Drosera.
Drosera rotundifolia. Round-leaved Sundew. N. O. Droseraceæ. Tincture of
active fresh plant.Clinical.─
Amblyopia. Asthma. Bronchitis. Catarrh.
Consumption. Cough. Coxalgia. Epilepsy. Hæmorrhage.
Headache. Laryngitis. Measles. Nausea. Phthisis. Sciatica. Vomiting. Whooping-cough.
Characteristics.─
The chief feature of the Drosera effects is a spasmodic cough resembling whooping-cough,
in which affection it is one of the leading remedies, as it is also in the spasmodic cough
of phthisis. The characteristic cough is: Frequent spells of barking cough; < evening and after midnight; patient holds his side; vomits
if he cannot get up phlegm; every effort to raise a little phlegm ends in retching and
vomiting; there may be bloody stools. Teste, who places Drosera
in his Zincum group of medicines, mentions that it grows
in damp prairies, along the border of marshes, and is avoided by animals. Barrich states
that when eaten by sheep it gives them a cough which is fatal to them. Curiously enough, it
was recommended by German physicians of the eighteenth century as a panacea for hoarseness,
chest affections, and even for phthisis. Serrand, of Paris (translated H. R., vi. 153) maintains that Drosera has an important rôle in the prophylaxis of tubercle. He refers to the fact that
sheep eating Drosera leaves acquire a nocturnal cough
and die, and that the pleuræ of cats to which Drosera had been administered were found
studded with tubercles. The indications calling for it in the premonitory stage are: pallor,
weakness, loss of appetite, dry cough, emaciation. Three laryngoscopic indications are: (1) Anæmia and pallor of larynx; (2)
vocal cords not sufficiently approximated from functional impairment of crico-arytenoid
muscles; (3) redness and swelling of mucous membrane
covering and between the arytenoid cartilages. Dr. Serrand commends Dros.
in cases of declared phthisis as well. He gives it in the low attenuations. Buchmann of
Alvensleben agrees with Hahnemann that Dros. in high
attenuation should not be repeated. He cured himself of a bronchial catarrh which used to
attack him every spring and fall, characterised by a violent
tickling cough, which almost drove him to distraction at night, with Dros. 1x. and Ø. A single dose as soon as the tickling in the
larynx commenced sufficed to allay it at once and allowed him to rest, and it was only
repeated when the tickling returned. Among the characteristics of Drosera
are: Spasmodic and constricting pains in abdomen; larynx; throat; chest; hypochondria.
Crawling in larynx; feeling as if a soft substance were lodged in larynx, as a feather.
Difficult swallowing of solids. Voice fails. Stitching pains in chest and all parts;
lancinations in brain. Stitches from left loin into penis; itching stitches in glans.
Hæmorrhages of bright red blood, from nose; mouth (bloody saliva); with vomit; with stool;
expectoration. Gnawing stinging pains in joints and long bones. Dros.
has many pains about the hip-joints and has cured sciatica with the following characters:
“Pressing pains, < from pressure, from stooping,
from lying on painful part, > after rising from
bed.” Eruption like measles; prickling burning itching; <
undressing; > by scratching; bleeding, burning
ulcers, cutting pains. Epileptic attacks: with rigidity; with twitching of limbs; after
attack, hæmoptysis and sleep. Symptoms are < towards
evening and after midnight. < By warmth; by warm
drinks; > in open air. Many symptoms are < at rest and when lying in bed. Supporting the part > pains in head and chest. Stooping <;
walking >; singing and talking <. Motion of eye < head
pains. Motion > stitching in chest and joints, and
shivering. < From acids.
Relations.─
Antidoted by:
Camph. Complementary: Nux. Compatible:
Calc c., Puls., Verat., Gnaph. Compare: Bell., Coral.,
Cup., Hyo., Ip., Sambuc., Meph., Op., Coc. cact. In inability to expectorate Caust., Sep.,
Arn., Kali c. Teste considers Meny. the closest analogue.
SYMPTOMS.
1. Mind.─
Mental dejection, caused by ideas of
imaginary enmity.─Anxiety, esp. (in the evening) in solitude, with fear
of ghosts.─Great mistrust.─Restlessness, which does
not allow prolonged attention to the same object.─Inquietude respecting
the future.─Discouragement.─Inclination to drown
oneself.─Pertinacity in executing resolutions.─The
least thing puts the sufferer beside himself.
2. Head.─
Painful perplexity of the head, as after
loud speaking.─Vertigo on walking in the open air, which occasions
falling (to the l.).─Pressive pains in the head, esp. in the forehead
and in the cheek-bones, sometimes with nausea and dizziness.─Pressing
headache (temples), with stupefaction and nausea (morning); worse when stooping and from
heart; better from motion and in the cold air.─Beating and hammering in
the forehead from the inside outwards.─Pains, as of excoriation in the
scalp.
3. Eyes.─
Shootings in the eyes towards the
outside, esp. on stooping.─Suspension of the sight, or confusion and
paleness of the letters while reading.─Gauze before the eyes.─Presbyopia
and weakness of the eyes.─Contraction of the pupils.─Dazzling
by candle-light and daylight.
4. Ears.─
Shootings and squeezing in the ears,
esp. on swallowing.─Hardness of hearing, with buzzing and roaring in the
ears.─Humming and drumming in the ears.
5. Nose.─
Bleeding at the nose, esp. in the
evening.─Discharge of blood on blowing the nose.─Black
pores on the nose.─Constant dryness of the nose.─Great
sensibility to acid smells.─Fluent coryza with sneezing.
6. Face.─
Paleness of the face, with cheeks
hollow, and eyes sunken.─Small pustules here and there on face, with
fine stitching sensation < when touched.─Burning
and pricking sensation in the skin of the cheeks, below the eyes.─Lips
cracked and constantly dry.─Pressure in the cheek-bones towards the
outside, aggravated by pressure and contact.─Black pores in the chin.
8. Mouth.─
Shooting pains in teeth, after taking
hot drinks.─Ulcers on tongue.─Bleeding of the mouth.─Ulceration
of velum palati.
9. Throat.─
Rough, scraping dryness deep in
fauces, and in region of soft palate, inducing short and hacking cough, with yellow mucous
expectoration, hoarse deep voice, oppression in chest as if breath could not be expelled
when coughing or talking.─Shootings in the throat, after eating anything
salt.─Stinging in the throat during deglutition.─Difficulty
in swallowing solid food, as from contraction of the throat.─Sensation
of dryness in the throat.─Sensation in the throat, as if crumbs of bread
had been stopped in it.─Hawking of yellowish or greenish mucus.
10. Appetite.─
Thirst, esp. in the morning (during
the hot stage of the fever and not during the cold stage).─Insipidity of
food.─Aversion to pork.─Bitter taste of food and
esp. of bread.
11. Stomach.─
Bitter risings.─Frequent
hiccough.─Water-brash.─Vomiting at night, and after
dinner.─Vomiting of bile, in the morning.─Vomiting
of blood.─Nausea after eating fat food.─Vomiting of
slimy matter and of food during the cough.─Shootings and beatings in the
pit of the stomach.─Clawing sensation in the pit of the stomach.
12. Abdomen.─
Pains in the hypochondria, on
coughing and on being touched (he has to press on them with the hand when he coughs).─Colic
after taking acids.
13. Stool and Anus.─
Frequent evacuations of
sanguineous mucus, with cutting pains; after the stool, pain in abdomen and small of the
back.
14. Urinary Organs.─
Frequent want to make water,
with scanty emission, often drop by drop.─Emission of urine at night.─Brownish
urine of a strong smell.─Watery, inodorous urine (with fetid stool of
white mucus).
16. Female Sexual Organs.─
Catamenia suppressed.─Catamenia
retarded.─Leucorrhœa, with pains like those of childbirth, spasmodic
pains in the abdomen.
17. Respiratory Organs.─
Tingling in the larynx,
which excites a slight cough, and shootings extending to the throat.─Sensation,
as if there were a soft body, such as a feather, in the larynx.─Sensation
of dryness, or roughness, and of scraping in the bottom of the gullet, with inclination to
cough.─Hoarseness, and very low voice.─Oppressed
breathing when talking; mostly while sitting.─Sensation of oppression in
the chest, as if the voice and breath were retarded when speaking and coughing.─Fine
stitches in larynx extending down to r. side of œsophagus.─Cough
without much sound.─Cough as soon as the head touches the pillow.─Accumulation
of slimy matter, alternately hard and soft, yellowish, greyish or greenish.─Cough
and hoarseness.─Cough, proceeding from the depth of the chest, with
pains in the hypochondria and in the chest, mitigated by pressing the hand upon them.─Cough
at night, and in the evening, immediately after lying down.─Dry,
spasmodic cough, with retching.─Fatiguing cough like whooping-cough
(attacks, every one to three hours, with barking or dull-sounding coughs, choking the
breathing, caused by tickling or dryness of the throat; yellow and bitter expectoration; has
to swallow this mucus down) with bluish face, wheezing respiration, attacks of suffocation,
bleeding from the nose and mouth, and anxiety.─The cough is excited by
laughter, weeping and mental emotions; after having had the measles; aggravation after lying
down, and still more increased after midnight; when at rest; when lying in bed; from heat;
from drinking; from singing.─Vomiting of food during the cough, and
afterwards.─Cough, with fetid breath.─Singing,
tobacco-smoke, and drinking, excites the cough.─Cough, with
expectoration of a bright red blood, or of blackish clots.─Cough, in the
morning, with bitter and nauseous expectoration.─Cough, with
expectoration of purulent matter, and shootings in the lower part of the chest.─Greenish
expectoration.─Laryngeal and tracheal phthisis.
18. Chest.─
Restricted respiration on speaking, as
if the throat were contracted, chiefly when seated.─Oppression of the
chest, as if something stopped the voice on coughing or on speaking, or, as if the breath
could not be expelled.─Tightness of the chest on coughing.─Pains
in the chest on coughing and on sneezing; he has to press his chest with the hand.─Pains,
as from subcutaneous ulceration in the sternum, on pressing upon it.─Black
pores on the chest and shoulder.
20. Neck and Back.─
Stiffness at the nape of the
neck, with pains during movement.─Bruise-like pains in the back,
particularly early in the morning.
22. Upper Limbs.─
Twitchings in r. shoulder, only
when at rest.─Pains, as from a bruise, in the joints of the arms and of
the hands.─Cramp and stiffening of the fingers, on grasping an object.─Nocturnal
pains in the bones of the arm, going off during motion in the day.
23. Lower Limbs.─
Paralytic pains in the
coxo-femoral joint, and in the thighs, on walking, which occasion limping.─Incisive
shootings in the legs.─Violent stitch in the os ischium, on rising from
a seat.─Tearings in the joints of the foot, as if they were dislocated,
only when walking.─Stiffness in the joints of the feet.─Cold
sweat in the feet, which are constantly cold.
24. Generalities.─
Rapid emaciation (with acute
laryngitis).─Gnawing shootings in the cavities of the bones of the arms
and of the legs, exceedingly violent, with violent shootings in the joints, during repose,
rather than during movement.─Shooting and painful pressure in the
muscles (of the limbs), mitigated in no position.─Pains as from a
bruise, excessively distressing sensitiveness, paralytic weakness in all the limbs.─All
the limbs feel sore, as from too hard a bed.─Weakness in the whole body,
with cheeks and eyes hollow.─Epileptic convulsions, with sleep and
spitting of blood, after the fit.─The majority of the sufferings appear
at night and in the morning, as well as in a warm atmosphere, and during repose.─Gnawing-stinging
in the long bones; worse during rest.
25. Skin.─
Violent itching while undressing; when
scratching, the skin readily peels off.─Black pores on chest and
shoulder.
26. Sleep.─
Snoring during sleep, and when lying
on the back.─Frequent starts with fright, during sleep.─Nocturnal
waking, on the breaking out of perspiration.─Frequent waking with
perspiration, or as if too wakeful.─Sleep at noon and in the evening at
sunset.
27. Fever.─
Shuddering over the whole body, with
heat of the face, icy coldness of the hands and absence of thirst, or shiverings with
coldness and paleness of the hands, the feet, and the face.─In the
morning hours, coldness of one side (l.) of the face, while the other side (r.) is hot.─Chilliness
and chill while at rest, finds it everywhere too cold, even in bed.─Chilliness
during the day, heat during the night.─Heat almost exclusively in the
face and on the head.─Warm perspiration at night, esp. after midnight
and during the morning hours, mostly in the face.─Heat, with headache
and convulsive cough.─(Intermittent) fever, with nausea, and inclination
to vomit, and other gastric sufferings, or with sore throat.® 2000
Article