Atropinium atro.

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

Atropine. An alkaloid of Belladonna. C 17 H 23 NO 3 . The effects of the Sulphate of Atropine, the preparation most in use, are included. Solution.

Clinical

Blepharospasm. Convulsions. Enuresis. Epilepsy. Eyes, affections of. Gastric ulcer . Locomotor ataxy. Mania. Neuralgias. Pancreatitis . Spinal irritation. Stammering. Tetanus. Vision, disorders of. Wryneck.

Characteristics

Atropine , as the most active principle in Belladonna , produces, as we should expect, most of the characteristic effects of that drug; but at the same time the two are not identical. Atrop . produces hyperæsthesia of the sensory nerves. The most numerous symptoms have been observed in the eyes. All kinds of illusions of vision. Everything appears large. Motes over everything. I once cured with it a lady who had an appearance of shadows passing over whatever she looked at. It has shown an affinity for the pancreas, which relates it to Iod ., Kali iod ., and Iris . A case of chronic wryneck, of three years' standing, was relieved and finally cured within two weeks by injections of 1/120 into the platysma, the dose being increased up to 1/20th. This was in old-school practice. It has caused difficulty of speech: frequent stuttering, especially at words difficult to pronounce; articulation indistinct, rapid and chattering.

Relations

It antidotes: Muscarine and Opium. It is antidoted by: Op. and Physostigma. Like Bell., it is a right-side medicine.

Mind

Frenzied with excitement. ─ Spectral illusions; sees insects and crawling things and tries to catch them. ─ Mania, tries to escape. ─ When spoken to often turns his head to wrong side.

Head

Vertigo on turning head suddenly. ─ Feeling as if head were screwed up; walking caused the most severe sticking pains; > towards 11 a.m., and disappeared by evening. ─ Head very hot. ─ Headaches of epileptics. ─ Sticking pains in back of skull and over eyes, < every motion and stepping. ─ Sticking l. temple on waking, extending into ear and eye; > moving in open air. ─ Headache, with flushed face, blindness, and delirium.

Eyes

Objects appear large, with red halo. ─ Everything seems elongated, objects appear in a cloud. ─ Clouds of flies; motes; bright spots; stars; flashes. ─ Figures on carpet appear constantly and successively to rise in her face. ─ Diplopia. ─ Sharp neuralgic pains in and about eyes. ─ At 9 p.m. eyelids heavy, difficult to keep open.

Face

Face hot and very red. ─ Deathly pallor.

Mouth

Mouth dry. ─ Tongue thick; cannot articulate distinctly. ─ Tongue semi-paralysed. ─ Speech slow, embarrassed, stuttering, chattering.

Throat

Burning caused by coughing. ─ Dryness. ─ Dysphagia; swallowing causes paroxysms of suffocation. ─ Throat dark red.

Stomach

Vomiting of food; after hot drinks; with severe sticking pains in umbilical region. ─ > After vomiting. ─ Region of stomach very sensitive; swelling in pyloric region.

Urinary Organs

Frequent micturition. ─ Involuntary, but scanty; nocturnal enuresis. ─ Cutting, drawing pains in l. ovary, extorting screams, > bending; ovary swollen and tender during menses. ─ Epilepsy from ovarian irritation.

Heart

Failure of action from chloroform and other cardiac paralyzers. ─ Accelerated pulse.

Back

Burning in back under sternum and in region of stomach. ─ Spinal irritation, pressure causes pallor, nausea, belching, and retching.

Limbs

Numbness; heaviness; paralysis of limbs.

Generalities

Hyperæsthesia of some nerves: ophthalmic, auditory, olfactory, vaginal, spinal, solar-plexus, nerves of uterus and bladder. ─ Great desire for open air (faintness). ─ Very weak in the open air. ─ Giddiness and staggering. ─ > From motion.

Sleep

Disturbed by gastric pains. ─ Restless through night. ─ Waked by frightful dreams.

The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica

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

General

Atropine. C 17 H 23 NO 3 .
Discovered in 1833 as being the alkaloid in the berries, leaves and root of Atropa Belladonna ; it was at first used in the Homœopathic School by such as wanted something stronger, and proved years after. As it is, we have to regard all the symptoms, provings, poisonings and cures, as very uncertain. See Fehling's Dictionary, vol. i, 1871, p. 902. The only trustworthy preparation is the Atropinum sulphuricum . This may have been the drug used in many cases in which it was not considered worth while to add the name of the mineral acid.

Sensorium

Vertigo on rising in morning.
Furious delirium at night.

Inner head

Fine drawing, very sensitive stitches across forehead and temples, recurring every few minutes, lasting some seconds.
Dull pain in temples, at intervals, and transitory.
Very sensible sticking in left temporal region on waking in morning, extending into ear and eye ; > moving in open air.
Sensation as if head was screwed up ; < walking ; < towards 11 A. M. ; > towards evening.
Sticking pains in back of skull and over eyes, < from every motion and on stepping.
Severe headache, beginning in occiput, passing over right side, locating over eyes and in balls, followed by an epileptic attack, with unconsciousness.
Headache, with flushing of face and head, with rush of blood to head.
Periodical headache, coming on suddenly, increasing rapidly, until intensely severe, making blind and delirious.
Headache of epileptics.
Sudden pain soon making her blind and delirious, lasting three hours ; no nausea and vomiting ; no flushing of face ; pain deep in brain ; dreads attacks.
Slender married woman, æt. 32, nervous temperament ; headache once a month, not with catamenia.

Sight and eyes

Sharp neuralgic pains in and about eyes.
Eyelids felt heavy and difficult to keep open.
Sharp pain under right eye, with slight pain in temples.
Neuralgic pains, commencing under left orbit, and running back to ear, lasting perhaps ten minutes at a time, and then disappearing for fifteen or twenty.
Opaqueness ; violent pain ; dacryorrhœa ; photophobia ; swelling of lids. θ Keratitis.
Dimness of vision, with dilated pupils.
A bad incised wound of cornea, with protruding iris.
(Atrop. externally and Arnic. internally ; cured in seven days.)
Blepharo-spasmus and irritability of eye ; with corneal ulcers.
Conjunctivitis, with lachrymation.
Erysipelatous inflammation of conjunctiva and lids.
Amblyopia ; diplopia and chromopsia.
Iritis, if exudation has taken place, and inflammation is violent, to prevent adhesion.
Used for purpose of lessening intraocular blood pressure in inflammatory diseases of internal structures of eyeball, and also in inflammations of cornea and even conjunctiva.

Inner mouth

Mouth and throat dry.

Palate and throat

Dark, red, dusky hue of throat.
Difficult swallowing from great dryness.

Scrobiculum and stomach

In affections of diaphragm Atrop. stands between Bellad. and Stramon.

Abdomen and loins

Frenzy, with distressing abdominal pain, occasionally leaves her ; pulse quick ; tongue dry ; skin hot, but sweating. θ Peritonitis.

Stools and rectum

Catarrhal dysentery.

Urinary organs

Congestive states of kidneys and liver, with disturbance of right heart ; neuralgia of head ; nausea and vomiting ; soporous condition. θ Bright's disease.

Female sexual organs

Ovarian neuralgia, with headache, or epilepsy.

Pregnancy. parturition. lactation

Puerperal convulsions. θ Albuminuria.

Neck and back

Locomotor ataxia.

Limbs in general

From sleeping in a damp bed, acute rheumatism ; pain in all his limbs, which are swollen and red ; no sleep ; general feverish and profuse sweat.

Rest. position. motion

Moving : sticking in left temple better.
Stepping : sticking in back of skull worse.
Walking : sensation as if head were screwed up worse.

Nerves

Muscular spasms in different parts of body.
Tetanus.

Time

Morning : vertigo on rising ; sticking in left temple on awaking.
At 11 A. M. : sensation as if head were screwed up, < ; > towards evening.
Night : furious delirium.

Temperature and weather

Open air : sticking in temple better.
Sleeping in damp bed : acute rheumatism.

Locality and direction

Right : occipital headache passes side ; pain under eye ; disturbance of right heart.
Left : sticking in temple ; neuralgic pains commence under orbit and extend to ear.

Sensations

As if head was screwed up.
Pain : in all his limbs.
Stitches : across forehead and temples.
Sticking pain : in left temporal region ; in back of skull ; over eyes.
Sharp pain : under right eye.
Distressing abdominal pains.
Neuralgic pains : in and about eyes ; under left orbit to ear ; in head.
Dull pain : in temples.
Heaviness : of eyelids.

Tissues

Influences cerebro-spinal centres, involving head, throat and eyes.
Vessels increase in volume, not in tone.

Stage of life, constitution

Nervous, but not hysterical temperaments.

Relations

Very similar to Bellad .
When Bellad . fails give Atrop ., both affect principally right side.
Antidotes : Opium, Physostigma .
In Opium poisoning, has been found useful when applied hypodermically.