LINUM CATHARTICUM.

Linum catharticum, Linn.

Natural order , Lineæ.

Common name , Purging Flax.

Preparation , Tincture of whole plant.

Authorities. (Dr. James Gelston's provings, Br. Jour. of Hom., 16, 147.)

1 , Dr. Stokes took repeated doses of the infusion; 1 a , same, took 1st cent. dil., repeated doses, first, second, fifth, sixth, and ninth days; tincture, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days (1 and 2 drachm doses); 2 , J. F., took infusion; 3 , Mrs. G. (nursing a baby), took infusion; baby similarly affected; 3 a , same took tincture; 4 , J. Gelston, took infusion first, second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth days; 4 a , same, took large doses of 1st dil. first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth days (on sixteenth day took 2 drops of tincture of Sumbul, and at night 10 grains of Rhubarb; eighteenth day took 4 drops of Sumbul; nineteenth day Nux vom. before breakfast, and 1/2 ounce of Rochelle salts at 10 P.M.); 4 b , same, subsequent proving with tincture and infusion, 30 to 80-drop doses of tincture, 1/2 ounce doses of infusion; 4 c , same, proving with tincture in water, 10, and afterwards 100 drops to 4 ounces, teaspoonful doses; 5 , J. M., subject to præcordial pain, year previous had an attack of hæmatemesis, took of same mixture as last, three or four times a day, a teaspoonful, five days.

MIND

• Depression of spirits (fourth day), 4.
• Dulness and depression of spirits (second day), 4.
• Affected the temper, irritable, 3a ; (first day), 4b.

HEAD

• Confusion.
• After sleeping an hour and a half, confusion of the head; a feeling of malaise, as from taking a cold (second day), 4.
• General Head.
• Slight excitement of the head in the evening (second day), 1.
• Fulness of blood in head (twelfth and thirteenth days), 4a.
• Congestion and vertigo on throwing head backwards (sixth day), 4.
• Congestive cephalalgia all day (second day), 4c.
• Congestive headache, left side especially, better in open air (third day), 4c. [10.]
• Dull head at night (second day), 4c.
• Headache (third day), 5 ; (eleventh day), 4a.
• Headache, slight, 2.
• Dull headache in afternoon (twelfth and thirteenth days), 4a ; at night (sixth day), 4.
• Headache on raising the head (sixth day), 4.
• Headache lessened in the open air (second day), 4.
• Headache less after eating (sixth day), 4.
• Forehead.
• Frontal headache (fourth day), 4.
• Severe frontal headache, obliging to lie down after dinner; took for this 2 drops of Bell.

θ , but this having no efficacy, in afternoon tried 3 drops of Sulph.

θ , in 3ij of water, a spoonful every two or three hours; found much relief from this (twentieth day), 4a.

• Congestive frontal headache (second day), 4. [20.]
• Congestive headache, as of weight in forehead (sixth day), 4a.
• Slight, dull frontal headache (fifth day), 4a.
• Dull headache, as of a weight in brow, worse on holding his head backward and after reading (first day), 4b.
• Temples.
• Severe pressive pain in both temples, temporary, in the evening (eleventh day), 1a.
• Lancinating pains in right temple (second day), 4.
• Sides.
• Fulness of the head at the region of the ear, worse out of doors, in the evening (second day), 1.

EAR

• Singing in the left ear for some hours in the evening (second day), 1.

NOSE

• Sneezing (nine hours after second dose, second day); at night, (ninth day), 4.
• Mucus from nose occasionally rose color (tenth day), 4a.
• Fluent coryza (twelfth day), 1a. [30.]
• Nose stopped (tenth day), 4b.
• Nose quite stopped (fourteenth day); nose stuffed (fifteenth day); the stoppage of the nose (which had been continuous till now) much less (twentieth day), 4a.
• Nose stuffed (twelfth day); nose stuffed, and running a clear mucus, profuse, from one nostril for several days, and then from the other, without any farther symptoms of catarrh (after thirteen days), 1a.
• Stuffing of the nose towards night (ninth day), 4.

MOUTH

• Teeth.
• Odontalgia (second day), 4.
• Tongue.
• Tongue furred (after second dose, third day), 4.
• Tongue much furred (fourth morning), 4.
• Tongue deeply furred (second day), 4.
• Tongue foul, 3a.
• General Mouth.
• Dryness of the mouth, without thirst (second day), 4. [40.]
• Much scraping at the arch of the palate and larynx, with hawking of mucus, all day (third day), 1.
• Taste.
• Insipidity (second day), 4.
• Taste insipid (after second dose, third day), 4.
• Clammy taste; taste of the medicine (second day), 4.
• Foul taste (second day), 4c.
• Foul, clammy taste, as of something stinking in stomach (third day), 4c.
• Bilious taste, 3a ; in evening (second day), 1.
• Sick, bilious taste (third day), 5.

THROAT

• Objective.
• Slight catarrhal symptoms in the throat and larynx; hawking (tenth day); catarrh increases (eleventh day), 1a.
• Much hawking of yellow mucus, sometimes tinged with blood (fourteenth day), 4a. [50.]
• Hawking of sanguineous mucus (ninth day), 4a.
• Subjective.
• Slight heat in the throat in the afternoon; increased in the evening (second day), 1.
• Rawness in the throat when out in open air after breakfast (third day), 4.

STOMACH

• Appetite.
• Impaired appetite (second day), 4 ; (third day), 4c.
• Little appetite (sixth day), 4.
• Eructation.
• Eructations tasting of bile all day (third day), 1.
• Rising of food in the evening (second day), 1.
• Nausea.
• Sick after supper (fifth day), 4a.
• Stomach.
• Repletion (third day), 1.
• Pressive pains in the stomach in the forenoon (second day), 1.

ABDOMEN

• Umbilical. [60.]
• Slight uneasiness at umbilicus (two hours after first dose), 4.
• Pain at umbilicus and desire for stool at noon (nineteenth day), 4a.
• Some griping pains about the umbilicus for some days (after twelve days), 4.
• Dull pain below umbilicus (after third dose, third day), 4.
• General Abdomen.
• Rumbling in bowels (fourth and fifth days; after third dose, third day), 4 ; (eighteenth day), 4a.
• Rumbling in the bowels and slight uneasiness, soon (after first dose, second day), 4.
• Great rumbling all day (nineteenth day), 4a.
• Bowels flatulent (seventh and eighth days), 1a.
• Much wind (sixteenth day), 4a.
• Flatus (seventeenth day), 4a. [70.]
• Passed a good deal of flatus (ten hours after second dose), 1a.
• Pressing downwards with abdominal muscles; incarcerated flatus displaced, with rumbling; in evening (first day), 4.
• Uneasiness in the belly between 7 and 8 P.M. (nine hours after second dose), 1a.
• Feeling of uneasiness in bowels, as of call to stool (fifteenth day), 4a.
• Pains in bowels (third day), 5 ; (fourth day), 4 ; (twentieth day), 4a.
• Slight pains in the bowels (sixth day), 4.
• Bowels full and uneasy in the evening (eleventh day), 1a.
• Abdomen felt rather full in the evening (first day); all the morning before rising (second day), 1.
• Feeling of distension (sixteenth day), 4a.
• Griping pains in the bowels, 3a ; occasionally (tenth day), 4. [80.]
• Griping pains (after two hours), and towards night, with ineffectual efforts at stool (ninth day), 4.
• Some griping and rumbling (seventh day), 4.
• Occasional gripes and distension of the belly, especially after food, troublesome (nineteenth day), 4a.

RECTUM AND ANUS. [90.]

• Much griping and urging downwards of the rectum (seventeenth day), 4a.
• At night, pressing at the rectum, as if swollen (sixteenth day), 4a.
• Smarting at anus after stool (seventeenth day), 4a.
• Smarting-stinging at the anus, as if piles were coming, in the evening (eleventh day), 1a.
• Urging to stool (resisted), (after third dose, third day), 4.
• Once or twice a feeling of haste to stool (after nearly four weeks), 1a.
• Tenesmus (eighteenth day), 4a.

STOOL

• Diarrhœa.
• Some purging, with colic, 2.
• Several motions of small slender-formed fæces (fifteenth day), 4a.
• Free motion (fourth day), 4c ; (seventh and eighth days), 1a. [100.]
• Stools free; considerable urgency, necessity to obey the call instanter; the rectum seemed to have little grasp of the fæces, which passed as if pushed out from the colon (fourth day), 1.
• Stool loose, without pain, in the morning (second day), 1a.
• Uneasiness in the abdomen, followed by a very loose, bright-yellow, mucus stool, with some urging, in the forenoon (second day), 1.
• Much griping, and great urgency to get to stool quick; immediately after dinner, at 1.30 P.M., a very loose, bright-yellow motion; at 9 P.M. griping recurred, and quick, scouring motion, with copious urine (as previously), (eighth day), 4.
• A fluid motion, with tenesmus (half an hour after Rochelle salt, nineteenth day), 4a.
• Copious feculent formed stool (seventeenth day), 4a.
• Urgency to evacuate the bowels; fæces solid, copious (half an hour after third dose, second day), 4.
• Soft stool (ten hours after second dose), 1a ; at night (eleventh day), 2.
• Full, soft stool, with some urging; feeling, as if more should be evacuated; in the evening (eleventh day), 1a.
• Urgency to stool; fæces soft, but formed (one hour after first dose, third day), 4. [110.]
• Stool soft and bilious (fifth day), 1a.
• Urgent call after breakfast; rectum felt very distended; copious, soft motion, well mixed with bile (second day), 1.
• Soft, scanty motion, with urging to stool, at 8 P.M. (third day), 1.
• Stool of slender fæces, with downward urging; second stool, two or three hours after, scanty large-sized fæces (twentieth day), 4a.
• Feculent stool of slender coils, sinking to bottom of ustensil, contrary to previous observation (after two hours, ninth day), 4.
• Stool at night, with pressing down (fifth night), 4.
• Frequent desire to evacuate the bowels; a mere trace of fæces, with a little mucus (eighteenth day), .

URINARY ORGANS

• Itching at orifice of urethra (after third dose, third day), 4.
• Frequent desire to urinate (thrice made), (after third dose, third day), 4.
• Plentiful urine towards night (ninth day), 4.
• Urine straw-color, strong-smelling, rather scantier (nine hours after second dose, second day), 4.

SEXUAL ORGANS

• Male.
• Feeble erection (third night), 4. [140.]
• Diminished sexual desire (third day), 4c.
• Slight sexual desire (fifth night), 4.
• Anaphrodisia (third night), 4.
• Seminal emission in sleep (nineteenth night), 4a.
• Feeble emission (fifth night), 4.
• Female.
• Catamenial period passed with no menses appearing (fourth day); catamenia delayed (sixth to eighth day), 5.

RESPIRATORY ORGANS

• Voice.
• Voice hoarse (thirteenth day), 1a.
• Cough and Expectoration.
• Cough excited in the open air (had a catarrh a week before, which had almost subsided, leaving only a dry, hard cough, especially of a morning), (second day), 4.
• Occasional cough (eleventh day), 4a.
• Cough at night (fourth day), 5. [150.]
• Cough, especially in open air, or returning from (after second dose, third day), 4.
• A little hacking cough (fourteenth day), 4a.
• Tickling cough in open air (fourth day), 4.
• Tickling, teasing cough, and frothy mucous expectoration, when out in open air, after breakfast (third day), 4.
• Dry cough (eighth day), 4b.
• Dry cough towards night (ninth day), 4.
• Hard, dry cough (tenth day), 4.
• Dry, tickling cough (third day), 5 ; after walking (eleventh day), 4.
• Cough dry, tickling, after walking (eleventh day), 4.
• Cough and phlegm (tenth day), 4b. [160.]
• Some cough; hacking; much phlegm (tenth day), 4a.
• Loose, short cough, with much phlegm; the phlegm always seems to accumulate in the throat, being readily brought up without hawking; for last three days (sixth day), 4b.
• Cough and expectoration of loose, glairy phlegm (second day), 4c.
• Difficult expectoration (eighth day), 4b.
• Frothy expectoration (second day), 4.
• Frothy sputa, tasting as of seawrack (after second dose, third day), 4.
• Expectoration, with much difficulty, of frothy and some yellow mucus (tenth day), 4.
• Respiration.
• Respiration 30 (fifth day), 4a.
• Slight dyspnœa (tenth day), 4b.

CHEST

• Pain in chest increased (first day); gone (fourth day), 5. [170.]
• Great pain in the chest, aggravated by any movement, on deep inspiration (after half an hour), 2.
• Chest much stuffed (tenth day), 4.
• Chest sore (twelfth day), 1a.

PULSE

• Pulse full and quickened (nine hours after second dose, second day), 4.

SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES

• Slight shooting down the muscles of the arms in the evening (second day), 4b.
• Slight shooting pains in left and right shoulder-joints (fourth night), 4.

GENERAL SYMPTOMS

• Languor towards night (ninth day), 4.
• Tired feeling on waking (eighth morning), 4.
• Feeling of weariness and depression (sixth day), 4.
• Debility at night (sixth day), 4.

SLEEP AND DREAMS

• Sleepiness. [180.]
• Inclination to sleep after dinner (second day), 4.
• Drowsiness (after first dose, second day); at night (sixth day), 4.
• Drowsy after dinner, slept (fourth day), 4.
• Drowsy after being awakened (fourth morning), 4.
• Prolonged sleep (second morning), 4.
• Sleep sound (seventh night), 4.
• Sleep profound (second night); (some hours after third dose, third day), 4.
• On waking after dinner, supposed it morning (fourth day), 4.
• Sleeplessness.
• Want of sleep (fourth night), 4.
• Insomnia (after third dose, third day); (fifth night), 4.
• Dreams. [190.]
• Lascivious dreams (sixth night), 4.
• Dreams of travelling to Isle of Man, some danger and trouble (usually dreams of water, but seldom dreams), (second night), 4.
• Dreams of cholera (in others), with sloughing off of the prepuce (ninth day), 4.

FEVER

• Chilliness.
• A cold feeling, in shoots, as from a blast of cold air (sixth day), 4b.
• Heat.
• Feverish (second day), 5.
• Much heat of body, and perspiration moderate (second night), 4.
• Sweat.
• Perspires freely (first day), 5.

CONDITIONS

• Aggravation.
• ( Evening ), Out of doors, fulness in head at region of ear; singing in ear; heat in throat.
• ( Night ), Cough; debility.
• ( Open air ), After breakfast, rawness in throat; cough.
• ( Eating ), Gripes, etc.
• ( Reading ), Dull headache.
• ( Walking ), Tickling cough.
• Amelioration.
• ( Open air ), Congestive headache; headache.
• ( Eating ), Headache.