Conium maculatum
Con.
The road through the hemlock to Hades is cold and wintery, and soon the legs become rigid.
[Aristophanes]
Signs
Conium maculatum. Poison Hemlock. Spotted Hemlock. N.O. Umbelliferae.
CLASSIFICATION Conium belongs to the Umbelliferae. This plant family, also called Apiaceae or Carrot family, is one of the best-known families of flowering plants, because of its characteristic inflorescences and fruits and the distinctive chemistry reflected in the odour, flavour and even toxicity of many of its members. The Umbelliferae seems to be the first flowering plant family to be recognized as such by botanists about the end of the 16th century, although only the temperate Old World species were then known. The Umbelliferae contains about 300 genera and 2,500 to 3,000 species. It is found in most parts of the world, although commonest in temperate upland areas and relatively rare in tropical latitudes.
HABITAT The genus Conium is placed in the tribe Smyrnieae, along with Cicuta and Smyrnium. Conium maculatum is a native of Europe, western Asia and North Africa, and common in low waste places, along roadsides, edges of cultivated fields, railroad tracks, irrigation ditches, stream banks, etc. It was brought to the U.S. from Europe as a garden plant.
FEATURES Biennial, glabrous plant with purple spotted stems, growing up to 2 metres; fleshy, unbranched white taproot; all leaves finely dissected into segments; flowers from May to August. Plants are more likely to be biennial in very moist situations; some produce flowering stems in the first spring and die in the summer. The whole plant emits a disagreeable odour [like cat urine or mice], esp. when bruised.
NAME Conium derives from Gr. koneion, the ancient name for hemlock, which possibly is related to Gr. konos, dizziness, or Gr. koneisthai, to turn around in a circle. Maculatum means spotted, in allusion to the purple splotches on the stems. According to an old English legend, the stems took their purple streaks in sympathy with the mark put on Cain's forehead after he killed Abel. The common name is thought to be taken from the Anglo-Saxon hoem or healm, 'straw', and leac, 'plant', a reference to the dry, hollow stalks that remain after flowering.
HISTORY Conium is notorious as the poison administered as a capital punishment in ancient Greece, its most famous victim being the philosopher Socrates in 399 BC. Under Jewish law hemlock was administered to criminals who were crucified or stoned to death, in order to deaden the pain. The medicinal uses of hemlock date back to the first century, when Disocorides [AD 40-90] recommended applying the mashed plant or juice to tumours, swellings and ulcers, and to the genitals in cases of priapism. During the Middle Ages hemlock juice was taken for 'the bite of mad dogge'. It was mixed with Betony and Fennel seed in wine and taken orally. The monks of the 15th and 16th centuries used roasted hemlock roots for relieving the pains of gout; they applied it not only to the painful parts, but also to their hands and wrists. In the 1760s it began to be used by the physician Störck as a cure for cancerous ulcers. In the 19th century hemlock was used in conventional medicine as a painkiller.
SOCRATES There seems little doubt that the potion used in ancient Greece as a mode of execution of those condemned to death by the tribunal of Areopagus was made from the leaves of the spotted hemlock. Some claim Cicuta virosa to have been the origin of the potion, but this plant does not grow in Greece and southern Europe. The old name cicuta comes from the Romans and was unknown to the Greeks. Prevailing in the medieval Latin literature, the Romans applied it to any poisonous umbellifer rather than to a particular species. In describing the potion that killed Socrates, Plato does not give it a specific name nor mention its source. Nonetheless, the symptoms given in the description of the death of Socrates match more exactly the poisonous properties of Conium than those of Cicuta. Cicuta poisoning is typically very violent and characterised by a sudden onset and convulsions, whereas Conium tends to produce ascending muscular paralysis. 1 It is tempting to assume that Socrates' death was the logical consequence of his life, and thus that Socrates' life style and philosophy provides some clues. These are, at best, illustrative, but by no means conclusive. Socrates wrote nothing; for information about his personality one therefore has to rely mainly on the dialogues of Plato. According to Cicero, Socrates "brought down philosophy from heaven to earth." His self-control and powers of endurance were exemplary; Plato says that "he had so schooled himself to moderation that his scanty means satisfied all his wants" although "he knew both how to want and how to abound." His self-imposed life of hardships was the price of his spiritual independence. Being considered "intellectually the acutest man of his age," his philosophy was based on a method of asking a series of questions which would lead one to the truth. Yet, in company "he represented himself as the dullest person present." He believed himself charged with a mission from God to make his fellowmen aware of their ignorance and of the supreme importance of knowledge of what is for the soul's good. The philosopher's "divine sign" was a "voice" often heard by Socrates from childhood, a "voice" that forbade him to do things and which he followed uncompromisingly. When his young followers started asking questions about authority, the men in power became alarmed. This resulted, in 399 BC, in an indictment for impiety; he was accused of "corruption of the young" and "neglect of the gods whom the city worships and the practice of religious novelties." Socrates was given several chances to plead guilty and receive a light sentence or even to escape. But Socrates had the courage to publicly expound his beliefs and steadfastly refused to admit any guilt or to run away. Living up to his declaration that he rather face instant death than to neglect his mission from God, Socrates declared himself well content with the death sentence. 2
CONSTITUENTS Conium contains several alkaloids which are chemically related to nicotine. All parts of Conium contain some level of the alkaloids, except for the sap in young plants. The most toxic chemical, gamma-coniceine, is abundant in leaves, flowers, and less common in the fruits, where it is quickly converted to coniine and N-methylconiine. Gamma-coniceine is the predominant chemical during the plant's first year of growth, and the precursor of the other alkaloids. During the second year of growth the content of both coniine and N-methylconiine increases, especially in the leaves and fruits, with a decrease in gamma-coniceine. Gamma-coniceine is considered seven or eight times more toxic than coniine, with N-methylconiine even less toxic. Plants from southern latitudes are held more poisonous on the average than northern-grown ones. This seems to be in line with the observation, according to Millspaugh, of a Russian botanist that Russian peasants eat the roots with impunity, concluding that the colder the climate the less poisonous is the root. Moreover, cooking destroys the poison in the root, which in fact contains a negligible amount of coniine [0.1%] in comparison to the ripe seeds [0.5-1.5%].
TOXICOLOGY Cattle, goats, horses, swine, and sheep as well as rabbits, poultry, deer, and humans have been poisoned after ingesting poison-hemlock. Animal species vary in their susceptibility to acute toxicity. In young pigs and cattle it causes teratogenic effects called 'crooked calf disease'. General symptoms of poisoning for cattle include: rapid breathing, flexure of carpal and elbow joints, depression, diarrhoea, unsteady gait, incoordination, lateral rotation of limbs, muscle spasms, salivation, scoliosis, grinding of teeth, torticollis, trembling, vomiting, coffee-coloured urine. General signs of poisoning in all types of livestock include apathy, salivation, frequent regurgitation, teeth grinding, and reduced milk production. A mousy odour has been reported to emanate from affected animals. Poisoning in humans occurs from mistaking the roots for parsnips, the leaves for parsley, or the seeds for anise. The symptoms are similar to those in animals: coma, convulsions, dizziness, headache, incoordination, pupil dilation, vomiting, thirst, death by asphyxiation. Coldness is often felt in the extremities. There is rapid onset of irritation of mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, accompanied by salivation and nausea. Severe poisoning may cause coma and death by respiratory failure. Despite the severity of poisoning mortality is low.
EFFECTS "Conium is narcotic, possessing, however, properties somewhat similar to those of belladonna. On account of the former difficulty in procuring good preparations of this plant, it has not been so much used nor its virtues so fully investigated, as with some of its congeners. The symptoms produced by its use are thirst, dryness of the throat, dizziness, sickness at stomach, sinking, benumbing feelings, and more or less prostration of the muscular system. If its use be continued, or in large doses, the pupils become dilated, there is a general paralysis, rendering talking and breathing difficult, with coma, or convulsions terminating in death. In about 30 minutes from its administration, its effects will generally appear, and continue from 10 to 40 hours. It is supposed to effect its results by exhausting the nervous energy of the spinal cord and voluntary muscles. It is used for promoting sleep, and will be found extremely useful in allaying excessive action of the heart in hypertrophy of this organ; a pill of 1 or 2 grains of the extract producing a calm, soothing influence, followed by a diminution or removal of the palpitation or augmented action. Indeed, all affections attended with an excited or excitable condition of the nervous and vascular systems, will be benefited by its use."3
HALLUCINATIONS Conium reputedly causes death by cardiac arrest or gradual asphyxia, while the intellect remains clear until shortly before death. Various cases of poisoning, on the other hand, seem to provide evidence that Conium may cause delirium and hallucinations. Hughes inserted reluctantly, but 'for the sake of completeness', the following cases in his Cyclopaedia. "A peasant and his wife ate of hemlock root by mistake, and then went to bed. Awaking in middle of night they had completely lost their reason, they ran about house in dark, quite wild, striking head, face, and eyes against walls. ... I knew two monks of high family, who ate freely of Conium brought to table by error. Scarcely had food entered stomach when its virulence so oppressed the head of either that a manifest insanity seized them. One imagined himself changed into a goose, and hurried into a lake; the other, tearing off his clothes, declared himself to be a drake, and that the internal fire could not be extinguished unless he should swim in a river. Cathartics and other measures soon brought them to themselves, but for more than three years they were harassed with tremors and petechial spots. ... Several persons - 3 women, 1 man, 2 boys, and as many girls - ate of hemlock root. All became delirious - more or less according to quantity taken. One woman complained of oppression and anxiety, and for two hours was quite out of her mind, but manifested sense of thirst and of excessive heat of gullet. For 4 days more her mind wandered; she thought she saw birds and dogs about her, and men seemed dead or sick. Others in their delirium imagined they saw lizards or serpents; others threw themselves into fire; others danced and wandered through bushes and hedges."
MEDICINE "Conium has in times past been lauded in cancer, and, while it undoubtedly has influenced growths pronounced cancerous, it is not known to have effected a cure. The pain of cancer, however, is alleviated by it, and it undoubtedly affects tumours of the mammae, even when they amount to scirrhus. Conium has been used to check lactation, thus showing its specific action upon the mammary glands. Ovarian torpor, giving rise to scanty menses, and sterility in the female, and in the genital feebleness of the male, accompanied with an unpleasant erethism, or where lack of sexual activity is due to passive testicular venous engorgement, conium is said to be efficient when given in small doses. Glandular enlargements sometimes yield to the alterative influence of this drug, and while not generally efficient in syphilis, as some of its admirers claim, it is useful in allaying the pains which accompany that affection. Chorea and epilepsy, due to sexual abuse, and whooping-cough and acute mania are states in which it is asserted useful. It has been variously used in cachectic and depraved states, either as a palliative or for its curative action. Large doses are contraindicated by debility."4
SEX "Dioscorides claimed that hemlock juice rubbed on a woman's breasts would stop the milk from flowing and could prevent them from growing too large, a belief recorded again 1,600 years later by Simon Paulli in Flora Danica, where he wrote, 'Girls' breasts that are rubbed with the juice of this herb do not grow thereafter but remain properly small and do not change the size they are.' Impotent men often claimed that witches had spread hemlock juice on their genitals as they slept. Pliny the Elder wrote, 'What is certain is that an application of hemlock to the breasts of women in childbed dries up their milk, and to rub it on the testicles at the time of puberty acts as an antaphrodisiac'."5
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 6 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Schneller - self-experimentation; method: 'began with 5 drops of tincture, increasing daily by 5 drops up to 65; then he increased dose by 10-40 drops, so that at last he took 200 at a time - altogether nearly 1 troy ounce.'
•• [3] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: repeated doses of 2-40 drops of tincture, symptoms recorded for 112 days.
[1] Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants. [2] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [3-4] King's American Dispensatory. [5] Bennett, Lilies of the Hearth.
Affinity
NERVES. MUSCLES. GLANDS [MAMMAE; ovaries]. Sexual organs. Respiration.
* RIGHT SIDE. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: SEEING MOVING OBJECTS. ALCOHOL. Raising arms. After exertion. Injury. Night. Sexual excesses; masturbation. Cold; taking. Continence; celibacy. Old age. Lying; head low. Turning in bed. Turning eyes. Light. While eating. Milk. Snow-air; frosty air. Standing. MOTION.
Better: Letting part hang down. Motion of affected part. PRESSURE. Fasting. Darkness. Walking. Sitting down. CONTINUED MOTION.
Main symptoms
* GRADUAL paralysis and weakness with indurations:
- Mental: gradual weakening of memory; lack of sharpness in all senses.
- Emotional: indifference and hardness; materialist with great attachment to the material world. Because of this materialism, Con. subsequently suffers from the loss of a sexual partner.
- Physical: indurations and tumours; cancerous affections.
• [45 minutes after the dose of 3 drams of 'succus conii'] "I felt a heavy clogging sensation in my heels. There was a distinct impairment of the motor power; I felt 'the go' taken out of me; sensation as if a drag was suddenly put upon me, and as if I could not, even if strongly urged, have walked fast; after walking half a mile this sensation was very decided, and, on putting the foot on a scraper, the other leg shaky and almost too weak to support me; my movements appeared clumsy to myself, and it appeared to me that I must make an effort to control them. At the same time a sluggishness of the adaptation of the eye; vision good for fixed objects, but on looking at an uneven object put into motion there was haze and dimness of vision causing some giddiness. After an hour these symptoms rapidly disappeared, leaving me as well as ever." [Hughes]
M INDIFFERENCE.
• "Very morose; every afternoon, from 3 to 6, as if a great guilt weighed him down; at the same time a sensation of paralysis in all the limbs; indifferent and unsympathizing." [Hahnemann]
Gradual paralysis with a SLOW onset and for the most part UNNOTICED.
• "Will only talk about this gradual decline after one or two follow-ups, after they actually experience an uplift in their energy and general state. It is usually only in hindsight, after receiving Conium, that they then see how limited they were and how much more freedom and spontaneity they now have." [Klein]1
M INTROVERSION.
• "Paucity of symptoms on the emotional level and a kind of INTROVERSION. Patient is not forthcoming... Lack of emotional and mental range leading to a lack of emotional and mental expression. The amount of emotional or mental response from the patient is not in proportion to what you expect from their history. You may see that in the past this person suffered a tremendous amount emotionally. You see in the past significantly more expressivity of emotion than is now being expressed by the patient in front of you." [Klein]
M Isolation. Aversion to company.
• "He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; he is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them."
• "Shyness at the approach of people, and yet also dread of being alone." [Hahnemann]
• "Gradual SHUTTING DOWN ultimately results in isolation and even an AVERSION to COMPANY. Patient gradually becomes more isolated and therefore does not complain about the lack of company." [Klein]
M AVERSION to COMPANY or STRANGERS during MENSES.
M Conservativeness. Preservation.
• "Gradual shutting down leads to rigidity and even ritualistic and compulsive behaviour, especially rigidity about diet and health. They develop rigid concepts about health and diet. They then narrow down their diet and stick to it without much difficulty." [Klein]
Fixed ideas. Fastidiousness.
• "He goes his own way, alone. Maybe he still wishes to be among other people, among friends, but he cannot feel the warmth anymore. Duty has become so hard [hard like tumours], that there is no space for real contact with anybody [see the symptoms of eyes, ears, genitals, extremities in Conium: the organs of movement and relationship], there is only duty. Women who dedicate themselves to the pregnancy or do not allow themselves to feel any negative feelings towards the foetus. Do things correctly, soberly, don't break the rules, don't get off the subject [compare the symptom: worse by seeing moving objects]. Every change is a challenge [spring, beginning of winter, motion, even turning in bed]. Because every move could reveal some of my wishes, which may be contradictory to or hindering my dedication. And if necessary, I will be cold up to my heart [= description of death by Conium]. I will get paralysed, completely incapable of any motion. I will even tolerate utter loneliness, even in the moments I need my friends most, because I have dedicated my life to a goal. And that's it. No discussion."2
M Lack of anxiety; lack of perception.
• "Kind of self-satisfaction with their state. They have and express less anxiety relative to the situation than their background suggests they would. They may even exhibit a complete lack of anxiety when faced with an uncertain future and poor prognosis regarding their pathology. In the first interview they definitely would not consider themselves sick mentally or emotionally, or even limited on these levels. Most Conium patients are proud of their ability to be calm, even and organized, both internally and externally, when confronted with an emotionally charged situation." [Klein]
M Tumultuous life and lifestyle.
• "Underneath the present remedy picture are other remedies that are more expressive, such as Phosphorus, but in fact mainly Tuberculinum... Conium is to Tuberculinum as Thuja is to Medorrhinum... Link between cancer and the tubercular disease or miasm. With Conium you may see in the past a tumultuous life and lifestyle, but a toning down of this aspect as the Conium pathology develops." [Klein]
• "This remedy is useful for teenagers who abandon their studies to engage in unrestrained sexual activity, or who flit from one subject to another in their studies and never bring anything to completion. They have often significant problems with acne." [Grandgeorge]
M Great attachment to the material world slowly changing into an indifference [especially on account of sadness].
• "Cares very little for things; makes useless purchases, wastes or ruins them." [Phatak]
OR
Religious / superstitious.
• "Inclined to be superstitious, the Conium individual reads great amounts of esoteric and mystical literature, flits from one thing to another without finding the path of Salvation, and, in the face of failure, can easily slide into unconstrained sexual activity. Conium resembles the cock, an animal that can be the symbolic representation of a belligerent, contentious individual who runs constantly after members of the opposite sex; it can likewise symbolize the prophet who unerringly foretells the first light of day. ... It is interesting to note that the cock is the symbol of France [the French are well known for their propensity to 'deliver the word'], and that the name of homoeopathy's founder, Hahnemann, is a union of two words: hahn, or cock, and mann, or man." [Grandgeorge]
OR
Sober and realistic.
• "These two women had much in common apart from their complaints. On the surface there was nothing very spectacular. Both appreciated the good things which life has to offer, good food, wine, sex, but they remained sober in their taste and appearance. They both have the tendency to take their life, and their death, in their own hands, and not to be overly melodramatic about the facts of living and dying. They prefer to look for ways to solve their own problems rather than delivering themselves into the hands of 'experts'. They are philosophical in their outlook, but in a very practical sense. They both strive for beauty and harmony, without being overt. It is difficult for them to recover from blows, both physical and emotional, especially the loss of the sexual partner. I have seen several patients who would fit the picture of the 'earthy' Conium, people with little or no spiritual striving, attached to the more material things of life. These women show another side of the same coin, one might call it a 'higher' Conium if one wanted to categorise."3
M GRIEF ends in paralysis or imbecility.
M Aversion to LIGHT; darkness >.
Likes to wear dark clothes; dressed as if mourning.
Prefers dark colours, even only black.
G Premature ageing.
G Weakness morning in bed.
Trembling > after breakfast.
G Desire for COFFEE, SALTY THINGS and SOUR.
< WINE; MILK. Milk = distension of stomach and abdomen. G < At BEGINNING of MOTION. > CONTINUED motion.
G > PRESSURE.
< RUBBING. G Sexual interaction. • "Lack of sexual desire... It is common to hear, "sex is not a priority"... Large percentage of the women who responded curatively to Conium have been lesbian. All of these have had a history of unsuccessful relationships with men at one time, and usually became lesbian after this. All describe that their sexual interaction with men was not enjoyable and use words such as "painful" and "distasteful" when describing it. Heterosexual women can have these feelings, too." [Klein] G Ailments from SUPPRESSION of SEXUAL DESIRE [continence]. Anxiety, sadness, erections wanting, mental problems [forgetfulness, superstition], emotional problems [difficult expression of emotions, apathy], physical ailments [cancerous affections]. c Suppression of sexual desire leading to Conium: [a] Loss of partner ["widows and widowers with suppression of sexual desires" - Mathur]; [b] Sickness of partner; [c] Fear of AIDS; [d] Religious reasons [priests, nuns, etc. who suppress their sexual instincts out of religious conviction]; [e] Fixed ideas ["sex is sinful"]; [f] Spiritual reasons [persons applying themselves totally to spiritual development and meditation and hence renouncing sex]. [Ghegas] c In the Middle Ages Conium was grown at monasteries as a medicinal herb to prevent carnal lust in monks and nuns. G Affections of GLANDS; tendency to malignancy, cancer. Injuries of glands, of soft parts. Sensitiveness of glands. Swelling, induration of glands. G CLIMACTERIC problems: VERTIGO and flushes of heat and perspiration on falling asleep [when closing eyes]. P Vertigo and numbness or stiffness of neck [external throat]. P VISUAL DISTURBANCES. Slow accommodation; problems with focusing. Causes VERTIGO, < turning head, and nausea, as if sea-sick. • "Raised my eyes quickly from the manuscript upon which they had been steadily fixed, towards the inkstand some little distance away, but in so doing I instantly experienced a slight difficulty in accurately sighting that object, the eyes did not strike exactly where they were aimed, and simultaneously a faint but distinct thrill of the peculiar swimming feeling that I know so well as the beginning of sea-sickness, swept through the brain; plainly the subtle influence of the poison had been creeping over me while absorbed in writing, but could not declare itself by symptoms until a quick and decided movement of the already paretic ocular muscles was attempted, then, however, it was instantly made manifest by the trouble in promptly sighting a given object, and, what is the point, then at once, but not till then, was the least giddiness experienced; as the palsy of the ocular muscles advanced, soon the slightest movement of the eyes produced a curious and very disagreeable apparent flickering of the field of view, and was always accompanied by a sudden rush of giddiness; but so long as the eyes were kept motionless, then, as long ago pointed out by Harley, there was no giddiness; for experiment, however, I did try the eyes in various ways, seeking to find, among other things, how the focalising power on near objects was affected, and the consequence was that I quickly became not only very giddy but also decidedly nauseated, in fact veritably sea-sick, the sensations being the same as those felt at sea." [Allen] DIPLOPIA. • "Vision was for the first time double. Directing the eye to an object at the distance of fifteen feet, that object for a moment would appear single; immediately, however, two images became visible, and slowly receded from each other to the apparent distance of six inches; here they generally became stationary, but at times would continue alternately to approach and recede from each other." [Allen] c Compare the Cicuta symptom: Objects seem at one time to come near her and then again to recede from her. P Prostatitis or enlarged prostate. And Difficult micturition [straining, intermittent flow; headache and perspiration from straining]. P Pain and SWELLING of MAMMAE before menses. < Walking; jar. [1] Klein, Two cases of cervical dysplasia and A case of Craniopharyngioma; IFH 1989. [2] Swoboda, Dedication and failure: Some features of Conium; HL 2/97/ [3] Collins, The other side of the coin: Two cases of the 'higher' Conium; HL 2/97. Rubrics Mind Ailments from remorse [2; Arn.; Aur.]. Want of amativeness in men [1; Lyc.]. Ambition for fame [1]. Anxiety, from prolonged continence [2/1], from thinking about it [1]. Aversion, to friends, during pregnancy [2/1]. Aversion to company, yet fear of being alone [2]; during menses [2]. Confusion, after sleep, siesta [3], from spirituous liquors [2]. Darkness > [1]. Delusion, of dead brother and child coming in at the door [1*], a great guilt weighed him down [1*]. Dwells on past disagreeable occurrences [2]. Excitement, after wine [1]. Fear, of strangers, during menses [1/1]. Indifference, to the dictates of conscience [1]. Insanity, dresses in his best clothes [1/1]. Aversion to light, shuns light [3]. Narrow-minded [1]. Neglecting important things [1; Alum.]. Occupation > [2]. Religious melancholia from remorse [1; Aur.]. Thoughts, tormenting, sexual [1].
Vertigo
When looking at moving object [2]. Menses, before [2], during [2], after [1]. When turning or moving the head quickly [3]. After wine [2].
Head
Crackling sensation in vertex [1; Coff.]. Heat, occiput, < excitement [2/1]. Knocks head against things [1]. Pain, from hurry [1; Ign.], > motion of head [1; Agar.; Chin.]; sides, < turning eyes to affected side [1/1]. Vision Accommodation, defective, slow [3]. Objects seem to approach and then recede [1*]. Blurred, after vexation [1/1]. Colours, black spots, when eyes are closed [2; Elaps]; black spots, during vertigo [2; Glon.]; objects seem red [3]. Dim, moving objects [1; Gels.]. Diplopia, on looking intensely [1; Am-c.; Gins.]. Objects seem to be moving up and down [1; Cocc.]. Ear Noises, on mental exertion [1; Caust.; Ferr-pic.]. Nose Odours, of animals, in back part of nose [1/1]; of tar [1]. Pain, in root of nose, before menses [2/1]. Stomach Eructations, sour, at night [2; Nux-v.]. Heartburn, in evening, after going to bed [2; Sol-ni.]. Nausea, > closing the eyes [1/1], after exertion of vision [1], on looking steadily [1], < motion of eyes [1]. Pain, > knee-elbow position [1].
Bladder
Ineffectual urging to urinate during headache [3/1].
Prostate
Emission of prostatic fluid, with every emotion [3], while fondling women [3; Agn.]. during lascivious thoughts [3].
Female
Aversion to coition during menopause [2/1]. Pain, bearing down, uterus, with urging to stool [2].
Chest
Sensation of emptiness in region of heart [1]. Flabby mammae, except during menses [1/1]. Pain, heart, during painful menses [3/1].
Sleep
Position, inclined to have lower limbs uncovered [1; Plat.].
Dreams
Mutilation [1]. Visionary [2].
Perspiration
On closing the eyes 0[3]. While eating [2].
Skin
Eruptions, rash, during menses [2/1]; urticaria, after violent exercise [2].
* Repertory additions [Allen].
Food
Aversion: [2]: Bread; salt; sour. [1]: Breakfast; coffee; drinks, during heat; milk; tobacco.
Desire: [2]: Coffee; salt; sour; vinegar. [1]: Alcohol; beans and peas; bread; cabbage; charcoal; indigestible things.
Worse: [3]: Milk; wine. [2]: Cold food; alcohol. [1]: Apples; eggs.
Better: [2]: Hot food; wine.
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| Conium maculatum |
[Aristophanes]
Signs
Conium maculatum. Poison Hemlock. Spotted Hemlock. N.O. Umbelliferae.
CLASSIFICATION Conium belongs to the Umbelliferae. This plant family, also called Apiaceae or Carrot family, is one of the best-known families of flowering plants, because of its characteristic inflorescences and fruits and the distinctive chemistry reflected in the odour, flavour and even toxicity of many of its members. The Umbelliferae seems to be the first flowering plant family to be recognized as such by botanists about the end of the 16th century, although only the temperate Old World species were then known. The Umbelliferae contains about 300 genera and 2,500 to 3,000 species. It is found in most parts of the world, although commonest in temperate upland areas and relatively rare in tropical latitudes.
HABITAT The genus Conium is placed in the tribe Smyrnieae, along with Cicuta and Smyrnium. Conium maculatum is a native of Europe, western Asia and North Africa, and common in low waste places, along roadsides, edges of cultivated fields, railroad tracks, irrigation ditches, stream banks, etc. It was brought to the U.S. from Europe as a garden plant.
FEATURES Biennial, glabrous plant with purple spotted stems, growing up to 2 metres; fleshy, unbranched white taproot; all leaves finely dissected into segments; flowers from May to August. Plants are more likely to be biennial in very moist situations; some produce flowering stems in the first spring and die in the summer. The whole plant emits a disagreeable odour [like cat urine or mice], esp. when bruised.
NAME Conium derives from Gr. koneion, the ancient name for hemlock, which possibly is related to Gr. konos, dizziness, or Gr. koneisthai, to turn around in a circle. Maculatum means spotted, in allusion to the purple splotches on the stems. According to an old English legend, the stems took their purple streaks in sympathy with the mark put on Cain's forehead after he killed Abel. The common name is thought to be taken from the Anglo-Saxon hoem or healm, 'straw', and leac, 'plant', a reference to the dry, hollow stalks that remain after flowering.
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| Conium maculatum |
SOCRATES There seems little doubt that the potion used in ancient Greece as a mode of execution of those condemned to death by the tribunal of Areopagus was made from the leaves of the spotted hemlock. Some claim Cicuta virosa to have been the origin of the potion, but this plant does not grow in Greece and southern Europe. The old name cicuta comes from the Romans and was unknown to the Greeks. Prevailing in the medieval Latin literature, the Romans applied it to any poisonous umbellifer rather than to a particular species. In describing the potion that killed Socrates, Plato does not give it a specific name nor mention its source. Nonetheless, the symptoms given in the description of the death of Socrates match more exactly the poisonous properties of Conium than those of Cicuta. Cicuta poisoning is typically very violent and characterised by a sudden onset and convulsions, whereas Conium tends to produce ascending muscular paralysis. 1 It is tempting to assume that Socrates' death was the logical consequence of his life, and thus that Socrates' life style and philosophy provides some clues. These are, at best, illustrative, but by no means conclusive. Socrates wrote nothing; for information about his personality one therefore has to rely mainly on the dialogues of Plato. According to Cicero, Socrates "brought down philosophy from heaven to earth." His self-control and powers of endurance were exemplary; Plato says that "he had so schooled himself to moderation that his scanty means satisfied all his wants" although "he knew both how to want and how to abound." His self-imposed life of hardships was the price of his spiritual independence. Being considered "intellectually the acutest man of his age," his philosophy was based on a method of asking a series of questions which would lead one to the truth. Yet, in company "he represented himself as the dullest person present." He believed himself charged with a mission from God to make his fellowmen aware of their ignorance and of the supreme importance of knowledge of what is for the soul's good. The philosopher's "divine sign" was a "voice" often heard by Socrates from childhood, a "voice" that forbade him to do things and which he followed uncompromisingly. When his young followers started asking questions about authority, the men in power became alarmed. This resulted, in 399 BC, in an indictment for impiety; he was accused of "corruption of the young" and "neglect of the gods whom the city worships and the practice of religious novelties." Socrates was given several chances to plead guilty and receive a light sentence or even to escape. But Socrates had the courage to publicly expound his beliefs and steadfastly refused to admit any guilt or to run away. Living up to his declaration that he rather face instant death than to neglect his mission from God, Socrates declared himself well content with the death sentence. 2
CONSTITUENTS Conium contains several alkaloids which are chemically related to nicotine. All parts of Conium contain some level of the alkaloids, except for the sap in young plants. The most toxic chemical, gamma-coniceine, is abundant in leaves, flowers, and less common in the fruits, where it is quickly converted to coniine and N-methylconiine. Gamma-coniceine is the predominant chemical during the plant's first year of growth, and the precursor of the other alkaloids. During the second year of growth the content of both coniine and N-methylconiine increases, especially in the leaves and fruits, with a decrease in gamma-coniceine. Gamma-coniceine is considered seven or eight times more toxic than coniine, with N-methylconiine even less toxic. Plants from southern latitudes are held more poisonous on the average than northern-grown ones. This seems to be in line with the observation, according to Millspaugh, of a Russian botanist that Russian peasants eat the roots with impunity, concluding that the colder the climate the less poisonous is the root. Moreover, cooking destroys the poison in the root, which in fact contains a negligible amount of coniine [0.1%] in comparison to the ripe seeds [0.5-1.5%].
TOXICOLOGY Cattle, goats, horses, swine, and sheep as well as rabbits, poultry, deer, and humans have been poisoned after ingesting poison-hemlock. Animal species vary in their susceptibility to acute toxicity. In young pigs and cattle it causes teratogenic effects called 'crooked calf disease'. General symptoms of poisoning for cattle include: rapid breathing, flexure of carpal and elbow joints, depression, diarrhoea, unsteady gait, incoordination, lateral rotation of limbs, muscle spasms, salivation, scoliosis, grinding of teeth, torticollis, trembling, vomiting, coffee-coloured urine. General signs of poisoning in all types of livestock include apathy, salivation, frequent regurgitation, teeth grinding, and reduced milk production. A mousy odour has been reported to emanate from affected animals. Poisoning in humans occurs from mistaking the roots for parsnips, the leaves for parsley, or the seeds for anise. The symptoms are similar to those in animals: coma, convulsions, dizziness, headache, incoordination, pupil dilation, vomiting, thirst, death by asphyxiation. Coldness is often felt in the extremities. There is rapid onset of irritation of mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, accompanied by salivation and nausea. Severe poisoning may cause coma and death by respiratory failure. Despite the severity of poisoning mortality is low.
EFFECTS "Conium is narcotic, possessing, however, properties somewhat similar to those of belladonna. On account of the former difficulty in procuring good preparations of this plant, it has not been so much used nor its virtues so fully investigated, as with some of its congeners. The symptoms produced by its use are thirst, dryness of the throat, dizziness, sickness at stomach, sinking, benumbing feelings, and more or less prostration of the muscular system. If its use be continued, or in large doses, the pupils become dilated, there is a general paralysis, rendering talking and breathing difficult, with coma, or convulsions terminating in death. In about 30 minutes from its administration, its effects will generally appear, and continue from 10 to 40 hours. It is supposed to effect its results by exhausting the nervous energy of the spinal cord and voluntary muscles. It is used for promoting sleep, and will be found extremely useful in allaying excessive action of the heart in hypertrophy of this organ; a pill of 1 or 2 grains of the extract producing a calm, soothing influence, followed by a diminution or removal of the palpitation or augmented action. Indeed, all affections attended with an excited or excitable condition of the nervous and vascular systems, will be benefited by its use."3
HALLUCINATIONS Conium reputedly causes death by cardiac arrest or gradual asphyxia, while the intellect remains clear until shortly before death. Various cases of poisoning, on the other hand, seem to provide evidence that Conium may cause delirium and hallucinations. Hughes inserted reluctantly, but 'for the sake of completeness', the following cases in his Cyclopaedia. "A peasant and his wife ate of hemlock root by mistake, and then went to bed. Awaking in middle of night they had completely lost their reason, they ran about house in dark, quite wild, striking head, face, and eyes against walls. ... I knew two monks of high family, who ate freely of Conium brought to table by error. Scarcely had food entered stomach when its virulence so oppressed the head of either that a manifest insanity seized them. One imagined himself changed into a goose, and hurried into a lake; the other, tearing off his clothes, declared himself to be a drake, and that the internal fire could not be extinguished unless he should swim in a river. Cathartics and other measures soon brought them to themselves, but for more than three years they were harassed with tremors and petechial spots. ... Several persons - 3 women, 1 man, 2 boys, and as many girls - ate of hemlock root. All became delirious - more or less according to quantity taken. One woman complained of oppression and anxiety, and for two hours was quite out of her mind, but manifested sense of thirst and of excessive heat of gullet. For 4 days more her mind wandered; she thought she saw birds and dogs about her, and men seemed dead or sick. Others in their delirium imagined they saw lizards or serpents; others threw themselves into fire; others danced and wandered through bushes and hedges."
MEDICINE "Conium has in times past been lauded in cancer, and, while it undoubtedly has influenced growths pronounced cancerous, it is not known to have effected a cure. The pain of cancer, however, is alleviated by it, and it undoubtedly affects tumours of the mammae, even when they amount to scirrhus. Conium has been used to check lactation, thus showing its specific action upon the mammary glands. Ovarian torpor, giving rise to scanty menses, and sterility in the female, and in the genital feebleness of the male, accompanied with an unpleasant erethism, or where lack of sexual activity is due to passive testicular venous engorgement, conium is said to be efficient when given in small doses. Glandular enlargements sometimes yield to the alterative influence of this drug, and while not generally efficient in syphilis, as some of its admirers claim, it is useful in allaying the pains which accompany that affection. Chorea and epilepsy, due to sexual abuse, and whooping-cough and acute mania are states in which it is asserted useful. It has been variously used in cachectic and depraved states, either as a palliative or for its curative action. Large doses are contraindicated by debility."4
SEX "Dioscorides claimed that hemlock juice rubbed on a woman's breasts would stop the milk from flowing and could prevent them from growing too large, a belief recorded again 1,600 years later by Simon Paulli in Flora Danica, where he wrote, 'Girls' breasts that are rubbed with the juice of this herb do not grow thereafter but remain properly small and do not change the size they are.' Impotent men often claimed that witches had spread hemlock juice on their genitals as they slept. Pliny the Elder wrote, 'What is certain is that an application of hemlock to the breasts of women in childbed dries up their milk, and to rub it on the testicles at the time of puberty acts as an antaphrodisiac'."5
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 6 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Schneller - self-experimentation; method: 'began with 5 drops of tincture, increasing daily by 5 drops up to 65; then he increased dose by 10-40 drops, so that at last he took 200 at a time - altogether nearly 1 troy ounce.'
•• [3] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: repeated doses of 2-40 drops of tincture, symptoms recorded for 112 days.
[1] Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants. [2] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [3-4] King's American Dispensatory. [5] Bennett, Lilies of the Hearth.
Affinity
NERVES. MUSCLES. GLANDS [MAMMAE; ovaries]. Sexual organs. Respiration.
* RIGHT SIDE. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: SEEING MOVING OBJECTS. ALCOHOL. Raising arms. After exertion. Injury. Night. Sexual excesses; masturbation. Cold; taking. Continence; celibacy. Old age. Lying; head low. Turning in bed. Turning eyes. Light. While eating. Milk. Snow-air; frosty air. Standing. MOTION.
Better: Letting part hang down. Motion of affected part. PRESSURE. Fasting. Darkness. Walking. Sitting down. CONTINUED MOTION.
Main symptoms
* GRADUAL paralysis and weakness with indurations:
- Mental: gradual weakening of memory; lack of sharpness in all senses.
- Emotional: indifference and hardness; materialist with great attachment to the material world. Because of this materialism, Con. subsequently suffers from the loss of a sexual partner.
- Physical: indurations and tumours; cancerous affections.
• [45 minutes after the dose of 3 drams of 'succus conii'] "I felt a heavy clogging sensation in my heels. There was a distinct impairment of the motor power; I felt 'the go' taken out of me; sensation as if a drag was suddenly put upon me, and as if I could not, even if strongly urged, have walked fast; after walking half a mile this sensation was very decided, and, on putting the foot on a scraper, the other leg shaky and almost too weak to support me; my movements appeared clumsy to myself, and it appeared to me that I must make an effort to control them. At the same time a sluggishness of the adaptation of the eye; vision good for fixed objects, but on looking at an uneven object put into motion there was haze and dimness of vision causing some giddiness. After an hour these symptoms rapidly disappeared, leaving me as well as ever." [Hughes]
M INDIFFERENCE.
• "Very morose; every afternoon, from 3 to 6, as if a great guilt weighed him down; at the same time a sensation of paralysis in all the limbs; indifferent and unsympathizing." [Hahnemann]
Gradual paralysis with a SLOW onset and for the most part UNNOTICED.
• "Will only talk about this gradual decline after one or two follow-ups, after they actually experience an uplift in their energy and general state. It is usually only in hindsight, after receiving Conium, that they then see how limited they were and how much more freedom and spontaneity they now have." [Klein]1
M INTROVERSION.
• "Paucity of symptoms on the emotional level and a kind of INTROVERSION. Patient is not forthcoming... Lack of emotional and mental range leading to a lack of emotional and mental expression. The amount of emotional or mental response from the patient is not in proportion to what you expect from their history. You may see that in the past this person suffered a tremendous amount emotionally. You see in the past significantly more expressivity of emotion than is now being expressed by the patient in front of you." [Klein]
M Isolation. Aversion to company.
• "He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; he is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them."
• "Shyness at the approach of people, and yet also dread of being alone." [Hahnemann]
• "Gradual SHUTTING DOWN ultimately results in isolation and even an AVERSION to COMPANY. Patient gradually becomes more isolated and therefore does not complain about the lack of company." [Klein]
M AVERSION to COMPANY or STRANGERS during MENSES.
M Conservativeness. Preservation.
• "Gradual shutting down leads to rigidity and even ritualistic and compulsive behaviour, especially rigidity about diet and health. They develop rigid concepts about health and diet. They then narrow down their diet and stick to it without much difficulty." [Klein]
Fixed ideas. Fastidiousness.
• "He goes his own way, alone. Maybe he still wishes to be among other people, among friends, but he cannot feel the warmth anymore. Duty has become so hard [hard like tumours], that there is no space for real contact with anybody [see the symptoms of eyes, ears, genitals, extremities in Conium: the organs of movement and relationship], there is only duty. Women who dedicate themselves to the pregnancy or do not allow themselves to feel any negative feelings towards the foetus. Do things correctly, soberly, don't break the rules, don't get off the subject [compare the symptom: worse by seeing moving objects]. Every change is a challenge [spring, beginning of winter, motion, even turning in bed]. Because every move could reveal some of my wishes, which may be contradictory to or hindering my dedication. And if necessary, I will be cold up to my heart [= description of death by Conium]. I will get paralysed, completely incapable of any motion. I will even tolerate utter loneliness, even in the moments I need my friends most, because I have dedicated my life to a goal. And that's it. No discussion."2
M Lack of anxiety; lack of perception.
• "Kind of self-satisfaction with their state. They have and express less anxiety relative to the situation than their background suggests they would. They may even exhibit a complete lack of anxiety when faced with an uncertain future and poor prognosis regarding their pathology. In the first interview they definitely would not consider themselves sick mentally or emotionally, or even limited on these levels. Most Conium patients are proud of their ability to be calm, even and organized, both internally and externally, when confronted with an emotionally charged situation." [Klein]
M Tumultuous life and lifestyle.
• "Underneath the present remedy picture are other remedies that are more expressive, such as Phosphorus, but in fact mainly Tuberculinum... Conium is to Tuberculinum as Thuja is to Medorrhinum... Link between cancer and the tubercular disease or miasm. With Conium you may see in the past a tumultuous life and lifestyle, but a toning down of this aspect as the Conium pathology develops." [Klein]
• "This remedy is useful for teenagers who abandon their studies to engage in unrestrained sexual activity, or who flit from one subject to another in their studies and never bring anything to completion. They have often significant problems with acne." [Grandgeorge]
M Great attachment to the material world slowly changing into an indifference [especially on account of sadness].
• "Cares very little for things; makes useless purchases, wastes or ruins them." [Phatak]
OR
Religious / superstitious.
• "Inclined to be superstitious, the Conium individual reads great amounts of esoteric and mystical literature, flits from one thing to another without finding the path of Salvation, and, in the face of failure, can easily slide into unconstrained sexual activity. Conium resembles the cock, an animal that can be the symbolic representation of a belligerent, contentious individual who runs constantly after members of the opposite sex; it can likewise symbolize the prophet who unerringly foretells the first light of day. ... It is interesting to note that the cock is the symbol of France [the French are well known for their propensity to 'deliver the word'], and that the name of homoeopathy's founder, Hahnemann, is a union of two words: hahn, or cock, and mann, or man." [Grandgeorge]
OR
Sober and realistic.
• "These two women had much in common apart from their complaints. On the surface there was nothing very spectacular. Both appreciated the good things which life has to offer, good food, wine, sex, but they remained sober in their taste and appearance. They both have the tendency to take their life, and their death, in their own hands, and not to be overly melodramatic about the facts of living and dying. They prefer to look for ways to solve their own problems rather than delivering themselves into the hands of 'experts'. They are philosophical in their outlook, but in a very practical sense. They both strive for beauty and harmony, without being overt. It is difficult for them to recover from blows, both physical and emotional, especially the loss of the sexual partner. I have seen several patients who would fit the picture of the 'earthy' Conium, people with little or no spiritual striving, attached to the more material things of life. These women show another side of the same coin, one might call it a 'higher' Conium if one wanted to categorise."3
M GRIEF ends in paralysis or imbecility.
M Aversion to LIGHT; darkness >.
Likes to wear dark clothes; dressed as if mourning.
Prefers dark colours, even only black.
G Premature ageing.
G Weakness morning in bed.
Trembling > after breakfast.
G Desire for COFFEE, SALTY THINGS and SOUR.
< WINE; MILK. Milk = distension of stomach and abdomen. G < At BEGINNING of MOTION. > CONTINUED motion.
G > PRESSURE.
< RUBBING. G Sexual interaction. • "Lack of sexual desire... It is common to hear, "sex is not a priority"... Large percentage of the women who responded curatively to Conium have been lesbian. All of these have had a history of unsuccessful relationships with men at one time, and usually became lesbian after this. All describe that their sexual interaction with men was not enjoyable and use words such as "painful" and "distasteful" when describing it. Heterosexual women can have these feelings, too." [Klein] G Ailments from SUPPRESSION of SEXUAL DESIRE [continence]. Anxiety, sadness, erections wanting, mental problems [forgetfulness, superstition], emotional problems [difficult expression of emotions, apathy], physical ailments [cancerous affections]. c Suppression of sexual desire leading to Conium: [a] Loss of partner ["widows and widowers with suppression of sexual desires" - Mathur]; [b] Sickness of partner; [c] Fear of AIDS; [d] Religious reasons [priests, nuns, etc. who suppress their sexual instincts out of religious conviction]; [e] Fixed ideas ["sex is sinful"]; [f] Spiritual reasons [persons applying themselves totally to spiritual development and meditation and hence renouncing sex]. [Ghegas] c In the Middle Ages Conium was grown at monasteries as a medicinal herb to prevent carnal lust in monks and nuns. G Affections of GLANDS; tendency to malignancy, cancer. Injuries of glands, of soft parts. Sensitiveness of glands. Swelling, induration of glands. G CLIMACTERIC problems: VERTIGO and flushes of heat and perspiration on falling asleep [when closing eyes]. P Vertigo and numbness or stiffness of neck [external throat]. P VISUAL DISTURBANCES. Slow accommodation; problems with focusing. Causes VERTIGO, < turning head, and nausea, as if sea-sick. • "Raised my eyes quickly from the manuscript upon which they had been steadily fixed, towards the inkstand some little distance away, but in so doing I instantly experienced a slight difficulty in accurately sighting that object, the eyes did not strike exactly where they were aimed, and simultaneously a faint but distinct thrill of the peculiar swimming feeling that I know so well as the beginning of sea-sickness, swept through the brain; plainly the subtle influence of the poison had been creeping over me while absorbed in writing, but could not declare itself by symptoms until a quick and decided movement of the already paretic ocular muscles was attempted, then, however, it was instantly made manifest by the trouble in promptly sighting a given object, and, what is the point, then at once, but not till then, was the least giddiness experienced; as the palsy of the ocular muscles advanced, soon the slightest movement of the eyes produced a curious and very disagreeable apparent flickering of the field of view, and was always accompanied by a sudden rush of giddiness; but so long as the eyes were kept motionless, then, as long ago pointed out by Harley, there was no giddiness; for experiment, however, I did try the eyes in various ways, seeking to find, among other things, how the focalising power on near objects was affected, and the consequence was that I quickly became not only very giddy but also decidedly nauseated, in fact veritably sea-sick, the sensations being the same as those felt at sea." [Allen] DIPLOPIA. • "Vision was for the first time double. Directing the eye to an object at the distance of fifteen feet, that object for a moment would appear single; immediately, however, two images became visible, and slowly receded from each other to the apparent distance of six inches; here they generally became stationary, but at times would continue alternately to approach and recede from each other." [Allen] c Compare the Cicuta symptom: Objects seem at one time to come near her and then again to recede from her. P Prostatitis or enlarged prostate. And Difficult micturition [straining, intermittent flow; headache and perspiration from straining]. P Pain and SWELLING of MAMMAE before menses. < Walking; jar. [1] Klein, Two cases of cervical dysplasia and A case of Craniopharyngioma; IFH 1989. [2] Swoboda, Dedication and failure: Some features of Conium; HL 2/97/ [3] Collins, The other side of the coin: Two cases of the 'higher' Conium; HL 2/97. Rubrics Mind Ailments from remorse [2; Arn.; Aur.]. Want of amativeness in men [1; Lyc.]. Ambition for fame [1]. Anxiety, from prolonged continence [2/1], from thinking about it [1]. Aversion, to friends, during pregnancy [2/1]. Aversion to company, yet fear of being alone [2]; during menses [2]. Confusion, after sleep, siesta [3], from spirituous liquors [2]. Darkness > [1]. Delusion, of dead brother and child coming in at the door [1*], a great guilt weighed him down [1*]. Dwells on past disagreeable occurrences [2]. Excitement, after wine [1]. Fear, of strangers, during menses [1/1]. Indifference, to the dictates of conscience [1]. Insanity, dresses in his best clothes [1/1]. Aversion to light, shuns light [3]. Narrow-minded [1]. Neglecting important things [1; Alum.]. Occupation > [2]. Religious melancholia from remorse [1; Aur.]. Thoughts, tormenting, sexual [1].
Vertigo
When looking at moving object [2]. Menses, before [2], during [2], after [1]. When turning or moving the head quickly [3]. After wine [2].
Head
Crackling sensation in vertex [1; Coff.]. Heat, occiput, < excitement [2/1]. Knocks head against things [1]. Pain, from hurry [1; Ign.], > motion of head [1; Agar.; Chin.]; sides, < turning eyes to affected side [1/1]. Vision Accommodation, defective, slow [3]. Objects seem to approach and then recede [1*]. Blurred, after vexation [1/1]. Colours, black spots, when eyes are closed [2; Elaps]; black spots, during vertigo [2; Glon.]; objects seem red [3]. Dim, moving objects [1; Gels.]. Diplopia, on looking intensely [1; Am-c.; Gins.]. Objects seem to be moving up and down [1; Cocc.]. Ear Noises, on mental exertion [1; Caust.; Ferr-pic.]. Nose Odours, of animals, in back part of nose [1/1]; of tar [1]. Pain, in root of nose, before menses [2/1]. Stomach Eructations, sour, at night [2; Nux-v.]. Heartburn, in evening, after going to bed [2; Sol-ni.]. Nausea, > closing the eyes [1/1], after exertion of vision [1], on looking steadily [1], < motion of eyes [1]. Pain, > knee-elbow position [1].
Bladder
Ineffectual urging to urinate during headache [3/1].
Prostate
Emission of prostatic fluid, with every emotion [3], while fondling women [3; Agn.]. during lascivious thoughts [3].
Female
Aversion to coition during menopause [2/1]. Pain, bearing down, uterus, with urging to stool [2].
Chest
Sensation of emptiness in region of heart [1]. Flabby mammae, except during menses [1/1]. Pain, heart, during painful menses [3/1].
Sleep
Position, inclined to have lower limbs uncovered [1; Plat.].
Dreams
Mutilation [1]. Visionary [2].
Perspiration
On closing the eyes 0[3]. While eating [2].
Skin
Eruptions, rash, during menses [2/1]; urticaria, after violent exercise [2].
* Repertory additions [Allen].
Food
Aversion: [2]: Bread; salt; sour. [1]: Breakfast; coffee; drinks, during heat; milk; tobacco.
Desire: [2]: Coffee; salt; sour; vinegar. [1]: Alcohol; beans and peas; bread; cabbage; charcoal; indigestible things.
Worse: [3]: Milk; wine. [2]: Cold food; alcohol. [1]: Apples; eggs.
Better: [2]: Hot food; wine.
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