the morning without sexual desire, with numbness in the parts. Women. Violent itching, with swelling of the external parts. Menses too early, and too profuse.

Larynx and Trachea

Hoarseness and roughness of the voice, with accumulation of thick, tough mucus, easily thrown off by coughing. Itching, scraping, and soreness in the larynx and trachea. Cough, with frequent eructations. Spasmodic cough from tickling in the throat, with expectoration of yellowish, or grayish-white mucus, tasting salt or sour, in the morning ; without expectoration in the evening.

Chest

Itching in the chest, and in the thyroid gland. Oppression felt in the chest, and between the scapulæ. Asthma of old people, and of children.

Upper Extremities

The arms go to sleep easily, especially when lying on them, or when carrying something in the hands. Points of the fingers are shrivelled. Cramps in the hands sometimes, only when taking hold of any thing. Itching in the palms of the hands.

Lower Extremities

Cramps in the calves at night. Sensation of contraction in the (right) thigh, the limb seems to he shortened.

Generalities

Numbness of the whole body (externally) in the morning. Weakness in the morning, and at night, when awaking. Spasms and twitches in the muscular parts. Ebullitions and pulsations in the whole body, especially after walking in the open air. Tearing in the muscles of the joints, often on one side, (from the small of the back through the right leg).

Sleep

Disturbed by coldness of the body and twitchings of the limbs.

Fever

Pulse, accelerated with ebullitions. Chill, in the forenoon, with weakness and sleepiness, better after eating. Heat. Flushes of heat flying, returning every fifteen minutes, worse towards evening. Perspiration, at night, more on the affected side, and after midnight. Perspiration from slight exertion, especially on the abdomen and on the thighs.

Skin

Dry, itching, burning. Burning herpes. Suppressed eruptions.

Conditions

One-sided complaints, (perspiration, tearing, numbness, sensation of coldness in the abdomen). Especially suitable for lean or aged persons. Aggravation, in the evening ; while sleeping ; while lying in a warm place ; and on awaking. Amelioration, when lying on the painful part ; after rising from the bed ; by slow motion in the open air.

A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica

John Henry Clarke · A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica · 1st edition (1900-02, three volumes); homeoint.org / Médi-T HTML digitization

General

Ambergris. Most probably a morbid product found in the Sperm Whale or floating in the sea. (Not to be confounded with Amber-Succinum.) Trituration and tincture.

Clinical

Anus, irritation of . Asthma. Bashfulness. Brain, softening of. Cardiac asthma. Convulsions. Cough. Deafness . Emaciation. Epistaxis. Face, pimples on . Hysteria. Jaundice. Menstrual irregularity . Music, intolerance of. Nervousness. Nymphomania. Pruritus vulvæ. Puerperal convulsions. Ranula. Reaction defective. Spleen, pain in. Tympanites.

Characteristics

Ambra produces faintness ( Moschus ), nervousness, jerks, and twitches. Reflex action is increased. The patient has an embarrassed air; the bashful state is very characteristic in certain connections. Embarrassed in company. Cough worse when many people are present. As if in a dream. Forgetful. There is defective reaction in nervous patients. Sensation of icy coldness in abdomen. The pelvic organs are painfully influenced. There is voluptuous itching on the scrotum and some rawness below the thighs in the male. In the female there is discharge of blood between the periods at every little accident, as straining at stool or extra work. Severe itching on pudenda. During urination, itching, tickling, burning of vulva and urethra. Nymphomania, with discharge of bluish white mucus. In childbed, obstinate constipation and tenesmus with bashfulness; cannot make the attempt to stool if any one is present, even the nurse. There is a tickling, spasmodic cough. Cough excited by speaking. Night cough. Cough followed by copious belching. Itching in chest. The limbs go to sleep easily. Finger nails are brittle. Sweat on slightest exertion. Sleepless from worry; retires tired, wakeful as soon as touches pillows. < Warmth; > cold; < from overlifting. Suited to excitable, nervous children. Nervous persons. Lean persons. Old persons. Nervous bilious temperament. "Dried-up" nervous persons. "Thin, scrawny women."

Relations

Compare: Moschus (faintness; hysteric asthma); Castor., Asaf., Pso. and Valer. (defective reaction); Coca (bashfulness); Kali bro., Nux v. (increased reflexes); Calc., Nat. c. (coldness in abdomen); Act. r. (night cough); Nux v. (thin, nervous persons); Ars. (Asthma); Phos. (asthma, nervous excitability; "irritable weakness"; slender build); Bov. (flow of blood between the periods); Lach. and Sep. ( < from overlifting); Coff., Chi., Ign., Sul., Puls., Staph.; Sec. (scrawny women). Antidoted by: Camph., Coff., Nux v., Puls., Staph. Antidote to: Staph. (especially the voluptuous itching of scrotum); Nux v.

Mind

Great restlessness. ─ Hastiness and nervous excitement when talking. ─ Memory impaired. ─ Slow of comprehension, has to read a sentence over and over again, and then does not understand; thinking powers are quite impaired. ─ Melancholy. ─ Inconsolable sadness. ─ Anxiety, esp. in the evening. ─ Timidity. ─ Despair, and disgust of life. ─ Repugnance to laughter and conversation. ─ Excitement, agitation, and precipitation, chiefly during intellectual labours. ─ Imagination occupied with grinning faces and wanton images. ─ Absence of ideas. ─ Difficult conception. ─ Embarrassed manner in society; bashful.

Head

Attack of dizziness, esp. on walking in the open air. ─ Vertigo, which compels the patient to lie down, with a sensation of weakness in the stomach. ─ In the morning, headache as after a nocturnal debauch. ─ Sensation of weakness in the head, with external shivering. ─ Pressive pain in the head, every two days, with heat in the head, burning in the eyes, and paleness in the face. ─ Pressure in the forehead, with fear of losing one's reason. ─ Pressing pain in the forehead and vertex, with heat in the head, with pale face on alternate days, with fear of losing his senses. ─ Pressive squeezing, with perplexity, principally in the forehead and occiput. ─ Congestion of blood in the head, esp. on hearing music. ─ Acute sensation of drawing in the head, with ulcers on the scalp. ─ Dartings in the head. ─ Pain in the head, as if caused by a strain from lifting a weight. ─ Pain in the scalp on its being touched, with falling off of the hair. ─ The scalp feels sore in the morning, when awaking: this is followed by a sensation of numbness, extending over the whole body.

Eyes

Pressure on the eyes, with heaviness, and a sensation as if the eyes were too deep in the head, with a difficulty of opening them in the morning. ─ Insufferable tickling round the eyes. ─ Itching in the eyelid, as if a sty were being formed. ─ Inflammatory redness of the sclerotica, with injection of the vessels. ─ Confusion of sight, like a mist, and obscurity before the eyes.

Ears

Acute sensation of drawing in the ears. ─ Tension in the ears. ─ Crawling and tickling in the interior of the ears. ─ Tinkling and buzzing before the ears. ─ Increasing deafness; deaf in one ear, roaring and whistling in the ear.

Nose

Spasms in the alæ nasi. ─ Nasal hæmorrhage, principally in the morning. ─ Clots or dry blood in the nose. ─ Frequent sneezing. ─ Dryness and stoppage of the nose, with pain, as of excoriation. ─ Dry coryza. ─ Chronic suppression of the nasal mucus.

Face

Redness and heat, sometimes transient, of the face. ─ Jaundiced face. ─ Convulsive movements in the muscles of the face. ─ Tickling and itching titillation in the face, with eruption of pimples; the same in the forehead, and in the region of the whiskers. ─ Red spot on the cheeks, cramps in the lips. ─ Cramp of the lower lip. ─ Hot lips.

Teeth

Drawing, shooting pains, chiefly in the teeth that are carious, and esp. in the open air; increased by taking anything hot. ─ Drawing toothache, sometimes on one side and then on the other. ─ Bleeding of the gums. ─ Painful swelling of the gums.

Mouth

In the morning, on waking, dryness and sensation of numbness in the mouth, in the tongue, and in the lips. ─ Itching and smarting in the mouth. ─ Vesicles in the mouth, with burning pain. ─ Nodosities, with pain, like excoriation, below the tongue. ─ Tongue coated white, or greyish yellow. ─ Offensive smell in the mouth (in the morning). ─ Ranula.

Throat

Sensation as of a plug in the throat, with difficulty of swallowing. ─ Strangling in the pharynx on swallowing food. ─ Gnawing and scratching in the throat. ─ Accumulation of greyish mucus in the throat, with inclination to vomit, and vomiting when hawking. ─ In the morning, hawking up of mucus. ─ Asthma in lean and delicate old people.

Appetite

Insipid or rancid taste. ─ Want of appetite. ─ Sourness in the mouth after taking milk. ─ After eating, pressure at the pit of the throat, as if a piece had stopped there. ─ After eating, cough and gaping, and a feeling as if food did not go down into the stomach. ─ Entire thirstlessness.

Stomach

Imperfect eructations. ─ Frequent eructations, often sour, or with the taste of the food which may have been taken. ─ Hiccough after having smoked tobacco. ─ Pyrosis principally in the evening, or on walking in the open air. ─ Nausea and vomiting. ─ Pressure and cramp-like pain in the stomach. ─ Sensation of burning in the stomach and in the precordial region. ─ Heartburn from drinking milk.

Abdomen

Hepatic pains, most frequently pressive. ─ Pressive pain in the epigastrium and in the abdomen. ─ Heaviness in the belly. ─ Tension and inflation of the belly, principally after eating and drinking. ─ Compression in the belly, sometimes in the morning. ─ Cutting pains in the evening, after midnight, and in bed in the morning with diarrhœa. ─ Pain, as from a wound in the abdominal muscles, on coughing and on turning the body. ─ Pain in the spleen, as if something were torn off. ─ Sensation of coldness in abdomen, sometimes on one side only. ─ In the evening sensation of drawing in the abdominal muscles. ─ Incarcerated flatus. ─ Flatulent colic in the night.

Stool and Anus

Constipation and tardy stools. ─ Fruitless desire to go to stool, with anxiety, and incapability of enduring the approach of any person. ─ Irregular intermittent stools, often only every two days. ─ Soft, loose, clear-brown stools. ─ After the stool, pressure in the abdomen. ─ Flowing of blood with the stool. ─ Hæmorrhoidal excrescences in the anus. ─ Itching and tingling in the anus and in the rectum. ─ Itching, smarting, and stinging at the anus.

Urinary Organs

In the morning, after getting up, an urgent desire to make water. ─ Increased secretion of urine, chiefly at night and in the morning. ─ Increased secretion of urine, much more than the amount of the fluid drunk. ─ Urine of a yellowish-brown, and turbid, with brown sediment. ─ Reddish cloud in the urine. ─ Urine tinged with blood. ─ Acid smell from the urine. ─ Burning in the orifice of the urethra.

Male Sexual Organs

Voluptuous excitement of, and itching in, the genital parts, without external cause. ─ Burning in the region of the spermatic vesicles. ─ Erections in the morning, with numbness of the genital parts. ─ Sore rawness between thighs. ─ Violent erections in the morning, without sexual desire, with numbness of the parts.

Female Sexual Organs

Menses too early; and too profuse. ─ Discharge of blood between the periods. ─ During menstruation, increased swelling of varicose veins, with pressure in the legs. ─ Leucorrhœa thick, slimy, preceded by shooting pains in the vagina. ─ Running of white-bluish matter from the vagina. ─ The leucorrhœa more abundant at night. ─ Burning, pain of excoriation, and itching, in the sexual parts. ─ Violent itching, with swelling of the external parts.

Respiratory Organs

Cough, with coryza, and expectoration of a whitish and salt mucus. ─ Nocturnal cough, excited by excessive tickling in the gullet, cough in the evening, with pain in the l. side, as if something were torn away. ─ Spasmodic cough from tickling in the throat with expectoration of yellowish, or greyish-white mucus, tasting salt or sour, in the morning; with expectoration in the evening. ─ Convulsive cough, with eructations and hoarseness. ─ On coughing, pressive headache in the temples. ─ Voice hoarse, harsh, with an accumulation of thick mucus in the air ducts. ─ Hoarseness and roughness of the voice, with accumulation of thick, tough mucus, easily thrown off by coughing. ─ Cough < by music.

Chest

Breathing short. ─ Oppression in breathing. ─ Oppression felt in the chest, and between the scapulæ. ─ Breath fetid in the morning after waking. ─ Wheezing in the chest. ─ Painful oppression in the chest and in the back. ─ Pressure in the chest, chiefly in the region of the heart. ─ Sensation of rawness in the chest. ─ Itching in the chest, and in the thyroid gland. ─ Asthma of old people, and of children. ─ At night, trembling in the breast. ─ Palpitation of the heart, frequently when walking in the open air, with paleness of face, and pressure in the chest as if a lump were lodged there or as if the chest were obstructed. ─ Rheumatic pain, as from a bruise in the chest.

Neck and Back

Pressive drawing pain in the nape of the neck, and in the back. ─ Shooting pain in the loins. ─ Stiffness in the loins after sitting long. ─ Heaviness in the back, with pain in the belly, as if the intestines were compressed.

Upper Limbs

The arms become easily numbed, whether they are leant upon or used to carry something, or even in the night, with sensation of torpor. ─ Paralytic drawing, as from dislocation, in the shoulder-joints, in the elbows, in the fore part of the arms, and in the hands. ─ Trembling of the arms. ─ Pain in the bone of the elbow when touched. ─ Cramp in the hands on taking hold of anything. ─ Prolonged coldness of the hands. ─ Contraction of the fingers. ─ In the evening, attack of trembling in the thumb. ─ In the morning, the skin at the extremity of the fingers is wrinkled. ─ Nocturnal weakness of the fingers. ─ Itchy tetter between the fingers. ─ Itching in the palms of the hands.

Lower Limbs

Sensation of torpor in the legs, with an unsteady walk. ─ Sensation of contraction in the (r) thigh, the limb seems to be shortened. ─ Nervousness of the legs. ─ Heaviness, stiffness, and weakness of the legs. ─ Cramps in the legs, and at night in the calves of the legs. ─ Acute drawing pain in the legs, from the os sacrum to the feet, with incapability of supporting the foot on the ground: the affected leg seems shorter than the other. ─ Excoriation in the hams, with pain, principally in the evening. ─ Tingling in the calves of the legs and in the feet. ─ Arthritic pains in the joints of the feet and in the great toes. ─ Tightness in the joints of the feet. ─ Pain, as of ulceration, in the soles of the feet when walking. ─ Burning in the soles of the feet. ─ Itching of the inside of the soles of the feet. ─ Swelling of the feet. ─ Shooting pains in chilblains on the toes. ─ Pain, as of excoriation, in the corns.

Generalities

Infantile or other spasms. ─ Cramps and sensation of drawing in the muscles. ─ Tearing pains, chiefly in the joints, and often on one side only (from the small of the back through the r. leg). ─ Spasms and twitches in the muscular parts. ─ Susceptibility to numbness in various parts. ─ Many of the symptoms appear during sleep, and diminish after rising. ─ Many of the pains are mitigated by walking in the open air, or when lying on the part affected. ─ In the evening, and in a warm temperature, many of the symptoms are aggravated. ─ Sensation of drawing throughout the body. ─ Incisive pain in the hands and feet. ─ Inflation and pulsation over the whole body, with great weakness after walking in the open air. ─ Ebullitions and pulsations in the whole body, esp. after walking in the open air. ─ After having talked much, agitation and trembling all over the body, with restlessness. ─ Fatigue, esp. in the morning, in bed, and at night on waking. ─ Sensation of numbness and of torpor over the whole surface of the body, chiefly in the morning.

Skin

Dry, itching burning. ─ Burning herpes. ─ Suppressed eruptions. ─ Itching, and sensation of burning in several parts of the skin, as from the itch. ─ Tetters and itchy eruptions appear during the use of this medicine. ─ Dryness of the skin. ─ Burning tetters.

Sleep

Inclination to sleep during the day. ─ Restlessness at night. ─ Worriment from business embarrassments. ─ Agitated sleep, in consequence of cold in the body, and a sensation of drawing in the limbs. ─ Sleep, with anxious dreams and reveries. ─ On sleeping, startings with fright.

Fever

Pulse accelerated with ebullitions. ─ Chill in the forenoon, with weakness and sleepiness, better after eating. ─ Flushes of heat, returning every fifteen minutes, worse towards evening. ─ Feverish shivering in different parts, followed by heat in the face. ─ Transient heat, sometimes with anxiety at the heart. ─ Perspiration from slight exertion, esp. on the abdomen and on the thighs. ─ Nocturnal sweat, particularly on the diseased side, after midnight.

The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica

Constantine Hering · The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica · 1879–91

Mind

Memory impaired.
Comprehension slow, has to read everything three or four times, and then does not understand it.
Is not able to reflect upon anything properly, feels stupid. θ Often indicated in old age.
Confusion of head ; of occiput.
Difficult thinking in morning. θ Old people.
Distorted images, grimaces ; diabolical faces crowd upon his fancy.
She is excited, loquacious ; talking fatigues her ; was unable to sleep at night, or averse to talking and laughing.
Great sadness.
Melancholy, sits for days weeping ; with great weakness, loss of muscular power and pain in small of back with constipation.
Fear of becoming crazy.
Despair ; loathing of life.
Anguish and sweat all over at night.
Anxiety, oppression, nervous weakness, with irritability and impatience.
After business embarrassment cannot sleep, must get up.
Hurries too much while engaged in mental labor.
Embarrassed manner in company.
Cough < when many persons are present.
The presence of other people aggravates the symptoms.

Sensorium

Vertigo with feeling of weight on vertex ; < after sleep.
Had to lie down on account of vertigo and feeling of weakness in stomach.
Music causes blood to rush to head.
Great weakness in head with vertigo.

Inner head

Pressure in forehead and vertex with fear of becoming crazy.
Tearing : in forehead ; in left temple up to vertex ; in r. frontal eminence and behind left ear.
Extremely painful tearing on top of head and apparently in whole upper half of brain, with paleness of face and coldness of left hand.
Pressive drawing, ascending from nape of neck, and extending through head towards forehead, considerable oppression remaining in lower part of occiput.
Dulness in occiput.
Tearing pains predominate in head.
Rush of blood to head caused by music.
Weakness in head with vertigo.

Outer head

Falling off of hair.
On right side of head, a spot, where hair when touched pains, as if sore.
Scalp feels sore in morning, when awaking ; this is followed by a sensation of numbness, extending over whole body.

Sight and eyes

Dulness of vision, as if from looking through a mist.
Pressure and smarting in eyes, as from dust ; lachrymation.
Pressure on eyes, which are difficult to open, and pain in eyes as if they had been closed too firmly, particularly in morning.
Itching on eyelid as if a stye was forming.

Hearing and ears

Roaring and whistling in ears, in afternoon.
Deafness of one ear.
Crackling in left ear (like sound made when winding a watch).
Hearing decreases ; with cold sensation in abdomen.
Violent tearing pain in and behind right auricle.
Tearing : in right ear.
Crawling, itching and tickling in ears.
Music aggravates cough.
Listening to music brings on congestion to head.

Smell and nose

Dried blood gathered in nose.
Bleeding of nose early in morning.
Nosebleed with menses.
Copious nosebleed early in bed, several successive days. θ Old lady.
Nose stopped up and paining as if sore internally.
Long-continued dryness of nose, frequent irritation as from sneezing.

Upper face

Paleness of face with headache.
Flushes of heat in face.
Heat in face with chill of other parts.
Tearing in upper part of face, particularly near right ala nasi.
Pimples, and itching in whiskers.
Painful swelling of cheek on upper jaw, with throbbing in gums.
Jaundiced color of face.
Spasmodic twitching of facial muscles.

Lower face

Lips hot.
Lips numb and dry in morning on awaking.
Cramp of lower lip.

Teeth and gums

Drawing pain now in one and again in another tooth ; < by warmth, momentarily removed by cold ; not < by chewing, and passes off after a meal ; at same time inner portion of gums was swollen.
Bleeding of gums.

Taste, speech, tongue

Bitter taste in mouth in morning on awaking.
Sour taste after drinking milk.
Folds under tongue pain as if sore, like small growths.
Ranula.

Inner mouth

Fetor of mouth, worse mornings. θ Whooping cough.
Blisters in mouth pain as if burnt.
Smarting and cracked painful condition of mouth.
Accumulation of water in mouth with cough.

Palate and throat

Sensation of rawness in region of velum pendulum palati.
Rawness in throat with cough.
Tearing in palate, extending into left ear.
Dryness of throat in morning.
Sore feeling in throat during empty deglutition, and from outward pressure, not when swallowing food, with tension of glands of throat as if swollen.
Sore throat after exposure to a draught of air ; stitching from throat into right ear ; pains particularly from motion of tongue.
Tickling in throat, which induces coughing.
Tickling in throat and thyroid body, during act of coughing.
Accumulation of greyish phlegm in throat, which is difficult to hawk up, accompanied by rawness.
Hawking phlegm from fauces produces vomiting and choking.
Papular eruption in pharynx.

Appetite, thirst. desires, aversions

Thirstlessness.

Eating and drinking

After breakfast, nausea.
After eating : cough and gagging ; anxiety ; pressure in pit of stomach, as if food stuck and would not go down.
Aggravation from warm drinks, especially from warm milk.
Better after eating : toothache ; oppression in chest ; chill.
After drinking milk : sour taste ; heartburn.

Hiccough, belching, nausea and vomiting

Belching with and after cough.
Eructations either empty, sour or bitter.
Eructations with cough, so as almost to cause choking.
Belching removes pressure under scrobiculum.
(OBS :) Hiccough.
Heartburn : with abortive eructations ; when walking in open air ; from drinking milk.
Every evening, sensation as of disordered stomach and acrid risings up to larynx.
Nausea after breakfast.
Vomiting and choking when hawking phlegm from fauces.

Scrobiculum and stomach

Pressure and burning under scrobiculum ; belching removes it.
Pressure in stomach and hypochondria. θ Whooping cough.
Tension and pressure or stitches and pressure in stomach.
Concussion in pit of stomach with cough.
Weakness in stomach accompanying vertigo.

Hypochondria

Pressing pain in a small spot in upper right side of abdomen, though not felt to touch.
Tearing pain in region of spleen, as if something was torn away.
Pain in right hypochondriac region, > while lying upon it.

Abdomen and loins

Distended abdomen ; accumulation of much flatus, which subsides without being passed.
Sensation of coldness in abdomen.
Coldness of one side of abdomen (l.) ; also with deafness.
Colic, sometimes followed by diarrhœa.
Pressure deep in hypogastrium after evacuation.

Stools and rectum

First copious, soft, light brown stools, after a few days constipation.
Constipation. θ Whooping cough. θ Melancholy.
Diarrhœa preceded by colic.
Stool not hard, though large.
Frequent ineffectual desire for stool ; this makes her very anxious, at this time presence of other persons becomes unbearable.
Large flow of blood with stool.
Itching in anus.
Stitches in anus.
After evacuation pressure deep in hypogastrium.

Urinary organs

Frequent micturition at night and in morning after rising.
Urine when emitted is clouded, yellowish brown and deposits a brownish sediment, after which urine looks clear and yellow ; coffee grounds sediment. θ Dropsy
after scarlatina.
Sour smelling urine. θ Whooping cough.
Urinates three times as much as drink taken, especially in morning ; followed by a dull pain in region of kidneys.
Sensation as if a few drops passed through urethra.
During urination, burning, smarting, itching and titillation in the urethra and vulva. θ Ovaritis.

Male sexual organs

A man, æt. 80, gets asthma when attempting coition.
(OBS :) Impotence.
Violent morning erections without desire, with numbness in parts.
Internal, strong, voluptuous sensation in genital organs.
Itching pimple over male genitals.
Sore rawness between thighs.
Voluptuous itching on scrotum. θ Following use of Staphis.

Female sexual organs

Nymphomania : often with discharge of bluish white mucus.
Burning in sexual parts, with discharge of a few drops of blood.
Stitches in ovarian region, when drawing in abdomen or pressing upon it.
Discharge of blood between periods, at every little accident, at every hard stool or after a walk a little longer than usual.
During menses, left leg becomes quite blue from distended varices, with pressive pain in leg.
Lying down aggravates uterine symptoms.
Is said to cause uterine atony.
(OBS :) Suppressed catamenia.
Menses too early and too profuse.
Menses appear seven days before time.
Severe itching on pudenda, must rub parts.
Soreness and itching, with swelling of labia. θ Pruritus.
Itching, titillation, burning of vulva and urethra during urination.
Thick, mucous leucorrhœa, increased from day to day, or leucorrhœa at night, of bluish white mucus ; preceding each discharge, a stitch in vagina.

Pregnancy. parturition. lactation

During pregnancy : nervous, restless ; pruritus vulvæ.
Impending abortion.
Puerperal eclampsia.
Lessens severity of labor pains.
In childbed obstinate constipation and tenesmus ; abdomen puffed, causing much anxiety ; so nervous she cannot attempt a stool in presence of other people, not even nurse.

Voice and larynx. trachea and bronchia

Titillation in larynx with spasmodic cough.
Titillation in throat, larynx and trachea, causing violent cough.
Hoarseness and roughness of voice, with accumulation of thick, tough mucus, easily thrown off by coughing.
Itching, scraping and soreness in larynx and trachea. θ Whooping cough.
Reading aloud or talking aggravates cough.
Itching in thyroid gland.

Respiration

Tightness of chest, cannot take a deep breath or yawn deeply.
Oppression felt in chest and between scapulæ ; it subsides for a short time after eating. θ Asthma.
Feeling of pressure in chest < during exhalation.
Asthma of old people and children. θ Asthma siccum.
Asthma comes on while he is attempting coition. θ Old man.
Whistling in chest during breathing.
Gets out of breath with cough, which is spasmodic ; rush of blood to head.

Cough

Cough
Spasmodic cough, loses her breath ; with rush of blood to head ; finally some phlegm comes up.
Hollow, spasmodic, barking cough ; < from talking or reading aloud.
Spasmodic cough of elderly or of emaciated persons.
Paroxysms of cough coming from deep in chest, excited by violent tickling in throat, evening without, morning with expectoration, generally of greyish white, seldom of yellow mucus, of salty or sour taste.
Violent spasmodic cough, with frequent eructations and hoarseness.
Lifting a heavy weight aggravates cough.
Cough only at night, produced by excessive irritation in throat.
Cough every evening with pain under left ribs, as if something was torn loose there.
Cough worse when many persons are present.
Cough causes concussion in pit of stomach.
Cough with emaciation.
A kind of whooping cough ; paroxysmal, but without crowing inspiration.
Deep dry cough, with accumulation of water in mouth, and subsequent rawness in throat.
Choking and vomiting when hawking up phlegm.
Sputa yellow white, cream-like.
Collection of phlegm in throat difficult to cough up.
(OBS :) Old coughs.

Inner chest and lungs

Pain in lower part of right chest, relieved by lying on back.
Sensation of pressure deep in right chest ; also in left chest or in upper part of chest.
Sensation of rawness in chest.
Itching in chest. θ Whooping cough.
Sensation of lump in chest.

Heart, pulse and circulation

Anxiety at heart, causing oppression of breathing, with flushes of heat ; oppression beginning in heart. θ Asthma.
Palpitation when walking in open air, with paleness of face.
Violent palpitation, with pressure in chest, as if a lump lay there, or as if the chest was stuffed up.
Pulse accelerated, with ebullitions.
He perceives pulse in body ; it feels like tick of a watch.

Outer chest

Burning on chest.

Neck and back

Glands of throat tense as if swollen.
Burning in left scapula.
Tearing in left, or in both shoulders.
Rheumatic pains in right side of back.
Painful tension in lumbar muscles.
Stitches in small of back, when sitting.
Stiffness in small of back after sitting.
Pain in small of back, with loss of muscular power and constipation.

Upper limbs

Tearing in left shoulder joint.
Drawing, as if sprained and lame in shoulder.
The arms go to sleep when lying on them, when carrying anything in hands or at night ; with numbness, especially of left arm in rest ; tingling in thumb.
Tearing pains in shoulder, elbow, forearm and hand.
Weakness of fingers at night.
Stinging in hands and fingers, as from insects.
Drawing in fingers and thumb.
Itching in palms of hands.
Cramps in hands, sometimes when taking hold of anything.
Tips of fingers are shrivelled.
Tearing, lancinating or itching in tips of fingers and thumb.
Skin on fingers feels tense.
Long lasting icy coldness of hands.
Coldness of left hand with headache.
Finger nails brittle, with a very old man ; they got soft, elastic and pink.

Lower limbs

Tearing pain, first in left, then in right hip joint.
Sense of contraction in right thigh ; limb seems to be shortened.
Tearing in nates, hip, knee, leg, ankle and foot.
Heaviness of legs.
Strumming sensation in legs.
Sensation as if "gone to sleep" in both legs ; no firm step.
Cramps in legs and calves nearly every night.
Cold feet.
Gouty pain in ball of great toes.
Itching on inner border of sole of left foot, not relieved by scratching.
Sore and raw between thighs , and in hollow of knees.
Left leg becomes blue from distended varices during menses.

Limbs in general

Tearing or rheumatic pains in parts of all the limbs.
Uncommon twitching and coldness of body at night.
Uneasiness, like a crawling, with anxiety, only by day.
Weariness, with painful soreness of all limbs.

Rest. position. motion

In rest : numbness of left arm.
In bed, early in the morning : weakness.
Lying down : cough < ; uterine symptoms <.
Desire to bend and stretch limbs.
Worse in room with other persons : cough.
When sitting : stitches in small of back.
After sitting : stiffness in small of back.
Better lying on painful part : pain in hypochondriac region ; pain in right side of chest.
When lying on them : arms go to sleep.
Lying down : aggravates uterine symptoms.
Worse after lying down. θ Pertussis.
Must lie down : with vertigo and weakness in stomach.
Motion of tongue : < pain in throat.
When walking in open air : palpitation and pale face ; uneasiness in blood, more rapid circulation ; weakness <.
After a longer walk than usual : discharge of blood between menstrual periods.
During exercise : profuse sweat on abdomen and thighs.
Lifting a heavy weight : aggravates cough.
When carrying anything in hands : arms go to sleep.
When taking hold of anything : cramps in hands.
Sweat from slightest exertion. θ Intermittent.

Nerves

(OBS :) Trismus neonatorum.
Restlessness.
Jerks and twitches.
Convulsions.
(OBS :) Epilepsy.
Infantile spasms.
Spasms and twitches in the muscular parts.
(OBS :) Spasmodic complaints.
Arms and limbs "go to sleep" easily.
Great lassitude, especially mornings in bed.
(OBS :) Fainting.
Weakness : of the whole body ; of the knees, as if they would give way ; of the feet, with loss of sensation ; in the stomach, so that she must lie down.
(OBS :) Great prostration after lingering fevers.
(OBS :) Chlorosis.
Loss of muscular power. θ Melancholy.
(OBS :) Vertigo and nervous apoplexy.
(OBS :) Paralytic complaints.
Numbness of the whole body.
When walking in open air, an uneasiness in blood and more rapid circulation, with greater weakness of body.
Conversation causes fatigue, heaviness of head, sleeplessness, oppression of chest, sweat, anxiety ; tremor and quivering ; nervousness and irritability.

Sleep

Cannot sleep, must get up ; worriment from business embarrassment.
Cannot sleep at night, yet knows not why.
Restless sleep, with anxious dreams.
Vexatious, anxious dreams and talking in sleep ; awaken frightened. θ Children.
Sleepless after 1 A. M.
Worse from too little sleep.
Uneasy sleep from coldness and twitching.
Nearly every night cramp in calves.
Worse after sleep : vertigo ; weight on vertex ; whooping cough ; feels weak ; mouth dry ; weary, eyes feel as if they had been closed too tightly.
When awaking : soreness of scalp ; lips numb and dry ; bitter taste in mouth.
Early in bed : nosebleed ; great lassitude.

Time

Given in the evening apt to make aggravations.
Worse evening and night. θ Whooping cough.
At night : unable to sleep ; anguish and sweat all over ; frequent urination ; leucorrhœa ; cough ; numbness in arms ; weakness of fingers ; cramp in legs and calves ; twitching in limbs ; coldness of body ; profuse sweat, <
after midnight.
In morning : soreness of scalp ; pressure on eyes and difficulty in opening them ; nosebleed ; lips numb and dry ; bitter taste ; fetor of mouth ; dryness of throat ; frequent and copious urination ; violent erections with numbness in the
parts.
In forenoon : chill with lassitude and sleepiness.
In afternoon : roaring and whistling in ears.
Towards evening : < anxious flushes of heat.
In evening : sensation of disordered stomach ; cough.

Temperature and weather

Warmth : toothache <.
Cold : toothache >.
In warm room : cough <.
Better from motion in open air.
Warm drinks : aggravate.
After exposure to draught of air : sore throat.
When walking in open air : heartburn ; palpitation ; uneasiness in blood, < weakness.
Took cold and had perspiration checked, after a thunderstorm, by north wind in face ; tormenting cough for several weeks.

Fever

Chill in forenoon, with lassitude and sleepiness ; relieved by eating. θ Intermittent fever.
Chill of single parts of body, with heat of face.
Anxious flushes of heat returning every quarter hour ; most violent towards evening. θ Intermittent fever. θ Whooping cough.
Profuse sweat at night, worse after midnight and most on affected side.
Profuse sweat, particularly on abdomen and thighs, during exercise.
(OBS :) Malignant fevers.

Attacks, periodicity

Cough in spasmodic paroxysms.
Anxious flushes of heat return every quarter of an hour.

Locality and direction

One-sided complaints : perspiration, tearing, numbness, sensation of coldness in abdomen.
Right : spot on head sore to touch ; tearing pain in auricle ; tearing pain in ear ; tearing near ala nasi ; pressing pain in side of abdomen ; pain in hypochondriac region ; pain in lower part of chest ; rheumatic pains in back ; itching on
border of foot-sole.
Left : hand cold ; crackling in ear ; coldness in abdomen ; legs becomes blue during menses ; pain under ribs, with cough ; burning in scapula ; tearing in shoulder ; arms get numb.
Left to right : tearing pain in hip joints.
Upper limbs, right side ; lower limbs, left side.
Ascending : pressing drawing from nape of neck through head to forehead.
Extending over whole body : soreness in scalp on waking.

Sensations

Ebullitions and pulsations in whole body, especially after walking in open air ; as if eyes had been closed too firmly ; as if a stye was forming ; glands of throat tense as if swollen ; as if food stuck and would not go down ; as of disordered
stomach ; as if something was torn away in region of spleen ; as if a few drops passed through urethra ; as if a lump lay in chest ; as if chest was stuffed up ; pulse in body perceived like tick of a watch ; as if right leg was shortened.
Pain : in lower right chest ; in small of back.
Lancinating : in tips of fingers and thumb.
Stitches : from throat into right ear ; in stomach ; in anus ; in ovarian region ; in vagina preceding leucorrhœal discharge ; in small of back.
Stinging as from insects : in hands and fingers.
Tearing pain : in forehead ; in left temple up to vertex ; in r. frontal eminence ; behind left ear ; in upper half of brain ; in and behind right auricle ; in right ear ; in upper part of face, near right ala nasi ; from palate into left
ear ; in region of spleen ; in left shoulder, elbow, forearm and hand ; in tips of fingers and thumb ; in hip joints, nates, hip, knee, leg, ankle and foot.
Burning : under scrobiculum ; in urethra and vulva ; in sexual parts ; in left scapula ; on chest ; of herpes.
Soreness : spot on side of head, in scalp ; in nose ; under tongue ; in throat during empty deglutition ; between thighs and hollow of knees ; in female sexual parts ; in larynx and trachea ; of all limbs ; of wart on finger.
Burnt feeling : blisters in mouth.
Drawing : in teeth ; in shoulder ; in fingers and thumb.
Pressive drawing : from nape of neck through head to forehead.
Pressure : in forehead and vertex ; in eyes ; on eyes, difficult to open ; in pit of stomach ; under scrobiculum : in stomach and hypochondria ; in stomach ; in small spot upper right side of abdomen ; in hypogastrium ; in chest ; in
left varicose leg during menses.
Smarting : in eyes ; in mouth ; in urethra and vulva.
Rawness : velum palati ; in throat ; in chest ; between thighs ; in hollow of knees.
Scraping : in larynx and trachea.
Gouty pain : in balls of great toes.
Rheumatic pain : in right side of back ; in limbs.
Dull pain : in region of kidneys.
Cramp : of lower lip ; in hands ; in legs and calves.
Sprained feeling : in shoulder.
Twitching : of facial muscles.
Throbbing : in gums.
Concussion : in pit of stomach, with cough.
Weight : on vertex.
Heaviness : of legs.
Oppression : in lower part of occiput ; in chest and between scapulæ ; beginning in heart.
Tightness : of chest.
Contraction : in right thigh.
Dulness : in occiput.
Weakness : in head ; in stomach ; of fingers.
Titillation : in urethra and vulva ; in throat, larynx and trachea.
Stiffness : in small of back.
Crawling : in ears ; in all limbs.
Strumming : in legs.
Itching : on eyelid ; in ears ; pimples in whiskers ; in anus ; in urethra and vulva ; pimples over male genitals ; voluptuous on scrotum ; itching on pudendum ; in larynx and trachea ; in thyroid gland ; in chest ; in palms of
hands ; in tips of fingers and thumbs ; on inner border of sole of right foot.
Tickling : in ears ; in throat induces cough ; in thyroid body.
Tingling : in thumb.
Heat : in face ; in lips.
Coldness : of left hand with headache ; in abdomen ; of hands and feet.
Dryness : of nose ; of lips ; of throat.

Tissues

Small growths under tongue.
(OBS :) Ranula.
Tearing in muscles and joints, often on one side.
(OBS :) Softening of brain.
Emaciation.

Touch. passive motion. injuries

Slight touch : < pain in thumb.
Rubbing : relieves itching and tickling in rectum.
Sore to touch : spot on right side of head.
From outward pressure : soreness in throat <.
Worse from overlifting.

Skin

Itching.
Jaundiced color of face.
Burning in skin.
Tips of fingers become shrivelled.
Soreness of a wart on finger.
Numbness of skin.
(OBS :) Burning herpes.
(OBS :) Leprous complaints.
Itching pimples in whiskers.
Sore and raw between legs and in hollow of knees.
Distended varices on leg during menses.
Reproduces itch eruption.

Stage of life, constitution

Children who are excitable, nervous and weak.
Nervous persons, infants or young girls.
In old age. θ Asthma. θ Colds.
The so-called bilious or nervous bilious temperament.
Lean persons.
Old persons and children. θ Asthma.
A very old man. θ Brittle finger nails. θ Asthma when attempting coition.

Relations

Similar to : Arsen . (cardiac asthma) ; Act. rac . (night cough) ; Castor. ; Asaf . (women who are nervous and fail to react) ; Coca .
(embarrassed, bashful) ; Coffea ; Cinchon. ; Ignat .
Kali brom . (increase of reflex action) ; Moschus (hysteric asthma) ; Nux vom . (both suit nervous, thin, bilious, persons) ; Opium ;
Phosphor . (asthma ; nervous excitability ; "irritable weakness" ; slender build, etc.) ; Phosph. ac. ; Pulsat. ; Sepia ; Staphis. ; Sulphur. ; Sulph. ac . (cough and belching) ; Valer .
(nervousness, hysteria ; lack of reaction in nervous weakness) ; Laches ., and Sepia (worse from overlifting) ; Laches., Ver. alb . (cough with belching ; coldness,
etc.)
Antidotes to Ambra : Camphor, Coffea, Nux vom., Pulsat., Staphis .
Ambra antidotes : Staphis . (especially voluptuous itching of scrotum) ; Nux vom .

Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica

James Tyler Kent · Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica · homeoint.org / Séror HTML text (Kent d. 1916; public domain)

Premature old age

On looking over this remedy as a whole it will appear to you that you have been studying the characteristics of one prematurely old.

You will often see symptoms coming on in one at fifty years of age that should appear at eighty, and after studying this remedy you will see that the same aspect is presented, a premature old age.

We recognize trembling and a peculiar kind of feebleness that cannot be described by any expression but senility; it is not the confusion of mind belonging to sickness, but the peculiar state we recognize in old people, in declining life; trembling and tottering and a dreamy state of mind with forgetfulness.

He goes on from one subject to another, asking a question, and, without waiting for it to be answered, asking another.

And so he jumps about from one topic to another. It can hardly be said to be confusion, it is a dreamy state of mind, a state of senility.

This remedy is useful when such a state is found in young persons, when the mind is not insane and yet it is weak. Especially is it indicated in those persons who manifest a momentary, fleeting inquisitiveness, jumping from one subject to another.

Often a patient asks me one question after another, never waiting to have the first one answered, a flitting, flighty talker, who does not seem to realize that I have not answered his questions; that patient, I say to myself, needs Ambra grisea.

That state of mind belongs to modern society women in such great frequency that you will be astonished to note it on all hands.

A modern society belle that could not darn the heel of her stocking to save her soul will in a few years get into just that state, and even Ambra will not cure her.

But there is a kind of nervous sickness manifested by these symptoms that Ambra grisea will cure. Alternation of depression of spirits with vehemence of temper is an other feature. That naturally belongs to old age.

A period of greatest excitability is often followed by depression, a state of indifference to all things, to joy, to grief, to people etc., treating with indifference things that would naturally break the heart of a well-balanced person.

He does not even wonder why he is not excited over these wonderful things, so decided is the state of indifference. Many of the complaints are worse in the morning.

He gets up with confusion and dullness of mind and is in a dreamy state and towards evening he takes on symptoms of insanity.

Vertigo

Ambra is one of the most frequently indicated medicines in simple, nondescript vertigo of old men.

So dizzy that they cannot go out on the street; so dizzy upon getting up in the morning that they must wait a while until they can get a-round on their feet. It is the dizziness belonging to senility and to premature old age.

Mind

Now, when this man undertakes to meditate upon something his ideas are whisked away. It is a sort of confusion with vanishing of ideas.

He has to make an unusual effort a few times to bring his thoughts back to the place before he can concentrate the mind to meditate upon some idea.

But while concentration of the mind is difficult, he is compelled to sit and dwell upon the most disagreeable things that force themselves upon him and he cannot get rid of them.

It is somewhat analogous to Natrum mur., but the peculiar feature of the Natr. mur. is that she delights to dwell upon past unpleasant occurrences and lies awake at night thinking about them.

Ambra grisea is forced to dwell upon such things. Images, false faces, hideous imaginations, fancies and visions annoy him and keep him awake.

In the semi-dreamy state he is kept holding up before his mind these grimaces. Such a state of mind may come on from business embarrassments with vertigo, congestion to the head and brain fag.

One thing running through this remedy is that the presence of other persons aggravates the symptoms; also the marked aggravation from conversation.

A woman, when attended by a nurse, is unable to have a stool without sending the nurse into another room. In spite of much straining she can do nothing unless alone.

It is said in Natr. mur. that the patient cannot urinate in the presence of other persons.

The urine will not start when anyone is around. That is a port of general feature of this remedy. Confusion of mind and embarrassment in the presence of other persons. Embarrassment in company. As soon as he goes into company there is flushing, trembling, nervous excitement and the thoughts vanish.

With these symptoms the patient imagines that he is going out of his mind, and finally he settles down into a state of melancholy, sadness and despair, and does not want to live. He loathes his life and wants to die.

"Great sadness."

"Melancholy, sits for days weeping."

Such is the mental state of this prematurely old patient with broken down constitution. It is a picture of a wreck and the question will arise when you find a patient that looks and acts in this way whether you have received him in time to cure him.

You readily see you have before you one who is going down hill and going into insanity of one form or another. A physician sees the forerunner of a great breakdown when he sees an Ambra grisea patient with the nervous mental state, the quivering, trembling and excitement in one who was once a strong, vigorous man.

Some great business or domestic shock has come upon this patient. It is not the aspect you see when phthisis is coming on; you do not we the cachectic condition, but it is a prostration of the nervous system, a mental prostration.

A man goes through the trial of one death after another in the family and there seems to be nothing remaining; he cannot look at it philosophically; he has lost his business and his friends and then he takes on dreaminess and wonders whether life is worthing living.

Then it is you get the Ambra grisea aspect.

Modalities

Many of the complaints come on in the morning and many come on after eating.

"Vertigo with feeling of weight on vertex; worse after sleep," but especially in the morning.

It is not mentioned in the text, but it is also worse after eating.

"Had to lie down on account of vertigo and feeling of weakness in stomach."

Running through the nervous symptoms we have music is intolerable; music makes him tremble, aggravates his mental symptoms and gives him pain in the back as from a hammer.

A number of physical symptoms are brought out by listening to music. The tones seem as if they were a material substance taking hold of him.

Complaints are often one-sided; perspiration on one side of the body or perspiration on the affected side.

"On right side of head, a spot where hair when touched pains as if sore."

The same sensation is in the skip, oversensitive to touch.

"Scalp feels sore in the morning when awaking; this is followed by a sensation of numbness."

The word numbness you will find running through the complaints.

You will find a peculiar kind of numbness, such as belongs to old people. Diminished sensibility of the parts; feeble circulation.

Eyes

Again, we find under the eye symptoms,

"Dullness of vision as if from looking through a mist."

There is dimness of vision coming on without any condition in the eye that would justify it. It is a nervous dimness of vision, a senile paralysis coming on.

"Itching on eyelid as if a sty was forming."

Itching is felt all over the body; itching in all the little openings.

Among the symptoms that, are not in the text and that are decided symptoms belonging to this remedy are,

"Pressing headache starting from both temples, drawing and tearing in the head, to and fro. Shooting through the head, lancinating, cutting pains, worse on exertion, better from quiet and lying. Headache when blowing nose.

Pressing pain in the left frontal eminence and in the eye. Burning in the right eye and in the eye-lids. Tearing in short streaks in and upon the right eye, pressure on the left eye-brow, shooting, aggravated after eating; lachrymation."

These are in the original provings, but not in the text; they have been left out. This is the case all through the Guiding Symptoms; important symptoms were left out because it was necessary to cut down the work.

Hearing

"Hearing decreases."

Dullness of hearing without any organic affection of the ear. So perverted is his ability to hear that music aggravates his symptoms, that is through the nerves of hearing.

"Listening to music brings on congestion to head."

Music aggravates his cough. Think of one commencing to cough simply because he hears music! What a strange thing that is! Calcarea has such sensitiveness that the stroke of the piano is painful in parts, especially in the larynx.

Bleeding

This remedy is full of bleeding.

Copious bleeding from the nose in the morning. There we get the morning aggravation again. We get the idea of the feeble circulation because of the easy oozings from mucous membranes.

"Copious nose bleed early in bed."

"Dried blood gathered' in nose."

"Long continued dryness of the nose, frequent irritation as from sneezing."

In the nose an old, dry catarrh with atrophic condition of the mucous membrane. The nose inside becomes shiny and withered.

Mouth and throat

Dryness of the mouth without thirst.

Biting pain in the throat between the acts of swallowing. Rawness in the throat. The throat complaints are worse in the morning. Complaints are worse after eating and worse from warm drinks, especially from warm milk.

"After eating, cough and gagging."

There is a peculiar combination of symptoms about the throat. Dryness and accumulation of mucus in the throat which he tries to expel, and, when making an effort to cough out the mucus he gags and sometimes vomits.

Stomach and abdomen

Vomiting from cough. Weakness at the pit of the stomach; after every evacuation; in "all-gone" feeling in the pit of the stomach.

Pressure deep in the region of the liver; worse in the morning; worse after eating; worse after stool. Distension of the abdomen with great flatulence, especially after eating.

Some symptoms are worse after drinking. Sometimes these complaints come on in the middle of the night, rousing him up with rumbling and cutting in the bowels.

The abdomen is cold; it feels as if the whole inside of the abdomen were cold. At other times the coldness seems to be on one side of the abdomen.

Inveterate constipation in old persons, and especially when it is impossible to have anyone near at the time, of stool.

"Frequent ineffectual desire for stool; this makes her very anxious; at this time presence of other persons becomes unbearable."

After the normal stool there is pressure in the abdomen or a sense of emptiness and weakness in the abdomen which is better after passing flatus or eructation.

Urines

Bloody urine with red sediment in the urine.

Urine when emitted is clouded, yellowish-brown and deposits a brownish sediment.

"Sour smelling urine." The urine is copious.

"During urination burning, smarting, itching and titillation in the urethra and vulva."

"Sore rawness between the thighs."

"Voluptuous itching on scrotum."

"Violent morning erections without desire," with numbness of the genitals.

The symptoms are most erratic, as much so, as in Ignatia and Natr. mur . Taken as a whole they can be reconciled, but taken a few at a time they seem wonderfully inconsistent. You must get the whole remedy in order to comprehend it.

Female

Copious discharge of blood between the menstrual periods.

"Discharge of blood between periods at every little accident."

Discharge of blood from the vagina from pressing at hard stool; even from a walk that is a little too long or from too great exertion.

"During menses left leg becomes quite blue from distended varices, with pressive pain in leg."

"Lying down aggravates uterine symptoms," quite an unexpected thing.

Menses too early and too profuse.

"Menses appear seven days before time," and then comes that horrible itching of the genitals;

"soreness and itching with swelling of labia."

Asthma

Another marked feature of this remedy that you might expect with all this nervous excitement and prostration is dyspnoea with cardiac symptoms, difficult breathing, a sort of asthma. It comes on from any little exertion.

Asthma on attempting coition,

"Itching, scraping and soreness in larynx and trachea."

"Titillation in throat, larynx and trachea."

Everywhere there is itching, and the itching is very often a form of crawling.

"Asthma of old people and children," in feeble, tremulous, weakly ones.

"Whistling chest during breathing."

"Spasmodic cough."

Violent spasmodic cough with frequent eructations and hoarseness,"

A good deal of this cough is of nervous origin. It is a cough with excitement, with nervousness, with trembling, which would make one of considerable experience wonder if that patient did not have brain and spinal cord trouble.

Nervous cough, such as occurs often, in spinal irritation. Cough from constriction of the larynx followed by copious flow of white mucus.

This is a paroxysmal cough, much like whooping cough. Asthmatic dyspnoea from any little exertion, from music, from excitement. Cough with congestion of blood to the head. Cough from thinking and from anxiety.

It is not very long after these symptoms show themselves before this patient will emaciate and wither. until the skin looks like dried beef. With all he is a tremulous and shaky patient.

He complains a great deal of tearing pressure deep in the left side of the chest. Sensation of rawness in the chest and itching in the chest. Titillation and itching, moving about here and there if he tries to touch the place and scratch it.

You will not be surprised to know that this patient suffers from palpitation of the heart upon slight exertion, from excitement, from music, from any effort to put the mind on anything, with trembling and quivering.

And this palpitation he notices even to the extremities; he throbs all over. His extremities pulsate. He is conscious of his arteries everywhere and the palpitation of his heart causes oppression of breathing.

The limbs easily become numb; pressed upon in the slightest manner they go to sleep; go to sleep on being crossed. Coldness, trembling and stiffness of the extremities. The finger nails become brittle and are shriveled.

The arms go to sleep when lying down.

"Sore and raw between the thighs and in hollow of knees."

Heaviness of lower limbs, Paralytic weakness; the patient is growing old; senility is coming on.

This remedy has cured the premature trembling that comes on in middle-aged persons.

It has cured the "going to sleep" and numbness and feeble circulation with loss of muscular power. It is very suitable in children who are excitable and nervous and weak.

"In lean persons." "Old persons and children."

The Therapeutics of Fevers

H. C. Allen · The Therapeutics of Fevers · 1902 Library of Congress printing (Allen d. 1909; public domain)

Characteristic

For children, especially young girls who are excitable, nervous and weak; nervous affections of old people, nerves "worn out."

Lean, thin, emaciated persons who take cold easily.

Great sadness, sits for days weeping.

After business embarrassments, unable to sleep, must get up (Act., Sep.).

Ranula with fetid breath (Thuja).

Sensation of coldness in abdomen (Æth., Cal.).

The presence of others, even the nurse, is unbearable during stool (while urinating, Nat. m.); frequent, ineffectual desire, which makes her anxious.

Discharge of blood between periods, at every little accident—a long walk, after every hard stool, etc.

Leucorrhœa; thick, bluish-white mucus, especially, or only, at night (Caust., Merc., Nit. ac.).

Violent cough in spasmodic paroxysms, with eructations and hoarseness; worse talking or reading aloud (Dros., Phos.); evening without, morning with expectoration (Hyos.); whooping-cough, but without crowing inspiration.

Aggravation

Warm drinks; warm room; lying down; at night; too little sleep; the presence of others during stool.

Amelioration

After eating; cold air; cold room and drinks.

Type

No periodicity.

Time

In the forenoon. Fever, without chill, 7 to 8 P. M.

Chill

Of single parts of body, with heat of face. Chill, with lassitude and sleepiness, > by eating (sweat > by eating, Anac.); chills before dinner. Skin of whole body, except face, neck and genitals, cold (ice cold genitals, Sul.) Coldness of left hand, with headache.

Heat

In face and over the whole body every quarter of an hour, most violent from 7 to 8 o'clock in the evening.

Sweat

Profuse night-sweat, < after midnight, the body being warm. Sweat every morning, worse on affected side (Ant. t.). Profuse sweat of abdomen and thighs (during exercise).

Analysis

Chill: of single parts, > by eating.

Sweat.—Profuse, of affected parts; < on affected side.

Should not be given in the evening, apt to produce nightly aggravation.