CUPRUM SULFURICUM.
Sulphate of Copper, CuSO4
By Timothy F. Allen — The Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica
5H2 O; Blue vitriol; Cuprum vitriolatum.
Preparation , Solution in water.
Authorities.
A , Hahnemann, from Fragmenta de viribus.
1 , Greding udov, Adv., I, 535, effects of grain doses in epileptics, from Hahnemann's Cuprum in Chr. Kn.; 2 , Kinglake, Lond. Med. Phys. Journ., V, 438, from Cup. sulf., given for epilepsy, from Hahnemann; 3 , Simmons, Med. and Phil. Comm., IV, 33, from touching wound in hand with cup. sulf., from Hahnemann; 4 , Journ. de Chim. Méd., 3, 639, a man took 10 grains in by water, from Wibmer; 5 , Rust's Mag., 1824, a workman swallowed some by mistake (Frank's Mag., 1, 465); 6 , Willich, Baldinger neues Mag., 1785, a woman was poisoned by blue vitriol becoming mixed with pepper in a mortar; 7 , Moschka, translated in Hahn. Month., 7, 66, F. H., aged 16 swallowed some; 8 , Med. Times., 1847, a woman, aged 36, swallowed about 1 1/2 scruples; 9 , Todd, Lancet, 1841, a woman, aged 18, took some in a solution; 10 , Andral, Brit. Ann. of Med., 1837, from Bull. Gén. de Thérap., a man took an ounce (Berridge's coll.); 11 , Simon, effects of inhaling vapor and dipping hands into a solution, The Chemist, 1840 (Berridge's coll.).
MIND
- Emotional.
- Anxiety,
[A], 6
- Greatest apathy (seventh day), 7.
- Intellectual.
- Remarkable disturbance of mind; all the utterances of the patient were distorted, 6.
- [He lost his senses and thoughts for a short time, immediately], 1.
- All his senses vanish,
[A]
HEAD
- Vertigo.
- Vertigo,
[A]
- Vertigo, with prostration of strength, and dim sight, 11.
- General Head.
- Headache, 11.
- Complained in the morning of severe headache, 7. [10.]
- Throbbing and roaring in the head, 6.
- Vertex.
- Crawling, dull sensation in vertex, as if going to sleep, together with a pressing-down sensation, and some stupefaction (after one hour),
[A]
- Pressing-down sensation in the vertex,
[A]
EYE
- Eyes stiff and dim, 6.
- Lids.
- Twitching of the closed lids (immediately),
[A]
- The ability to open eyes and to speak returns later than the consciousness,
[A]
- Conjunctiva.
- Conjunctiva of icteric color (second day), 7.
- Ball.
- Eyes moving to and fro,
[A]
- Pupil.
- Pupils equal (after two days), 7.
FACE
- Became pale, 11. [20.]
- Face puffy, red, covered with great drops of sweat, 6.
- Lips.
- Lips pale, bluish , at the corners and internal edges (after half an hour), 7.
MOUTH
- Tongue.
- Tongue white and furred (after six days), 9.
- Tongue coated, bluish, cold (after half an hour), 7.
- Tongue swollen, stiff, and as if paralyzed, 6.
- The nervous papillæ of tongue became tumefied and horribly annoying; at first thought he had scalded tongue with hot broth, but the symptoms increased, tongue became ulcerated in centre, and considerably swollen on each side, and was furred as if a thin layer of spermaceti ointment had been nicely spread over it, 11.
- Mouth.
- Burning in the mouth, and œsophagus in the morning, 7.
- Taste.
- Sweetish taste in the mouth,
[A]
- Bitterness in the mouth, 7.
- Coppery taste in the mouth, 7. [30.]
- Unpleasant coppery taste in mouth (after six days), 9.
- Often felt a copperish cold subacid taste, particularly in opening mouth to inhale fresh air, 11.
THROAT
- Pains in throat, stomach, and nose (immediately), 8.
- Throat became very painful and felt burnt, 9.
- Uvula.
- Soft palate coated with petechiæ, resembling measles, with tumefied gums, and slight ptyalism, 11.
- Fauces and Pharynx.
- Fauces tumefied and inflamed, 11.
- A choking and contracting sensation in pharynx, 7.
STOMACH
- Appetite.
- Loss of appetite for two days, 1.
- Thirst.
- Complained of being thirsty, 7.
- Hiccough.
- Hiccough,
[A]
- Nausea and Vomiting. [40.]
- Nausea without vomiting (after six days), 9.
- Nausea and qualmishness, lasting a quarter of an hour (immediately),
[A]
[A]
- Sickness at stomach (soon); followed by incessant vomiting, 8.
- Vomiting, 1, 5.
- Vomiting (after five minutes); vomited everything, solid and liquid (second day), 9.
- Vomiting forcible, returning from time to time,*
[A]
- Vomiting of mucus, 1. [50.]
- Vomiting of greenish-brown mucus, 4.
- Frequent and painful vomiting of a bluish matter, 10.
- Copious Vomiting. The vomited matter was of a bluish color, afterwards copiously mixed with mucus and magnesia, 7.
- Stomach.
- Pain in the epigastrium, in the morning, 7.
- Pain in epigastrium which is sensitive to pressure, 7.
- Occasional pain in epigastric region, 11.
- Constant pain in region of stomach (second day), 9.
- Violent pain in the stomach followed by faintness, 4.
- Sense of burning in the stomach, 8.
- Pressure in the pit of the stomach,
[A]
ABDOMEN
- Hypochondria. [60.]
- Liver evidently enlarged (after two days), 7.
- Tearing pain in the hypochondria, on inspiration, which are painful on touch as if bruised,
[A]
- General Abdomen.
- Abdomen swollen, tender, and painful, 9.
- Abdomen drawn in (after two days), 7.
- Constant burning and cutting in the abdomen, 6.
- Violent cutting in the abdomen, 5.
- Constant burning, cutting pain in the bowels, 6.
- Colic, 6.
- Violent colic, 10.
RECTUM AND ANUS
- [Bleeding of the hæmorrhoids for four days], 1 . [Repudiated by the reporter as caused by Cuprum. -Hughes.]
STOOL
- Diarrhœa. [70.]
- Diarrhœa, 1.
- Four pultaceous, greenish-yellow stools , without the least trace of blood (after half an hour), 7.
- Copious abdominal evacuations (after fifteen minutes), 8.
- Stool pultaceous, brown-red with streaks of blood, and tenesmus during stool (after two days), 7.
- Constipation.
- Constipation for several days, 1.
URINARY ORGANS
- Micturition.
- Urine scanty and containing much blood (after two days), 7.
- Diuresis scanty, containing blood, albumen, and some bilious pigment, 7.
- No urine secreted for twelve hours, 8.
- Urine.
- The scanty urine, passed per catheter, contained neither albumen nor blood, 7.
RESPIRATORY ORGANS
- Cough and Expectoration. [80.]
- Cough,
[A]
- Cough interrupting, and almost suppressing the respiration,
[A]
- Cough uninterrupted for half or a whole hour, or even lasting two hours, very early in the morning,
[A]
- Hacking cough that impedes respiration (on returning to consciousness),
[A]
- Hæmoptysis,
[A]
- Respiration.
- Rapid sobbing respiration,
[A]
- Breathing short and labored, 6.
CHEST
- Anxiety in the chest, 6.
- Painful contraction of the chest, especially after drinking,
[A] . ["Especially after drinking" is not found in the Fragmenta, but in the Chronic Diseases. -T. F. A.)
- A pressive pain in the chest,
[A]. [90.]
- Complains of oppression in the chest (after two days), 7.
HEART AND PULSE
- Heart's Action.
- Sounds of heart weak and limited; on the base of the heart a slight friction-sound (after two days), 7.
- Violent palpitation,
[A]
- Pulse.
- Pulse frequent (after two days); small, filiform (seventh day), 7.
- Pulse quick and small, 8.
- Pulse small, accelerated (after half an hour), 7.
- Pulse, 150 (after six days), 9.
- Pulse full and hard, 6.
NECK AND BACK
- Uneasiness between shoulders, 11.
SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES
- [Inflammation of the lymphatics from the hand to the shoulder, with great swelling of the hand], 3. [100.]
- [Pain in the axillary glands], 3.
INFERIOR EXTREMITIES
- Lower extremities flexed over abdomen (after two days), 7.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS
- Objective.
- Visible mucous membranes remarkably pale (after two days), 7.
- After having washed hands three or four times, water became blue from sulphate of copper absorbed into the system, 11.
- Frequent subsultus tendinum, 8.
- Lassitude,
[A]
- Debility increases (fifth and sixth days), 7.
- Patient feels very weak (after two days), 7.
- Was unable to hold the head erect, or stand upon the feet, for several days, 6.
- Exhaustion (after six days), 9. [110.]
- Patient dies, with all the symptoms of total collapse (seven day), 7.
- Restlessly throws himself about in bed (after two days), 7.
- During the night the patient was very restless, groaned, moaned, 7.
- Jactitation,
[A]
- Subjective.
- Sudden feeling as if going to faint, 11.
SKIN
- Objective.
- Skin pale (after half an hour), 7.
- General exsanguined state of the surface (after six days), 9.
- Skin of icteric color (after two days), 7.
- Eruptions.
- A kind of dry itch, 1 . [Occurred in the course of treatment, but no reason to suppose it caused by Cuprum. -Hughes.]
- Subjective.
- Considerable itchiness, 11.
FEVER
- Chilliness. [120.]
- Temperature of skin diminished (after two days), 7.
- Skin cold, 8.
- (Chilliness, with gnashing of the teeth), 1 . [In association with slight manifestations of the malady.]
- Shivering, 11.
- Extremities cold, with cyanotic nails (after half an hour), 7.
- Cold hands, 6.
- Coldness of the feet,
[A]
- Sweat.
- Cold sweat on forehead and extremities (seventh day), 7.
SUPPLEMENT: CUPRUM SULFURICUM. Authorities.
12 , Dr. D. B. Hillis, Chicago Med. Journ., vol. xxvii, 1870, p. 30, Miss W. R., æt. eighteen years, took two spoonfuls blue vitriol in brandy, recovery; ( 13 to 18 , E. W. Berridge, M.D., U. S. Med. Invest., New Ser., vol. iii, 1876, p. 282, with corrections by Dr. Berridge in a letter to the editor); 13 , Mrs. --- took 2 glob. 100, 000th (Fincke) at 8.45 A.M.; 14 , Mrs. --- took 10 drops 30th cent. in water at 5.55 P.M.; 15 , Mr. --- took same; 15 a , same, took 10 drops 3d cent. in water; 16 , Mr. --- took 30th without effect; then several doses of 3d cent; 17 , Mr. --- took 3d cent.; 18 , Mrs. --- took 2 glob. 100, 000th (Fincke); 19 , J. F. Home, Brit. Med. Journ., 1877 (2), p. 292, two children, æt. six and eight years, ate some wheat soaked in Sulphate of copper.
HEAD
- Intense pain in head (after five hours), 12.
- After rising from bed, pain like a tight narrow band all around head, on a level with upper part of forehead, and feeling as if top of head would come off; this lasted all day, varying in severity; worse on laughing or stooping; relieved by cold wind. It was accompanied by a desire to be quiet (after two days), 17. [130.]
- Shooting inward in temples at short intervals, the left being first affected, relieved by pressing temples with hands, and causing irritability of temper (after three hours and three-quarters), 14.
- Throbbing in left temple (after four hours and a quarter), 14.
MOUTH
- Awoke next morning with a metallic taste in the mouth, 15a.
STOMACH
- Sick feeling in stomach (after three hours and a quarter), 14.
- At 9 P.M., after sunset, directly after supper, nausea and once vomiting of food, with much straining; the nausea lasted all night (first day); nausea at times (second day); nausea in the morning (third day), 13.
- Obstinate vomiting, food being regurgitated back as soon as taken, of a blue or green color, 19.
- Complained of pains, especially in stomach, declaring she was "burning up" (after nine hours); anything like continued pressure on the epigastric region caused great suffering (after nine hours), 12.
- Cramps in stomach and bowels (after five hours), 12.
STOOL
- This morning diarrhœa as soon as she rose from bed, preceded and attended by griping, lasting all day, frequent (third day), 13.
HEART AND PULSE
- Feeling as if there were a throbbing lump in the heart internally; the beating of the heart seemed louder; this lasted five minutes, then went away gradually, 16. [140.]
- Pulse full, hard, and 120 per minute (after nine hours), 12.
INFERIOR EXTREMITIES
- Dull, aching soreness in middle of right tibia, felt when walking, not when at rest, with tenderness on pressure, 13.
GENERALITIES
- Convulsions (after five hours), 12.
- Severe clonic spasms of the jaws, arms, and legs (after nine hours), 12.
SKIN
- Sore pustule in left nose near tip and dorsum (fourth day), 13.
SLEEP
- Very restless; did not sleep till 3 or 4 A.M. (first night); slept better (second night), 13.
FEVER
- Heat beginning on dorsa of feet, first left , then right , then extending up anterior part of legs as far as knees; it lasted thirty minutes and then went off, leaving a sensation as if needles were pricking the parts, for five minutes (after two hours and five minutes), 14.
- All night there was coldness in and on the abdomen (both subjective and objective), and weight, and griping in abdomen; the abdomen was relieved by warmth (first day); abdominal symptoms at times (second day); all day the coldness and weight, but less (third and fourth days), 13.
- All night felt hot, except in abdomen (first day), 13.
- Coldness beginning in small of back, going all over body, then suddenly going into legs, first the left, then the right, with shivering, so that she sat near the fire; this lasted a few minutes (after two hours and a quarter), 14.