Veratrum album


Veratrum Album homeopathy medicine – drug proving symptoms from Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica by TF Allen, published in 1874. It has contributions from R Hughes, C Hering, C Dunham, and A Lippe….


Introduction

Veratrum album, Linn. Natural order: Liliaceae. Common names: White Hellebore; (G), Weisse-Niesswurz, (Fr.), Le Varaire Blanc. Preparation: Tincture of the root.

Generalities

It brings on a new attack of gout. Cholera. Trembling of the whole body. Spasms. Spasms, convulsions. Epileptic spasms. Chronic weakness. Sleepy weakness in the morning which prevents his rising from bed. Attacks of weakness when walking. Weakness as from too great heat in the air. Weak a long time in the evening on account of mental excitement (first day); weakness (second day); weak and disinclined to work (fourth day); weak feeling as though he had not slept enough, head stupid; on attempting to rise he sank back in bed, overcome by sleep, a dreamy half sleep, with sweat and apprehensive mood (fourth day); weak and heavy, with a dizzy head and inability to work the whole forenoon, better after a glass of wine (seventh day); weakness in the morning (eighth day). Great weakness in the afternoon, and in the evening, so that he went to bed early, followed by fatiguing, dreamy sleep (first day); weak in the evening; all work, especially mental work is irksome, with great uneasiness, heaviness of the head, which is painful, followed by stupid sleep (second day); great weakness (fourth day); weakness (seventh day). Weak and chilly in the morning. Extreme weakness. Great weakness, with toothache and inflammation of the tonsils. Excessive weakness on going to stool. Extreme weakness. While lying, his weakness does not disappear, but all his other symptoms do, and they return only on rising; while sitting they also disappear, and only the headache remains. Weariness. Desire to lie down. Weariness over the whole body, as if he had walked too far (after two hours). Movements slow. Muscles relaxed. General loss of power in the body, as if he had not slept enough, with an otherwise active mind, in the morning. Paralytic sinking of the strength. Rapid sinking of all the forces, which invites sleep, in the forenoon. He sinks down exhausted. Complete muscular prostration. Prostration and weariness of the whole body, especially of the arms and hands so that it was impossible for him to hold freely in front of him a book which was not at all heavy. Faintness. Restless (first day). Busy restlessness. Activity and mobility on the diminution of the pains and emotional disturbances. Sensation in the bones as if they had been beaten (after two hours). Pain, consisting of a pressure and bruised sensation in the muscular parts of the body. Sensation of itching in the bones. Transient stitches, here and there, in the body. He is affected by the open air, it distresses him, as if he were convalescent from an acute illness.

Mind

Emotional. Delirium, he thinks that he is a hunter. Slight delirium; coldness over the whole body with open eyes, with cheerful, at times laughing expression, he prattles about religious subjects and about vows to be performed, prays, believes that he is not in his own house (after one hour). Slight delirium. He imagines that he is a prince and behaves in a very haughty manner. Persistent raging with great heart of the body. Rages, tears his clothes and does not talk. Swallows his own faeces. Bites his shoe and swallows the pieces. Stamps his feet, with loss of appetite. C Cursing and howling all night and complaining of being stupid, with headache and salivation. He thinks that he is dumb and blind, and has a cancer. She kisses everybody that comes in her way, before the menses. She imagines that she has labor pains.

She fancies herself pregnant. She expects a speedy parturition. She is inconsolable over a fancied misfortune, runs about the room howling and screaming, looking upon the ground, or sits brooding in the corner, wailing and weeping in an inconsolable manner; worse in the evening; sleeps only till 2 o’clock. Screaming and running about, with paleness of the face and fear. Frequent paroxysms of running about the room till sinking down. Screaming and running about, with dark-blue face. She clasps her hands over her head and sings, with cough and very tenacious mucus in the chest. Sensation in his whole being as if he were gradually nearing his end, though with tranquillity. He groans, is beside himself; does not know what to do with himself (after two or three hours). When he is busy his head is freer, but when he has nothing to do he seems dazed, cannot easily think, is quiet and absorbed in himself (after two and fifteen hours). Laughter, alternating with whining. He sings and thrills very joyously at night. Joyfulness, sharpness, of mind. Very lively, eccentric, excessively joyful. Taciturn. Talkative. Taciturnity, it vexes his to speak a word, talking is very irksome; he speaks in a low and weak voice. Melancholia, with chilliness, as if dashed with cold water, and with frequent qualmishness. Mind despondent mood, even to weeping (after twenty-four hours). Depression of spirits, despondency and discouragement, with involuntary weeping and running of tears from the eyes, and inclination to hang the head. Mood gloomy, depressed, can scarcely talk (fifth day). Anxiety. Great anguish. Anxiety and vertigo. Anxiety causing crawling in the fingers. Excessive anxiety taking away the breath. Great anxiety in the morning. Anxiety, screaming and running about). Great anxiety through the whole night. Extreme anxiety in the evening and after dinner, so that he did not know whiter he should turn. Anxiety as from a bad conscience, as if he had committed a crime. Anxiety as if he dreaded a misfortune, as if some evil were impending. (Anxiety after going to bed in the evening, lasting until almost midnight, with waking coma, and drawing movements in the abdomen, which causes roaring in the head). He is utterly unable to rise for eight hours, is obliged to either sit or lie; if he stands he is tormented by the most frightful anxiety, wherewith the forehead becomes covered with cold sweat, and he becomes sick even to vomiting (after three hours). Anxiety with fear of apoplexy during an evacuation of the bowels. Fear. Frightful and easily startled. Fear ending with frequent eructations. C Loss of courage, despair. Ill-humor (first day). Ill-humored when provoked (after four hours). He says nothing except when irritated, and then he scolds. Irritable, inclined to be vexed with every interruption at work (sixth day). Ill-humor in the forenoon; no inclination to work (seventh day). He becomes very peevish, every trifle excites him (after one hour). Cannot endure to have any one speak to him. Vexation from the slightest cause, with anxiety and palpitation, with rapid, audible respiration. He seeks out faults in others and contemplates them. A certain indifference all day, so that he frequently rubs the forehead in order to think clearly and to work which does not go to suit him, with weakness (second day). Restless mood, oppression and anxiety (after one hour). Busy restlessness, he undertakes several things, but is always soon weary and accomplishes nothing. Intellectual. Oversensitiveness; increased mental power. Inclination and desire to work. Disinclined to think, answers with difficulty, cannot apprehend quickly what he hears, use his judgment, nor find the right answers (second day). He cannot get on with mental work; there is very soon a loss of ideas. Loss of ideas. He does not recognize his relatives. Memory leaves him. Almost complete loss of memory, he forgets the word he was about to speak. Stupefaction. Stupidity, difficulty of thought, distraction (first day). Almost complete loss of senses. His reason leaves him. Is conscious only as in a dream. Loss of consciousness. Walking coma; one eye is open, the other close or half open, and frequent starting up as if frightened (after half an hour).

Head

Confusion and Vertigo. Dizzy confusion of the head (first day). Vertigo. Excessive vertigo. Very dizzy in the morning. Vertigo and intoxication (after twenty-four hours). Vertigo when walking (second day). Incessant dizziness for three days. Vertigo with aversion to all food. Vertigo; everything turned about in a circle (after three hours and a half). Dizzy, it seems as if there were nothing firm in his head. Vertigo, so that he was obliged to steady himself while walking, so that he is obliged to steady himself (third day). Vertigo towards noon, and perspiration at night, before the menses. Vertigo, especially on rising from a seat, with violent pressure in the vertex, pain in the arms, vanishing of vision, creeping coldness through the arms. General Head. Apoplexy. Blood rushes violently to the head on stooping (after eight hours). Head heavy (first and ninth days). Head heavy, with pressing pain. Head heavy, oppressed (third day). Head heavy, confused. Head heavy, dull. Head heavy, dizzy on rising in the morning (sixth day). The head seems heavy, and everything in it seems to turn in a circle. Head heavy, confused, empty, with peevishness and disinclination to do anything the whole forenoon (fourth day). Head heavy, dull, talking is difficult, as if he could not think of the words (fifth day). Head dull (tenth day). Dullness of the head, with nausea for two days. Painful dulness of the head, with tensive pressure, now in the temples, now in the whole of the vertex, most violently when sitting erect and standing, relieved by stooping, and also by lying upon the back, with rather contracted pupils. Headache, (fifth day). Headache, with vomiting of green mucus. Headache, with some stiffness. Headache and pain in the back, with colic and qualmishness. Headache increased even to reeling, while walking, but it diminished again while sitting (after two hours). Headache as if the brain were broken. Headache, heavy, tense, and stupefying (second day). Constrictive headache, with constrictive pain in the pharynx. Violent headache (second day). Violent headache with flow of urine. Violent headache, which disappears on the appearance of the menses. Sudden violent headache and intolerable pain in the occiput (after six hours). During menstruation (which had not occurred for six weeks), headache (tearing?), especially in the morning, with qualmishness; diminished in the evening. Paroxysmal pain here and there in the brain, consisting of a bruised sensation and pressure. Stupefying pressing pain in the head (fifth day). Pressing, tensive headache over the whole head (seventh day). Tension in the head between the temples (after half an hour). Drawing pain in the head and small of the back. Shattering in the head and jerking in the left arm, with paleness, of the fingers. Sensation of a cold wind blowing through the head. Pressing throbbing headache. Intermittent throbbing headache (after six hours). Forehead. Throbbing headache over the left eye for a quarter of an hour heaviness in the forehead. Pinching pain in the forehead (first day). Single stitches in the forehead, even while sitting (after four hours). Sticking pain in the left side of the forehead (fifth day). Buzzing and roaring in the forehead, with dull internal headache (after four hours). Tension in the sinciput (first day). Temples. Dull pressing headache, while extends from the temples to the forehead, aggravated by bending forward, relieved by bending backward and by external pressure, on the contrary recurring on rising up (after three hours). (A sensation extending downward in the temples as if a drop of water running down, though not a cool sensation). Stinging in the temples (seventh day). Sticking in the temples (sixth day). Vertex. Headache in the vertex like a flattening pressure, which becomes a throbbing on movement. Dull pressure on the crown of the head in the morning after waking. Internal cutting in the vertex (after four hours). Pressing headache in one side, associated with the pain in the stomach (after four hours). Occiput. Tension in the occiput and forehead (fifth day). Constant sticking pain deep in the occiput, with tension of the occiput (first day). External Head. Sensation in the hair on the right side of the head; as if a bunch of hair were electrified crawling and bristling of the hair, with slight shivering in the skin under the hair (after five hours, and afterwards). Tension in the skin of the forehead, with a feeling as if difficult to move, and a pressure (first day). (Itching on the head), (first day). Itching, biting stitch on the scalp, provoking scratching (after ten hours and a half). Itching on the forehead.

TF Allen
Dr. Timothy Field Allen, M.D. ( 1837 - 1902)

Born in 1837in Westminster, Vermont. . He was an orthodox doctor who converted to homeopathy
Dr. Allen compiled the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica over the course of 10 years.
In 1881 Allen published A Critical Revision of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica.