Digitalis Purpurea - General symptoms - Hahnemann

GENERAL

General

FOXGLOVE.

Digitalis Purpurea plant, which grows wild on open mountainous plateaux, is one of the most powerful medicinal substances of the vegetable kingdom.

it has been frequently abused by the physicians of the old school.

who sought to gain consideration through violent action on the patient, without considering of what nature this action might be.

for they had not knowledge sufficient to apply Digitalis Purpurea to the various diseases for which it is suitable. Countless murders have thus been committed by men who were not conversant with its pure effects. In extremely rare instances, when they unconsciously used it in cases where the disease-symptoms had a striking similarity to those produced by foxglove, they produced wonders by rapid cures. The true Homoeopath will never use it injuriously, but always for the salvation of his patients.

he will not consider it indicated by a quick pulse, as has been customary in the old school.

for though in its first effects it greatly retards the pulse, in its after effects it causes so much greater an acceleration through the counter effects of the vital force.

The homoeopathic medicine is prepared from this plant by dynamizing one drop of its freshly expressed juice, mixed with ninety-nine drops of alcohol, by ten strong succussive strokes, which is then repeated in twenty-nine other vials, as has been taught at the conclusion of Part I. of the Chronic Diseases as to the second method. Instead of this we can triturate two grains of the fresh herb with one hundred grains of sugar of milk, and then develop it to the thirtieth potency of its medicinal powers, as is usually done with dry medicinal substances.

In its homoeopathic use, this medicine need only be given in the smallest dose, and if even such a dose should produce too violent effects, repeated smelling of a solution of Camphora ^Camphor will serve to moderate its action. Nux Vomica ^{Nux vomica} and Opium are also said to have been found useful as antidotes. A cautious physician, however, will hardly ever need antidotes. By spirits of nitre the action of digitalis is immensely increased.

Digitalis has a long period of action.

Effects of D. on patients. (The symptoms have been revised from the original English edition). This symptom not found.

Read "." Effects of D. in a case of anasarca.

Effects of D. in phthisis. This discouragement was on account of the apparent inefficiency of the medicine.

Effects of D. in a case of enlarged heart.

Effects of D. when given to dropsical patients.

Not found.

Provings on the healthy with one-third grain doses of the powdered leaves.

Nothing about D. mentioned by Quarin here, but most of Quarin's symptoms are cited in . III., 320, as effects of the drug in scrofula. Maclean gives "Effects on patients."

Effects of D. in phthisis.

Digitalis Purpurea was only a sensation as of swelling.

From an overdose. With S. 592.

Troschel's is simply a translation of Guibert's case. (See S. 19).

Not accessible.

Digitalis Purpurea lasted for a month after omitting the medicine, with throbbing pains and sense of fullness and enlargement in the eyeballs.

Not accessible.

With S. 41.

Effects of D. in a case of anasarca.

The muscae of S. 119 became these when the eyes were covered .

Effects of D. in pneumonia.

Digitalis has not unfrequently cured deafness attended with a noise in the ear as of boiling water, in cases where it was otherwise homoeopathically appropriate.

Effects of D. in phthisis. With vertigo.

With S. 344.

From overdosing an ascitic patient with D.

Effect of overdosing with D.

Henry states saliva to have been of viscid consistence, but says nothing about "stinking odor".

Not accessible.

Observed effects of D. This symptom is ascribed by the author to the acrimony of the plant.

Nothing from Kinglake found here.

Not accessible.

Effect of overdose.

Not found.

From overdosing.

Not found.

From an overdose.

The original is "A faintness or sinking at the stomach, as if life were going from them.

Nothing about D. here.

Original is "Sensation of twisting in the bowels after each dose, and of much sinking at the pit of the stomach.

Not found.

As with S. 178, q. v.

For nearly three days.

Not accessible.

Not found.

A very rare alternating action of foxglove, and only when given in a dose too large. Usually the first effect of this medicine is to produce difficulty in urination. By means of this action, it frequently has been of great use in diseases involving swellings, which were attended with similar difficulty in the secretion of urine and with other symptoms found among the pure primary effects of digitalis. The copious, often involuntary, flow of urine, or diuresis, resulting from the use of digitalis, is merely a counter effect of the organism, in answer to the above mentioned primary effect of the drug.

Effects of D. given for dropsy. Literally, it is "urging to urinate, even to inflammation of the bladder."

* * * * *

A standing symptom with the patient.

Not found.

Not accessible.

Statement.

Not found.

Digitalis Purpurea occurred is several of Withering's patients, but always in the natural sequence of their maladies and never as traceable to D.

Effects of D. in hydrocephalus.

The original has "Much languor and sense of faintness; the patient says, he would rather die than endure it.

Curative effect.

Not found.

Subsequent to S. 673.

The original has "Pulse suddenly quickened for a few beats, then slow again; or it loses a whole beat."

The original instead of "40 to 58" has "48 to 56" beats.

Not found.

The most usual and assured phenomenon from foxglove is, that after the preliminary slowness of the pulse (primary action), after some days the reverse (reaction or secondary action), a much quicker and smaller pulse, is permanently induced by the vital force. This shows how much the physicians of the old school are at fault, who endeavor to produce a permanently slower pulse by foxglove, and thus frequently kill.

Instead of " (suppressed)" the original has "quicker and proportionately weaker."

Statement from observation.

Not found.