Dirca Palustris dirc.

Leatherwood. Moosewood. Wicopy. N. O. Thymelaceæ. Tincture of inner bark of branches.

Colic. Constipation. Cough. Debility. Diarrhœa. Dyspepsia. Eyes, affections of. Flatulence. Headache. Heart, affections of. Neuralgia. Rheumatism.

Dirca belongs to the same family as Daphne Indica and Mezereum , and is the only American member of the family. Its symptoms show its relationship to the other two, but it has not been used extensively in practice. It produces much vital depression; neuralgic pains in the head, trunk, and extremities, many of the pains proceeding from without inward. Digestion is disordered, there is weight at the stomach, and a peculiar white tongue, the coating being moist and even. Rumbling of flatulence. Colic > by bending forward, diarrhœa and tenesmus, later constipation. Oppression and pains in the chest, sweetish expectoration, and excitability of the heart's action from the slightest motion. Hot and restless at night; cannot sleep; dreams of dead bodies. Motion < most symptoms; walking < vertigo and pain in bowels. Colic is > by bending forward; headache > by pressure. Pains in the bowels are > by stool.

Compare: Can. i. (time passes slowly); Ant. c. (tongue); Lyc. (constipation and flatulence); Bry., Puls., Abies. n., &c. (weight at stomach); Stan. (sweet expectoration).

Time seemed to pass slowly. — Absent-minded.

Vertigo on walking; seems as if he would fall to l. — Pains all through the head, vertex, and occiput, extending down into spine. — Sensation as if lobes of cerebrum were drawn forward towards frontal sinuses. — Headache in temples extending inwards; > by hard pressure. — Headache, throbbing, and beating in l. half of head, < by coughing or moving. — Pain high up in occiput extending inwards. — Awoke with pain low down in occiput, much < on raising or accidentally moving head in morning; < towards noon, and went up over vertex to forehead, and there had a strong congestive headache, with throbbing of carotids, lasting till evening and gradually disappearing. — Scalp feels dry and tight.

Eyes sore; and painful to touch. — Sensation as if brows corrugated; and as if brain were also drawn down. — Lids heavy. — Much photophobia; on waking and continuing all day; esp. from gaslight.

Face red, full, and bloated in morning.

Tongue coated smoothly and evenly white. — Smooth, dirty, white coat. — Sour taste.

Throat red, raw; acrid feeling; hurts to swallow food or liquids.

No thirst. — Empty eructations. — Uneasy feeling as if a lump or weight in stomach.

Several lancinations in l. hypochondrium with tympanites. — Burning below umbilicus. — Rumbling in bowels. — Colic > bending forward; and > by stool, but smarting in anus remains. — Burning and uncomfortable sensation in bowels. — Pain in bowels on walking, also painful on pressure. — Dull ache low down in pelvis; bearing down, not > by sitting or lying, but > when headache > .

Throbbing, stitching pains in anus. — Soreness and smarting, < after stool. — Tenesmus and straining. — Diarrhœic stools; sudden, gushing, watery; thin, yellowish fæcal. — Constipation; urgent desire, but passes only frothy mucus. — Dry, sticky feces.

Pain and soreness in region of bladder.

Uterus seems too low, and as if it would prolapse during stool. — Menses two days too early; less copious and prolonged than usual.

Stinging pains in larynx from without inwards; very sharp pricking pain and sensation of suffocation. — Cough < morning. — Raising sweetish-tasting mucus quite offensive. — Great dyspnœa from exertion; from walking up a slight elevation. — Sharp pain in r. thorax running down into abdomen and up into l. shoulder.

Excitability of heart's action from least motion. — Palpitation on going up slight elevation. — Pulse suddenly becomes weak and irregular.

Heavy pain across back and through loins; in region of kidneys.

Dull, neuralgic pain in both shoulders, cannot keep them still.

Muscles of thighs sore and stiff. — Neuralgic pains in legs.

Sleepy but unable to sleep. — Dreams of dead bodies.

A tincture is made of the fresh inner bark of the twigs of Dirca palustris, L.

Inability to sit quietly in one position. ▶ Uneasiness and sensation as if something unpleasant were to happen. ▶ Full sensation through the body, with sluggishness. ▶ Weakness; at 1.45 P.M.; with desire to lie down; towards evening; at 9 P.M.; so that walking was difficult. ▶ Necessity to lie down at noon, feeling as if my senses were leaving me. ▶ Aggravation every four days, later every two days. ▶ Time passed too slowly. ▶ Expecting bad news constantly in the daytime, worried and annoyed by everything. ▶ Dullness; of mental powers and inertia; with indisposition to talk. ▶ Inability to think or study, dull and bewildered condition. ▶ Difficulty in thinking of what word to use in writing. ▶ Absent-minded, often writing the wrong words.

Aching; with sore pain in temples and vertigo. ▶ Dullness. ▶ Congestion, with fulness of head, neck and chest. ▶ Fulness, agg. temples and in front; fulness in morning, with heaviness; in morning, with pain in temples and in front; at night, with heaviness. ▶ Vertigo on walking, as if he would fall to the left ; vertigo, with inclination to the left and with lightness of head. ▶ Sensation as if lobes of cerebrum were drawn forward towards frontal sinuses. ▶ Pain in forehead and temples in afternoon. ▶ Congestive pain in forehead, with darting inward from each temple. ▶ Sensation as if brown were corrugated and as if brain were drawn downward. ▶ Congestion to forehead in morning, with pressure. ▶ Dullness in forehead at 9.30 P.M. ▶ Sticking in right temple, agg. motion. ▶ Darting pain in right temple, before noon. ▶ Sharp pain in temple, agg. left, extending inward, amel. hard pressure; at 7 P.M. extending towards centre; in left towards evening, extending towards centre. ▶ Pain in vertex after dinner, amel. pressure; pain in vertex and occiput and all through head, extending into spine. ▶ Throbbing pain in left half of head, agg. coughing or moving, could not have anything touch occiput felt better with the hair down or high up on head. ▶ Intermittent pain high up in occiput, in afternoon, extending inward. ▶ Pain low down in occiput in morning on waking, agg. rising up or moving head, agg. towards noon, when it extended over vertex to forehead, where it was a congestive pain, gradually amel. evening, with throbbing of carotids. ▶ Scalp felt dry and tight.

Haziness of retina. ▶ Eyes sore and painful to touch. ▶ Lids heavy. ▶ Photophobia; agg. gaslight. ▶ Roaring in one ear, then in the other. ▶ Face pale; and sunken. ▶ Face red and bloated in morning.

Tongue coated white; thicker at base; dirty white, thicker towards centre and far back. ▶ Tongue light and smooth. ▶ Taste sour. ▶ Throbbing of carotids. ▶ Fauces red and raw; rose-red towards evening, and dry, pain on swallowing. ▶ Acidity in throat at 9.30 P.M. ▶ Swallowing painful.

Appetite diminished. ▶ No thirst. ▶ Eructations; empty; of sour-tasting gas. ▶ Nausea, agg. afternoon. ▶ Uneasy feeling, as of a lump.

Distention; and tenderness on pressure; tympanitic; tympanitic at 9 P.M., with pain. ▶ Rumbling. ▶ Emissions of flatus; with pain in abdomen, agg. about umbilicus, amel. bending forward and by a consistent stool, soreness and smarting of anus during stool, the smarting continuing after the stool; frequent emissions of fetid. ▶ Occasional griping at 9.20 A.M. ▶ Sharp pain about every fifteen minutes before going to bed and afterwards. ▶ Pain; on waking at 6 A.M., with urging of stool, stool dark and thin, coming but little at a time, relieving the pain, which soon returned, to be followed by another stool after passing all that was possible, had the cramping pain every few minutes; in afternoon; at 9 P.M. on walking and on pressure; at 10 P.M.; with desire for stool partly amel. diarrhœa.

Discomfort; in evening, with burning; like "stomachache" in evening with passing of flatus. ▶ Uneasiness as before stool, but no satisfactory stool. ▶ Soreness of muscles. ▶ Lancinating pain in left hypochondrium with tympanitis, the pain spreading over abdomen. ▶ Griping about umbilicus; below U. at 1 P.M., with aching. ▶ Biting above U., agg. 10 P.M. ▶ Pain above U. at 9 P.M., with flatus; sore pain in and below umbilical region. ▶ Burning about umbilicus at 7.30 P.M., below U. at 12.30 P.M. ▶ Bearing down in lower part of abdomen as if muscles were relaxed, amel. when the head ached less. ▶ Aching low down in pelvis.

Throbbing sticking in anus at 10 P.M., with pain in abdomen. ▶ Soreness of anus. ▶ Tenesmus and straining at stool, remained half an hour at stool. ▶ Desire for stool, but only scanty passage of mucus; but only scanty passage of frothy mucus; ineffectual desire. ▶ Violent purging, with tenesmus. ▶ Frequent and profuse diarrhœa. ▶ Diarrhœa with flatus. ▶ Watery stool in evening, with tenesmus, only partially amel. by stool W., partially relieving the colic; W., yellowish; and gushing; and bubbling, with flatus, preceded by rumbling; and mucous towards evening, with pain in abdomen; and frequent. ▶ Passage of fæcal mucus before rising, with flatus. ▶ Stool at first consistent then thin fæcal, slimy, with flatus. ▶ Constipation after catamenia; C. and no desire for stool. ▶ Stool small and insufficient; three times a day; and pasty; and sticky; and dry, sticky, with apparently no power to expel it. ▶ Stool scanty and soft. ▶ Stool, with colic and griping.

Pain in region of bladder, with soreness. ▶ Urine diminished and high colored; diminished and with white, sometimes reddish sediment. ▶ Uterus feels as if too low and as if it would come out while at stool. ▶ Menses sooner than usual, not so profuse or long lasting as usual.

Stinging from without inward in larynx, with suffocating sensation. ▶ Cough, agg. morning and appearance of a cold. ▶ Expectoration of offensive sweetish mucus. ▶ Dyspnœa; from slightest exertion; on ascending stairs; with oppression of chest, desire to clear throat and much spitting. ▶ Out of breath on ascending a slight elevation, with palpitation, vertigo and pallor. ▶ Sharp pain in right chest, extending into abdomen and left shoulder. ▶ Soreness of chest as from a cold.

Heart's action excited by the least motion. ▶ Pulse rapid; and full and strong, then suddenly weak and irregular; then slow and weak. ▶ Pulse slow and weak; but excited by the least exertion; slow and soft. ▶ Pulse weak.

Pain in back and loins; in small of back and in side before going to bed, running around into right side in the night sharp pain in the latter spot, low down in right side, waking her three times, and a hard lump. ▶ Heavy pain in region of kidneys, with crawling sensation and occasional darting pain. ▶ Extremities weak and trembling on standing. ▶ Neuralgic pain in arm before noon; N. pain in shoulders and arms, making it difficult to keep them still. ▶ Soreness of muscles of thighs extending to knees, with stiffness, making it difficult to rise from the bed or chair. ▶ Neuralgic pain from foot to knee; N. pain extending down left leg.

Sleepiness and dullness; S. but inability to sleep. ▶ But little sleep at night. ▶ Sleep delayed, restless and disturbed. ▶ Sleep full of dreams. ▶ Dream of dead bodies.

Cold feet. ▶ Heat at night, with restlessness and inability to sleep. ▶ Feverishness on going to bed at 10 P.M., then sweat. ▶ Sweat on hands.