Verbascum

Verbascum thapsus, Linn.

Natural order, Scrophulariacete.

Common names. Mullein ; (G.), Konigs-kerze ; (F.), Molene.

Preparation, Tincture of the fresh herb at commencement of flowering.

Aidhorities. (Nos. 1 to 5, from Hahnemann, R. A. M. L., 5.) 1, Hahnemann ; 2, Gross; 3, Hartmann; 4, Langhammer; 5, Mossdarf; 6, Butler, Provincial Med. and Surg. Journ., 1843, vol. vi, p. 89, experiments on healthy individuals, with doses of ^ to 2 drachms of tincture of dried leaves of either V. nigrum or Blattaria or both; daily limit, between 30 and 40 ounces.

Mind

Excited fantasies, especially of a sensual nature, for several days

Excessive joy fulness with laughter (after two hours and a half)

Depressed all day, all his efforts and hopes seem unavailing

Anxious mood all day; more lively towards evening

Very fretful and morose mood without cause; but with desire and inclination for work; also he finds satisfaction in having people about him and in talking with them (after two hours and a half)

Indifferent to things to which he is usually attentive (after four hours)

Disinclination for work (after eight hours)

Distraction of mind; different trains of thought and fantasies throng upon him (after eight days)

Diminished memory; it was with great difficulty that he could recall the thoughts he had just had (after four hours)

The narcotic effects usually wore off in one or two hours

Head

Sudden vertigo, as from a pressure upon the middle of the whole head

Attacks of vertigo on 'pressing the left cheek, while supporting the head

Dulness of the head (after five hours)

Dull painful heaviness of the head (after three-quarters of an hour)

His head is dull and confused, as if everything would press out at the forehead

Slight sense of weight about the head, with vertigo, often to a considerable extent, but at the same time somewhat pleasurable

Tingling in the head, while walking (after four hours and a half)

Forehead. Intermittent pressure and beating near the left frontal eminence

Violent pressure in the whole forehead

Violent pressing pain extending from within outward, in the forehead, disappearing on stooping (after two hours and a half)

Violent stupefying pressure deep in the right frontal eminence on going from the cold into warmth

Pressing benumbing headache rather external, especially in the forehead, in every position (after three-quarters of an hour)

Pressing stupefying headache, especially affecting both sides of the forehead, in every position (after half an hour)

Violent pressing inward in the left side of the frontal bone, like a benumbing

Incessant pressure from within outward, in the forehead, especially between the eyebrows (after three hours)

Benumbing drawing in the left frontal eminence in a draught of air (after seventy-two hours)/.

Slow hammering in the left frontal eminence, immediately

Violent slowly appearing and disappearing stitch extending from within outward in the left frontal eminence (after two hours)

Deep, sharp, intermittent stitches between the left frontal eminence and the parietal eminence

Intermittent fine needlelike stitches in the left side of the forehead (after one hour and three-quarters),h

Sticking in the left frontal sinus (after five hours)

Temples. *Dull pressure in the articular eminences of the temporal bone, just in front of the left earf

Dull pressure in the articular eminence of the temporal bone painfully aggravated on biting the teeth together

* Sensation as if both articular eminences of the temporal bone were violently pinched and crushed together with pincers/.

A pressing pain in the right temple, immediately,h

Pressure from behind forward, in the left temple,h

Sensation as if the temples were pinched together with pincers/.

Benumbing sticking piercing deeply in the right temple while eating, aggravated by external pressure; after a few hours it extended into the tipper teeth of the same side like a tearing

Sharp, benumbing, knifelike stitches just above the right temple

Burning and prickling in the left temple (after eight minutes)

Sticking jerking externally, first in the left temple, afterwards in the right (after one hour)/.

Vertex arid Parietals, Tension in the left side of the vertex, which gradually becomes a sharp pressure, at the same time the left ramus of the lower jaw seems pressed against the upper jaw

Pressing headache on the crown,h

Violent pressing, but very transient pain, extending from within outward in the whole right half of the brain, which gradually diminishes (after four hours)

Tearing pressure in the right half of the brain (after four hours)

Benumbing pressure in the whole left side of the head and face (cheek)

Jerking pressure in the left half of the brain (after five hours)

Pressing, long-drawn stitch from behind forward, through the left hemisphere of the brain (after two hours)

Violent intermittent deep sticking behind the left parietal eminence

Oecipilt. Pressing pain in the occiput (after an eighth of an hour)

Violent pressure in the right occipital protuberance (after four hours and a half)/.

Stitch in the left side of the occiput (after one hour and a half)

Eyes p. 115

Heat in the eyes and sensation of contraction of the orbits (after half an hour)

Pain more pressing than tearing above the left orbit (after two hours and a quarter)

Pupils dilated (after seven hours and a half)/.

Dimness of sight

A short-sighted person becomes still more short-sighted (dimness of vision ?); could scarcely recognize objects a yard away, on account of watery dimness of vision ; objects seem indistinct and enlarged, and the daylight seems less bright than usual, which is not the case (after eight hours and a half)

Ears p. 115

Sudden pressure, associated with a violent stitch behind the right ear, which gradually disappears (after three-quarters of an hour),®. ^Feeling of numbness in the left ear

* Painful tearing and drawing in the left ear, extending inward

Sensation as if the left ear would he drain inward

Violent tearing within the right ear/.

Tearing stitches in front of the left ear extending downward, immediately

A /earing stitch in the left ear (while eating), (after two hours)

Sensation as if something stopped the ears, first the left, then the right f

Nose p. 115

Sensation of stoppage of the nose, larynx, and ears, which, however, does not affect the hearing, while reading aloud (after eight hours)

Face p. 116

Face pallid, after large doses

The ivhole cheek becomes involved in a dull press7ire in the left articulation of the jaw, and on pressure becomes a benumbing tension

Sensation as if one were violently pressing upon the left malar bone as far as the ear, aggravated by pressure with the hand, frequently during the day, in the evening before going to bed, and in the morning on U)aking

\1Q.'] ''^Tension in the left malar bone, in the articular elevation of the temporal bone, and in the frontal eminence, on going into the open air and in a draught of air

Violent pressure on the right malar bone (after thirty-six hours)

Benumbing, intermittent pressure on the upper margin of the left malar bouet

Dull pressing-sticking sensation in the left zygoma (after two hours and a half)

Intermittent frightful sticking in the left malar bone

Violent tension in the integuments of the chin masseter muscles, and throat, but the jaws can be moved easily (after ten minutes)

* Pressing pinching pain on the right side of the lower jaw (after half an hour)

Mouth p. 116

Intermittent tearing in the small molars of the left lower jaw

Tearing in the large molars of the right lower jaw

The root of the tongue is brown, without bad taste, in the morning on rising and in the forenoon j.

Root of the tongue brown, with a flat, nauseous taste, in the forenoon

Tongue brownish yellow, coated with tenacious mucus, without a bad taste, immediately after dinner

(Salt water collects in the mouth)

Flat taste for sometime after dinner

Flat taste with an offensive odor to the breath, with a brownish-yellow coated tongue, in the morning (after ninety-six hours)

Stomach p. 116

Appetite and Thirst. Hunger without appetite through the day; nothing is relished, and yet he wishes to eat

Unquenchable thirst (after two hours and a half)

FructatioilS. Many empty eructations

Bitter qualmish eructations, immediately

Uj)rising of tasteless liquid (after five minutes)

Empty eructations, immediately

Ficcoagh. Hiccough (after half an hour)

Frequent hiccough (after two hours and a quarter)

Pressure in the stomach

Sensation of great emptiness in the pit of the stomach, which disappeared with a rumbling in the region below the left ribs

Abdomen p. 116

Fypocliondrium. Sticking pinching beneath the right hypochondrium (after half an hour)

JJmbilicas and Sides. Constriction of the abdomen at the umbilical region at various times

Sensation as if the intestines at the umbilicus were adherent to the wall of the abdomen and were being torn away forcibly, aggravated by external pressure

Hard painful pressure as from a stone upon the umbilicus, aggravated by stooping

Stitches as from many needles in the whole umbilical region around to the back, and even in the dorsal vertebrae, on deep inspiration and on stooping

Incessant rumbling and gurgling in the region beneath the left ribs (after five hours)

Intermittent dull sticking in the leftside beneath the navel,aggravated on bending the body forward after eating (after three hours)

Intermittent dull needle stitches in the right side, by the navel

Sharp intermittent stitches in the left side above the navel

A deep sharp stitch in the left side, where the ribs cease, so violent that he started

General Abdomen. Abdomen tympanitic, followed by frequent rumbling in the region beneath the left ribs, which caused several violent loud eructations (after four hours),l

Griping in the abdomen as from incarcerated flatus, in every position (after one hour and three-quarters)

Cutting-griping colic, here and there, though always rising towards the ribs, where it becomes seated (after three hours')

Cutting griping in the whole abdomen, with frequent eructations

A pain ill the abdomen, extending low down, causing spasmodic contraction of the sphincter ani and a transient desire for stool

[HO.] Tearing sticking in the abdomen, extending downward,b

Gurgling in the lower abdomen (after a quarter of an hour)

Acute, deep, knifelike stitches in the right side of the lower abdomen, above the pubis

Stool p. 117

Soft stool, with straining (after three hours),b

Evacuation of scanty fteces in small hard masses, like sheep-dung, with pressure (after fifteen hours)

The bowels were invariably somewhat relaxed

No stool (first day)

TJvinovy Oy(J(ins

Frequent de.«ire to urinate; a large quantity of urine is passed (after two hours),b

Frequent desire to urinate, with scanty discharge (after seven hours)

Very frequently obliged to pass much tiring (after half an hour) ; an unusually small amount is passed (after thirty-six hours)

The urine passed within ten minutes of taking the medicine always had the odor of Verbascum, and a considerable tendency to diuresis remained subsequently. In several careful series of observations there was found an increase in the bulk of the urine of from 15 to 50 per cent., from moderate doses; in one instance, the quantity of urine, after taking the drug for two days, rose from 472 ounces to 57 ounces, 6 drachms; and the two subsequent days, the medicine being omitted, it fell to 40 ounces

Sexual Organs p. 117

Emissions at night,b

Nightly emission, without lascivious dream

Respiratory Organs p. 117

Hoarseness on reading aloud

Chest p. 117

Invariably pain and oppression at the chest, with disinclination to frequent breathing

Painful tension across the chest, with stitches in the region of the heart, immediately after lying down in bed in the evening,b

Intermittent, benumbing, frightful cutting near the left side of the ensiform cartilage, below the last ribs

Sharp pressure just beneath the left nipple

Intermittent dull needlelike stitches near the left side of the ensiform cartilage

A benumbing oppressive stitch taking away the breath, in the region of the first and second costal cartilages (after five minutes)

Pressing-sticking pain in the next to the last rib where it passes into the cartilage, suddenly disappearing on external pressure, but immediately returning

Violent stitch on inspiration several times, beneath the left nipple, which slowly disappeared, but which always returned on deep inspiration (after four hours)

Heart and Pulse p. 117

According to the state of the system the pulse was more or less readily reduced in number and force, especially in the latter

Neck and Back p. 117

Sharp intermittent stitches in the left scapula

A very fine persistent stitch in the last dorsal vertebra, on sitting bent over (after half an hour)

In the middle between the right loin and spine, intermittent deep, sharp, knifelike stitches, quite internal in the intestines

Upper Extremities p. 117

Stretching in the limbs (after half an hour),b

Superior Extremities p. 117

Pain on the top of the shoulder, pressing rather than tearing, disappearing on motion (after five hours and a half)

Cramplike pressure in the left elbow, extending into the forearm, in every position (after three hours and a half )

Tearing extending downward, in the left ulna

Tensive pain in the left wrist, during rest and motion (after twenty minutes)

Pain on the back of the right hand, pressing rather than tearing (after one hour)

Cramplike pressure, now in the right, now in the left metacarpus on moving the arm, disappearing during rest (after two hours and a quarter)

Pain on the outer side of the metacarpal bone of both little fingers, as from a bruise, only noticed on touch

Violent sticking, as with a dull knife, in the thick flesh between the metacarpal bone of the right thumb and in the index finger

Tearing sticking in the palm of the hand

Dull sticking in the external condyle of the palm

Numbness and insensibility of the thumb,’.f

Cramplike pressure in the first phalanx of the right thumb, disappearing on motion (after seven hours)

Paralytic pain in the left fingers, especially in their metacarpal joints,I

Paralytic drawing in the whole of the left index finger

Some dull stitches in the joint where the carpal hone of the thumb articulates xvith the radius, like a kind of sprain (or numbness)

Violent picking (intermittent dull stitches) in the middle joint of the index finger

Violent tearing stitch through the whole of the left little finger (after four hours)

Sharp sticking in the first phalanx of the left thumb

Violent dull intermittent sticking in the last phalanx of the index finger ; on moving the finger the pain extended into the first joint

Inferior Extremities p. 118

Gait tottering, while walking in the open air, as if the limbs could not support the body on account of weakness (after four hours)

Weariness of the lower extremities (after five hours and a half )

Very great heaviness in the lower extremities, as if a weight were hanging upon them, on going up and downstairs (after two hours)

While riding the right thigh over the left, weakness and sensation of weariness in the bone of the right thigh, not noticed on walking (after three hours and a half )

Paralytic pain on the inner side of the right thigh, while the leg is drawn up in a sitting position; on stooping the pain extended towards the knee, painful like a sticking

Drawing pressing sensation, extending from the middle of the right thigh to the knee, while sitting (after three hours)

A cramplike pain in the muscles of the right thigh, uMle walking in the open air (after four hours and a half )

A pressing cramplike pain in the muscles above the right knee, while sitting and standing (after three-quarters of an hour)

Dull stitches just above the left patella, only on stepping on it (after twenty-four hours)

The knees tremble as if one had received a great fright (after two hours and a half )

Sudden pain through the right knee, while standing, sitting, and walking (after thirty-six hours)

Tearing from above downward in the leg

Cramplike pressure on the left leg near the ankle (after two hours and a quarter)

A cramplike pressure in the sole of the right foot, while standing, which disappears on walking (after two hours and a half)

Violent intermittent dull sticking in the metatarsal bones of the great and adjacent toes of the left foot, during rest

Generalities p. 118

Sensation of sinking

Indolence and sleepiness in the morning after rising

Skin p. 118

Pimple on the cheek in front of the right ear, with stinging pain when touched (after twenty-four hours)

A large red pimple on the neck near the thyroid cartilage, painful on pressure, lasting two or three days (after two days)

Itching on the forearm (after three-quarters of an hour)

Itching, crawling tickling on the side of the left middle finger, provoking scratching (after three hours and a quarter)

Sleep p. 118

Frequent yawning and stretching, as though he had not slept enough (after two hours)

He cannot keep awake immediately after dinner, the lids close (after seven hours)

More or less inclination to sleep

Sleep only till 4 a.m., filled with dreams of war and of corpses, several nights,’.-

Restless sleep at night, he tosses from side to side

Shivering, especially over one side of the body, from the shoulder to the thigh, as if cold water were poured over it

Slight transient coldness over the whole body, even perceptible externally, on the hands and feet,l

When the doses were large, the extremities became cold and the face pallid

Conditions p. 119

Aggravation.

(Bending body forward), Sticking in left side of navel.

(Biting teeth together), Pressure iu articular eminences of temporal bones.

( Going from cold into warmth). Pressure in right frontal eminence.

(Deep inspiration), Stitches in umbilical region.

(Motion), Pressure in metacarpus.

(Pressing left cheek while supporting head). Vertigo.

(Press<re), Sticking iu right temple; pressure on left malar bone; sensation in abdomen.

(Stooping), Pressure upon umbilicus, stitches in umbilical region.

Amelioration p. 119

(Motion), Pain on shoulder.

(Stooping), Pressing from within outward in forehead.

Footnotes p. 118

† From the external application of the juice.—Hahnemann.