Homeopathic Materia Medica

Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica, James Tyler Kent

Generalities: Before Aethusa was known a certain class of cases of cholera infantum, and vomiting and diarrhea in children, all resulted fatally, because there was no remedy that looked like such serious cases.

Death is stamped on the face from the beginning, and if there are any remedies in the book that save life this is one of them.

It applies to the cases that come on very suddenly in hot weather in infancy, with extreme prostration.

The mother does not suspect the child is sick until she takes it from the crib; only a few hours before it was well; but when cholera infantum is prevalent in hot weather, this little one fills its stomach with milk and almost before it has had time to coagulate or form into curds the milk comes up partly in curds and partly liquid, and accompanying the vomiting there is a thin, yellow greenish, slimy stool.

The child has the appearance as if it were dying, pale Hippocratic face, there is a whitish-blue pallor around the lips, the eyes are sunken and there is a sunken condition around the nose. The mother is astonished and sends for the doctor hurriedly. The child sinks into an exhausted sleep.

It wakes up and again fills the stomach with milk which comes up again in a few minutes, partly in curd and partly liquid, and again there is the awful exhaustion, deathly appearance and prolonged sleep.

Without Aethusa, in two or three days the undertaker gets that child. That is pretty nearly the whole story of Aethusa.

It has delirium, it has excitement, it has mental disturbances of various kinds, but they are acute and accompany the brain troubles.

A certain class of infants come down sick in the hot weather, in the hot nights, and they get brain trouble, and from that time the stomach quits business, the bowels become relaxed, and everything put into the stomach either comes up or goes right through.

This occurs especially in those infants that have been fed as the ordinary everyday mother feeds her baby and how is that?

Every time it cries she puts it to the breast or feeds it. Well, now; let us think a bit. Every doctor ought to think a little, once in a while. Now meditate a trifle as to whether that is a wise or foolish thing to do.

It takes about two hours or two hours and a half for the ordinary baby's stomach to transact good wholesome business in digesting the milk taken, and it ought to have a rest of half an hour or so, and when we get up to three hours and the baby cries then it is probably hungry and will be glad to take some more and digest it.

Any shorter interval of feeding than that is bad practice, it would be just the same thing if the child should take half teacupful of milk and let it partly digest, and in a little while take little more, and then later add a little more.

It commences to spit up its food and it is sour, and the very first spell of hot weather that comes brings on head trouble. Only the toughest children will stand this bad method.

I have watched these children and seen them stand it until the summer. The doctor must put his foot down, and put it down violently, and make them see he means it.

The old woman comes in and says:

"That doctor does not know anything" and the baby must be fed.

Now Aethusa suits improperly fed babies. It is at the head of the list of medicines for that condition; that is, when digestion has absolutely ceased from brain trouble.

Stomach and digestion: So far as busy doctors have discovered the call for this remedy, it has been mostly among babies, but adults sometimes take on an Aethusa state, when digestion has absolutely ceased from brain trouble and from excitement.

It has cured dyspepsia from constant feeding, in those nibblers, those hungry fellows who are always eating, always nibbling, always taking crackers in their pockets until there comes a time when the stomach ceases to act.

It also suits cases of indigestion from head troubles, with hot head, vomiting, exhaustion, sweat and long sleep.

Convulsions: Aethusa has convulsions in children.

Sometimes the brain trouble does not affect the stomach, but the child goes into convulsions, with clammy hands, deathly countenance, and the sweat, exhaustion and sleep.

"Convulsions, great weakness and prostration, with sleepiness. Dosing of the child after vomiting and after stool, with convulsions."

In the Aethusa patient there is much in the face and aspect to indicate a remedy; so much can be seen and comes within the observation, and so little questioning is necessary, that a sort of snap-shot prescribing can be done, but it is not to be recommended.

A busy physician, one who really and truly studies his Materia Medica, learned the principles, will in time do a great deal of what seems to be snap-shot prescribing, but he really does not do so, because he puts together many things that outsiders would not think of.

Aethusa then shows itself upon the surface, whereas in many remedies there is nothing seen upon the surface because they manifest themselves in any or deeper sensations.

Let me lay a case before you to illustrate this. For instance, take a robust looking fellow, who declares himself fairly well, out to lunch with you.

You have noticed for some time that his nose is all the time peeling off at once there is a star.

He never talks about his health.

Pretty soon, while lunching, the door slams and he jumps. That is the second point. Then he tells you how much he eats, how well it affects him, how good he feels after eating, and you have noticed yourself that he eats a good deal.

You have not said one word about his health to him. You have not asked him to tell you any symptoms. Finally you shove the pitcher of milk over to him, and he says:

"Oh, I can't drink milk; if I take milk it gives me diarrhoea; I never think of taking it."

Who could not prescribe for that fellow without taking him into the office?

Who would think of anything but Natrum carb. for such a case?

Sometimes you can find out the whole story by getting a stubborn patient to go and dine with you.

A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, John Henry Clarke

Aethusa cynapium. Fool's Parsley. (Europe.) N. O. Umbelliferae. Tincture of whole flowering plant.

Clinical.─Brain-fag. Cholera infantum. Convulsions. Cough. Delirium. Diarrhoea. Dyspepsia. Ear, discharge from. Epilepsy. Excoriation. Eyes, affections of. Glands, affections of. Headache. Herpes. Hiccough. Idiocy. Infantile paralysis. Mind, weakness of. Sleeplessness. Stomach, disorders of. Trismus. Vomiting.

Characteristics.─The symptoms of Aethusa are particularly clearly defined, in fact violence is one of the notes of its action─violent vomiting, violent convulsions, violent pains, violent delirium. On the other hand there is prostration and somnolence. "Fool's parsley" has not received its name for nothing─it is indeed a medicine for "fools." There is great weakness of mind or body. One very characteristic symptom is: Inability to think or fix the attention. Guided by this symptom I once gave it to an undergraduate preparing for an examination, with complete success. He had been compelled to give up his studies, but was able to resume them, and passed a brilliant examination. To a little waif in an orphan home who suffered from severe headaches and inability to fix his attention on his lessons I sent single doses of Aethus. at rare intervals, with very great relief. The little boy asked for the medicine himself subsequently on a return of the old symptoms. Other mental symptoms are: Idiocy; in some cases alternating with furor. Hallucinations. Delirium; sees cats and dogs; wants to jump out of bed, or out of the window. Irritability, especially in open air. Guernsey says: "The mental symptoms peculiar to children, and frequently of adults, are, great anguish and crying. As the disease progresses the patient becomes more and more retired in his disposition, and more inclined to weep." Somnolence. Dotage. Another marked characteristic is: Intolerance of milk; vomiting of everything taken, especially milk, which is ejected in yellowish or greenish curds. There is great weakness and exhaustion after vomiting; the child is so exhausted it falls asleep at once. It awakens hungry, eats, and vomits again. "Hungry after vomiting" is the keynote here. There is also griping, with diarrhoea, vomiting, crying. For adults who complain of regurgitation of food an hour after it has been taken Aethus., says Guernsey, is invaluable. Also copious vomiting in adults, with a great feeling of distress; can't tell what the distress is about but still it exists. Adults complain of a sensation as though the stomach was turned upside down, accompanied by a burning feeling up to the chest. Tearing pains in stomach extending into oesophagus; abdomen tense, inflated, sensitive. There is an herpetic eruption on tip of nose. Along with the gastric symptoms there is a peculiar expression of great anxiety and pain (Linea nasalis), a surface of pearly whiteness on upper lip bounded by distinct lines from wings of nose to angles of mouth. Other symptoms are: Sensation of swelling in head and face on entering a room. Sunken cornea. Eyeballs convulsed and directed downwards. Sleep after attacks. Sensation of swelling in hands after walking. Convulsions, with cold limbs. The pains are lancinating. Swelling of mammary or axillary glands, with lancinating pains. Prostration; stupid. All symptoms < 3 to 4 a.m. Heat = all eruptions to itch intolerably. As with Bovist. and Aster. r. symptoms are < by coffee, wine, drunkenness, cold water, and warmth of bed; > by a walk in the open air, and by conversation. > In open air (except mental symptoms). The remedy is suited to teething-children and choleraic affections in old age.

Relations.─Compare: Cicut.; Coni.; Oenan. croc.; Ant. crud. and Calc. c. (vomiting of milk); Ars.; Asar.; Cupr.; Ipec.; Op. It antidotes Opium; and is antidoted by vegetable acids. Teste places Aethus. in the Sulphur group with Cicuta, Con., Aster., Bov., Lobel., Merc., Kreas.

SYMPTOMS.

1. Mind.─Incapacity to think; confused.─Loss of comprehension; as if a barrier between the senses and external objects.─Idiocy, in some cases alternating with furor.─Great anxiety and restlessness, followed by violent pains in head and abdomen.─Bad humour; irritability.─Irritability, esp. in the afternoon, and in the open air.─Delirium: sees cats and dogs; tries to jump out of the window.─Loquacious gaiety.

2. Head.─Head confused; brain feels bound up.─Vertigo, with sleepiness, can't raise the head.─Headache in whole front part of head.─Heaviness in the forehead.─Sensation, as if both sides of the head were in a vice.─Distressing pains in the occiput, down nape of neck, and spine.─Heat rises to the head; the body becomes warmer; the face becomes red and the giddiness ceases.─Stitches and pulsations in the head.─Can't hold head up, or sit up.─Sensation as if constantly pulled by the hair.─The head symptoms are > by expelling flatus.

3. Eyes.─Looking up < headache and vertigo.─Dilated pupils.─Pupils dilated but sensitive to light.─Eyes brilliant and prominent.─Cornea sunken.─Pustules on cornea.─Scrofulous ophthalmia; edges of lids inflamed and agglutinated at night; swelling of Meibomian glands.─Chronic photophobia.

4. Ears.─Stitches in the ears, esp. in the r. ear, as if something hot were streaming from it.─Yellow discharge from r. ear, with stitching pains.─There is great > by inserting the finger and drawing the parts asunder.

5. Nose.─Herpetic eruption at tip.

6. Face.─A drawn condition beginning at the alae nasi, and extending to the angles of the mouth, giving the face an expression of great anxiety and pain.─Tearing in the face, in the malar bones.─Jaws spasmodically fixed.─Face pale, puffed, and spotted red.─Chin and corners of mouth feel cold.

8. Mouth.─Sticking and tearing in gums.─Taste: bitter; like cheese; like onions sweetish in morning when awaking.─Tongue: moist; white coat; black feels too long.─Speech slow; embarrassed.─Aphtae in mouth and throat.─Copious salivation which > poisoning symptoms.

9. Throat.─Sensation of constriction, preventing deglutition.─Stinging in the throat, between the acts of deglutition.─Soft palate red, swollen.─Pungent heat in mouth and throat.─While eating, sudden heaviness in forehead.─Spasmodic hiccough.

11. Stomach.─Intolerance of milk; it is forcibly ejected almost as soon as swallowed; then weakness causes drowsiness; in nursing children.─Violent vomiting of curdled milk and cheesy matter.─Violent vomiting of a frothy matter, white as milk. This we may find in men, children, or pregnant women.─Violent vomiting of green mucus.─Violent vomiting, with diarrhoea, of green mucus, or (in children) bloody substances.─After vomiting, cold and clammy.

12. Abdomen.─Coldness of the abdomen and lower limbs, esp. l., with aching in bowels; > by warm wet applications.─Sensation of coldness in the abdomen.─Swollen and tense abdomen.─Cutting, with distension.─Cutting, with violent vomiting.─Black-bluish swelling of the abdomen.─Colic, followed by vomiting, vertigo, and weakness.

13. Stool.─Diarrhoea: stools bright yellow, or greenish, watery, and slimy, with violent tenesmus.─Undigested stool or partly so.─Loose stools, preceded by cutting in the abdomen, with tenesmus in the morning, after rising.─Diarrhoea: discharges green, thin, bilious, with violent tenesmus.─Bloody stools.─Most obstinate constipation, with feeling as if all action of the bowels had been lost.

17. Respiratory Organs.─Sufferings of patient render him almost speechless.─Respiration very difficult and short.─Sensation as if chest were encircled by a band, causing difficult breathing.─Stitches in l. side of chest.─Cough, producing stunning pain in head.

19. Heart and Pulse.─Violent palpitation of the heart, with headache.─Pulse full and rapid; hard, small, and rapid; small and frequent; irregular; imperceptible.

20. Neck and Back.─Distressing pain in occiput and nape of neck, extending down the spine, > by friction with hot whisky.─Swelling of glands round neck like a string of beads.─Sensation as if the small of the back were in a vice.─A feeling as if pain in back could be > by straightening out and bending stiffly backward.

21. Limbs.─Eruption round the joints, esp. knee, elbow, and ankle.─Axillary glands swollen.─Stiffness of elbow joints.─Swelling of forearms and hands.─Thumb and fingers bent inwards.─Excoriations of thighs from walking.─Paralytic pains in lower extremities; formication in feet.

24. Generalities.─Epileptiform spasms, with clenched thumbs; red face; eyes turned downward; dilated, staring, immovable pupils; foam at the mouth; teeth set; pulse small, hard, accelerated.─Spasms, with stupor and delirium.─Cold limbs and body convulsed.─Great weakness; children cannot stand; cannot hold up their heads.

25. Skin.─Tettary eruptions, which bleed easily.─Black and blue spots, sometimes like ecchymoses all over body.─The whole body may be of bluish-black colour.─Anasarca.

26. Sleep.─Dozing of child after vomiting spells, or after the stool.─On falling asleep, rolling of the eyes, or slight convulsions.─Sleepiness all day; sometimes > in open air.─Sleep prevented by pains in limbs.

27. Fever.─Complete absence of thirst, though there is great heat.─Cannot bear to be uncovered during the sweat.─Fever, esp. in morning, with shuddering; shuddering, weariness in extremities, internal coldness with hot and flushed face; malaise; disposition to delirium during cold stage; sweat, after the breaking out of which the previous symptoms disappear.─Sweat on least exertion.

Keynotes and Characteristics with Comparisons of Some of the Leading Remedies of the Materia Medica (Allen's Keynotes), Henry Clay Allen

Fool's Parsley (Umbelliferae)

Especially for children during dentition in hot summer weather; children who cannot bear milk. Great weakness; children cannot stand; unable to hold up the head (Abrot.); prostration with sleepiness. Idiocy in children; incapacity to think; confused. An expression of great anxiety and pain, with a drawn condition and well-marked linea nasalia. Features expressive of pain and anxiety. Herpetic eruption on end of the nose. Complete absence of thirst (Apis, Puls. - rev of Ars.). Intolerance of milk: cannot bear milk in any form; it is vomited in large curds as soon as taken; then weakness causes drowsiness (compare Mag. c.). Indigestion of teething children; violent, sudden vomiting of a frothy, milk-white substance; or yellow fluid, followed by curdled milk and cheesy matter. Regurgitation of food and hour or so after eating; copious greenish vomiting. Epileptic spasms, with clenched thumbs, red face, eyes turned downwards, pupils fixed and dilated; foam at the mouth, jaws locked; pulse small, hard, quick. Weakness and prostration with sleepiness; after vomiting, after stool, after spasm.

Relationship. - Similar: to Ant. c., Ars., Cal., Sanic.

Aggravation. - After eating or drinking; after vomiting; after stool; after spasm.

Leaders In Homoeopathic Therapeutics, Eugene Beauharnais Nash

Is one of our best remedies for vomiting in children. The milk comes up as soon as swallowed, by a great effort, after which the child becomes greatly relaxed and drowsy; or if the milk stays down longer it finally comes up in very sour curds, so large that it would seem almost impossible the child could have ejected them. if this condition of the stomach is not cured the case will go on to cholera infantum, with green watery or slimy stool, colic and convulsions. The convulsions of this remedy are peculiar, in that the eyes turn downward instead of up or sidewise. If the case still progresses unfavourably there is an appearance of sunkenness in the face with linea nasalis, which is a surface of pearly whiteness on the upper lip, bounded by a distinct line from the outer nasal orifice to the angles of the mouth.

This last symptom is more characteristic of Aethusa than any other remedy. Aethusa has complete absence of thirst. The prostration and anxiety are very marked, but the absence of thirst rules for Aethusa instead of Arsenicum album. Vomiting of large curds (sour) is also found under Calcarea ostrearum, but with this remedy we have at the same time sour stools, and then sweaty head, and open fontanelles as well as Calcarea temperament would generally be found in the case.

There is another very peculiar symptom of Aethusa that has been cured twice to my knowledge by this remedy, viz.: Imagined she saw a rat or mouse run across the room. In both these cases the symptom occurred in hard worked, nervous women, but the symptom was very persistent and annoying. Aethusa not only cured the aberration but improved the general health. I always use it in the 200th potency.