The complaints of Phosphorus are most likely to arise in the feeble constitutions, such as have been born sick, grown up slender, and grown too rapidly. Its complaints are found in such as are emaciated, and in those who are rapidly emaciating; in children who are going into marasmus, and in persons who have in them the foundation of consumption fairly well laid.
Delicate, waxy, anemic and emaciated subjects. In persons who are vehement, irascible. This expresses the person’s disposition somewhat as well as his internal constitutional state. Internally he is in a turmoil.
Subject to violent pulsations, complaints from electric changes in the atmosphere; violent palpitations and orgasms. In chlorotic girls who have grown too rapidly and have suddenly taken on weakness, pallor, green sickness, with menstrual difficulties. Ebullitions and congestions. Hemorrhagic constitutions. Small wounds bleed much; the prick of the needle will bubble forth much bright red blood. Hemorrhage from small wounds, from the nose, from the lung, from the stomach, from the bladder and from the uterus. Bleeding from ulcerations. False granulations that bleed. Purpura hemorrhagica. Black and blue spots. Blood settles beneath the conjunctiva, or beneath the skin anywhere. Bloody saliva; evidences of disorganized blood, or that the blood seems to become fluid. Small bruises take on broad blue spots. Blows much blood out of the nose. Petechiae all over the body, such as are found in typhoid fever, low forms of continued fever with hemorrhages. Fungous growths. Fatty degeneration is a marked feature of Phosphorus, and can be found in the liver, heart or kidneys. General dropsical condition. Bloating of the hand and feet, especially dropsical conditions after scarlet fever. The mucous membranes are all pale, such as is found after bleeding or in low forms of disease. A marked state of anemia and relaxed condition of the muscles. Muscles flabby. Fatty degeneration of the muscles. The genitals hang down. In the woman, relaxation of the pelvic organs, prolapsus and other displacements. Stiffness is a marked feature of Phosphorus. Stiffness on beginning to move. Limbs stiff like a foundered horse, especially in the morning. Rheumatic stiffness in all the limbs. Phosphorus has tearing, drawing pains in the limbs. Drawing, tearing pains in affected parts. Phosphorus complaints are worse in cold weather. The patient himself, generally considered, is sensitive to cold. All his complaints are worse from cold and cold applications, and better from heat and warm applications, except the complaints of the head and stomach, which are ameliorated from cold as will hereafter be described. Phosphorus has been very useful in weak, relaxed conditions of the joints following sprains, when the symptoms agree. Necrosis is another feature of Phosphorus, especially of the lower jaw, but may be useful in necrosis of any of the bones. Exostoses of the skull with tearing pains. Tearing, boring pains, especially at night. Phosphorus has cured polypi of the nose and ears. Scrofulous and glandular swellings. Glands enlarge, especially after contusions like Bellis, Glandular affections of weak, pale, sickly individuals, such as suffer from diarrhea, such as suffer from exhaustive conditions, abscesses, fistulous openings, with hectic fever. Abscesses with copious discharge of yellow pus. Malignant growths are greatly restrained by the use of Phosphorus, when the symptoms agree. Burning pains are observed everywhere. Burning in the brain, burning in the skin. Burning in the stomach, in the chest, and in various parts.
The Phosphorus patient is very sensitive to all external impressions; slight odors, noises, touch. Slight causes lead to exhaustion of either body or mind. Trembling throughout the body from slight causes, using the hand, from slight exertion, from debility, from coughing. Weakness prevails in a marked degree, finally becoming paralysis or paralytic weakness such as occurs in most forms of typhoid fever, with sliding down in bed, trembling and jerking of the muscles. Paralysis with formication and tearing in the limbs. Paralysis that comes with apoplexy. Jerking and twitching of the muscles such as has been found in paralysis. Spasms of the paralyzed parts. Tearing, drawing, burning pains throughout the body. The Phosphorus patient wants to be rubbed. He is generally better after sleep. Always wants to rest. Always tired. The Phosphorus patient undergoes great excitement. Tremulousness. Wild thoughts. Excitability, keeping him awake at night. Violent imaginations. Excitability even to ecstacy and clairvoyance. The mind may be overactive or may be extremely passive with loss of memory. Irritability of mind and body and great prostration of mind after slight mental effort, and of the body after slight physical exertion. Anxiety, gloomy forebodings. Fear that something will happen. Anxious at twilight. Anxious when alone. Apprehensiveness. Apprehensive during thunder-storms, which bring on many complaints; palpitation, diarrhea and trembling. Trembling of the whole body. Attacks of indigestion from fear. Fear in the evening, fear of death. Fear of strange old faces looking at him from the corner. Full of strange, insane imaginations. On the borderland of insanity. Inability to sustain a mental effort. Fear of apoplexy. Reflecting brings on headache and difficult breathing associated with apprehensiveness or sinking at the pit of the stomach. His fear seems to begin at the pit of the stomach. Apathy or indifference; indifferent to his friend and surroundings. Indifferent to his children. Answers no questions, takes no notice of his family and things about him, answers slowly, thinks sluggishly, seems dazed or in a stupor. Everything looks dark, he is weary of life, gloomy and says nothing. Dejected; a most marked case of hypochondriasis. Weeping, sad, hysterical; will uncover the body and expose his person. Violent, loquacious; delirium. Delirium of low forms of fever, or delirium of mania a potu. Maniacal attacks come on during sleep with fury and extreme violence, so that no one dares approach him, and this progresses to imbecility, silliness, weak brain, idiocy. Brain-fag from mental overwork and constant strain of eyes. Vertigo is a very common symptom throughout all of the complaints of Phosphorus. Staggering while walking as if intoxicated. Vertigo when in the open air; vertigo after eating; vertigo in the evening. Heaviness and confusion in the head and thing go round; great weakness of the head. All of these mental symptoms are worse from mental exertion; aggravated from noise. All symptoms are worse in the dark; worse when alone; sometimes worse from music; worse from excitement; worse from playing the piano.
The headaches of Phosphorus are congestive and throbbing. The blood mounts to the head. The headaches are ameliorated from cold and worse from heat, worse from motion, and better from rest, worse lying down. The patient is often compelled to sit upright, with great pressure upon the head and cold applications. The face is flushed and hot; burning in the brain. The warm room, warm surrounding, warm food, putting the hand into warm water will increase the headache. The complaints of the head like the complaints of the stomach are worse from heat, warm applications and from warm food, and better from cold things; while the complaints of the body are better from warmth and worse from cold. The headaches are most violent and are often attended with hunger or preceded by hunger; headaches with vomiting, red face, and scanty urine; uremic headaches; violent neuralgic pains darting, tearing, shooting through the head; pressing pains in the head. Periodical headaches, headaches brought on from mental exertion. Great heat in the head and stiffness in the muscles of the face and jaws. This is sometimes attended with coldness in the back of the head. Shocks through the brain. The headaches are worse from noise, from light; apoplectic congestion of the head. It has cured acute hydrocephalus and hydrocephaloid symptoms. Chronic inflammation of the meninges of the brain; softening of the brain; imbecility; insanity. Violent head pains; atrophy of the brain; medulla oblongata. The scalp is covered with dandruff; the hair falls out in patches, leaving bad places here and there. Great heat in the scalp; tension in the scalp and face and forehead as if bound by a bandage. Scaly eruptions on the bald places of the head; exostoses on the skull. The complaints of the head are brought on from becoming overheated. Sensation as if the hair were pulled; great soreness of the scalp; must let the hair hang down during headaches.
The eye symptoms are very numerous; burning, redness, congestion, enlargement of the blood-vessels. Objects look red and often blue in the field of vision, or objects sometimes look green and gray as is observed in incipient cataract. Colors, also, appear black before the eyes. Vision is vague; the eyes give out while reading; sees better in the morning, in the twilight. The eye symptoms, like Phosphorus in general, have amelioration after rest. Momentary blindness like fainting; seems to suddenly become blind; paralysis of the optic nerve; blindness after electric shocks, or after a stroke of lightning. It has cured glaucoma. It has cured inflammation of the retina in Bright’s disease. It has cured opacity of the vitreous humor. It has cured paralytic weakness of the various muscles of the eyes. It has cured paralysis of the third pair of nerves where there is falling of the lid; sub-acute inflammation of the eyes. Burning, redness, and smarting ameliorated from cold applications. The eyelids twitch and tremble; swelling of the eyelids; dropsical swelling of the eyelids; great darkness around the eyes; great circles around the eyes. It is a very useful remedy in malignant growths involving the eye, restraining very much the progress of the disease. The eye symptoms like the head and mind symptoms are such as often come on in brain workers; working under a bright light causing much determination of blood to the head in which the eyes as well as other parts suffer.
Phos. has a peculiar deafness. One on the most striking features of Phosphorus is inability to understand the articulations of the human voice. Hearing is difficult. He sometimes feels as if there were something over the ears; as if the ears were covered, obstructing the waves of sound. Violent itching in the ears; congestion of the external ear; itching, tearing, throbbing, burning pains within the ear. It has cured polypi in the ears.
The nose symptoms are also very numerous; inveterate nasal catarrh. He takes cold in the nose, but the most common seat of the Phosphorus cold is in the chest, and most of his difficulties begin in the chest, but Phosphorus cures nasal catarrh and coryza. There is painful dryness in the nose; constant sneezing and running from the nose of bloody water. Frequent alternations of fluent and stopped-up conditions of the nose; coryza with sore throat; stoppage of the nostrils; much sneezing and stopping of the nose alternating with dryness of the nose in scarlet fever; nostrils filled with green mucus; a copious nasal discharge of greenish-yellow, blood streaked mucus, worse in the morning; bad odor from the nose; frequent blowing of blood from the nose; copious hemorrhage from the nose of bright red blood; swelling of the nose, redness and shining; very sensitive to touch; necrosis of the bones of the nose. It has cured polypi of the nose, especially bleeding polypi. Fan-like motion of the nose, like Lycopodium.
The Phosphorus patient presents a sickly face, earthy, sunken and pale, such as we find in consumption and those about to go into consumption, and those suffering from deep-seated constitutional conditions; haggard, anemic. The color is changeable; swollen, edematous face; puffed under the eyes; lips and eyelids swollen. Again, red spots upon the cheeks, which appear in hectic fever; the hectic blush. Tension of the skin and of the face; tearing, shooting pains all through the face and about the eyes, from the temples and vertex down to the zygoma. Jerking, tearing pains in the teeth. The pains of the teeth are often ameliorated by warmth, while those of the head are ameliorated by cold. The pains of the teeth are worse when talking and eating, and worse after eating. It has violent neuralgias of the face involving the jaw and temples, with hot, bloated face, worse from taking and from eating. It has caries of the lower jaw, with great heat, burning and fistulous openings. Neuralgia of the face and teeth; has to be wrapped up at night; worse in windy weather. The countenance is sickly, sunken, declining, as if a serious sickness was coming.
The lips are parched, dry and bleeding. The lips become black, brown and cracked as in low forms of fever, and with necrosis of the lower jaw. Inflammation of the parotid gland, especially when it suppurates or there are fistulous openings. Rapid decay of the teeth. The gums bleed and settle away from the teeth.
Phosphorus is very useful for the bright red hemorrhage after the extraction of teeth. The tongue is swollen and speech is difficult. It is difficult to articulate. The taste in the mouth is bitter or sour, especially sour after taking milk; sometimes salty or sweetish; bitter after eating. Taste of hydrogen sulphide in the morning. The tongue is coated like fur; sometimes chalky-white, sometimes yellow; dry, cracked and bleeding; sordes on the teeth. Crusts form upon the mucous membranes of the mouth, gums, lips and tongue. The tongue is swollen and the papillae are engorged.
Dryness of the mouth and throat; sore, excoriated mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. The mouth may be covered with thrush, as in nursing sore mouth; bloody erosions of the mouth; nursing sore mouth. Much watery saliva and bloody saliva flows from the mouth. The saliva is copious, tasting sweetish, saltish or foul. The mucous membranes of the throat are like those of the mouth. Great dryness, roughness, rawness, excoriation, bleeding, and inflammation of the tonsil; inflammation of the throat; sensation of cotton in the throat; sensation of velvet in the throat. The tonsils are much swollen. Intense pain in the throat and burning in the throat that extends into the esophagus. Inability to swallow any nourishment because of paralysis of the esophagus or acute inflammation of the mucous membranes of the throat and esophagus; constriction of the esophagus. In Phosphorus there is violent hunger and very soon after eating the hunger returns again. Must eat during the chill. Must get up in the night to eat. Feels faint and is driven to eat. Ravenous hunger during headache; he knows that the headache is coming on because of his violent hunger; in periodical headaches. The hunger is often spasmodic, because at times there is aversion to food. Again, he wants to eat and as soon as the food is offered he does not want it. Thirst is one of the most constant features of Phosphorus. In acute and chronic complaints there is violent thirst for ice-cold drinks. Wants something refreshing; is ameliorated momentarily by drinking cold things, but the thirst appears as soon as the water gets warm in the stomach. Vomiting comes on as soon as the water becomes warm in the stomach, but there are many conditions where the ice-cold water agrees. Unquenchable thirst. When the water is vomited there is always unquenchable thirst. He wants cold food as well as cold drinks; refreshing, spicy things, juicy things; desire for wines and sour thing. Phosphorus often cures the violent longing in inebriates for alcohol. It simply resembles the congestion of the mucous membrane of the stomach. Aversion to sweets, to meat, to boiled milk, to salt fish, to beer, to puddings, to tea and coffee.
Many of the complaints of Phosphorus are ameliorated by eating. The nervous symptoms of Phosphorus drive the patient to eat and he feels better for a little while, and then he must eat again or the nervous symptoms will come on. Often he can sleep better after eating and cannot go to sleep until he eats something.
The stomach symptoms are numerous – pains, nausea, vomiting, burning. The stomach symptoms are ameliorated-by cold things and aggravated by warm things. The nausea and vomiting are brought on by putting the hand into warm water, from being in a warm room, from warm things and from taking warm things into the stomach. The nausea of pregnancy is cured when the woman cannot put the hands into warm water without bringing on vomiting. Another marked feature of Phosphorus is eructations of food. The food is eructated by mouthfuls until the stomach is emptied of the last meal. Constant nausea except when something cold is in the stomach. As soon as water becomes warm in the stomach it comes up. This very much resembles the vomiting and nausea of Chloroform, and Phosphorus is a great friend to the surgeon because he can nearly always antidote the stomach affections of Chloroform by Phosphorus. Vomiting of blood and violent vomiting of sour fluid; vomiting of bile and mucus; vomiting of black substances, coffee-ground substances. Awful sinking, gone feeling in the stomach. This sometimes comes at 11 o’clock like Sulphur. Pressing pains, burning pains, tearing pains in the stomach; pain in the stomach after eating; sensitiveness in the pit of the stomach; inflammation of the stomach. It has been a very useful remedy in cancer of the stomach, with coffee-ground vomiting and burning; coldness, as if freezing, in the pit of the stomach; paroxysms of knife-like pains in the stomach. The pains in the stomach are ameliorated by ice-cold things for a moment;spasmodic contractions of the stomach; hemorrhage from the stomach; vomiting of great quantities of clotted blood; long-standing dyspepsia; much flatulence; regurgitation of food; distended stomach and abdomen; ulceration of the stomach.
The liver furnishes us many symptoms of Phosphorus. Congestion of the liver, fullness, pain, hardness, fatty degeneration of the liver, hyperemia of the liver. Phosphorus is one of our most useful liver remedies; hard, large liver. With the stomach and liver symptoms there is commonly jaundice.
Very sensitive abdomen; painful to touch, rolling and rumbling. Sensation of emptiness in the abdomen; sunken feeling in the abdomen. The abdomen feels as if relaxed; hanging down sensation and sensation of great weight in the abdomen. Tympanitic abdomen such as occurs in typhoid fever. A marked feature in Phosphorus is the peculiar gurgling which begins in the stomach and gurgles along down through the intestines, attended with involuntary stool. This occurs in typhoid fever. The gurgling that occurs in Arsenicum is down the esophagus. Flatulence; colic; rending, tearing, cutting pains throughout the abdomen; stitching pains in the abdomen; violent neuralgic pains in the abdomen; inflammation of the bowel, of the peritoneum; appendicitis. Yellow, brown spots on the abdomen; petechiae over the abdomen during typhoid fever. Phosphorus is rich in symptoms of the rectum and stool; involuntary discharges from the bowels; copious emission of fluids; fetid, gushing stool; horribly offensive, yellow, watery stools The patient lies as if dying, the stools passing involuntarily; stools of white mucus; stools of slime intermingled with little specks like tallow; involuntary oozings from the constantly wide open anus. Hemorrhage from the bowels in typhoids, in low forms of disease; bloody discharges like meat washings, involuntary, on every motion. Burning in the rectum during stool. Protrusion of the rectum; protrusion of hemorrhoidal tumors. Sharp, stitching pains from the coccyx up the spine to the base of the brain drawing the neck backward, and this symptom occurs during stool. It has occurred during involuntary stool. After stool painful cramps in the rectum; burning in the anus; violent tenesmus; sinking feeling in the abdomen; obliged to lie down; exhaustion and fainting. The copious diarrhea is like the profuse flow of water from a hydrant. It is useful in cholera times and in cholera morbus. It is a useful medicine for chronic diarrhea with soft, thin stools. It has been a very useful remedy in cholera infantum. It has also cured dysentery with bloody mucus, scanty stools with violent tenesmus. It also cures inveterate constipation. The stool is hard, long, and slender, described in the books as like that of a dog. Alternating diarrhea and constipation in old people. Spasms of the rectum. Paralysis of the bowels so that it is impossible to strain at stool. Hemorrhage from the bowels. It has cured polypi of the rectum; inflammation of the rectum. It has many times cured bleeding, protruding hemorrhoids; hemorrhoids that burn. It has cured fissures of the anus. Among, many of these bowel symptoms the anus feels as if wide open.
Phosphorus is a useful remedy in diseases of the kidneys, especially diabetes, with sugar in the urine when there is great thirst for ice-cold things and ice-cold water. Gradual emaciation; gradual weakness; considerable heat of the head; coldness of the extremities, and sugar in the urine. Phosphorus will cure fatty degeneration of the kidneys. Renal calculi. No desire to pass urine though the bladder is full. There is a paralytic weakness which resembles the paralytic weakness throughout all the muscles of the body. He is unable to strain to pass the urine because such straining increases pain in the region of the bladder. Profuse, pale, watery urine; frequent and scanty or completely suppressed urine. Turbid, whitish urine; curdled like milk. Albuminous urine. Involuntary urination during sleep. Tearing in the urethra; twitching and burning in the urethra. Periodical sick headaches sometimes are preceded by scanty urine and sometimes by a copious watery flow of urine.
The male sexual organs furnish many symptoms of Phosphorus. Violent sexual desire driving him frantic. Erections frequent and painful day and night. Seminal emissions at night even without lascivious dreams. Sexual debility from the inordinate use of table salt. Impotence after excessive excitement and secret vice, preceded by over-excitement of the sexual organs. Frequent discharges day and night of thin, slimy, colorless fluid from the urethra. Sexual abuse with spinal disease. Discharges of prostatic fluid during a hard stool. Chronic urethral discharges due to hypertrophy of the prostate gland; gleety discharge. Swelling and soreness of the testes and cord; inflammation of the testes and cord. It has cured hydrocele following gonorrhea.
In the woman it is equally useful. Phosphorus has cured many cases of sterility supposed to depend upon violent sexual excitement. Violent sexual excitement with aversion to coition. Violent pain in the ovaries extending down the inner side of the thighs during menstruation caused by inflammation of the ovaries. Inflammation of the uterus during menstruation and during pregnancy or during pyemia. Copious hemorrhages from uterus, bright red, clotted blood after confinement, during menstruation or during the climacteric period. Frequent and profuse hemorrhages from the uterus caused from cancerous affection. The menstrual period is too early, flow bright red, lasting too long, is copious; during the menstrual period ice-cold feet and hand; nausea; pain in the back as if broken; blue ring around eyes; loss of flesh; much fearfulness. It has also menstrual suppression in consumptives with cough, bleeding from the nose, and spitting of blood. Violent sexual excitement driving to secret vice. Copious yellow leucorrhoea with great weakness; leucorrhoea instead of menses; white, watery leucorrhoea, acrid, excoriating; milky leucorrhoea copious when waking. The leucorrhoea is so excoriating that blisters form upon the genitals. Burning and smarting in the vagina. Stitching pains upward from the vagina into the pelvis. While there is violent sexual excitement during coition there is lack of sensation in the vagina, as if it were numb. Condylomata appear like fig-warts and excrescences about the genital and in the vagina. Bleeding warts. Erectile tumors on the external genitals. Dropsical swelling of the labia. Cauliflower excrescences with much bleeding. Painful, hard large nodosities in the female mammary glands. Fibroid tumors of the breast. Fibroid tumors of the uterus with copious hemorrhages.
During pregnancy and lactation violent sexual desire; vomiting of pregnancy. Much prostration, sinking, and trembling, puerperal convulsions; pain in the back, as if it would break. Increased secretion of milk out of season. Inflammation of the mammary glands with much neat, weight, and suppuration. Erysipelas of the breasts or of the genitals.
Inflammation of the larynx with hoarseness in the morning; husky voice; great sensitiveness of the larynx to touch and cold air; pain and burning in the larynx on taking; weakness in the vocal cord; violent tickling of the larynx while talking; constriction and spasms of the larynx; constant irritation to cough in the larynx; tuberculous condition of the larynx; bleeding; loss of voice; cannot speak a word on account of pain in the larynx; sensation of velvet in the larynx; rawness and smarting in the larynx. Phosphorus has cured many cases of croup, membranous croup, when all the symptoms were present. Every change of weather, from becoming overheated, and cold settle in the larynx, producing loss of voice and hoarseness, especially in public speakers and singers. Hoarseness and loss of voice; great dryness in the larynx and all of the air passages. Hard, dry, rasping cough that shakes the whole body from irritation in the larynx. The irritation travels down the air passages, affecting the trachea, along with difficult respiration; asthmatic breathing; clutching in the larynx; suffocation; dyspnea; spasms and constrictions of the chest. Violent, stridulous inspiration in the evening on falling asleep; fear of suffocation; labored breathing. Paralysis of the lungs; fullness in the chest after eating, much irritation in the larynx; difficult breathing; scraping of mucus from the larynx after eating.
In the chest, Phosphorus produces (oppression; anxiety, weakness and constriction going along with its chest complaints. Heaviness as if a great weight were lying upon the chest. With the cough, bronchitis, pneumonia and cardiac symptoms there is always more or less constriction of the chest as if bound, or as if bandaged, or as if tied tight with a string. Tightness felt over the sternum, and with all complaints great weakness of the chest; pressure as of a weight over the middle of the sternum; feeling of a rush of blood to the chest with or without violent pulsations. Sensation of heat in the chest mounting to the head; flushes of heat in the chest extending upward. Stitching pain in the chest; spasmodic pains in the chest; violent stitching pains in the left side of the chest better by lying on the right side. These are pains likely to occur in pleurisy or in pleurisy with pneumonia. Complaints of chest, worse in cold air. Rawness in the trachea extending into the lungs; burning in the chest; acute pain in the lower part of the lungs; violent pain in the chest with coughing. The patient is compelled to hold the chest with the hand. Inflammation of the lungs with anxiety, oppression, and expectoration of bright red blood. The Phosphorus patient suffers from copious hemorrhages from the lungs in phthisical conditions, in inflammation, inflammation of the bronchial tubes with intense fever and violent shaking cough; the body trembles with the cough; tearing pains in the sternum with the cough; suffocation and constriction of the chest. Pain in the larynx. The expectoration may be blood streaked or rust-colored as it is in pneumonia. It may be purulent. In the later stages it becomes thick, yellow, sweetish. Phosphorus is a useful remedy in old bronchial catarrhs, in complaints that date from pneumonia or from bronchitis. Every cold settles in the chest. The lungs seem to be weak. Again, in hepatization during pneumonia with hard, dry, hacking cough; in hepatization of the lung during pneumonia Phosphorus Sulphur and Lycopodium are the most frequently indicated medicines. Phosphorus is often the remedy to follow Arsenic when Arsenic has been suited to the restlessness, prostration, and anxiety that comes to a place where because of hepatization it is capable of accomplishing no more toward the cure of a case. If, then, the patient has thirst for ice-cold water, constriction of the chest, dry, hacking cough, paralytic weakness of the lungs, and expectoration of blood or frothy mucus Phosphorus is the best remedy. In pneumonia, there may be burning in the chest, burning in the head, hot cheeks, and fever; gesticulation and delirium; violent thirst for ice-cold water; fan-like motion of the nose; difficult breathing; catchy inspiration; lying on the back with the head thrown far back; short, dry cough. The carotids pulsate. Rawness in the chest; bruised feeling in the chest; pains are cutting. Burning or sharp and tearing in the lungs when coughing. Suffocation, or inspiration almost impossible, especially at the beginning of hepatization when the face becomes livid and the features pointed with cold sweat and, quick, hard pulse. Frothy expectoration in low forms of pneumonia known as typhoid pneumonia. Threatened paralysis of the lungs. Again, Phosphorus is a useful remedy when tuberculosis is about to make its appearance, in persons who are narrow-chested, slender, and of feeble vitality. All colds settle in the chest. After each cold, much rattling, hard cough that shakes the whole body, in persons who are feeble, pale, sickly, and disposed to hemorrhages. Cough comes on in cold air. Emaciation; emaciation of the chest and neck. Along with these conditions comes hectic fever in the last stages of phthisis; intense fever, red face, and night sweats; fever coming on in the afternoon and lasting until after midnight. A powder of Phosphorus very high will reduce this fever and make the patient comfortable until death. In all incurable cases after the fever has been reduced, Phosphorus should not be given, as it will intensify the fever and do just what it was given to avoid. It is not uncommon for a crisis to follow the administration of Phosphorus. Prolonged sweat and diarrhea, these should never be interfered with as they will soon stop of their own accord and the patient will be left in a state of quietude. Phosphorus is a dangerous medicine to give very high in some cases of phthisis, in the last stages of phthisis. In this case they should have received Phosphorus when they were yet curable. In these cases Phosphorus 30th may sometimes be used with safety and it will act as a test in doubtful cases to see whether reaction can be brought about. In such cases where reaction can be brought about the administration later of a still higher potency may be found useful, but in the beginning with Phosphorus in phthisical cases far advanced it is better not to go higher than the 30th or 200th. Phosphorus very low will act as a poison in really Phosphorus cases and the only safety some patients have had who have received Phosphorus so very low was due to the fact that the Phosphorus was not similar enough to either kill or cure.
Phosphorus has violent palpitation; worse from motion, and from lying on the left side especially in the evening; worse at night on waking, with orgasms of blood in the chest, accompanied by much suffocation. Tightness in the chest and palpitation over the body; pressure in the region of the heart. Phosphorus has cured endocarditis. Phosphorus has cured enlargement of the heart and dilatation and also fatty degeneration. With fatty degeneration where there is much venous stagnation, puffiness of the face, particularly under the eyelids. Phosphorus is often the remedy. In all of these cardiac affections thirst for very cold water will always be present. Internal heat; he wants something cold to cool his insides. Violent orgasms of blood in the chest from every excitement, from worry, and from anticipation. Phosphorus has many neuralgic pains upon the outer chest and yellow brown spots. There are many symptoms in the back; stiffness in the back and in the back of the neck, between the shoulders, and in the small of the back. Stiffness on rising from a seat. Sensation of intense heat in the back running up the back. The patient complains of a hot spine. Soreness in places up and down the spine; soreness; to touch between the shoulders; pulsations in various places in the back and in the whole spine. The coccyx is sensitive to pressure; pain in the coccyx as if ulcerated, preventing motion. Pain in the back during menstruation and during confinement as if the back would break. Spinal affections and inflammations. Weakness of the limbs after mental exertion, prolonged physical exertion, being overheated, sunstroke and sexual excesses; paralytic weakness. Myelitis; softening of the spine; progressive spinal paralysis. Phosphorus has been a useful remedy in locomotor ataxia, palliating many of the symptoms; the pains; restoring the reflexes. Phosphorus is often suitable and restrains the progress in multiple sclerosis where there is much weakness and trembling of the extremities. Phosphorus has cured caries of the vertebrae in scrofulous children. Phosphorus is a broad remedy in various diseases of the spine.
In the limbs we have paralytic weakness extending to both arms and legs, with trembling and numbness; paralysis of one or of both lower extremities or of the upper extremities with trembling and numbness. The hand and arms become very cold. The limbs emaciate and the veins become distended; the arms bum; periodical constriction of the fingers; numbness increasing to complete insensibility of the fingers; finger tips feel numb and insensible. Great restlessness in the lower limbs; weariness in the lower limbs; weakness in the lower limbs, especially observed on waking, unsteady and trembling gait; paralysis of the lower limbs. Acute inflammation of the joints of the knees and hip joint. Burning, tearing pains in the limbs from exposure to cold. Rheumatism of the joints and muscles; stiffness of the joints on becoming cold. All complaints of the limbs are ameliorated by heat, while complaints of the head and stomach are ameliorated by cold. The complaints of the chest are ameliorated by heat. The lower limbs are covered with fetid sweat. The lower limbs are gangrenous. Inflammation of the periosteum of the tibia. Ulcers upon the lower limbs; feet icy-cold. The Phosphorus patient wants to lie down exhausted; he is unable to walk; staggers when walking from weakness and from vertigo. A gradual progressing weakness creeps over him; weakness; trembling; faintness, jerking and twitching of the muscles; spasms of the paralyzed parts. Epilepsy; convulsions; neuralgic pains of the various parts of the body and of the limbs especially, ameliorated by heat. It has cured multiple neuritis.
Restless sleep; starts in sleep; fees in the morning as if he has not slept enough, yet most of the complaints and aches are ameliorated by sleep, especially the head symptoms; walks in his deep. He sleeps on the right side. Lying on the left side causes anxiety and pain in the heart and palpitation. Late falling to sleep in the evening; lies awake thinking about the affairs of the day and borrowing trouble. Phosphorus is a usual remedy in low forms of typhoid fever on the symptoms previously mentioned.
There are many eruptions in Phosphorus. The eruptions are dry and scaly; dry furfuraceous herpes; blood blisters; purple spots; yellow spots on the chest and abdomen; formication and itching in the paralyzed parts; numbness of the skin; irregular brown spots upon the body; psoriasis of the knees, legs, elbows, and eyebrows; hives and blood boils; phlegmonous inflammation. Chronic suppurating openings with hectic fever; fistulous openings; ulcers bleed on appearance of the menses; deep eating ulcers; indolent ulcers; malignant ulcers. Very useful in cancerous ulcers that bleed and take on fungous appearance, and in low forms of scarlet fever where the rash is very dusky or disappears and suppuration begins in various places about the neck or upon the extremities or upon the ends of the fingers and there is violent thirst for cold water, purple appearance in the throat, and dry, hacking, shaking cough.
Patients in low fever want to be mesmerized, they are starving for vital energy.
From lectures given by Kent at the Dunham school.
Pupils of the Dunham class, ladies and Gentlemen: – It gives me great pleasure to see so many faces here today. It is a great surprise tome to see so many here. Twenty years I have been endeavoring to establish the fact that there is a Low of Cure, that Hahnemann discovered it, and that it furnished the best system of practice to the minds of men. But it does not seem to me that I have ever heard of so many as I see here to – day that have found cause to believe it. Really only a limited number have made it known to me, and hence, it gives me great pleasure to see so many faces. The practice of medicine based upon homeopathy will always be small, I think. At least, for a great many years to come. We will always be in the minority. You know it is wrong to suppose that the majority is always in the right. Majorities are almost always wrong. We very often have a report of a committee, a committee, a minority report, which really should be examined an thought over. We probably will be the minority report as long as we live – the minority committee.
I do not wish to take up time amusing ourselves by nonsensical introductions. I was invited here to lecture on the Polychrests, and to address my remarks particularly to the Dunham class. Hence, I have concluded to take up perhaps a remedy that you will have as much use for in this climate, I should think, as any other, the Polychrest Phosphorus . Pain Phosphorus , proves by hahnemann, and about all that has ever been known about it has been given to us by Hahnemann. It is a grand old remedy. It has its complaints in winter, and it has its complaints in summer. It is suitable in acute and violent rapid complaints, and it is suitable in the most chronic complaints – even those who are born with vitality enough to live only to puberty – with the aid of Phosphorus they can live to be 80. Such a remedy is worth something. But it is only so useful when given upon the plan laid down by hahnemann after the proving and under the law, when it is sufficiently similar to cure, and there is no arbitrary law or place where the physician must begin, or must end. Phosphorous is a deep acting medicine. It is a very strange medicine. It is a medicine that meets with wonderful and contrary indications. To say that it is always relieved by heat, or always relieved by cold, is not true. At times it is one, and again it is another. Perhaps the most general thing that can be talked about in Phosphorus is mind, because mind is man. The mental state of Phosphorus is one of excitability; awful fear; anxiety; ebulition of blood in the brain; the head and chest fairly boil; he quivers and shivers and shakes in his excitement. He is distressed from every mental effort; from every little overheating of the room. The chest and head enter into a turnoil, and then the mind. Very little emotion causes his heart to palpitate, and the pulse to flutter; the mind to enter into confusion, and the head to become hot; and fear, and anxiety, and restlessness, and nervousness result. Women will say “that is nervousness,” “I am nervous.” But we find it in persons who gave suffered long from disappointment, from repeated disappointments; we find it in persons who have had many griefs, going out of one grief into another.
Fear may be said to be one of the most striking features of Phosphorus . Awful fear, anxious, fear when alone and especially in the evening, and it grows as night comes on; like many of the mental states of Phosphorus , they come on towards evening, and grow in the night. The greatest times of agony of all complaints are, morning, evening and night, morning, evening, growing into the night as night advances. This fear, anxiety and restlessness and nervousness preventing sleep, preventing from performing any mental occupation, preventing from doing business. It is an overwhelming distress, a disabling distress – that is, as to the chronic state. In acute affections he cannot sleep and he goes into the nightly delirium that begins with fear. Early in the evening fear comes on, and the fear grows and intensified as the fever grows and intensifies, and as he grows hotter he fairly loses his mind and delirium comes on, active and violent, then passive delirium follows. As the fever goes on from day to day the delirium and fear become obliterated and the delirium becomes more passive until he is in a complete state of passive sinking, coma and unconsciousness. These fade – these gradually fade – from fear and restlessness and give a delirium, through the more active and into the passive.
Now, as it comes on at night persons who are insane, persons who are about to become insane, persons who are acutely ill, sit up in bed, or sit in a chair, with horror depicted upon the face, as if some horrible thing would creep out of the corner, as if some awful thing was about to come, as if something was going to happen – and the Phosphorus patient who is on the borderland of insanity walks up and down his room, when alone, with fear. Something awful is about to happen. “What if I should jump out of this window to – night! What if there should be a fire to – night!” He intensified this, and it grows upon him until it fairly seems as if his rapid heart would burst through his chest with the palpitation; and so the excitement grows upon him.
Look at all the symptoms of Phosphorus and you will see they intermingle more or less with fear, with excitement, with anxiety, with an awful state of sensitiveness to all the surroundings. Almost a clairvoyant sensitiveness. Often Phosphorus patients will tell you it seems that the very atmosphere is filled with ghosts. That the air trembles and quivers with their horrible presence, and they dread to be alone for they feel them.
Perhaps one of the next most striking features of Phosphorus is the general physical state. Some of the symptoms of Phosphorus are tremendously aggravated by being in cold air. By becoming cold. The neuralgia of the limbs, of the face, of the eyes, and of the outermost portions of the head. In run – down people, persons who, if they take another turn will go into phthisis, but now they are subject to neuralgia. These must be ameliorated by heat. They must have something hot. These must wrap up the head to relieve neuralgia. They must wrap up the knees to relieve the pains. But that is not always true of Phosphorous , for there are other symptoms. The congestive hot head is the opposite, and he wants the head out of the window to cool it off. the head is so hot he cannot lie down because it increases the intensity of the heat in the head. When they must be cold it is the mental, it is the brain trouble, it is the cerebral excitement. When they are ameliorated by heat it is those anemic constitutions that are run into neuralgia and affections of that sort. But let us see further. Phosphorus is sometimes so peculiar by its relation to cold that it can be distinguished even when the symptoms otherwise might be doubtful or not quite understood or clear. so that all the congestive head symptoms and stomach symptoms, whether they go together or are separate and in separate states, are ameliorated by cold ice, cold, the colder the better. The chest symptoms, the extreme symptoms, and the neuralgia symptoms are ameliorated by heat. Taking two opposite conditions like that we at once see the difficulty in following the plan of taking all the symptoms and getting the rubric amelioration by heat, or taking all the symptoms and getting the amelioration from cold. It does not work. Take, for instance, the stomach symptoms. The stomach symptoms are often extremely troublesome, and hey are ameliorated from cold and aggravated by warmth. We observe this in the drinking of water, when it becomes warm in the stomach. Whenever there are gastric symptoms with vomiting, with nausea, we observe a cold pack of ice on the stomach is very grateful, bit as soon as the water that is drank gets warm in the stomach it comes up. The hands places in warm water will so aggravate nausea and vomiting that retching of a horrible character is present until the hands are again put into the air. Nausea and vomiting are relieved by cold upon the head, by being in a cold room. For instance, you have a picture. I see old practitioners here; no doubt you have seen what I am going to say, many times. Take, for instance, a woman in pregnancy; nausea and vomiting for the last six weeks or two months, until she is emaciated to a skeleton. Intense thirst for ice cold water, and when she can take no more, and it has been in the stomach long enough to get warmth it comes up. She puts her hands into cold water and she vomits. It is often the first sign of pregnancy among women who wash their own dishes. You are almost sure that will run into a Phosphorus case. In a few days she cannot go into a warm room, she cannot put her hands in water. That is one side of Phosphorus . Now, Phosphorus , you remember, has a head and a stomach.. Head hot, cannot lie down, wants a cold cloth bound around it, and wants it changes often. But how is it with the chest? Everything that has been said of the stomach becomes the opposite when we undertake to characterize the cough of Phosphorus , the chest symptoms of phosphorus , the bronchitis of Phosphorus , that is I mean when Phosphorus can be the curative remedy, when Phosphorus is the similimum. Notice as soon as he enters the cold air he coughs. When he comes into a warm room he is often more comfortable. Heat applied to the chest comforts him. Sleeping in a warm room relieves the cough. So it is with Phosphorus as to its heat and cold. Then Phosphorus has, as we have seen, the great excitement and fear. It is a great key, an open door to Phosphorus to the mental state, but its relations to heat and cold is another open door to Phosphorus . Another grand feature of Phosphorous is its hemorrhagic state. That will open the door very often to conditions of hemorrhage, to the conditions of the patient where there are hemorrhages. Bright red blood, copious flowing of blood. Small wounds bleed much. Extracting a tooth will be followed by hemorrhage. Hemorrhage from the bowels, it matters not what is the matter with him the hemorrhagic stage comes on. So Phos . is a hemorrhage remedy. It is full of complaint where hemorrhage comes in a most unexpected way. A wonderfully useful remedy for all sorts of hemorrhage, when the remedy a green with all the symptoms. Of course it must mean that in any remedy selected in any case the right remedy must be the remedy that corresponds to the largest number of symptoms.
The head symptoms of Phosphorus , if we should take them up now more in turn, the most striking ones are, congestive hot head ameliorated by cold, worse from lying down, and particularly worse from lying on the left side. Is not that singular? But this brings out something that is singular all the way through. It is the first time we have spoken of it, lying on the left side, but if think of it for a moment and read the text through we will be astonished – and when anything in the materia medica astonishes us it is worth while to think a moment, for such things are said to be peculiar, to be characteristic. Worse lying on the left side, and as we think about it the anxiety is worse from lying on the left side, the head is worse from lying on the left side. The complaints of the chest, and especially when the right lung is affected. The pains in the right side of the chest are worse from lying upon the left side. His cough is worse from lying on the left side. Vomiting will sometimes come on from lying on the left side. His cough is worse from lying on the left side. Vomiting will sometimes come on from lying on the leftside. But as we go on with the head we find he is better from pressure. Worse from cold pressure upon the head. The headache is a violent one, grows worse in the evening and into the night. While many symptoms are ameliorated by sleeping, the headache is generally found better if he can sleep. Sleep does not always ameliorate Phos ., The sleep of Phos , for the headache and the mind we have mentioned.
Terrible dreams, always furious, dreams of distress. Dreams that make the patient cry out. Nightmare. Walking in sleep. there are so commonly associated with the anxiety, restlessness, with the nervousness, with the fear, with the head congestions. But as we go on with the study of Phos . we find there is a general character becomes fully as important because they are made up of modalities as the individual symptoms themselves. There are two important things, of course, the symptoms themselves and their modalities and their modifications, as to the symptoms individually, collectively and their modifications. The eye is full of interesting Phos . symptoms. Ameliorated by cold washing, cold applications. Eye inflammatory conditions. Chronic catarrhal affections of a general character. Old catarrh of the nose. Hemorrhage from the nose. All the common odors the Phos . patient is sensitive to. They are nauseating. Causes sickness at the stomach, and even things that are not ordinarily offensive are often offensive to the Phos . patient. But we go down into the throat and into the larynx, and there we do find much more striking features. Every difficulty settles in the larynx or in the bronchial tubes. He is sensitive to every draft, sensitive to every whether change. Sensitive to cold weather, cannot live when there are cold weather changes because he has such a sensitive larynx. Especially speakers and singers break down with tuberculosis of the larynx, with catarrh of the larynx. One striking feature of the larynx – every note that he utters, every word is like a blow in the larynx. That is, the larynx is painful, and every time he speaks or utters a word he feels as if it was something striking a blow. He carries the hand to the larynx, and he finds it is sensitive to touch. This is especially Phos . when it is acute. When it dwindles off from its very acute state and becomes more chronic the symptoms to loss of voice, is especially noticed. The larynx is full of mucus, and he is always clearing his throat, when he can talk a little better. The trouble goes down into the chest. Cold settles in the chest, there is rawness and tightness in the chest, constriction, and cough, which causes him to sit up. Cough which causes him to sit up, with trembling, violent, exhaustive cough, worse from lying down forces him to sit up, ameliorated by warmth, by hot water bags over the chest. Cold air brings on the trouble. Phos . has inflammation of all the organs of the chest, but especially of the lungs. It permeates the right lung, he cannot lie on the right side. He even has double pneumonia. When there is double pneumonia it will be found that he can lie only on the back. He cannot lie on the left side. After he has given the usual history of pneumonia with the dullness that you all know, the dullness on percussion he has passed through the usual earlier stage, namely, the cough and inability to lie upon the left side – and the cough is increased if the room is not kept pretty middling warm, and he wants ice cold water all the time. We will not always have the stomach symptoms in connection with this, but it may sometimes come without the stomach symptoms, vomiting the water when it becomes warm. If course, that would make the whole picture complete. We do not always have it; but the chest symptoms, then can be attended with hemorrhage. The patient may be threatening to go into phthisis. That will be the usual symptoms, with the general that have been described already.
Perhaps the next most striking feature to look into Phos . for would be the abdominal symptoms. The abdominal symptoms of Phos . are very distressing. There is at times very serious pains, at times burning. Tympanitic abdomen. Great soreness in the abdomen. Now, these states come with many diseases. When found with typhus of continued fever, Phos . has cured many cases of this disease that we now – a – days have so much fear of, the peritoneal inflammations, such as come in the right leocecal fossa and take hold of the appendix. That beautiful appendix. I have seen Phos . wipe out that trouble many times, many times. And it leaves it without any complications, or anything to fear, or anything to dread, But the great sensitiveness in the abdomen, the desire for very cold water, the inability to lie on the left side in this place are striking feature. Are features that go through the whole remedy, are features that are distinguishing. We are sometimes led astray by little symptoms.
the type of fever accompanying most of the inflammatory conditions of Phos . is a continued fever. It has other fevers, it has intermittent fever, it has remittent fever, but the fevers if they last long enough gradually grow towards a continued fever, the tendency is towards a continued fever, and hence it might be thought the typhus, the common continued fever, is one of the most common types for Phos to travel towards, and it cures even in the most distressing case. Even when the danger is extreme, when it seems such a patient must succumb to the disease, Phos. takes hold and corresponds to this continued fever and breaks it, interrupts it, reduces it, reduces its changes, its character, and saves the life of the patient.
I have not anywhere near covered this remedy, I have only said a few things about it. My travels last night have almost ruined my voice, for I struck a draft myself which makes me think I may need a dose of Phos . before I get out of it. BUt as I have only touched upon the remedy, the entire remedy, I shall be glad to say only a few things about it. It is impossible to take up the symptoms of a proving and go through it in the form of a lecture, it is something to be read, and a very tedious thing to read, and if what has been said makes you read the symptoms of the proving, makes you better judge, then something has been gained. I think you for your attention.