Petroleum - General symptoms - Hahnemann

GENERAL

General

OLEUM PETRAE, COAL OIL, ROCK OIL.

Petroleum product of the interior of the earth is extremely strong in smell, taste and medicinal effect. For medicinal use it ought to be very fluid and of light-yellow color. If it is very fluid it is not very likely that it has been adulterated with fat vegetable oils. But in order to be quite sure of this point, in the work (Signs of the genuineness and adulteration of Drugs) (published in Dresden, 1787, p. 221), I have advised testing it by the admixture of strong Sulphuricum Acidum ^{sulphuric acid}, which leaves the petroleum untouched and only changes any foreign oils that may be admixed into a sort f sulphurous substance. Or we may, more simply, merely drop a little of the petroleum on a piece of white writing paper.

when this is laid in the open air or in a very warm place, it soon evaporates and leaves the paper without a transparent or translucid spot, if no fat oil is admixed. In many cases the petroleum may be found adulterated by the admixture of a volatile vegetable oil, oil of Terebinthina ^turpentine. To guard against this, it is well to mix petroleum, before it is used medicinally, with double the quantity of alcohol, to shake it a few times and then to separate it again by filtering it through blotting paper which has been moistened with alcohol. Thereby the pure petroleum remains behind in the filter, and is then kept in little vials, the stopper and mouth of which have been covered with melted sealing-wax. The alcohol, which has passed through the filter, will contain the volatile vegetable oil, if the like was present in the petroleum.

For the first trituration with one hundred grains of sugar of milk we take one drop instead one grain of petroleum.

Petroleum has done excellent service, where the following morbid symptoms were prominent

Anxiety. timidity. excitement.

abuse. lack of memory.

weakness of memory and of the thinking faculty.

obtuseness of the head.

, like violent tottering to and fro.

headache from vexation.

pressive shooting headache.

beating in the occiput.

eruption on the head and the nape.

scabs on the hairy scalp.

falling out of the hair.

gauze before the eyes.

long-sightedness, cannot read any fine print without spectacles.

short-sightedness. dryness and troublesome sensation of dryness in the inner ear.

hardness of hearing. ringing before the ears.

noise in the ears. hissing and.

yellowness of the face.

swelling of the submaxillary glands.

white-coated tongue. bad smell from the mouth.

putrid, offensive taste in the mouth.

loathing of warm, cooked food.

ravenous desire for food.

loathing of meat. ravenous hunger.

loud eructation. inclination to vomit.

sea sickness. lack of appetite.

the scrobiculus cordis thick and painful when touched.

chaotic state in the abdomen.

colic. inguinal hernia.

lumpy, unusually . frequent evacuations by day.

diarrhoea. involuntary dripping of urine.

wetting of bed . constriction of the urethra.

burning in the urethra.

and moisture . frequent pollutions.

weakness and nervous irritation after coitus.

emission of prostatic juice.

Especially after the previous use of Nitric Acid ^{nitric acid}.

Dryness of the nose and troublesome sensation of dryness in the nose.

stoppage of the nose. coryza, hoarseness.

cough in the evening after lying down.

dry nocturnal cough. suffocating night-cough without expectoration.

shooting in the side of the chest.

palpitation. herpes on the chest.

, not allowing him to stand.

backache. herpes on the nape.

tearing in the hands. brown spots on the wrist.

cracked skin on the hands and fingers, full of bloody chaps in winter.

gouty, stiff finger-joints.

herpes on the knee. stitches in the knee.

cold feet. swelling of the feet.

corns. obstinate ulcers on the toes, from eroding blisters with high borders, humid, red, flat base.

drawing pains in the head, forehead, temples and molar teeth.

. cracking in the joints and stiffness of the same.

ebullitions of blood. dislike to the open air.

pain of the chilblains.

proud flesh in ulcers.

vivid dreams. he feels in the morning as if he had not slept enough.

night-heat. ague in the evening, first chill, then heat of the face with cold feet.

night-sweat.

Smelling of a pellet as large as a hemp seed, moistened with a high potency of Nux Vomica ^{Nux vomica}, has been found the most efficient antidote to Petroleum.

It will be seen that for Petroleum Hahnemann acknowledges no fellow observers, as he cites no authors. He has himself contributed all its symptoms, 623 in the first edition, 776 in the present.

PETROLEUM.

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A slight vexation is very injurious.

the taste in the mouth becomes bitter, the appetite is lost.

a short walk then fatigues her.

several diarrhoeic stools.

when going to sleep, the blood is still in violent motion.

attended with eructation and nausea.

restless sleep. on the following morning a quivering and trembling all through the body.

diarrhoea and internal misery, so that the tears continually stood in her eyes (aft. 9 d.).

After driving when leaving the carriage and walking up and down in the open air, sudden violent nausea and such weakness, that she sank down, with urging to stool, quite cold sweat on the head, neck and chest, while the face was quite pale, and blue rings around the eyes.

after the stool, a violent chill and the following evening some heat.

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