Belladonna - General symptoms - T.F. Allen

GENERAL

General

(Morning), When getting up, vertigo.

on rising, head heavy.

early, headache. early, soon after waking, pain under frontal eminences.

soon after waking, on rising, pain under frontal eminences.

early, on waking, headache above eyes.

in about a quarter of an hour after rising, and after stirring about, side of head ached.

white of eye streaked with red, etc.

darkness before eyes. on going out, black points, etc.

before eyes. immediately after waking, fluttering, etc., before the ears.

bleeding of the nose. on waking, epistaxis, etc.

tongue feels asleep, etc.

on waking, slimy mouth.

bad small from mouth. after rising, mucus in mouth.

loss of appetite, etc.

in bed, cutting in belly.

pressing towards generative organs, etc.

immediately after getting out of bed, pain in hypogastrium.

frequent micturition, etc.

in bed and after rising phlegm.

when coughing, expectoration of bloody mucus.

when turning head to and fro, stiffness between scapulae, etc.

beating of arteries of head, etc.

after rising, sleepiness, etc.

febrile chill. sweat..

(Afternoon), Pains in general.

anxiety, etc. while walking in open air, sensation of heart blowing against eyes.

vomiting of mucus. squeezing together in umbilical region.

cough. shortness of breath.

after drinking coffee, shortness of breath.

pains in hips, etc. feeling of weariness.

shuddering, etc. fever.

shivering..

(Evening), Violent delirium.

speech incoherent. lively, etc.

mirthful mood. headache.

stitches through head.

stitches in occiput. in bed, on reading, letters run together.

attacks of deafness. face bluish-red, etc.

after lying down, toothache.

toothache. accumulation of water in the mouth.

sour taste of bread, etc.

astonishing thirst. nausea, etc.

vomiting. pinching in abdomen, etc.

a few hours before going to bed, cutting in abdomen.

feeling of fulness in hypogastric zone, etc.

before falling asleep in bed, tearing in spermatic cord.

sexual desire. after lying down in bed, tickling, etc., in larynx.

about 10 o'clock, cough commences.

in bed, constriction, etc., in chest.

in bed, oppression of chest, etc.

drawing along the spine.

swelling of feet. in bed, when drawing up knees, cramp in sole of foot.

in bed, itching pricking on the skin.

yawning, etc. in bed, chill, etc.

while undressing, slight chilliness, etc.

heat in hands.

(Night), Pains in general.

tries to bite those about him.

claps hands together over the head, etc.

delirium. ravings. anxiety, etc.

loss of conciseness, etc.

on turning in bed, vertigo.

in bed, epistaxis, etc.

toothache. drawing in upper teeth.

toothache. hiccough, etc.

vomiting. burning in bladder, etc.

pressing in vesical region.

diuresis. in bed, cough.

shortness of breath, etc.

intermittent breathing.

pains in hips, etc. pain in thigh.

in bed, nervous feeling in legs.

sensation in leg as if jammed.

restlessness, etc.

in bed, after lying down, itching.

fever. febrile chill, etc.

profuse sweat. sweat of the genitals.

5 to 11 P.M., drowsiness, etc.

4 P.M. till midnight, sweat all over..

The delirium was of a busy, restless, vivid character, but generally rather pleasing than otherwise. The patients appeared to think they were pursuing their ordinary occupations.

one boy appeared eager in flying a kite, another pulled tables and chairs about, thinking he was working in a coal-pit, and a woman appeared to be remarkably busy with her household duties. All their movements were of a quick excited character, strikingly resembling delirium tremens,.

The delirium was attended with phantasms, and in this respect resembled that caused by alcohol, but the mind did not run on cats, rats, and mice, as in the case of drunkards. Sometimes the phantasms appeared to bed in the air, and various attempts were made to catch them or chase them with the hands.

at other times they were supposed to be on the bed. One patient (a woman) fancied the sheets were covered with cucumbers,.

The slight delirium that followed the action of the narcotic was of a strange, yet not unpleasant, kind. The intellectual operations at times were very vivid. Thoughts came and went, and ludicrous and fantastic spectacles were always uppermost in my mind. I was conscious that my language and gesticulations were extravagant, yet I had neither the power nor will to do otherwise than I did.

and, notwithstanding my bodily malaise, my mind was in a state of delightful exhilaration,.

She complained first of "a sensation of madness in her brain," then suddenly lost the power of speaking and swallowing, and fell into a comatose state. The head was bent forward on the chest, eyes closed, breathing heavy and stertorous, pupils widely dilated, hands and feet cold, pulse scarcely perceptible, jaws firmly fixed. After rousing, appeared conscious when spoken to, but could not answer. Soporose throughout the day, speech gradually returning. (Second day.) Has passed a restless night, sleep being much disturbed by frightful dreams.

complains of intense pain in the head, and says that it feels enormously large.

great intolerance of light and nose. At noon, very delirious, and would persist that there were horrid monsters all over the room staring at her. (Third day.) Head much relieved after leeching. Passed a restless night, her sleep, she says, being disturbed by "miserable phantoms." From this point gradual amendment took place,.

Wildly delirious, but quite fantastic, almost hysterical, laughing wildly and crying, and not at all conscious.

pupils widely dilated.

he evidently saw visions, as in delirium tremens, for he was constantly grasping and picking at imaginary objects.

the odor of Belladonna was strong from his hands and feet.

quite blind, and stared vacantly,.

After three hours she was very delirious, talking fast, and throwing about her arms in an excited but feeble way.

her pupils were widely dilated and insensible to light.

her pulse was 126. Three-quarters of an hour later she was very restless, tossing about the bed, picking at the bedclothes, and throwing about her arms in a meaningless way, but partially conscious of what was said to her. A "calabarized disc" was placed in one eye (the left).

in about twenty minutes the left pupil had contracted to a pin's point, the right pupil remaining widely dilated and insensible to light.

He was very restless and noisy. He was continually getting in and out of bed, and talking loudly and incoherently to imaginary persons, who, as he said, were trying to take away his bedclothes. He complained of faintness, and of soreness and dryness of the throat, and pain across the forehead. He had vomited once and had been several times to the water-closet. He said his sight was all right, but evidently did not know what he was saying. Temperature 98.5°.

pulse 140, very weak. The skin was moist.

the face flushed. The pupils were widely dilated and quite insensible to light,.

All but two had delirium of a busy, restless, vivid character, but generally rather pleasing than otherwise. The patients appeared to think that they were pursuing their ordinary occupations.

one boy appeared eager in flying a kite.

another pulled tables and chairs about, thinking he was working in a coal pit.

while the woman appeared remarkably busy with her ordinary household duties. All their movements were of a quick excited character, strikingly resembling delirium tremens. In none of the cases in which delirium was present were the symptoms alleviated until sleep was obtained.

and after sleep, the patients felt comparatively well,.

She began to snatch at objects on the floor and elsewhere, which objects only existed in her own fancy. These visionary phenomena were, by her talk, found to be chiefly articles of work and various insects, beetles, flies, etc. (after five hours). As evening came on, she became nearly blind, restless to an inordinate degree, excessively and loudly talkative, incoherent and unmeaning in her words, which almost wholly, along with the movements of her hands, betokened a concern in her employment, or some immediate interest in her brothers and sisters who were not present. The tongue became somewhat dry, thick frothy mucus adhering to its sides. The skin was still more hot, and the pulse as high as 120. The delirium from this time rapidly increased.

at one time expressive of great joy, at another great terror,.

What was particularly observable in this case was a great deal of exhilaration or flow of spirits.

a marked stimulation of the brain. The child did everything in a hurry, and saw the bright side, rather than the dark one, of what was observed. The Belladonna was taken about 4 P.M. The greatest amount of excitement or stimulation showed itself between 7 and 8 P.M., and it was fully 11 P.M. before she could be quieted so as to fall into a disturbed sleep,.

A few minutes after eating the tart he became drowsy, his lethargy soon increased, his countenance changed color, and the pupils of his eyes became dilated.

had a strange coppery taste in mouth.

staggered on going upstairs, and fell down insensible. He subsequently became delirious, and was very rough. His contortions were dreadful. He attempted to strike his wife in his delirium, and when he recovered a little, said he was sorry, and asked her to kiss him,.

Pressive pain in the forehead, so severe during motion that it caused him to close his eyes.

easier in sitting. he was obliged to lie down, upon which it disappeared.

it returned immediately on rising, for two days, and was not aggravated by eating or drinking.

but as soon as he went into the open air, the forehead seemed to be pressed in as if a heavy stone lay on it.

on the third day, the pain disappeared entirely, while he was sitting in the room,.

One drop of the tincture was added to ninety-nine drops of water, and the right eye was rubbed in the usual way, but no effect was perceived. Afterwards one drop of tincture was added to nine drops of water, and this was applied in the same manner, again no effect was noticed.

then a drop was added to four drops of water, and applied.

this experiment succeeded, a perceptible contraction of the pupil was noticed. Some months later the last-mentioned experiment was repeated at noon. Two drops of tincture were added to eight of water. Small portions of this dilution were rubbed over the eye at intervals during half an hour. At the end of this time the pupil was slightly contracted, it was less than of the other eye. Afterwards the remainder was rubbed over the same eye, at intervals during another half hour.

a slight dilatation of this pupil was noticed, it was larger than the other. This dilatation afterwards increased considerably, and had not disappeared on the following morning,.

After vertigo came on the affection of the eyesight, every object growing dim, as though a cloud were between the eye and it.

sometimes objects appeared double, and passed before the eye with an undulating motion. I observed that by a strong effort of the will a concentration of the nervous power, this paralysis of the retina (?) might for a moment be combated, but only to return with greater severity when the mental effort had been succeeded by its corresponding relaxation. The pupils were immovably dilated,.

He stared now straight before him, now around, and screamed out that he saw rats, mice, dogs, cats, and large black animals (always only dark objects) on the walls, furniture, etc. These dark visions lasted four hours. About this time the body, especially the cold extremities, began to grow warm, his face became lively and red, the eyes vivacious, bright, expressive of joy and astonishment.

the lips dry. speech was short, but articulation distinct.

his answers to questions were hasty, laconic, and dry. It was very difficult to draw his attention for a moment from his yet all-brilliant visions.

he was enraptured, appeared happy, and content.

his limbs were in constant motion.

he groped with his hands after colored butterflies, shining insects, etc., which he fancied he saw on the physician's clothes,.

In about one and a half hours the face of the child was covered with spots the size of a Argentum Metallicum ^silver quarter, and larger. These spots were of a bright red color, and a little elevated and puffy, similar to nettlerash. These gradually coalesced, and in about two hours covered the face and front of the neck. Around the spots was a white border.

also around the mouth,.

Intensely painful sensation of cramp in the lumbo-sacral region and the coccyx.

he can only sit for a short time, and while sitting becomes quite stiff and unable to rise again for pain.

he cannot even lie down well.

he often wakes at night because of it, and has to turn on the other side because of the violence of the pain.

he cannot lie at all on the back.

he is relieved chiefly by standing and walking slowly about, but he cannot walk fast (for eight days),.

In the morning, immediately after getting out of bed, a violent, tensive, pressing pain in the whole of the hypogastrium, but especially in the region of the os pubis.

it appears as if the hypogastrium (rarely the epigastrium), were spasmodically constricted, sometimes as if it were distended (although not really so).

pains which gradually increase and gradually decrease (after twenty hours),.

Two hours later, he was affected with extreme desire to micturate, though he could pass only a few drops of perfectly colorless urine. From this time till he lost consciousness his desire to pass urine was constant.

wherever he could retire he did so, but succeeded in expelling from the bladder, with considerable effort, only a few drops of colorless fluid,.

Pain in the thighs and legs, as if they were bruised all over, and as if they were rotten.

fine shooting and gnawing along the shafts of the bones, with violent tearing in the joints.

the pain gradually rises from the tarsal joints to the hips, obliges him, while sitting, continually to move and shift the feet, and becomes milder when walking (after four hours),.

Fast asleep (after three hours).

sleeping quietly without stertor (after six hours and a half).

after the application of cold to the scrotum and spine, tickling and pinching the feet and legs, the patient became partially aroused at 3.30 A.M. (after sleeping nine hours and a half).

he then slept quietly till morning, when he woke of his own accord,.

A dose of 2 to 30 drops, especially the latter, caused slight dryness of the mouth and nose, insipid taste, yellowish fur on the tongue, diminished appetite, dulness in the frontal region, roaring in the ears, weakness of vision, with normal, rather contracted pupils.

in one person, in addition, pain in the small of the back.

in another person stitches in the region of the shoulder, and in the left side in the region of the false ribs.

From 35 to 60 drops the above-mentioned symptoms in the mouth and fauces increased to a distressing degree.

There was burning in the hard palate and throat, with great redness of these parts the voice became hoarse, the intestines distended by gas and painful.

The head became dull, there were vertigo, sleepiness, and frequent yawning, restless sleep.

In two provers there were also transient stitches in the region of the heart, tearing pain in the head, in the region of the shoulders, and in the feet.

These symptoms continued in a less degree, even on the following day when nothing was taken.

After doses of 65 to 130 drops, the above-mentioned symptoms increased, with the exception of transient pains; the eyes became especially affected, there was foggy vision with vertigo, the eyes seemed covered with a veil, reading was very difficult, the conjunctiva was injected, the pupils in one case, from 110 drops, dilated.

Lastly it was noticed that the urinary organs became affected, so that micturition was accomplished with great straining and difficulty.

On the same day in which one prover took 110 drops, an experiment was made with an external application to the conjunctiva; a few drops were rubbed into the upper lid, and some trickled into the inner canthus.

About a quarter of an hour afterwards there was some dilatation of the pupil, which increased so that after two hours there was scarcely a line of Iristo be seem.

The margins of the lids became red, the conjunctiva slightly injected; even the pupil of the other eye was somewhat dilated.

The Irisof the right eye was sluggish in action, vision was very weak, and the eyes seemed veiled.

On the next day, the right pupil was still considerably dilated and vision very much restricted, especially in the open air.

At the same time the eye was drawn somewhat upward and outward.

On the third day vision was only somewhat weak, the pupil remained dilated for several days.

The following were the chief observations from twenty-one provings with three different preparations the mucous membrane of the mouth and fauces was first affected.

thence the affection extended upward to the mucous membrane of the nose and frontal sinuses, and partly to the conjunctiva and Eustachian tube, then downward into the larynx, then from the throat into the stomach and intestinal canal.

Belladonna affection consisted essentially of dryness of the parts, for example, dryness of the whitely coated tongue, pasty taste, diminished appetite, desire for liquids without thirst, scraping in the throat, difficulty of swallowing, hoarseness, difficult speech, sneezing, nausea, inclination to vomit, pressure in the stomach, diminished stools, increased gas in the intestines.

As objective symptoms, there were dark redness and swelling of the mucous membrane as far as could be seen.

A second sphere of action of Belladonna seemed to be the brain.

The symptoms consisted of vertigo, pressing and aching pain in the head, reeling and slight stupefaction, sleepiness; the sleep, however, was restless and disturbed by vivid dreams.

There were general prostration, general ill-humor, and disinclination to mental work.

Dulness and confusion of the head lasted a long time.

Of the two extracts, the alcoholic and the aqueous acted in a greater degree upon the brain than the extract of the Austrian Pharmacopoeia; with the former it was especially noticed that with the increase of the symptoms of the mouth and fauces the head symptoms diminished.

There was noticed an antagonism between the two preparations.

The disturbance of vision began with a slight degree of weakness and fogginess, sensitiveness to light, and progressed to illusions of vision, flickering, and visions of colors, a feeling of pressure in the eyeball, increasing to a high degree of weakness of vision, with injection of the conjunctiva, increased lachrymation and dilated pupils.

From the external application of the above mentioned, the symptoms were more pronounced; the pupils were extremely dilated, the Irisless sensitive, and the eye turned upward and outward.

Especially interesting was the action of Belladonna upon the urinary organs.

Without calling particular attention to the nocturnal erections, produced by the smaller doses, there was noticed relaxation of the urinary organs in such a way, that there was frequent desire to urinate, with inability to passe urine except by great pressure, and then only guttatim.

The action of Belladonna on the skin was increased warmth, amounting even to glowing heat of the face, turgor, and a very deep-red color, even a cherry red.

In one person, 4 1/2 grains of the Austrian extract caused red circumscribed spots on the face.

In the vascular system in general there was a feeling of chilliness, coldness of the extremities, alternating with heat and increased transpiration, accelerated pulse, and palpitation,.