THE ADDITIONAL GROUP (Heavy Metals).
FERRUM METALLICUM.
Ferr. met is characterized by a tendency to rushes of blood, the face changing from pallor to fiery red on the slightest provocation. Red parts may suddenly turn pale, such as the lips, tongue, and mouth. Mucous membranes are pale, and the extremities, especially the legs, are cold. There is a tendency to bleeding, epistaxis and haemoptysis being common. The profound weakness necessitates frequent lying down, and may even progress to a state of fainting. The irritability of the circulation with the attending symptoms are better from prolonged moving about. Many complaints are worse at night and from sitting, nocturnal restlessness urging him on, but the weakness compelling him to lie down.
The congestive hammering, pulsating headache is often relieved by lying down, and also by walking about in the open air. The headaches recur periodically, and are aggravated by coughing, bending or any sudden movement. The headache of Bell. is aggravated lying down and relieved by cold applications, while the modalities of Ferr. are contrary, the headache not being relieved by cold applications but relieved by lying down. The menses are intermittent or there may be amenorrhoea due to the anaemia. Irregular menorrhagia may occur with instability in the circulatory system characterized by fiery red face, ear noises, profuse discharge of fluid or clotted blood with labor-like pains. Varicosities and acne appear during the menses.
Watery or milky leucorrhoea may occur. Other evidences of the excitability of the circulation are cardiac palpitation from nervous causes, the variation in the rate and intensity of the pulse, the congestion to the chest, leading to an intense sensation of oppression, and superficial respiration. These symptoms are relieved on moving about. There may be bloody expectoration on coughing. He coughs only in the day time, and is relieved on eating and on lying down. There is regurgitation of food in mouthfuls.
Ravenous hunger or total loss of appetite may prevail. Vomiting may occur soon after midnight, or may come as soon as food is taken. With one effort he ejects everything, and can then sit down to eat again. The painless diarrhoea containing undigested food comes at night or while eating or drinking. Cramps are felt in the calves at rest and at night. There is a restlessness in the extremities so that they are kept moving about. The relief on walking about slowly is a grand characteristic.
COBALTUM.
Cobalt has not been too thoroughly proven. In its pathogenesis there is contained states of restlessness, weakness and flushes of heat in parts, although the circulatory changes do not even begin to approach those of Ferr. There is pain in the back (lumbar and sacral regions) worse on sitting, better on standing, walking about and lying down. Frequent seminal emissions are associated with weakness of the extremities and pain in the legs on sitting. The headache is aggravated by bending forward. Pains in the region of the liver and spleen occur as in Mang. Itching from the warmth of the bed is characteristic.
NICCOLUM.
An outstanding feature of Nickel is the periodicity of the migraine attacks which occur every 14 days beginning on the left side and passing over to the right, worse 10-11 am, and decreasing toward evening. This is similar to Plat. whose headache however tends to be right-sided. The erethism of the circulatory system is manifested by sensation of heat in the entire body, great heat and unrest at night, heaviness and fullness in the head with vertigo, and pressure on the forehead as from a hand or nail, relieved in the open air.
Macropsia or enlargement of distant objects is contrasted with the micropsia of Plat. The menses are too early or too late or intermittent, causing great weakness. A watery leucorrhoea appears especially after urination. The throat symptoms recall those of Mang., there being huskiness and dry coughing. With each sore throat, there is great sensitivity of the involved side to touch.
OSMIUM.
Osm, produces a most violent irritation of the whole respiratory tract, with a secretion of tough, stringy mucus, difficult to expectorate. It produces violent supraorbital and infraorbital neuralgia with lachrymation. It has been reported that glaucoma has been cured by this substance. In this condition the symptoms are iridiscent vision and severe pain around the eyes. There is violent fluent coryza. During the cough, his efforts to expectorate always fail, so he is obliged to swallow the mucus.
IRIDIUM.
The element has not been well proven. The proving brought a numb sensation in the ears and in other parts of the body, cramp-like contraction of the calves and the sole of the foot, showing the alliance with Plat. It has been used in anaemia and states of weakness is rapidly growing children and old people.
PALLADIUM.
This element is quite similar to Plat., this being due to the association of both elements in the natural state, and also because of the close chemical relationship. There is pain in the right ovarian region relieved by pressure, and a mental state similar to, yet differing from, that of Plat., there being great sensitiveness to praise, applause and flattery, and an easily wounded pride, becoming easily irritated and excited which mental state aggravates the ovarian pains. There is also a state of tearfulness and depression. The headache goes from one ear to the other over the vertex. There is fatigue, aversion to bodily labor and relief after sleep.
The sensation of sinking and downward pressure in the pelvis occurs in uterine prolapse as in Plat. The sensation of downward pressure is relieved by rubbing. The special affinity is for the right ovary with pain over the right thigh. With the pain there is frequent urination. Jelly-like leucorrhoea precedes and follows menstruation, accompanied by heaviness and weight in the pelvis. The uterine displacement causes pain in the back and hips, accompanied by cold extremities. The sensation of numbness in the arms, as in Plat., the aggravation from mental effort, from the company of others, and the frequent change in the sensations shows the neurotic character of the Pall. constitution.
PLATINUM.
The most characteristic effect of Plat. is the greatly increased sensitivity of the nervous system, so that she cannot even bear the napkin on the sexual parts, and may go into spasms from an examination, these paroxysms being characterized by clonic-tonic spasms, crying out, dyspnoea and so forth, combined with sexual erethism. There are neuralgias, paraesthesias and anaesthesias showing the hysterical make-up. The pains are attended by numbness of the parts. The hysterical patients are alternately gay and sad, with laughing then crying. She is arrogant, proud, “looking down on other people.”
Everything about her seems small, all persons appear physically and mentally inferior. Thus we see its indication in the grandiose ideas of the maniac state. The mental symptoms decrease when the physical symptoms appear, and vice versa. The pains increase and decrease gradually as in Stann., being often followed by sensations of numbness. The menses are too early and too profuse, the blood being dark and clotted. The stool, though soft as clay, remains adherent to the rectum and anus.
MANGANESE.
This element is similar in action to Iron, revealing its likeness in the anaemia, pale face, great fatigue and weakness relieved by lying down, congestion to the head and restless anxiety. The menses come too early and are scanty. There is also intermenstrual bleeding. The digestive disturbances are similar to Iron. As in Iron, the cough is relieved by lying down. The catarrhal conditions with dryness, roughness and constrictive sensation in the larynx, with deep cough, without expectoration or easy expectoration of yellow-green clumps or bloody mucus without much coughing, are all aggravated when the weather becomes damp and cold.
It is used in the hoarseness of professional speakers, but more for the voice conditions brought on by nervous factors. There are pains in all parts of the body on being touched, as though these parts were sore. There are neuralgias of various parts with numbness, twitching, tension, stiffness, weakness and trembling, especially of the legs.
We know that chronic manganese poisoning brings on symptoms indicative of central spastic paralysis. Thus we see that Mang., acts powerfully on the motor nervous system, producing paralysis, beginning with paraplegia, differing from Merc. in first affecting the lower extremities, tremors not being prominent, and from Lead in the absence of colic and constipation. There are inflammatory swellings over the tibia, with digging pains in the bones and periosteum at night. There are excoriations and fissures in the bends of the joints, with itching and burning of the skin. It is noteworthy that the symptoms which come on indoors are better in the open air and vice versa.
CHROMIUM.
The action of this element is known through the proving of Kali bichromicum, which has a special affinity for fat, light-haired people. The great sphere of its action is on the mucous membranes, from which are discharged tough, stringy mucus which adheres to the parts and can be drawn into long strings. The complaints tend to appear in hot weather. There is pressive pain in the root of the nose, ulceration of the septum with bloody discharge or a discharge or hard plugs.
