Aconite [Acon]
We find it useful for Hysteria, when there is particular aversion to excitement, esp. to busy streets. The patients dare not cross these streets, because of fear that something will happen to them. They are anxious and show an intolerance of music; they can bear no sounds. They imagine, that some part of the body is deformed, e.g., a limb displaced, lips too thick or features distorted. They imagine, that they do all their thinking from the stomach. Sometimes such patients, during attacks of illness, have spells, in which they predict the hour of death.
Actaea Racemosa [Cimic]
It is useful when there are sleeplessness, nervousness, trembling and fear of death [Tarant.]. After going to bed, jerking, commencing on the side on which she is lying, compelling change of position, nervous shuddering and nervous chills. She feels as if, the top of the head would fly off. Great apprehensiveness. Feels grieved, trembles, with sighing; next day, tremulous joy, mirth and playfulness.
Alumina [Alum]
It is useful in Hysteria, particularly when there is suicidal tendency, when the patient see blood or knife, or something of the kind.
Apis [Apis]
The fidgetiness, restlessness, excitability and ill-timed laughter (laughing at the greatest misfortune, as she would do at a comedy), together with fickleness at work (always changing her occupation, not keeping steadily at anything), have led to its successful use for Hysteria in nervous girls. In addition, it has been observed that they are awkard, dropping things and then laughing in a silly way at their clumsiness. The sexual passion is too acute, an they are prone to jealously. Particularly it is indicated in girls, with insufficient or suppressed menstrual flow, at the age of puberty.
Asafoetida [Asaf]
It is esp. useful in Hysteria particularly which arises from the sudden suppression of habitual discharges, such as, external healing of running ulcers, sudden suppression of Diarrhoea, etc. The symptoms indicating it are: Reserve peristaltic action of the bowels, stomach and particularly of the throat; Globus Hystericus Ignatia, Mos. Tympany or well-marked enormous distention of the stomach; flatus accumulates in the abdomen and pressing up against the lungs, produces oppression of breathing and palpitation Mos. Spasms of the chest [Mos.]. Offensive discharges. Hysterical colic, with a feeling upwards, as though everything in abdomen were coming out at the mouth, preceded by belching of wind of a strong rancid taste and associated with an empty, gone feeling in stomach at 11 A. M. Hysterical Convulsion.
Women are sometimes helped by Asafoetida, when a habitual expectoration is checked and hysterical symptoms together with the oppression of the chest follows Gum Ammoniac.
Belladonna [Bell]
It is distinguished by the intensity of the symptoms. The patient is boisterous and wild, with violent congestion, throbbing of the carotids, red faces, injected eyes, dilated pupils and wild look.
Castoreum [Cast]
It is indicated when there is nervousness, twitching and deranged menses [Mos.]. But it is more adapted to the nervous symptoms, which precede fully developed Hysteria. It suits women, who suffer from irritable weakness, abdominal symptoms predominating.
Cocculus [Cocc]
It is indicated in Hysterical Palsy. The patient is sensitive, anxious, with frightened look.
Crocus [Croc]
Indicated in the hysterical state, together with choreic symptoms. (See Chorea.)
She is angry, and then suddenly repents; or angry and talkative, crying and laughing alternately. Music affects her [Tarant.]; hearing one sing, she begins involuntarily to join in, but there is not the subsequent relief from music.
Cuprum [Cupr]
It is indicated when the patient falls into a half-unconscious state, with clenched thumbs and blue face [ign.].
Hyoscyamus [Hyos]
It is called for when the mental condition of the patient exhibits marked jealousy; she is talkative, nervous, full of suspicion, troublesome, but not maniacal. Well-marked sudden twitchings and jerkings of groups of muscles; one arm will twitch, then the other. The motions are all angular. The head falls from side to side. There is great deal of frothing at the mouth. The patient seems to be wild. She laughs at everything in a silly manner. She is sleepless or sobs or cries during sleep.
Ignatia [Ign]
It is often indicated in Hysteria and is esp. useful when the paroxysms are provoked by grief, fright, disappointed love or some other similar cause, and also when they are connected with menstrual disturbances. It is esp. indicated when the nervous system is over-impressionable, inordinate in function and contradictory in action, and the mind is in an introverted state. Changeable mood-the mind changes with wonderful rapidity. The patient alternately laughs and cries; sometimes the laughing becomes spasmodic and ends in screams of even spasm of the chest, with blueness of face. Clavus Hystericus. Globus Hystericus, which is often relieved by belching, while drinking water causes an agg. of the convulsive action in the throat. The patient may fall into a half-unconscious state, clenched thumbs and blue face [Cuprum]. At the height of the paroxysms, she becomes restless and chilly, and often she sees fiery zig-zags, when looking out of the line of vision [Theridion]. She frequently sighs heavily or deeply. Finally a profuse flow of colorless urine and a sigh or a long-drawn breath announces the return to consciousness. Susceptibility to odors, which causes the patient to feel faint [Nux vomica, Phosphorus, Sanguinaria, Valer.].
Magnesia Mur [Mag-m]
It is indicated in women who suffer from hysterical paroxysms with the following symptoms : After dinner (the principal meal, when, more is eaten) the patient is seized with nausea, eructations, trembling and fainting spells; she is anxious and restless. Globus Hystericus (>) by eructations.
Moschus [Mosch]
It is best-adapted to a full-fledged hysterical attack with fainting or unconsciousness, and is particularly suited when the patient faints readily-she sits down to her meals and faints dead away from taking even a small amount of food into the stomach. The important symptoms are : Attacks even to fainting or unconsciousness. Pale or blue face and foams at the mouth. Coldness of the surface of the body. Globus Hystericus. Spasm of Glottis. Violent spasms of the chest, in which it would almost seem that she must die. Sudden suffocation. Palpitation. Scolding, which the keeps up until her lips turn blue, her eyes stare and she falls unconscious. Tremulousness of the whole body. Hysterical headache, with fainting spells. Fear of death [Platina, Tarant.], but with pale face and fainting; she talks only of approaching death.
It is to be compared with Ignatia, Pallad., Platina, Tarant., and Therid.
Nux Moschata [Nux-m]
It is indicated in Hysteria, associated with frequent emotional changes and enormous bloating of abdomen, after a light meal. Head jerked forward; jaws clenched; heart, as if grasped; sudden oppression of the heart, with choking sensation; tonic, followed by clonic spasms; over-powering drowsiness; and marked tendency to fainting or unconsciousness.
The accompaniments are : The patient complains of excessive dryness of the mouth and throat, even when they exhibit the normal degree of moisture. Palpitation of the heart; heart-beat and pulse changeable. Skin dry and cool, no disposition to sweat. The least emotional excitement, renews the symptoms, increases the distension of the abdomen, etc.
Palladium [Pall]
It is indicated in Hysteria, by its unique mental phenomena, The patient is not haughty, but she is irritable, and is unfortunately given to strong and violent language. Music, society or animated conversation excites her, and produces pain in the ovary; the following day the feels correspondingly exhausted. Her egotism is displayed in a fondness for the good opinion of the others; hence she is continually getting slighted.
Platina [Plat]
It may be used in hysterical spasms, consisting of a sort of tetanic rigidity with trismus, caused by nervous excitement, preceded or followed by constriction of oesophagus and respiratory embarrassment. There is sudden arrest of breathing when walking against the wind [Arsenicum, Calcarea Carb.]. There are also present deranged co-ordination of function, anxiety, trembling, fear of death-which seems to the patient to be imminent, alternation of depression with gaity and laughter and sexual excitement [Tarant.]. The patient assumes a hauteur, a self- exaltation; her mental disturbances develop into a condition of self-esteem, during which she looks disdainfully down on all around her. Her paroxysms of laughter are not only loud and boisterous, but also ill-timed, occurring even under circumstances of a sad nature.
Pothos Foetida [ ]
It is indicated in Hysteria-the paroxysms resembling tetanus, with enormous bloating of abdomen. The patient is absent-minded and irritable.
