Spigelia anthelmia. Demerara Pink-root. *N.O. Loganiaceae. Tincture of dried herb.
Clinical
Adenoids. Amaurosis. *Angina pectoris. Ciliary neuralgia. Cold. *Constipation. *Depression of spirits. Diaphragm, stitches in. Exophthalmic goitre. *Eyes, *pains in. Gastric catarrh. *Glaucoma. *Headache. *Heart, *affections of. Hernia, inguinal.
Iritis. Jaw-joint, pain in. *Neuralgia. Otalgia. Post-nasal catarrh. Prostatorrhoea. Pterygium. Rectum, cancer of. Rheumatism. *Scarlatina. Sigmoid flexure, cancer of. Stammering. Strabismus. Tinnitus. *Tobacco habit. *Toothache. *Worms.
Characteristics
*Spigelia anthelmia is a common weed in South America.: S. *Marylandica, “Pink-root” or “Worm-grass,” is a native of the Southern States of North America. *Spigel. *anth. is an acronarcotic. It was known in Europe in Hahnemann’s time as an anthelmintic, this property of the drug having been learned from the Negroes of the Antilles. Hahnemann’s proving (***M. M. P.) revealed many other virtues. He says of the plant that it has this peculiarity: the primary action of a single unrepeated dose usually increases somewhat daily during the first seven to ten days, so that pure experiments with it should be conducted with caution, seeing that 60, 80, to 100 drops of the tincture produce violent effects even in robust persons. *Violence is a note of the *Spigelia action. The pains are intense, and it produces pains in all parts. It is a neuralgia remedy *par excellence. I was once written to by a patient in the country, and the only definite points that I could make out of the case were that there was neuralgia and that it affected the left side. I ordered *Spi., and it speedily cured. *Spi. is more left-sided than right, but by no means exclusively left-sided. The pains are burning, jerking, tearing, pressing and stitching, they radiate and extend to other parts, are worse by noise, jar, movement, change of weather _ especially stormy weather. Head, eyes, face, teeth, and heart are the principal seats of *Spi. action. Hochecker (***H. R., x. 147) relates the case of Miss O., 27, blonde, tall, robust, who had neuralgia for several weeks, without traceable cause. Pains came suddenly, twitching and tearing of left side of face, now in ear, then in lower jaw, and were particularly worse by mastication. A peculiarity was that whenever the pains were about to commence a diarrhoea set in. A single powder of *Spi. 6 cured. Hochecker also cured with *Spi. 3, 6, 10, and 20 a case of tic-douleureux of *right side of fifteen months duration. In this case each lower attenuation after first relieving caused an aggravation. That was why the attenuations were successively raised. *Spi. 20 completed the cure. This patient had dark hair and dark complexion. She attributed her trouble to taking cold in a draft when heated by dancing. Sensitiveness to cold, to wet and stormy weather, is one of the notes of *Spi. The left-sidedness of *Spi. is shown in its affinity for the heart. Sometimes the heart, eyes, and head are affected together. A case is quoted in *A. H. (xxii. 417) in which there were darting and aching pains in head, nose, and eyes, and similar pains about the heart with slow, irregular action, but no murmur. Vertigo on stooping and heat of head. Sudden pains at bottom of back. The pains were worse night and morning and in damp weather. In one prover the accustomed evening smoke caused violent toothache. I cured with *Spi. a case of cardiac neuralgia caused by tobacco. I have frequently seen cardiac murmurs appearing in acute rheumatism disappear under *Spi. In the eye, neuralgias, inflammation, amaurotic conditions, glaucoma presenting the symptoms of *Spi. have been cured with it. The pains of *Spi. are largely *out-pressing, and proceed from within outward and below upward. A migraine comes from occiput and settles in or over left eye. In the eyes themselves there are intolerable pressive pains worse on motion, but there are also stabbing pains through eye *backwards into brain. The combination of heart and eye symptoms marks *Spi. as the remedy in many cases of exophthalmic goitre. The anthelmintic properties of *Spi. must not be lost sight of by homoeopaths. It has the cardiac symptoms of helminthiasis: itching of anus and nose, colic, and borborygmus. Hering gives this case: “Helminthiasis: dilated pupils, strabismus, putrid smell from mouth, itching of nose, griping pain in belly, throat inflamed, swallows often, pale redness in throat and swelling of mucous membrane, palpitation.” Masses of lumbrici have been expelled and also threadworms. Fetid breath and fetid flatus are marked features of *Spi. There is both constipation and diarrhoea. I have found it especially useful in heart cases where constipation has been a troublesome complication. The bodily sensitiveness of *Spi. is paralleled by the mental irritability. But the most peculiar mental symptom is “fear of pointed things as pins. & C.” Meninger (A. H., xx. 282) had a severe case of nausea of pregnancy which he cured with *Spi. The only leading symptom in the case was this: She was afraid of pointed things and asked her husband to take away a fork, crochet-needle, &c. (*Silicea has a somewhat similar symptom, but the *Silicea patient hunts for pins although afraid of them.) *Spi. corresponds to rheumatism as well as to heart affections the consequence of rheumatism. A patient whom I successfully treated for a serious heart affection with *Spi. 3 told me that under the treatment he had lost a pain in the right knee which he had for eighteen months, and which he had not mentioned to me at first. The pain was as if dislocated, unable to rise from kneeling, cannot find an easy position, often for hours at night. *Peculiar Sensations of *Spi. are: As if he would fall. As if intoxicated. As if head would burst. As of a band around head. As if head tightly bound. As if electric sparks in temples. Brain as if loose. As if nerves being cut with a fine instrument in forehead and temple. As if eye would be pushed out of head. As if hairs or feathers on lashes. Upper lids as if paralysed. Eyeballs as if too large. As if sand in eyes. As if needles thrust into eyeball. As if eye would be pressed out of socket. As if eye would fly into pieces. As if eye were being pulled forward and backward. Pain in eye as if it would drive him crazy. As if ear loosely stopped or a thick mist before it. As if back of nose were lightly touched by hair, or as if a gentle wind were blowing across it. Face feels as if it had been scorched. As if all muscles of left side of face from head to neck and left axilla were pierced with red-hot needles. Teeth as if too long. As if left side of lower jaw would be torn out of its joint. Sensation resembling purring of cat. As of a worm rising in throat. As of a half fluid body ascending in throat. As of a hard lump in throat. As if abdomen would burst. As if all intestines would be constricted. Suffocating as if from a quantity of water poured into windpipe. Pulse as if a thread pulled through arteries. As if heart compressed or squeezed with a hand. As if heart being crushed. As if everything in chest were too short, loose, and wabbling about. As if something tearing in chest. In left scapula sensation as though blood dripping through a valve. *Spi. is *Suited to: Anaemic, debilitated subjects, of rheumatic diathesis, to scrofulous children afflicted with ascarides and lumbrici, to persons with light hair, pale, thin, bloated, weak, with wrinkled, yellow, earthy skin. The body is painfully sensitive to touch, the part touched feels chilly, touch sends a shudder through the whole frame. *Spi. is a *sun remedy: headache beginning at sunrise, at its height at noon, declining to sunset. In chest affections there are stitching pains synchronous with the pulse. Stammering: repeats first syllable three or four times, with abdominal ailments, with helminthiasis. The symptoms are worse by touch. Contact and pressure of clothes is unbearable. (Pressure better neuralgia.) Worse jarring, hard step. Rest better. Motion worse. Moving, shaking head worse. Moving eyes worse. Moves very carefully. Lying with head high, or on right side better. Worse rising, stooping, bending forward. Better whilst eating, worse immediately after. Warmth better, (worse headache). Open air causes pain in eyes, better headache. Worse slightest draft, cold, damp, rainy, stormy weather, cold air, cold washing, (cold application better neuralgia temporarily). Worse morning on waking. Pain increases and declines with sun. Worse (also sometimes better) from tobacco. Opening mouth worse headache.
Relations
*Antidoted by: Camph., Aurum (restlessness in limbs),Cocul., Pulsatilla *Antidote to: Mercurius, Colchicum (heart). *Compatible: Aco. (endocarditis), Arsenicum, Digitalis, K. ca., Zn. (heart), Iris (prosopalgia), Arnica (Carbuncle). *Compare: Botan. Nux vomica, Ignatia, Curare. Pains, left eye, Aco. Neuralgia in left eye, Theridion Headaches, coming and going with sun, Na. M., Sanguinaria, Tabacum Neuralgia, Actea Right (Actea Right worse right). Catarrhs, Pulsatilla Eye pains, Belladonna (Belladonna more right-sided, more congestion). Heart pains, white stools, Digitalis Ciliary neuralgia, Ced., Mez. (mercurial), Thuja (pains go up and backwards). Stitches in heart, Hepar, Na. M., K. ca., Arsenicum, Causticum Headache begins occiput and goes to left eye (Sanguinaria to right, Silicea to both). Tic- douleureux, Thu., Coccin. Aversion to be washed, Antim crud., Clem., Hepar, Rhus, Sepia, Sul. Faintness connected with stool, Ap., Nux moschata, Pul., Verbascum (*with scanty stool, Croton tiglium, Dulcamara, Acid oxalicum, Pet., Sarsaparilla, Sul.). Neuralgia with pallor (with redness, Belladonna). Nausea at sight of food, Colchicum, Lycopodium, Mosch., Ph. ac., Saba. Worms, Saba., Cin., Teucrium, Scirrh., Stn. Worse moving head, Sol. n. Coughing, loud speech causes head pains, Bryonia, Caps., Natrum mur., Sul. Illusions of vision, Cyclamen (Cyclamen when with any trouble, headache, sick stomach, & c., one always sees countless stars). Worse tight clothing, Lachesis Contraction of fingers, Gelsemium, Guaiac. Sensitiveness to touch, K. ca. As if eyes too large, Actea R., Comoc. Sensation of band round heart, Cact., Carbolicum acidum, Sul. Post-nasal catarrh, offensive, causing choking at night, Hydrast. Scirrhus of sigmoid flexure or rectum, atrocious, unbearable pain, Alumen. Dyspnoea, must lie on right side with head high, Cact., Pso. Toothache from tobacco, Plant. Teste puts Spi. in his Arnica group, he considered it a “chronic” of Arnica
