Lycosa tarentula. Tarantula. *N.O. Araneideae. Tincture of the living spiders.
Clinical
Angina pectoris. Callosities. Chorea. Coccygodynia. Cornea, opacity of. Cystitis. *Depression of spirits. Diphtheria. Dysmenorrhoea. Epistaxis. *Erotomania. Fibroma. Headache. Hiccough. *Hysteria. Intermittents. Kleptomania. *Levitation. Locomotor ataxy. Mania. Meniere’s disease. Migraine. Onanism. Ovaries, enlargement of. Paralysis, agitans. Physometra. Proctalgia. Pruritus pudendi. Quinsy. Septic diseases. Spinal irritation. Spinal sclerosis. Tumours. Uterus, cancer of, neuralgia of. Vertebrae, tumours of.
Characteristics
The name *Tarentula covers a number of poisonous spiders, but in homoeopathy, unless otherwise distinguished, it refers to *Tarentula hispanica, Lycosa tarentula. Nunez is our chief authority. He instigated the proving and collected much outside information bearing on the action of the poison. “Tarantella” is a dance named from the city of Tarentum. “Tarantism” is a dancing mania, set up in persons bitten by the *Tarentula, or in those who imagine themselves bitten. The cure is music and dancing.
Here are two illustrations from *C.D.P.: (1) Girl, three months old, was bitten by a tarentula. She appeared at first uneasy, then exhibited dyspnoea, and complained, showed signs of suffocation, vomited, was agitated and much convulsed. Music was played, movements of the limbs were set up, whence resulted profuse sweat, followed by sleep and complete recovery. (2) Francis Mustel, a peasant, was bitten by a tarentula on the left hand, about the middle of July, as he was gathering corn. He went home with his companions but on the way fell as if struck by apoplexy. Dyspnoea followed and face, hands, and feet became dark. Knowing the remedy, his companions fetched musicians. When the patient heard their playing he began to revive, to sigh, to move first his feet, then his hands, and then the whole body, at last getting on his feet he took to dancing violently, with sighing so laboured that the bystanders were almost frightened. At times he rolled himself on the ground and struck it vehemently with his feet. Two hours after the music began the blackness of his face and hands went off, he sweated freely, and regained perfect health. Every succeeding year at the same season the pain and attending symptoms returned, but less violently, and they could always be averted by music. But if the imminent paroxysm was not averted in time, he was found by his friends struck down as at first and was restored in the same way. These cases bring out some of the cardinal features of *Trn. (1) Dark red or purplish colouration and swelling of skin and tissue. (2) Apparent imminent choking. (3) Choreic movements, restlessness. (4) Better by music: music at first excites and subsequently relieves. (5) Periodicity, deep action returning annually on the date of the bite. *Trn., is a remedy of *synalgias and concomitants: Neuralgia of inferior maxillary nerve accompanying pain with irritation in pit of stomach. Snapping and pain in ear associated with hiccough. Throat and eye. Heat of face with heat of palms. Faint feeling in stomach with frontal headache. Many symptoms take their rise from the generative sphere, which is profoundly affected. Desire is excited in both sexes to the point of mania. Coitus only worse the sufferings of both. In one male prover the semen was bloody and caused a sensation of heat in its passage. The sexual desire was so excited in one woman that when playing or dancing with men she hugged them before everybody, and was angry when reproved, but did it again. The periods were scanty and pale with severe pains in teeth and buttocks, at times she had a desire to take things which did not belong to her, the “Tarantella ” played on the violin produced no effect on her, but as soon as she took in her arms a little girl, she began to cry until it was taken away. Cuttings and contractions in uterus, shootings in vagina, swelling and induration of uterus, expulsion of gas from uterus, pains in other parts associated with uterine pains, restlessness, hysteria. The restlessness is particularly noted in the lower extremities, with desire to cry: must keep moving about though walking worse all the symptoms. Many of the mental symptoms, which almost exhaust the protean range of hysteria, were in connection with sexual disorders, sighing, yawning, laughing and crying, joking and profound melancholy. The unceasing movements-twitching, jerking, dancing-are the most constant features. There is hysterical hyperaesthesia: the least excitement irritates, followed by languid sadness, great excitability of nerve endings, tips of fingers extremely sensitive, feels sore and bruised all over, worse moving about, spinal irritation, slightest touch along spine causes spasmodic pain in chest and heart regions. Farrington gives among the mental symptoms: “When there are no observers there is no hysteria, when attention is directed to her she begins to twitch,” and “cunning attempts to feign paroxysms of wild dancing.” The chorea of *Trn. is most marked on right side The
neuralgias of *Trn. may be anywhere, in the head they are of great intensity: “as if thousands of needles were pricking to the brain. They are worse by noise, touch, strong light, better by rubbing head against pillow. (“Better by rubbing” is a keynote Condition of *Trn. “Termini of nerves become so irritated that some kind of friction is necessary in order to obtain relief.”) Constrictive headache with pain in uterus. ***P.C. Majumdar (*Ind. *H.R., v. 43) reports this case: Girl, 18, had oppression of chest, suffocating sensation, continued jerking and movement of hands, foam at mouth, complete insensibility, profuse and delaying menses, very sleepy. Hysteroepilepsy was diagnosed. *Ignatia 30 did nothing. *Trn., high, brought her out of the fit and restored her completely in a few minutes. But *Trn. is not a hysteric remedy only. ***C. M. Boger (*Hahn. Ad., xxxviii. 40) cured a case of irritative cough with *Trn. 30: Mr. ***B., 41, sore all over, throat feels dry, cough lying down at night and in morning after rising, dry with tearing pain in chest, excited by pressure of phlegm in chest, feels short of breath for at least an hour after each coughing attack, *only better *from smoking. Bad taste evening. Three doses cured. Diphtheria, tonsillitis of an intensity to threaten suffocation, cystitis, septic and intermittent fevers have been successfully met in *Trn. on its indications. In *M. A., xvii. 568 a case of hyperaesthesia of finger-tips is mentioned. The patient, a lady, 33, could not dress herself without gloves. The irritation caused at once a sensation in the *teeth as if set on edge by a strong acid. The pain was not in the fingers. *Trn. gave relief after *Asarum europaeum, *Gelsemium, and *Sul. *ac. had failed. Among peculiarities of *Trn. are: Stools occur immediately the head is washed. Wetting hands in cold water causes symptoms. Snapping and cracking in right ear with pain and hiccough. One pupil dilated, the other contracted. Farrington relates a case of typhoid in a child cured by *Trn. The child rolled its head and bit its nightgown. *Apis. and *Agn. improved. *Trn. slightly aggravated at first, then rapidly improved. *Peculiar Sensations are: As if head were knocked, in morning. As if thousands of needles were pricking into brain. As if occiput were struck with a hammer (this sensation as if hammered occurs in many parts and may be considered a general indication). As of a hair in eye. Singing like a tea-kettle in left ear. As if lower teeth were going to fall out. As if a living body in stomach rising to throat. As if body were bruised. As if there were not sufficient space in hypogastrium. Painful uneasiness in coccyx. Motion in uterus as of a foetus. As of something crawling up legs under skin from feet to uterus. As if heart turned and twisted round. Heart as if squeezed and compressed. As of needles sticking into muscle of neck when touched. As of insects creeping and crawling. Tickling, burning, scorching, and numbness are prominent sensations. *Trn. is *suited to nervous, hysterical patients subject to choreic affections, to persons of foxy, mischievous, and destructive tendency, to choreic affections when whole body or right arm and left leg are involved. The symptoms are: worse By touch. Rubbing improves. Pressure improves. Music better, causes excitement. Rest aggravates. Must walk about but walking worse all symptoms. Can run better than walk. Motion better headache, worse uterine pains and pains in coccyx. Worse at night. Worse washing head. Worse wetting hands in cold water. Fresh air improves. Warm water improves. Coitus aggravates. Light worse, causes urge to scream. Cough causes headache, involuntary urination. Worse after sleep. Better riding in carriage (pain in spermatic cords). Epistaxis better throbbing in carotids, & c.
Relations
*Antidote to: Lachesis (Hering). *Partial antidotes: Pulsatilla, Mag-c., Mosch., Cuprum, Chelidonium, Gelsemium, Bovista, Carb-v. *Compare: Irritation of periphery of nerves better exercising and rubbing, Kali-bro. Chorea, Mygale, Cimic., Agaricus, Stramonium Desire to jump, Stramonium, Croc., Natrum mur., Sticta., Asarum europaeum, Agaricus, Hyoscyamus, Cicuta Bores head in pillow, Belladonna (*Trn. is more *rubbing). Hysteria, alternation of moods, sensation of something alive, epistaxis black clots, Croc.
