Strychnos tieute. N.O. Loganiaceae. Tincture of the inspissated juice obtained from the root and bark.
Clinical
Amaurosis. Blepharo-conjunctivitis. Convulsions. Coryza. Hangnails. Headache. Heart, palpitation of. Heels, pains in. Liver, affections of. Nails, affections of. Ptosis. Sciatica. Sexual excess. Spine, pains in. Tendo Achillis, pain in. Tetanus.
Characteristics
The *Upas of homoeopathy is obtained from a *Strychnos and must not be confounded with *Antiaris toxicaria, the concocted juice of which forms the “Upas antiar” poison of the Javanese. S. *tieute is a climbing shrub. Pitet made a courageous proving of it, carrying it to the length of producing tetanic symptoms. A large proportion of the symptoms occurred in the head and eyes. A remarkable headache was this: “Superficial drawing pain traverses left temple from before backward, and ceases at outer angle of orbit, the part is hot and painful to touch.” The pains generally are pressive and lancinating. In the eyes there is pressure and feeling of a foreign body under the lids, severe pains in orbits, inflammation of the conjunctiva of the lids, distorted vision. Drowsiness is a feature in *Upas. “Every morning weakness of the eyes with lachrymation, the lids being so heavy that they close involuntarily as if from drowsiness.” *Up. is chiefly a left-side remedy. There is pain in the left side of the throat as from a splinter on swallowing, pain in left sciatic nerve, in left iliac fossa. Sensitiveness is a note of the remedy: irritability, crossness, moroseness, increased sensitiveness to cold, the least irritation brought on spasms, pressing in throat causing feeling of suffocation. Noteworthy symptoms are: Vertigo, ending in pressing headache. Twitching in brain and orbits. Pulsative headache with throbbing all over body. Smell of manure in nose. Sallow complexion was produced, and severe symptoms were felt in the liver and from the right lung to the liver (cutting as with knives). Itching in patella. Aversion to meat and eggs, the very thought of them causes nausea. The tongue is coated white so thickly that it can be scraped off. Left half of face red and hot, right half pale and cold. Peculiar Sensations are: As if the brain were rudely shaken. As after sexual excess. As if a foreign body in eye, as if sand in eyes. As if a splinter in throat on swallowing. As if a foreign body in oesophagus preventing swallowing. As if an iron hoop round waist preventing breathing. The sexual function was depressed, coition was followed by distressing symptoms, and many of the symptoms were such as occur after sexual excess. Great exhaustion after convulsive seizures. The symptoms are: worse By touch (pain in left iliac fossa). Worse pressure (throat). Worse by motion, by walking. Worse afternoon and evening. Worse morning. Better after rising. Better evening after dinner. Better in open air (headache).
Relations
*Compare: Botan., spasmodic symptoms, Nux vomica, Ignatia Gouty pain, Nux. Lancinations in rectum, Ignatia Exaggerated sensitiveness, acid eructations, Nux-v. Foul smell in nose, Anacardium Splinter pain in throat, Hepar, Arg-n., nitricum acidum
Causation
Sexual excess.
SYMPTOMS.
Mind
Depression. Melancholy, has to force tears back, cold and repelling to friends. Morose, cross, irritable, quarrelsome. Sensitive. Great difficulty in concentrating attention.
Head
Head muddled. Vertigo as if falling, ends with pressing headache, great tendency to feel cold. Severe twitchings in brain and orbits. Pulsating pains all over head on waking, better in open air. Constant dull tearing in fore-part of brain, right side, sometimes sharp shootings. Very sharp, deep-seated shootings right side of forehead. Pulsating heaviness in forehead and through left eye. Pressure and drawing in both temples, worse left, part hot to touch. Superficial drawing pain, which every few moments traverses left temple from before backward, and ceases at outer angle of orbit, parts hot and painful to touch, lasted all day, better next morning. Heat of head with red face. Shootings deep in brain and vertex. In occiput: pressing inward pain, heaviness as after sexual excess. Scalp numb.
Eyes
Eyes sunken, bluish rings round them. Pressure and dryness in eyes. Sensation as if foreign body in eyes, in left eye, pustule on inner surface of right lid. Eyes weak as after sexual excess. Every morning weakness of eyes with lachrymation, lids so heavy they close involuntarily as if from irresistible drowsiness. Dull pain in orbital and nasal bones. Prolonged and violent lancinations under orbits. Flow of blood from the eyelids. Intense smarting itching on margins of lids and canthi. Lachrymation. Vision: dim, letters run together, fog before eyes. In open air dimness, and as if endless strings of white and transparent globules were floating in the air. After rising from a stooping position, blackness before eyes, as if all the blood had rushed to the head, and vanishing of thought.
Ears
Tearings in ear cartilages. Twitchings in cartilage near orifice (1). Ears stuffed without affecting hearing.
Nose
Violent fluent coryza towards and during evening. First right nostril then left stopped up, changing every few minutes, preventing sleep. Left nostril stopped and discharging greenish mucus. Smell of manure in nose.
Face
Yellow complexion. Face red with hot head. Left side face red and hot, right pale and cold.
Mouth
Tongue: dry, burning, coated white, so thickly it can be scraped off. Unable to open his mouth to speak. Blisters inside under lip towards left Frequent itching in palate. Increased saliva, which tastes sour. Taste: sour, bitter on root of tongue, like old coryza.
Throat
Hawking frequent mucus in morning cured in the prover. Pains and acidity left side throat on swallowing, the acid sensation extends to left ear. Scraping burning soreness in throat, cough with burning pain as if throat would burst, difficult expectoration of bronchial mucus. Pain as from splinter in left side of throat making deglutition painful, as if food were prevented passing into stomach by foreign body in oesophagus, swallowing of fluids becomes difficult: pressing left side of throat causes sense of suffocation. Feeling of swelling of right tonsil while writing.
Stomach
Appetite totally lost. Aversion to all food, especially meat and eggs, the mere thought of which causes nausea. Hunger, but first morsel satisfies. Urgent thirst. Eructations: bitter after meals, tasting of ingesta, all day, violent, of wind. Qualmish, as if going to faint. In morning, while hiccoughing, pinching in a line with lumbar vertebrae.
Abdomen
Pressing pain: in region of liver, in liver. Out pressing in left hypochondrium. Stitches in region of liver and right kidney. Much flatulency pressing against both hypochondria, breaking it gives no relief, flatus odorless. Rumbling. Sharp pains in left iliac fossa, worse drawing breath and by touch.
Stool and anus
Sharp colic in rectum better passing fetid flatus, shortly after, soft stool, preceded by renewed colic. Lancinations or slow pinchings in cellular tissue extending to rectum, right side. Two soft diarrhoeic stools daily. Stools mushy, reddish, ending with brown jelly-like mucus. Stool constipated, after much pressing, and insufficient, brown jelly-like mucus after stool.
Urinary Organs
Pain in region of right kidney during the night. Frequent urging in urinate, with burning in urethra at 8 a.m. Urine scanty, evacuated with great effort, light red. Urine dark like brandy.
Male Sexual Organs
Erections and diminished desire. Virile function depraved. Coition accompanied by painful and enervating uneasiness, and followed by great depression for several minutes. Itching of pubes.
Respiratory Organs
Roughness in air passages. Hoarseness, aphonia. Dry cough, from soreness in larynx and trachea, worse towards evening, expectoration of colorless mucus. Quickened breathing in morning. Inability to breathe deeply from sensation of iron hoop round waist.
Chest
Chest tight. Pinching drawing all round base of chest. Knife- thrusts through right lung towards liver, stopping breathing. Needle-thrusts across chest behind left nipple. Pinching left side chest. Stitches through right lung, evening.
Heart
After going to bed, severe palpitation and pulsation all over from vertex, where it is pulsative headache, to finger-tips. While writing, severe palpitation and feeling as if right tonsil swollen (which it is not). Pulse: frequent, weak, small, slow.
Neck and Back
Painful stiffness of posterior muscles of neck, morning. Pain in right trapezius. Burning in right side of nape. Feeling of stretching along spine. Pressive and beaten feeling in spinal column, most in region opposite stomach.
Limbs
Hangnails, which become inflamed, itching and redness at roots of nails. Weakness. Numbness in hands and feet.
Upper Limbs
Pinching along back of nerves of left arm. Drawings in right wrist-joint. Painful drawing in joint of left middle finger.
Lower Limbs
Pinching back of left thigh along track of sciatic nerve. Pains in knees, under patellae, now one now the other. Lancinations in left calf. Sudden cutting in left tendo Achillis when stooping. Violent and dull lancinations in left os calcis. Dull pains in heels, chiefly left Sharp pains in right great toe-joint.
