AGARICUS MUSCARIUS
Toad Stool-Bug Agaric
(AGARICUS MUSCARIUS-AMANITA)
This fungus contains several toxic compounds, the best known of which is Muscarin. The symptoms of poisoning do not develop at once,
usually twelve to fourteen hours elapse before the initial attack. There is no antidote,
treatment, entirely symptomatic (Schneider). Agaricus acts as an intoxicant to the brain,
producing more vertigo and delirium than alcohol, followed by profound sopor with lowered
reflexes.
Jerking, twitching, trembling, and itching are strong indications.
Incipient phthisis; is related to the tubercular diathesis, anćmia, chorea,
twitching ceases during sleep. Various forms of neuralgia and spasmodic affections, and
neurotic skin troubles are pictured in the symptomatology of this remedy. It corresponds to
various forms of cerebral excitement rather than congestion. Thus, in delirium of fevers,
alcoholism, etc. General paralysis. Sensation as if pierced by
needles of ice. Sensitive to pressure and cold air. Violent
bearing-down pains. Symptoms appear diagonally as right
arm and left leg. Pains are accompanied by sensation of cold, numbness and
tingling.
Mind.–
Sings, talks, but does not answer. Loquacity.
Aversion to work. Indifference. Fearlessness. Delirium
characterized by singing, shouting, and muttering; rhymes and prophesies. Begins with paroxysm
of yawning.
The provings bring out four phases of cerebral excitement.
1. Slight stimulation-shown by
increased cheerfulness, courage, loquacity, exalted fancy.
2. More decided intoxication-great
mental excitement and incoherent talking, immoderate gaity alternates with melancholy.
Perception of relative size of objects is lost, takes long steps and jumps over small objects
as if they were trunks of trees-a small hole appears as a frightful chasm, a spoonful of water
an immense lake. Physical strength is increased, can lift heavy loads. With it much twitching.
3. Third stage produces a condition of
furious or raging delirium, screaming, raving, wants to injure himself, etc.
4. Fourth stage-mental depression,
languor, indifference, confusion, disinclination to work, etc. We do not get the active
cerebral congestion of Belladonna, but a general nervous excitement such as is found in
delirium tremens, delirium of fevers, etc.
Head.–
Vertigo from sunlight,
and on walking. Head in constant motion. Falling backward, as if a weight in occiput. Lateral
headache, as if from a nail (Coff; Ignat). Dull headache
from prolonged desk-work. Icy coldness, like icy needles,
or splinters. Neuralgia with icy cold head. Desire to cover head warmly (Silica).
Headache with nose-bleed or thick mucous discharge.
Eyes.–
Reading difficult, as type seems
to move, to swim. Vibrating specters. Double vision
(Gels), dim and flickering. Asthenopia from prolonged
strain, spasm of accommodation. Twitching
of lids and eyeballs (Codein). Margins of lids
red; itch and burn and agglutinate. Inner angles very red.
Ears.–
Burn and itch, as if frozen. Twitching of muscles about
the ear and noises.
Nose.–
Nervous nasal
disturbances. Itching internally and externally. Spasmodic
sneezing after coughing; sensitiveness; watery non-inflammatory discharge. Inner angles very
red. Fetid, dark, bloody discharge. Nosebleed in old people.
Sensation of soreness in nose and mouth.
Face.–
Facial muscles feel
stiff; twitch; face itches and burns. Lancinating, tearing
pain in cheeks, as of splinters. Neuralgia, as if cold needles ran through nerves or sharp ice
touched them.
Mouth.–
Burning and smarting on lips. Herpes on lips. Twitching.
Taste sweet. Aphthć on roof of mouth. Splinter like pains in tongue. Thirsty all the time.
Tremulous tongue (Lach). Tongue white.
Throat.–
Stitches along eustachian tube to ear. Feels
contracted. Small solid balls of phlegm thrown up. Dryness of pharynx, swallowing difficult.
Scratching in throat; cannot sing a note.
Stomach.–
Empty eructations, tasting of apples. Nervous
disturbances, with spasmodic contractions, hiccough. Unnatural hunger. Flatulent distention of
stomach and abdomen. Profuse inodorous flatus. Burning in stomach about three hours after a
meal, changing into a dull pressure. Gastric disturbance with sharp
pains in liver region.
Abdomen.–
Stitching pains in liver, spleen
(Ceanothus) and abdomen. Stitches under short ribs, left
side. Diarrhśa with much fetid flatus. Fetid stools.
Urinary.–
Stitches in urethra. Sudden and violent urging to
urinate. Frequent urination.
Female.–
Menses, increased, earlier. Itching and tearing,
pressive pains of genitals and back. Spasmodic dysmenorrhśa. Severe bearing-down
pains, especially after menopause. Sexual excitement. Nipples itch, burn.
Complaints following parturition and coitus. Leucorrhśa, with much itching.
Respiratory Organs.–
Violent attacks of coughing that can be
suppressed by effort of will, worse eating, pain in head while cough lasts. Spasmodic cough at
night after falling asleep, with expectoration of little balls of
mucus. Labored, oppressed breathing. Cough ends in a
sneeze.
Heart.–
Irregular, tumultuous
palpitation, after tobacco. Pulse intermittent and irregular. Cardiac region
oppressed, as if thorax were narrowed. Palpitation with redness of face.
Back.–
Pain, with sensitiveness of
spine to touch; worse in dorsal region. Lumbago; worse in open air. Crick in back. Twitching of cervical muscles.
Extremities.–
Stiff all over. Pain over hips. Rheumatism better
motion. Weakness in loins. Uncertain gait. Trembling. Itching of toes
and feet as if frozen. Cramp in soles of feet. Pain in shin-bone. Neuralgia in
locomotor ataxia. Paralysis of lower limbs, with spasmodic condition of arms. Numbness of legs
on crossing them. Paralytic pain in left arm followed by palpitation. Tearing painful
contractions in the calves.
Skin.–
Burning, itching, redness, and
swelling, as from frostbites. Pimples, hard, like flea-bites. Miliary eruption,
with intolerable itching and burning. Chilblains. Angioneurotic śdema; rosacea. Swollen veins
with cold skin. Circumscribed erythematous, papular and pustular and śdematous lesions.
Sleep.–
Paroxysms of yawning.
Restless from violent itching and burning. On falling asleep, starts,
twitches, and awakes often. Vivid dreams. Drowsy in daytime. Yawning, followed by
involuntary laughter.
Fever.–
Very sensitive to cool air. Violent attacks of heat in
evening. Copious sweat. Burning spots.
Modalities.–
Worse, open
cold air, after eating, after coitus. In cold weather, before a thunder-storm. Worse, pressure
on dorsal spine, which causes involuntary laughter. Better,
moving about slowly.
Relationship.–
Compare: Muscarine,
the alkaloid of Agaricus (has much power over secretions, increasing lachrymal, salivary,
hepatic, etc, but diminishing renal; probably neurotic in origin, stimulating the terminal
fibers of the secretory nerves of all these structures, hence salivation,
lachrymation and excessive perspiration. Atropin exactly opposes Muscarine. Resembles Pilocarpin
in action). Amanita vernus-spring mushroom-a variety of Agar Phalloides-Death cup-active principle is Phallin, active like Muscarine. Amanita
phalloides (Death Cup-Deadly Agaric). The poison is a toxalbumin, resembling the
poison in the rattle snake and the poison excreted by the cholera and diphtheria germs. It
acts on the red blood corpuscles, dissolving them so that blood escapes into the alimentary
canal and the whole system is drained. The amount of this toxic principle is small, even
handling of specimens and breathing of spores affects some people unpleasantly. The poison is
slow in development. Even 12 to 20 hours after taking it the patient feels all right, but
vertigo violent choleraic symptoms with rapid loss of strength with death the second or third
day, preceded by stupor and spasms. Fatty degeneration of liver, heart and kidneys, hćmorrhages
in lungs, pleura and skin (Dr. J. Schier). Vomiting and purging. Continuous urging to stool,
but no gastric, abdominal or rectal pain. Intense thirst
for cold water, dry skin. Lethargic but mentally clear. Sharp changes
from rapid to slow and from slow to rapid breathing, extreme collapse, suppressed urine, but
no cold extremities or cramps. Agaric emet (severe
vertigo; all symptoms better, cold water; longing for ice-water;
gastritis cold sweat, vomiting sensation as if stomach was suspended on a string). Tamus (chilblains and freckles). Cimicif;
Cann ind; Hyos; Tarantula.
Antidote: Absinth; Coffea; Camphor.
Dose.–
Third to thirtieth and two hundredth potency. In skin
affections and brain exhaustions give the lower attenuations.