STRAMONIUM


Stramonium 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…


      Common name: Thorn-apple, Jamestown-weed, Stink-weed; (G.), Stechapfel; (F.), Pomme e’pineuse.

Introduction

Datura stramonium, L.

Natural order: Solanaceae.

Preparation: Tincture of herb in flower and fruit.

Mind.

Emotional. Delirium. Violent delirium. Foolish delirium.

Delirium, furious. Joyful delirium. At times delirium with open eyes. Delirium with sexual excitement. Almost constant delirium. Sudden delirium, with ridiculous gestures. Became quite delirious, recognized no one. Delirium; an unceasing disposition for motion in all the muscles, weeping, screaming, laughter, and rapid incoherent exclamation. Symptoms closely resembling delirium tremens. (Insane delusion that he was killed, roasted, and being eaten). Maniacal delirium supervened, symptoms resembling hydrophobia. The mother and one daughter were raving like maniacs, while the other was rapidly sinking into coma. Delirium with incoherent talking. Grew violently delirious, and died comatose. Maniacal delirium. In a state of delirium, he dances, gesticulates, shouts with laughter, and sings (after three hours). He was delirious, and without memory or recollection. Delirium of fear, as though a dog were attacking him. Delirium; furious mania, requiring several persons to hold her. Violent delirium, which was alternately mirthful, furious or dolorous, directed to some imaginary source of pleasure or repugnance, and accompanied with corresponding gesticulations.

Much excited and rather delirious, under the impression of some immediate danger, clinging to the person who had him in her lap (after one hour). Delirium with uneasy movements of the eyes and hands. Delirious and unintelligible, the patient was busy with a thousand not unpleasant fantasies, made known his wants by gestures, without speaking, ran about for several days, busy with his fantasies, with a joyful mood. A peculiar delirium, a very busy delirium, especially in women, followed by sopor, after waking from which, great weariness, pain in the limbs, and disinclination to think. Merry delirium, spasmodic laughter.

Became delirious during the night, desired to get out of bed, but never uttered a sound. The delirium was of short duration, however, and he soon relapsed into the former insensible state. Noisy delirium, with hallucinations. Delirium for three or four hours before collapse. Greatly excited and delirious. Great excitement. Delirium, restlessness, constant incoherent talking, dancing, and singing. In about an hour she became delirious, commenced tossing about, picking her clothes, and talking incoherently. High delirium, furious, unmanageable, talking in an incoherent manner, and inclining to be abusive in her language; she could not be restrained in one position, but was rolling about the veranda as if she was blind. During the succeeding night an attack of delirium, which caused him to fall out of bed, on his face, as a consequence of this, a very abundant bleeding from the nose. Loss of mind. His mind was unsteady. (* Revised by Hughes. *) Wildness of manners. Symptoms were somewhat of a hysterical character (after a few hours). Violently delirious, resembling in a marked degree, the most excited stage of delirium tremens, struggling to get out of bed, and continually rolling from side to side; she was unable to stand by herself, and, unless supported, fell forward to the ground. When her hands were not restrained, it was observed that she pursued imaginary objects in the air, or picked at the bedclothes, as in the delirium of typhoid fever. The appearance of the patient suggested mania, and I might at once have pronounced it a case of delirium tremens, had I not well known the temperate habits of my patient.

As I sat observing him, he suddenly turned towards the wall, exclaiming, “There are those bugs, help me to catch them!” “What bugs?” I asked. “There,” he replied, “a long train of bedbugs, and after them a procession of beetles, and here come crawling over me a host of cockroaches.” He shrank back in alarm. The suddenly he turned to me, saying, “I believe I know they are not really bugs; but, except once in awhile, they seems real to me!” This scene was many times repeated. It was in a state of wild delirium. It was with great difficulty that the mother could hold it in her lap. It would forcibly throw out its legs and stiffen them, and at the same time throw them wide apart from each other. The arms were being constantly thrown out, as if trying to reach and get hold of something; and sometimes it seemed as if some object had been secured, and was for a moment fumbled in the fingers. The pupils were dilated and the eyes looked wild. Its cry was a kind of scream; a little froth was in the mouth; the surface of the skin was hot; the restlessness was very great. Began to look stupid, seemed to forget herself, and gave incoherent answers (after one hour); seemed to sit like a perfect idiot, for two and a half hours (after two hours and a half); began to grow worse, biting a man’s hand, sometimes crying out that she saw cats, dogs, and rabbits, at the top, sides, and middle of the room; at other times, with great eagerness, catching at imaginary objects with her hands, and declaring that she saw many people who were not present. She suffered a continuance of these symptoms with little variation, and totally without rest for nine hours, being all this time restrained in bed by force in a raving and maniacal state. In about five minutes he became “wild, and didn’t know any one.” In ten minutes I found him seated in a chair, leaning forward on his knees, staring wildly, countenance bathed in perspiration, pupils largely dilated, talking vaguely, and perfectly unconscious of surrounding objects, pulse 90 and full, hands and arms convulsed, every few moments legs unable to support his body, and dragged after him when we tried to get him to walk. Although he changed postures a little, yet he remained stupid for six or seven hours; the he raged furiously, requiring two persons to hold him in bed; notwithstanding which, he raised himself up, tossed greatly, and seemed to catch at the bystanders with his hands, uttering incoherent sentences; at last he became sensible and more quiet, restless, and delirious by turns. She is all the time inconsolable; much affected by trifles; makes much fuss about trifles; disposed to weep, and sometimes also very easily vexed; now and then neglects her duties; now and then thinks she is not fitted for her position; after t he fall equinox; from the darkness, being alone, and in the morning her state is aggravated; she wants light (sunshine) and company. The child had the look of one suffering from the effects of alcoholic drinks; an excited condition, not a moment quiet, constant motion of the hands and feet, at one time singing, jumping, whistling, with lively grimaces, and a most jovial condition, in which she sang melodies in a perfectly correct manner; at another time she became excited, beat about her, jumped out of bed, reeled whenever she attempted to stand, and when she attempted to sit up fell over to either side; the next moment she had the most vivid hallucinations; talked much in a disconnected manner, it seemed as though her tongue could not follow her chaotic thoughts.

Complete stupefaction and general insensibility to external impressions, only interrupted by a few transient moments of recognition; as a rule, the boy noticed nothing about him, did not recognize his parents and sisters, heard nothing and felt nothing; he seemed to be in a condition of frightful excitement, with constant mental activity, as shown by the expression of the face and gesticulations, appearing to be occupied with the most vivid fancies, especially joyous, and, at times, frightful images; at times, when he was able to talk, his speech consisted of the most foolish and active delirium, with prattling; sometimes he seemed to be frightened, sometimes astonished, sometimes pathetic; but it was very seldom that he uttered intelligible words, and as a rule, there were no words, only a shrill screaming and groaning or loud laughing, with attempts to sing or whistle. She would, while held in her mother’s lap, suddenly start as if in terror with outstretched arms and glaring eyes, and with such an effort that it required much exertion to hold her. This would last but a moment, during which she would cry incoherently; then a calm would come over her, and she would laugh, grasp at imaginary objects, conveying the hand to her mouth as if eating berries, point to something on the floor, etc.

He muttered unintelligible sounds, looked wildly around, and could not be made to do what he was told, though he apparently understood all that was going on. He kept wanting, seemingly, to clutch at some person or persons, whom he imagined were before him; but he could not use his arms, though he tried to do so (after twelve hours). Complete insensibility, broken occasionally by a paroxysm, during which they would utter some indistinct sounds, and throw the hands about the head as if attempting to ward off some threatening evil; this would soon subside into a semicomatose state, not the stupidity, however, which results from Opium or its preparations, but rather a state of intense apathy, which persisted for a few seconds, when the delirium would again recur unless sooner produced by the efforts of those about to render assistance, when the state of excitement assumed such a form and violence as to render necessary a certain amount of restraint to prevent escape from the imaginary object which engaged the attention; occasionally they would grasp at something in the space in front, appear as if they possessed or rejected it, then turn the head as if called by a voice beside them and attempt to speak to it; the sound resembling a squeak more than the natural tone of the voice. Neither of them was able to support himself alone upon his feet, but would take a step or two with staggering gait, falling to the floor as if intoxicated or in a state of complete exhaustion. During the period of excitement the extremities were in constant motion, co- ordinate only so far as they related to the corresponding limb, yet wanting in that harmony of action which is found in those movements of a higher order, as standing in the erect posture, walking, etc.; there was constant action of the fingers as if attempting to pick something from the person or the bedclothes; at times they would burst into paroxysms of excessive laughter, which would persist some seconds, then suddenly cease; at times they would have a smile, so quiet and pleasant, that we could not but contrast it with the highly excited state previously witnessed. Sometimes she would appear for a moment to be relieved from her anxiety, and sit silent, with her eyes fixed on the ground, as if absorbed in contemplation; whilst her hands were employed in picking at the clothes, or anything that happened to be before her, similar to those in the last stage of some fevers.

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.