Coccus Cacti - General symptoms - Clarke

GENERAL

General

Cochineal. N. O. Hemiptera. An insect infesting Cactus Grandiflorus ^cactus plants. The dried bodies of the female insects are used for making a tincture or trituration. They also constitute a well-known dye. (Coccus Cacti has sometimes been confounded with Coccinella Septempunctata ^Coccinella septempunctata, both insects being known as "Cochenille" in French.)

Coccus cacti acts more especially on mucous membranes.

It compares with Cantharis ^Cantharis in its action on the renal organs, and with Cactus Grandiflorus ^Cactus in causing haemorrhages, in disturbing the heart and in causing lancinating, stitching, and pricking sensations.

Itching, sticking and biting in various parts of the skin; red spots and itching pimples.

Sensations of irritation predominate, especially in throat and respiratory organs, eyes and urino-genital organs.

In the throat there is a sensation as if a hair or crumb were lodged behind larynx, and as if a thread were hanging down the back of the throat causing a cough.

Haemorrhages are apt to be in large black clots, especially haemorrhages from kidneys and uterus.

Lancinating pains and itching of glans penis, symptoms of the passage of small calculi.

The cough exactly corresponds to the whooping-cough type, there is no remedy which has a wider range in this affection. "Cough agg. in morning; the child awakens and is immediately seized with a paroxysm of coughing ending in vomiting clear, ropy mucus hanging in long strings from the mouth," Hoarseness.

Fatigue of vocal organs.

Violent tickling in larynx.

Stitching and ulcerating pains below clavicles, especially left.

Peculiar sensations are As if a ball or stone lying in stomach; raging pain as though a fluid were injected into a small blood-vessel; as if something ascending towards stomach; as of mucus ascending and descending trachea; as of a plug of mucus moving in chest; as if head would split.

Kunkel records the case of a man, 75, an who had suffered from nocturnal enuresis up to the age of seven.

When almost 20 he frequently passed large quantities of uric acid, and at the same time he began to have symptoms of chronic catarrh of the colon, frequent scanty stools, much mucus, cross humour, itching anus, threatening of piles but no bleeding.

Insomnia soon followed.

Coc. c. 2 and 3 was given without benefit. Aqua Marina ^Aqua calcis did some good but not much.

In three successive years he was sent to Carlsbad with good result to the intestinal catarrh, but the sleeplessness was untouched.

Gradually all kinds of arthritic symptoms developed, especially in knees.

There was occasionally considerable flow of urine, and the more copious it was the better the patient slept, and the less pain in the joints.

The same relief followed an attack of diarrhoea.

Four weeks at Assmanhausen caused the excretion of large quantities of uric acid one year, but had no effect the next, and the knee got worse. Wiesbaden did good one year and none the next.

Half a tumbler of Kronenquelle water drunk every morning did good to the knee and enabled him to walk better than he had done for a long time.

In three or four years the excretions of uric acid had ceased and the patient's state grew worse insomnia recurred, diarrhoea became much more frequent.

A fortnight previous to such attack, patient noticed he had great aversion to butcher's meat.

Coc. c. 30 gtt. i. morning and evening was given.

Gradually sleep returned.

There was almost daily excretion of uric acid, sometimes in the form of large shot; the diarrhoea ceased and the patient went about his work with pleasure.

Berridge cured with Coc. c. a case of gonorrhoea, guided by the symptom "Excruciating pain in left iliac region extending to groin and halfway down thigh, as if a fluid were forcing its way there." There is general sensitiveness to touch and pressure; rinsing mouth or brushing teeth causes cough and vomiting.

Warmth agg. most symptoms; cough agg. entering warm room; throat agg. by warmth of bed.

Tickling in trachea and cough amel. open air.

Teeth very sensitive to cold.

Catarrh agg. on slightest exposure.

Catarrh from autumn till warm weather.

Symptoms agg. night and early morning; cough agg. on waking.

Symptoms are often periodic.

The symptoms are agg. lying down.

But the least exertion causes lassitude and tendency to perspire or cough, agg. during exercise.

Mental exertion agg. pain in occiput.

Rising up = haemorrhage with passage of large clots from uterus.

Sensation as though a hot constricting band extended from one mastoid process across occiput to the other.

this region seemed tense and constricted.

the condition became worse, until at last it affected the whole skull, in which the pain seemed to fix itself, and it seemed as though the bones became drawn closer and closer together.

the whole scalp was also involved and seemed to be drawn tighter about the skull.

Clinical

Asthma. Backache. Catarrh. Gonorrhoea. Gravel. Haemorrhages. Heart, affections of. Impotence. Irritation. Labia, inflammation of. Menorrhagia. Nephritis. Phthisis. Spasms. Tinnitus. Uric acid diathesis. Whooping-cough.