Ledum Palustre - General symptoms - Clarke

GENERAL

General

Ledum palustre. Wild Rosemary. Marsh Cistus. Marsh Tea. Labrador Tea. N. O. Ericaceae. Tincture of dried small twigs and leaves collected after flowering begins. Tincture of whole fresh plant.

Ascites. Asthma. Bites. Black-eye. Boils. Bruises. Deafness. Ear, inflammation of. Eczema. Erythema nodosum. Face, pimples on. Feet, pains in.

tender. Gout. Haemoptysis. Hands, pains in. Intoxication. Joints, affections of, cracking in. Ménière's disease. Pediculosis. Priapism. Prickly heat. Punctured wounds. Rheumatism. Skin, eruptions on. Stings. Tetanus. Tinnitus. Tuberculosis. Varicella. Whitlow. Wounds.

In the preface to his proving of Ledum Hahnemann says it "is suitable for the most part only for chronic maladies in which there is a predominance of coldness and deficiency of animal heat." Teste, who is one of the chief clinical authorities on Ledum, mentions that it is native to damp regions of the North of Europe, and that no animal except the goat eats it, on account of the strong resinous smell of its leaves, which "keeps off lice and prevents flour from getting mouldy." In Sweden a decoction of Ledum is used for freeing, oxen and pigs from lice.

Linnaeus says that this same decoction, if taken internally, has cured "violent headaches and a species of angina." The leaves of Ledum are also used in Sweden in beer to increase its intoxicating power; and also in tanning.

Led. is an example of a common article of diet being at the same time a very powerful medicine.

Mérat and de Lens say Led. cures itch and scald-head, which Teste explains by its parasiticide action.

Ledum Palustre anti-parasitic action led Teste to think of Led. as a remedy for bites and punctured wounds, especially as certain symptoms of the proving seemed to agree with it.

The success which has attended this use of Led. in mosquito-bites, stings of bees and wasps, rat-bites, needle-pricks resulting in whitlows, confirms the observation. "Redness, swelling and throbbing in point of index finger, from prick of a needle" Led. aborted a felon in a few days (W. P. Wesselhoeft).

Teste relates a case of punctured wound A young lady fell with an embroidery needle in her hand, and the hand was pierced through and through.

The wound was serious.

There was no haemorrhage, but Teste noticed the intense cold which accompanies and characterises Ledum fever.

Within a week Led. cured the patient.

Yingling records (H. P., x. 400) a parallel case A. J. M., 38, drove a rusty spike through his left foot near the arch of the instep, glancing to the inside of the foot without passing through the bone.

Ledum Palustre was at 5 p.m. At 8 p.m. this report was brought to Yingling A few moments after accident the patient felt stiffening pains in the foot, running up the leg, and rapidly increasing in severity.

Great chilliness with chattering of teeth followed.

Lower jaw became somewhat stiff; general shivering; neck felt stiff; "can't endure it much longer." Led. 3x was sent, and rapid improvement took place from the first dose.

A compress of Calendula Officinalis ^Calend. 3x was also applied, an attack of tetanus being evidently aborted.

Led. occupies the second place in Teste's Arnica ^Arn. group, in which are also Crot. t., Fer. magn., Rhus Tox ^Rhus, Spigelia Anthelmia ^Spig.

The sphere of Led. is frequently identical with that of Arnica ^Arn., according to Teste.

but Led. has a special action on the capillary system in parts where cellular tissue is wanting, and where a dry, resisting texture is present, as in the fingers and toes. "It is, perhaps for this reason that it acts better on the small than on the large joints;" hence its appropriateness in gout.

The characteristic skin affection of Led. is thus described by Teste Not so much a boil, as with Arnica ^Arn., as a sort of bluish or Viola Odorata ^violet-coloured tuberosities, especially on the forehead, and an eczematous eruption, with a tingling itching, that spreads over the whole body, penetrating into the mouth, probably also into the air-passages, and occasions a spasmodic cough, which is sometimes very violent and might be mistaken for whooping-cough.

The same phenomenon takes place with Rhus Tox ^Rhus and Croton. "In a gouty subject I have seen cough precede by two days the breaking out of vesicles on the skin, which could not fail to suggest the use of Ledum.

These vesicles, which had probably existed on the bronchial membrane, before showing themselves in the face, on the shoulders, &c., became quite apparent on the tongue, where they might be traced to its root." The Led. eczema is frequently concentrated on one leg, less frequently on both at once.

Dr. R. Hilbert, a German physician, has obtained very satisfactory results from the use of an infusion of the leaves of Ledum palustre as an expectorant in bronchitis.

He states that the feeling of pain along the trachea, which is characteristic of the early stages of acute bronchitis, disappears after a few doses of the remedy.

The fever rapidly subsides, especially in the case of children.

In chronic bronchitis the infusion facilitates expectoration and lessens cough.

It is particularly useful in bronchitis with emphysema of the aged, because of its action in rendering the bronchial secretion less viscid; in these cases, moreover, it lessens dyspnoea, stimulates the circulation, and lessens cyanosis (Cooper).

Guernsey points out that Led. is appropriate to the remote no less than the immediate effects of punctured wounds e.g., as when a patient says "Ten years ago I stepped on a nail, and ever since then have had a pain running up to the thigh." The pains of Led. shoot upward (of Kalmia Latifolia ^Kalm. downward).

A, very notable condition of Led. is agg. from warmth.

Ledum Palustre is at times so great that the patient can only get relief to his rheumatism by sitting with his feet and legs in cold water.

Warmth of the bed is intolerable; he must get up and walk about.

An octogenarian had rheumatism of left arm, chiefly elbow and wrist, coming on in the night or early morning.

There was no more sleep for him unless he rose and took a cold bath, after which he could sleep.

I cured him with Led. 30.

As with Merc Viv ^Merc. the symptoms are agg. at night; but with Merc Viv ^Merc. there is "sweat without amel.," and the characteristic tongue and offensive mouth.

The eye-symptoms of Led. are marked, and Nash says Led. 200 is unequalled as a remedy for "black-eye" from a blow; if there is pain in the eyeball itself Symphytum Officinale ^Symphyt. will be necessary.

Ecchymoses of conjunctiva.

Slight injuries cause ecchymoses.

Inflammation of ear, with deafness from getting cold (as having hair cut).

The haemorrhages of Led. are bright red and gushing; uterine; respiratory.

Haemoptysis alternating with attacks of rheumatism. (Raue puts it "coxalgia alternating with haemoptysis." Stens cured a young man who had violent stitch pain in right hip, followed by haemoptysis, this in turn followed by rheumatism of hands, with Led. 200 when the case was apparently on the point of sinking into rapid phthisis.) Suffering parts waste.

Discolouration remains long in contused parts.

Many cases of whooping-cough have been cured with Led.

Lembke (quoted by Hoyne, H. W., xiv. 66) gives these indications Before the paroxysms Arrest of breathing.

During Epistaxis, shattered feeling in head and chest, rapid respiration.

After Staggering; spasmodic contraction of diaphragm; sobbing respiration. agg.

Evening. The pains are sticking, tearing, throbbing.

Pricking, biting sensations.

Sensation of torpor of integuments, especially after suppressed discharge from ears, eyes, and nose.

Sensation as if something was gnawing in temples, occiput, and ears.

As if eyeball would be forced out.

As if sand in eyes. Noises in ear as from ringing of Belladonna ^bell, or from a wind-storm; as if ear was obstructed by cotton.

Itching as from lice on chest; as of lump in throat.

As of boiling in hip-joint.

As if muscles of thigh in wrong position.

As if knee beaten. Pain in ankle as from sprain; limbs as if beaten and bruised.

Hot, tense, hard swellings. "Ledum has often been given to horses when they go lame and draw up their legs.

The pains move upward" (Hering).

when moving felt as if pricked with needles, the pain rising gradually from feet to head.

every joint and muscle of body and limbs stiff and sore.

sour night-sweats. great emaciation with loss of appetite.

Led. 200, in water, cured completely and speedily.

Suited to Pale delicate persons.

Complaints of persons who always feel cold and chilly.

Rheumatic, gouty diathesis; constitutions abused by alcohol.

Sanguine temperament (Teste).

There is agg. from moving, especially moving joints; while walking; when stepping, amel. from rest.

Symptoms are agg. evening and night, and before midnight. agg.

From taking wine. agg.

By covering; amel. by application of ice-water. agg.

By warmth; ("the limb is cold, can't get warm; and gets agg. when it does become warm in bed").