The symptoms that indicate this remedy show themselves especially in the muscles, in the tendons, in the joints, along the course of the nerves, in rheumatic complaints. The pains change about, wandering pains, and they are aggravated from motion. The sharp pains spread from the centers to the extremities, the wandering pains go downwards, down the arms, down the back and down the legs; from the shoulder to the fingers, and from the hips to the toes.
These pains sometimes shoot like lightning, again they tear along the nerves, along the sciatic and crural nerves, down through the calves. In rheumatic constitutions the pains are dull, tearing, crushing and pressing, and are aggravated by motion and go from the lower to the upper limbs. Motion will bring on the pain or aggravate it when it is present. The head pains are very severe. They often begin in the back of the neck or back of the head, and extend to the top of the head. There are also pains in the front of the head, pains over one or both eyes, tearing neuralgic pains aggravated by heat and motion.
Pains come and go with the sun, that is, they begin in the morning at the rising of the sun and increase till noon, then gradually decline and disappear at sunset. He is incapacitated for mental work when in motion and even when sitting up, but, when lying upon his back perfectly quiet, making no motion, the mind works well and with clearness; with the slightest motion, however, even of the hand, on comes vertigo and con fusion of mind. Moving about disturbs him, makes him incompetent. The pains are also worse the first half of the night.
With these symptoms there is cardiac trouble of rheumatic origin. The condition has increased until organic disease has come, even hypertrophy of the heart and valves. This remedy has cured that state. Palpitation very marked when lying on the left side, when lying on the back, sometimes when sitting erect, aggravated when bending forward. These symptoms alone cause this remedy to stand out in relief. It is useful in rheumatic patients where syphilis is at the bottom, syphilitic rheumatism that has taken the course described until finally the heart has become affected and there is thickening of the valves. Shooting pains through the heart, pains in the chest, intermittent pulse, pulse skipping a beat now and then. Either the arterial or venous system, or the valves of the heart, or both, may be affected. Dyspnea from any kind of exercise, cardiac dyspnea. You have in this a remedy for such complaints. It goes to the bottom in old cases of rheumatic syphilis, and has cured many a cardiac complaint that was the result of syphilis. You will be guided to it especially if the pains wander from place to place, and if they go from above downwards, if they go from the shoulder down toward the fingers, from the hips toward the feet, or down the spine. It is also suitable in old cases of gonorrheal rheumatism when the symptoms agree.
The slightest motion, the slightest effort or exertion brings on the vertigo, and this is due to disturbance of the circulation. The heart is so susceptible to any exertion that disturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain comes on from the slightest motion. “In a recumbent posture mental faculties and memory perfect, but, on attempting to move, vertigo.” If the patient persists in moving, nausea and vomiting will follow. It has palpitation, shaking the whole frame, audible, vehement palpitation. He cannot lie on his left side.
It is suitable in old, troublesome, recurrent headaches associated with cardiac affections. A headache will come on daily if the sun comes out, but it will not come on if the day is clouded. He is aggravated from the light of the sun and the increasing brightness of the sun’s rays.
In addition to these there are paroxysms of pain that are nightly. These are the bone pains, pains in the shin bones as if the periosteum would be torn off; these pains come on at night, or the first half of the night. It is well known in syphilis that the aggravation is at night. It is an antipsoric, antisycotic, and antisyphilitic, it can be selected when the symptoms agree with any of the three miasms. Pains in the pericranium, pains in the bones nearest to the surface. In bed at night the pains become very severe and last all night. This night aggravation is especially true of the marked antisyphilitic medicines. It is found under Hepar and Mercurius; but in none of the remedies do we find it so strikingly manifested as in the disease, or miasm, syphilis itself. In syphilis the aggravation comes with the setting of the sun. It is one of man’s enemies that does its work in the night. Many of the complaints of sycosis conform to the day hours, and the pains are worse from the rising to the going down of the sun. Medicines also have such queer whims. We must study remedies as we would human character. Some of them seem to be extremely whimsical, and it is by knowing these whimsical, strange and peculiar things that we are able to mark the character of the remedy. When we know these peculiarities we have found the circumstance under which the remedy works best.
There are kidney affections. All the organs are related to each other, but especially the heart and kidneys. When the kidneys are not working well, the heart is very often troublesome. All through the varying forms of Bright’s disease the heart is troublesome. Difficulties of breathing, difficult heart action, with albuminuria. It will relieve the breathing. Again, associated with kidney affections, we have many eye complaints, difficulties of vision, and these also especially call for this remedy. It is often indicated in Bright’s disease, with disturbance of vision, occurring during pregnancy. For the pains in the eyes, the stitching, tearing pains that occur during kidney disturbance in pregnancy, or during albuminuria, Kalmia becomes a remedy. This remedy is useful in neuralgia; neuralgia of the eye, neuralgia of the face, violent, tearing pains in the face. Sometimes it takes the form of a nightly aggravation and sometimes it takes the form of daily aggravation. The aggravation in the daytime comes and goes with the sun. The aggravation at night time comes with the lying down. “Anxious expression of countenance” associated with rheumatism of the heart. “Flushing of the face, with vertigo.”
After the disappearance of a herpetic eruption, violent neuralgic pains, shooting, tearing pains in those nerves that supply the part where the eruption was. When shingles, ring-worm, cold sore, or isolated vesicular eruptions disappear, suddenly from some violent cause or inappropriate treatment, or from catching cold, violent neuralgias come in their place and continue until the eruption comes out again. This remedy becomes suitable if the symptoms agree; that is, if the whole patient is in agreement with the state of the remedy. The pains are stitching and tearing, very severe, sometimes cutting and shooting when this remedy is most useful. The pain will seem to take hold of a nerve and will hold on to it for many minutes, coming with violence, coming suddenly and letting loose suddenly. Pains come in the extremities in the same way, taking hold as if the nerve were being pinched by nippers, or as if it were being torn to pieces. “There, now it is gone!” says the patient. Pretty soon, again, you will see his face in a state of horrible distress. The pain is there again and he cannot move a muscle, and “there, it is gone!” he says, and it remains away for some minutes and sometimes for hours.
The heart has many symptoms which should be studied. “Fluttering of the heart, palpitation of the heart.” “Palpitation up into the throat, after going to bed, trembling all over.” Very slow pulse. I remember a patient, an old syphilitic, who was told if he ever made a violent move he would die, the valves of his heart were so badly affected. He had all the murmurs that it seemed possible from the heart valves. He had travelled all over and had taken large doses of Mercury, and his syphilitic condition had to a great extent been suppressed, until finally the whole trouble had located in the heart. Kalmia removed all the dyspnea and palpitation in a few months, and it was nearly two years before there was a marked return of the symptoms and a repetition put him in a state of health, so that he needed no more medicine. This shows what a deep-acting remedy Kalmia is, how long it may act, what wonderful changes it may effect. A remedy must be capable of going deep into the life to do such things.
“Wandering rheumatic pains in the region of the heart.” “When articular rheumatism has been treated externally and cardiac symptoms ensue.” Rheumatism that goes from the lower to the upper limbs. Not uncommonly you will meet such things. These “rubbers” that go around the streets with a strong liniment and considerable magnetism frequently do cause a rheumatism to leave the knee joint, and, when it does that, the heart is likely to be the organ that suffers. Then Kalmia, Aurum, Bryonia, Rhus tox., Ledum, Calc. and Abrotanum, and sometimes Cactus, are remedies that prove suitable for such cardiac affections. Rheumatic affections that are driven away in this manner are changed without being cured. The people cannot realize the danger of merely removing symptoms. Every removal that is not in accordance with cure affects the centers of man, that is the heart and brain. Rubbing is a dangerous thing. When you are importuned with the question, “Doctor, will it hurt me to have this rubbed?” you reply, “If rubbing does not affect any change in the symptoms, it will do not harm.” In proportion as it mitigates the symptoms or relieves, just in that proportion it does the patient harm, for the whole vital economy is weakened. There are instances where rubbing is of benefit, but not in rheumatism. In paralyzed muscles it is a beneficial exercise, for then rubbing can take the place of exercise of the patient himself of the muscles. But rubbing is not admissible if it is used to reduce pain. The more agreeable it is, the worse it is for the patient. In a Phosphorus patient you would be astonished what wonderful relief they can get from rubbing. There is no person more inclined to be weak in the vitality, in the internal economy, than the Phosphorus patient. He is an excitable, weakly patient, and feels better by rubbing and craves it, but if he has rheumatism in the knees and the knee is rubbed the rheumatism may go to the heart. The Phos. patient loves to be rubbed, because rubbing relieves the symptoms; he loves to be magnetized.
Weariness of all the limbs; shuns all exertion.” “Weakness the only general symptom with neuralgia.” This weakness is a state that you can glean something from. When severe pain is fatiguing the economy the heart is threatened. A general weakness, prolonged weakness after confinement, or from the pain, as we find in Hepar, but with the weakness, these pains are threatening to leave their parts and go to the heart. He is perfectly exhausted and continuously tired.
The text speaks only of Aconite and Belladonna as the antidotes. Spigelia follows this remedy very well and antidotes it. Benzoic acid is a natural complement to it. Calc., Lith-c., Lyc., Nat-m. and Puls. are the remedies that are closely related and should be compared.