Introduction
Hypericum perforatum, L. St. John’s wort. Nat. Ord., Hypericaceae.
Provings
I, KAROLINE M-, aet.23, unmarried, phlegmatic temperament, healthy, took, 7 a. m., 4 dr. tinct. 1st day, 8 a. m., great thirst, dry mouth, some stitches in right temple. 8:30 a. m., throat swells for 1/2 hour; feeling of fatigue; several times dry short cough; pressure in sacrum; tension in both arms. From 9 to 10 a. m., nausea, on drinking water eructation. 11 a. m., tongue white, lips dry, their epithelium seems dried. 2 p. m., more thirst, hot feeling in mouth. 3 p. m., throat swells again. 5 p. m., pressure and burning in chest, anxiety, dry burning heat in mouth. Great sadness, she feels like to weep. frequent empty, tasteless eructations; no appetite, feeling of weakness in head. 6 p. m., feeling of confusion in head, especially the crown, a dull humming. Sleepy, eyelids always disposed to close, pupils dilated; pulse quick. 6:30 p. m., tearing from right calf down through whole foot. 8 p. m., stitches through left chest. Sleep very disturbed with frightful dreams, starting, and anxiety. – 2nd day, very tired with great thirst. 3 p. m., hard stool. 5 p. m., very sleepy; smarting on back of hands; tightness of chest; shooting in left side of chest; feels as if heart would fall down. 8 p. m, severe stitches under left breast; here and there stitches under right breast; very short breath; throat swells; shivering throat whole body. Pressure in stomach after boiled rice; face swollen. – 3rd days, at 3 a. m., spoke in sleep all sorts of incoherent stuff, looked distraught, stared at her brother; head hot, carotids beating violently; face very red, swollen; eyes fixed pupils dilated;pulse very quick; hair moist; rest of body dry, burning hot; great anxiety; all at once left off taking and sang, soon afterwards wept and screamed frightfully, and gasped for breath. On giving her two magnetic passes, she at once came to her senses and said that when a hand was laid on her head she felt a pleasant calming sensation. The whole attack lasted about 1 hour. She now complained of the most violent headache as if from a hammer, especially in crown, of tearing stitches in interior of head; formication in hands and feet, hey felt furry; extreme thirst, white furred tongue. All day, felt excessively weak; tension in both eyes; dry burning heat all over body; continued stitches from within outwards through left chest and sternum, increased by movement. – 4th days, last night drawing toothache in whole left lower jaw 9 After midnight), for a short time. During day as if flatus would be discharged; disinclined for all mental and bodily work. – 5th day, a. m., tongue furred white, pulse quick and hard, nose disagreeably dry, pupils dilated. P. m., throbbing in crown, head hot; anxiety; tension in both eyes, pressure in sacrum, palpitation of heart. 4 p. m., chilly feeling through whole body, urging to urinate; violent sweating in both hands, red miliary eruption on back of hands and between fingers, thirst and oppression. – 6th day, s violent pinching pains in belly as from flatulence, soon followed by soft stool. The next 14 days. she still felt great exhaustion, weakness of head and of memory. (MULLER, Hygea, v, 485.)
2. KATHARINE M-, aet.31, mother of 2 children, sanguine temperament, healthy, took 8 a. m., 4 dr. tinct. 1st day, very acute smell all day 10 a. m., tension in cheeks for several hour 4 p. m., in right temple transient but severe tearing with chilliness of whole body; a kind of shooting sometimes in epigastrium, sometimes in right hypochondrium. At night in bed feeling as if something were alive or tickled in brain;dreams much and wakes after each dream. – 2nd days, a. m. painful feeling in teeth; p. m., anxiety something hot rises up in throat; tension in both cheeks, from noon till evening. Very sleepy. – 3rd day, shooting in right hypochondrium, transition tearing in elbows. P. m., a jerking pain in teach and cheeks; great heaviness of head. E., tearing in left arm, especially from elbow to fingers; soft stool. At night call to stool without result – 4th day, a. m. tension in teeth, heaviness in head, brain feels compressed, nausea for 1/2 hour, continued tearing in arms. 3 p. m., transient spasm in knee, jerking and twitching in cheeks. 4 p. m., feeling as if an icy cold hand were touching the forehead for about 1/2 hour; it then went to right eye causing spasmodic contraction there for 1/4 hour. 4:30 p. m., transient stitches through right ear. Oppression; no stool to-day. – 5th day, wakes with confused head. 4 p. m., cutting in umbilical region sort of ebullition there; hot face, feeling as if head were all at once longer. 7 p. m., abdomen distended hard like a drum; no stool; is very degaussed and feels like to weep; tearing in occiput. 9 p. m., great lassitude; right leg and left arm lame alternately with squeezing. 6th days, 8 a. m., twitching and formication in left zygoma half the day. Has a stool, whereupon the distension of abdomen gradually subsides. 8 p. m. great zygoma. Midnight, violent tearing in genitals, with urging to urinate twice during night; tension in region of uterus as from a short ligament. -8th day, weariness in arms. E., as smarting eruption on both hands, like urticaria, must scratch them nearly raw. – 9th and 10th day, toes and heels somewhat swollen and smarting; lassitude; distended abdomen and tension in right hypochondrium; paralytic pressure pain in sacrum. E., smarting in left fingers. -11th days, 2 a. m., urging to urinate with faintness and vertigo in and out of bed. Wakes in morning with great vertigo and nausea. 9 a. m., vertigo continues; trembling and ramp in left arm and fingers; leucorrhoea. For about 3 weeks felt weak, had leucorrhoea for several day; hair falls out much; marked weakness of memory, easily startled, inclined to sit still, very sensitive to cold. (Ibid., 487.)
3. Magdalene M-, aet.21, unmarried, sanguine temperament, good health, took 4 dr. tinct. 1st day., heaviness in head, tension in temples; restless sleep, felt quite heavy in bed. -2nd day., fine pricking like needles in arms, tension in hands; horripilation in crown. 11 a. m., great urging to stool, evacuation of hard lump. 3 p. m., confusion of head, here and there tearing in teeth; pain in eyes, anxiety, frequent starting, hot feeling in lips. E., stitches in both temples, throbbing in left temple -3rd day, wakes at 4 a. m. feeling as if were not lying in bed or as if she lay heavy in bed; many dreams. N., tearing in arms. A.m., pressure on chest and throbbing in right temple. Noon, nausea with inclination to vomit and great lassitude. 2 p. m., stitches in left shoulder at every breath; abdomen distended; pressive paralytic pain in sacrum; cutting and pricking in belly as from flatulence; pressive. 7 p. m. violent stitches in crown; great urging to stool with evacuation of a lump. – 4h day, 3 a. m., woke with tearing toothache in upper and lower jaw; feet felt furry, with needle pricks in them. Noon, several stitches in sacrum. 4 p. m., stool with excessive tenesmus.. – 5th day, much starting; every time she starts heat rises up in throat. E., tearing in right thumb. – 6th day, morning confusion of head, pain temples, weak feeling and trembling in all limbs; nausea. 10 a. m., normal stool. 5 p. m., violent stitches throat chest, so that she must hold her breath. – 7th day., 9 p. m., hard stool with violent tenesmus, followed by sickness; tearing in right eye and in crown; brain feels confused. -8th day, wakes with great lassitude and trembling; throat swollen; tension in both hypochondria, violent thirst, white tongue; perceive pain in sacrum; drawing pain from left ear to zygoma; on touching zygoma feeling of swelling there; head feels larger; tongue furred, dirty yellow; stool hard; tearing in right thigh and knee. – 9th day., feeling in throat as if a worm were crawling there; stitches in both sides of chest alternately 3 p. m., on rising from seat left foot felt sprained. – 10th day., great lassitude, tearing in right knee; stitches in scapula; stitches through right eye. During next 2 weeks complained that her hair was falling out Menses, previously regular, were 14 days too late. The weak feeling in head and lassitude go off gradually. ( Ibid., 490.)
4. a. Dr. SCHELLING, being in good health, took, June 18th, 2 doses of 1st dill. Afternoon, weak, distracted after a short walk. Until 3 p. m., unusually poorly, giddy, heaviness of legs, tension in neck and nape-19th. Itching in both cheeks, especially about whiskers. P. m., drowsy after dinner, shivering, coldness from calves over thighs repeatedly during day. – 21st. Nausea, loathing, inclination to vomit after supper. Night, vivid dreams not remembered. – 22nd. Bad taste, eructation; shivering in back and over shoulders; frequent spitting of gelatinous mucus; disposed for rapid work. Night. several times painful cramp in calves, first right then left, compelling him to get up and walk about. M., ulcerative pain in a vesicle on thigh. 4 p. m., much yawning. – 23rd, morning 6 dr. tinct. Head heavy; tension below; left temple; frequent eructation with oppression in chest, retching; retching; flatulence, tension in abdomen, hernial sufferings; shooting and burning pain in sacrum and loins, cold feeling in back, shoulders and arms. – 24th. Chilliness all over body with nausea; diminished appetite, loathing of food; spitting out of much granular white mucus; frequent discharge of dark yellow-coloured urine. – 25th. Dreamful sleep with morning sweat; tension in nape with pressure and shooting in centre of chest; left wrist pains a if sprained when moved; appetite diminished; soft stool. -29th, a. m., 1 dr. tinct. for 8 days. Every night tiring heavy sleep with morning sweat; during day much flatulence, pressure, and forcing in belly; appetite good but soon satisfied; much flatulence, distension of bowels; after dinner easy, helpful working energy. N., tiresome dreams of climbing hills, scaling cliffs, great pressure of work flying. M., fatigued; head heavy. – 30th. Tension in forehead as if the skin were drawn up; after breakfast eructation, pressure in stomach, flatulence, discharge of flatus. P. m., stiff nape, shooting in left knee tingling in legs and feet as from fatigue; when working in garden profuse general sweat. Nigh, at first quiet sleep then tiresome dreams. – July 1st. Flatulence all day, sickness, loss of appetite, loathing of food. – 2nd night, disagreeable, disgusting dreams; after breakfast pressure in stomach, loathing, anxiety, much saliva; during dinner nausea, inclination to vomit, stomach and bowels left hot and swollen, drowsiness. E., continued nausea, loathing, inclination to vomit; 1 hour after supper of milk, constant salivation, eructation, hawking up of viscid saliva. N., fantastic dreams with frequent waking from loathing and spitting of mucus. – 3rd. After a cupful of milk for breakfast, pressure in stomach. 10 a. m., cramp in left foot; painful cramp-like drawing as if foot went to sleep when lying; nausea, eructation, heat in epigastrium and chest. E., after coffee, pressure, nausea, tension in chest, eructation, yawning; later, nausea loathing, spitting of mucus, constant shivering, most when sitting and moving, relieved by cold water. N., dreamful sleep; thirst on waking, but cannot drink on account of retching and heat. -4th, morning, nausea, miserable, inclined to vomit, empty feeling of stomach, can hardly get up of nausea with pressure in praecordia; all forenoon constant pressure, nausea, anorexia, as from overloaded stomach, though had eaten nothing. 2 hours after dinner, pressure, nausea; weakness almost to falling. 3 p. m., after a glass of wine and cheese, less weakness. E., commotion in pit of stomach and cardiac region, eructation, pressure in epigastrium. N., woke several times with pressure in stomach and burning like disorder of stomach from sour wine. M., eructation of mucus boring and pressing in stomach. – 5th. Commotion in stomach with yawning and hunger, but no appetite owing to loathing, nausea, furred tongue, eructation, lassitude; tongue grayish white, especially at back. Non, tearing in right shoulder and forearm, frequent yawning, urine dark yellow. E., great nausea, constant eructation, sometimes of wind, sometimes of mucus; nausea and malaise, with inclination to vomit, retching, flow of salvia for 1/2 hour; eructation of a quantity of inodorous wind, relieved by drinking water. Night, dreamful sleep. – 6th. On waking, nausea,. In forenoon, occasional eructation. Soon after dinner, pressure, burning, commotion in stomach, frequent eructation, anxious breathing, increasing for 2 hours, inclination to vomit.
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.