Mercurius Vivus - Extremities, Limbs symptoms - T.F. Allen

EXTREMITIES, LIMBS

Extremities, limbs

Objective.

Loss of power in the limbs was accompanied by a certain hastiness of motion,

Tremor of the limbs, etc.

Trembling of the extremities, especially of the hands, so that the patient cannot hold them still for a moment, indeed, can carry nothing to the mouth,

Tremor of the upper and lower limbs, which became worse when they were spoken to at all severely,

Electric irritability was good, but the muscles of both the upper and lower extremities did not contract in a tonic manner but tremulously, so that the fingers upon the electrode felt a kind of whirring,

Trembling of the hands and feet, so that the patient was unable to write,

Trembling of the hands, sometimes also of the feet,

Periodic trembling of the extremities,

Great trembling of the limbs,

Excessive trembling in all the limbs, especially the upper; progressively increasing, until he was unable to work, or to eat, drink, or perform the offices of nature, without assistance,

A woman had violent tremor of the extremities,

Legs trembled moderately; arms violently; had to be assisted in everything, like a child. So much difficulty in walking, that he often fell to the ground on his back, as if from some external force, even while striving to keep himself up by bending forwards,

They thought they were cured, when in about fifteen days after leaving off treatment, they were seized with jactitation of the muscles of the limbs,

Sudden jerking of the extremities, so that he could scarcely walk or eat; the fear of falling induced him to keep his bed,

Paralysis of the extremities except of the left arm; afterwards motion returned in the arm but not in the lower extremities,

Weakness of the limbs,

Painful prostration in all the limbs (second day),

Subjective.

Frequent falling asleep of the arms and legs, especially at night,

Sensation of fuzziness and paralysis in the limbs,

Unusual heaviness of the limbs,

Feeling of heaviness and fuzziness in the limbs,

Feeling of heaviness in the extremities, especially feeling very sleepy, especially at night,

Pain in the extremities,

Pains in the arms and legs,

Pains in the forearms and legs,

Slight pain in the joints, especially of the wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles,

Great pain and tremor in the limbs,

Obstinate and intense pain in the limbs for a month,

Dull pains in the joints,

Returns of aching pains in limbs (second day),

Tearing in the limbs, especially in the arms,

Tearing pains in the extremities,

Painful tearings in the hands and feet, worse at night,

Violent tearing pains, like rheumatism, in the arms and legs; increased in bed, so that she was often obliged to leave it,

Upper extremities

Objective.

Trembling of the arms,

Suddenly seized, after a day of unusually laborious work, with cramps in the fingers, which were shortly followed by a shaking and tremulous motion of both upper extremities. They were slight at first, but gradually increased, so as to become very distressing. This agitation of the muscles continued even during sleep, and was accompanied with a gnawing pain, as he expressed it (after two weeks). The symptoms have become still more general, the lower extremities having been affected the previous evening, so that, in fact, the whole body appeared in constant motion. Towards the latter part of the day, the tremulous motion of the muscles of the right arm subsided, but the limbs remained almost paralyzed (after three weeks),

Entire loss of control of the left upper extremity; all the limbs were more or less affected,

The left arm cannot be raised; the forearm is moved with difficulty, the hand more easily, while the fingers are perfectly flexible; right arm similarly affected, but in a less degree; the right hand can be lifted to the chin,

Paresis of the right upper extremity, with trembling,

Subjective.

At times, a disturbance of sensibility in the left arm,

Rheumatic pains in the arms,

Rheumatic pains in the left arm,

Drawing pains in the arms and hands,

Tearing pains in the left arm,

Much soreness in the muscles of the arms,

Periosteal aching in outer side of left arm, changing to left wrist and forearm, on waking and subsequently (second morning),

Forearm.

Patients are subject to cramps and paralysis of the extensor muscles of the forearm,

Achings in flexor muscles of left forearm (after two hours and a quarter),

Periosteal aching down left forearm; then down right forearm; then in right elbow; then down spine; with varying intensities, (after twenty minutes),

Constant repeated, prolonged convulsive movement of both forearms on the radial side, causing flexion of the thumb and forefinger,

First symptom was weakness of the forearm and pain of the elbows,

Wrist.

Wrists permanently flexed at a right angle with the forearm, but are easily straightened out,

Acute aching in left wrist and dorsum of hand, succeeded by subacute aching over hepatic region (second day),

Hand.

Tremor of hands,

Trembling of the hands, so that it became impossible to hold anything, with great weakness,

Trembling of the hands, at first lasting about a quarter of an hour, and passing off, afterwards becoming more and more frequent, and lasting a longer time,

Hands trembled so that he could scarcely work,

Constant trembling of the hands, so that the patient cannot hold them still for a moment, and every movement is impeded thereby,

Involuntary trembling of the hands,

He could neither feed nor dress himself,

One could not carry a glass of water to the mouth without spilling it; could take neither food nor drink, but had to be fed like a child,

So paralytic that he could not, with both his hands, carry a glass half full of wine to his mouth without spilling it,

Frequent involuntary jerking of the hands and fingers; the convulsions are greatly aggravated by every exertion,

A slight loss of power in the hands, which came on at various times, and was generally relieved by the use of ardent spirits,

He was in the habit of intoxication; and noticed that when in this state he could hold his glass without spilling, which he could not do when sober,

Fingers.

Finger nails blue,

Trembling of the fingers,

The fingers of the left hand became permanently contracted,

Sensation of coldness and deadness of the fingers,

Lower extremities

Considerable oedema of lower extremities (while the eruption was going off),

Veins of the lower extremities dilated,

Varicose veins in the legs,

Varicose veins of the legs, without ulcers,

Saphena vein as large as the thumb,

Trembling of the legs, so that he could scarcely stand or walk, with trembling of the hands, so that he could carry nothing to his mouth, and trembling of the tongue,

Movements of the lower limbs were performed naturally, but slowly; those of the hip-joint were difficult,

Gait in walking uneven and hesitating (younger),

His walk was hesitating and difficult,

Remarkable heaviness of the lower extremities, so that the gait was unsteady, followed by tremors of the hands, and gradually of the whole body,

Staggering gait,

Patients suffering from mercurial tremors had a gait very similar to those suffering from tabes dorsalis,

Unable to stand steadily,

Great weakness of the legs, so that he could scarcely stand,

Confined to his chair; unable to walk a step,

Bursting sensation in right leg, followed by periosteal tingling (after a few minutes),

Although every muscle of their legs was trembling, they were frequently obliged to stretch them out upon chairs, in order to relieve the severe cramps in those parts,

Periosteal aching in anterior surface of left tibia (second morning),

Pains in the knees at times,

Soles of both feet turned inwards and upwards; the tendon of the tibialis anticus is rigid and prominent; this contraction is permanent and painless,

Tingling of toes (left foot), (after a few minutes),

A child of one of the workers, a year old, had trembling of the arms moderate stomatitis, and ptyalism; the child was pale, but well nourished, even fat, and intelligent,

One woman, who had been healthy and had three healthy children, died of tuberculosis,

Chlorosis and amenorrhoea, palpitation, weakness, loss of appetite,

Chlorosis; skin of the face and mucous membrane pale, white like a corpse, eyes watery, pulse small, rapid, great thirst, palpitation, dyspnoea, pains in the head and stomach, oedema of the lower extremities, general weakness, depressed mood, blowing sounds in the carotids,

Exostoses, especially on the tibia, seldom on the upper arm or head; these were accompanied by swelling and sensitiveness of the periosteum, especially aggravated at night, and by the warmth of the bed and in cold damp weather, thunderstorms, etc.,

Periostitis and subsequent necrosis,

Among five hundred patients suffering from caries, necrosis, or exostosis of the bones, there is no case known of it occurring among the workers in Mercury,

Breath and whole body smelled foul,

Peculiar hastiness of all motions,

Involuntary motions of the head and hands,

Trembling,

General tremors,

Involuntary tremors,

General involuntary tremor,

Altogether disabled from work by paralytic tremor and debility,

Trembling not only of the limbs but of the whole body, of the tongue when protruded; speech was stammering,

Tremor, beginning in the hands, and soon becoming general,

Trembling of the hands, afterwards of the extremities, and gradually of the whole body,

Mercurius Vivus was his third attack of tremor, the first having occurred seven years ago. Now affected with general tremor, the head being involved as well as the limbs, and the arms so much agitated that he could not cut up his dinner. At first he used to shake most at night. His spirits were greatly depressed by the attack. Felt dreadfully nervous at times, especially during change of weather,

General tremors, with stammering of speech, most violent convulsions at times, during which the patient scarcely ever completely lost consciousness; relieved by tightly binding the body and limbs,

The tremor chiefly affected the limbs, especially the thighs, legs and forearms. The dorsal and gluteal muscles, and those of the pelvis and shoulder were less affected-those of the upper abdomen, anterior chest and face, not at all,

Tremors, always commencing in the fingers, gradually increasing in violent and extending until the whole body was involved,

Trembling of the corners of the mouth, tongue, and hands,

Tremor of neck and hands,

Tremors beginning in the hands, especially when attempting to hold anything, gradually increasing, attacking the knees, and rarely the neck,

Trembling of the extremities and head,

Tremors first attack the fingers, arms, and then the knees, extremities, and tongue,

Trembling of the hands and tongue,

Tremor of the hands, so that could not lift anything, eat, or write; marked tremor of the neck and lower extremities,

Trembling, which disabled him from writing, drawing, or working, and even from eating or drinking without assistance,

Had to be assisted in everything like a child,

Tremors so that she could not drink without assistance,

Trembled so badly that he could do no work, and could not go upstairs without great danger of falling; had to be fed, dressed, and assisted in every other way like a child; could not go out of doors for three months; and, when the weather became warmer, began to creep rather than walk about the streets,

Sudden tremors,

Tremors occurred suddenly and unexpectedly, amounting to frightful convulsions, which throw her out of bed if she did not have tight hold of something; was obliged to be fed; speech entirely lost,

Very great tremors,

Violent tremors, so that she was obliged to lie down,

Violent tremors, with jerking of the hands, feet, and head (rats and mice inhabiting the mines became affected with tremors and convulsions, like men),

Violent tremor, which at times made it impossible for her to take food or work,

Violent trembling, first of the hands, afterwards of the whole body. Shaken by continual spasm; he could not speak, nor could he carry his hand to his mouth without striking himself; he was obliged to be fed,

Tremor very violent; especially on any excitement, preventing speech,

Such violent general trembling that she was confined to her bed for nine months, when she was frightened out of it by an alarm of fire, which endowed her with momentary strength,

A sudden violent attack of tremor, without vertigo, so violent that speech was difficult and he was obliged to keep his bed,

Frightful tremors, with inability to speak, take food, etc., accompanied by sleepiness, with stupefaction, vertigo, starting up, violent headache, great weakness of memory, great anxiety, tightness of the chest, roaring in the ears, flickering before the eyes, constant motion of the eyeballs, and bends of the limbs,

Frightful convulsive tremors, with unintelligible speech, inability to walk, violent attacks of vertigo; the tremors prevented sleep,

Trembling at first came on at long intervals; but finally, after a feverish attack that lasted five days, it became continuous, and so bad that he could neither talk, work, nor eat,

Tremors aggravated by emotional excitement,

Tremors recurred for years from any emotional excitement,

During rest the patient did not tremble, but on the slightest emotional excitement, even when spoken to, there was trembling of the arms, legs, and head, so that she was obliged to sit down, and the pulse became accelerated,

When the women were asked why they did not speak they, almost without exception, answered that the visit frightened them, excitement seemed to cause trembling,

Tremor, not constant, but especially noticed when under the influence of surprise or fear,

Every attempt at voluntary motion in creased the tremors,

On every attempt to exercise the voluntary muscles, the tremors take place,

In general, so long as he does not attempt the performance of an act of volition, the muscles are not agitated, but on attempting any motion the tremors and jactitation occur,

Trembling after standing or walking a long time, disappearing during rest,

While walking and standing, the trembling is not so marked, but as soon as the patient closes the eyes the trembling becomes much worse, when it is noticed even in the feet,

Trembling of the muscles of the head and spine, so that on account of the general tremors can neither stand nor sit on a chair without danger of falling; the tremors ceased only while asleep in bed,

Those suffering from salivation rarely had tremors,

Tremors alternating with violent general convulsions,

Shaking palsy, which lasted all his life,

Violent spasmodic affection. The head, arms, and fingers, particularly on the left side, presented a succession of quick, convulsive, jerking motions. The angles of the mouth were retracted, the eyebrows twitching, the head constantly thrown back, but the agitation scarcely raised the arms. The nostrils were spasmodically dilated. The sterno-mastoid, trapezius, scaleni, diaphragm, and the abdominal muscles were similarly affected. Their contractions were short, rapid, and painful. From the constant hiccough with which the spasms of the diaphragm were attended, and the jerking motion of the tongue, his speech was interrupted and indistinct. He was occasionally free from spasms altogether, but whenever he transmitted volition to any part of the muscular system, it became instantly affected. When he endeavored to raise his foot from the ground it quivered and fell quite powerless and useless. Whenever he attempted to carry a vessel to his lips he generally overshot the mark, carrying the vessel towards his ear, nose, or forehead, and spilling its contents on his face or neck, so that it was a common saying among the patients in the ward, that he did not know the way to his mouth. But if a vessel was applied to his lips by another person, he could swallow easily. A sudden blast of cold air, the application of a cold hand to the skin, or the abrupt entrance of any person into the ward brought on an attack of spasms. The muscles of the left hand and left side were affected much more than those of the right. After a few days, the spasms of the left side continued, though much less severe. Those of the purely voluntary muscles of the right ceased, while the spasms continued in the respiratory muscles on the side,

Frightful convulsive spasms; inability to speak or leave the bed, with great anxiety and roaring in the ears,

Paralysis,

All, sooner or later, became paralytic and die hectic,

Died with symptoms of apoplexy, one side and the tongue being paralyzed,

Decay of the bodily and mental powers went on unceasingly,

Weakness, etc.

A child born during the mercurial disease was weak, had to be fed because the mother had no milk, and died after seven weeks, this woman afterwards had eleven confinements but only five living children,

Great weakness,

General weakness, approaching to palsy,

Sudden attacks of weakness and trembling,

Progressive weakness, until the patient is no longer able to walk,

Weakness that increased so that he was unable to walk about the room alone; was constantly obliged to keep his bed,

Debility, at first of the lower limbs, afterwards affecting the arms and hands, then becoming general, and soon succeeded by visible tremor (after eighteen years),

Much debility,

Enfeebled,

General exhaustion,

Collapse; with swelling of the gum, fetid breath, hiccough, agrypnia, retention of urine,

Some were obliged to sit or lie the whole day, and on attempting to stand they fell to the ground,

Attacks of faintness, during which she did not entirely lose consciousness, accompanied by a peculiar distressing sensation in the right hypochondriac region (after some years),

Three attacks of faintness in one day; the first was caused by starting at something falling to the floor,

Restless, nosy (younger),

A universal uneasiness of body, so that he could not remain one moment in the same posture,

Subjective.

General bodily torpor,

General anaesthesia, with a sensation of numbness and fuzziness, especially of the fingers,

Cutaneous sensibility more obtuse in the limbs than in the trunk, and in the right lower extremity than in the left,

Diminution of the sense of touch,

The sense of touch became blunted,

General state of troublesome excitement,

Very easily startled,

Startled and flurried by slight causes (one),

General sense of great debility (one),

Painfulness of the affected parts,

All affected parts painful (after nine days),

All affected parts very painful (after eight days),

Bone-pains,

Pain in the head and bowels,

Much pain in limbs and loins (one),

Severe pain all over, worse at night,

Wandering pains,

Rheumatic troubles,

Rheumatic pains, especially in shoulders and forearms,

Drawing in the bones,

Nightly drawing pains in the head and extremities,

Shooting pains and a sense of formication in various parts of the body,

Tearing pains in the face, head and neck sometimes accompanied the stomatitis,

Young people are more easily affected than old,