Part 9

A man affected with lepra, and who had sought refuge in the solitary regions of the Amazone, took, by the advice of an Indian whom he met there, a considerable quantity of a juice known under the name of Assacù, flowing from the trunk of a tree, which has been described by Willdenow, under the name of hura braziliensis. He was cured; and the president of the province of Para, informed the imperial government of it. Since then, this juice has been very generally used by leprous patients without, however, curing them.

The first and third provers of this drug, on a voyage to Brazil, in 1842, had both been attacked with the lepra. Under homœopathic treatment they seemed both to have got well, though one might have inferred from the gravity of their symptoms, that they had been palliated rather than cured. The frightful symptoms of compression of the spinal marrow, which supervened in the case of one of the provers, point to the Assacù as a powerful remedy for various forms of myelitis. The symptoms of nervous excitement, the twitching, the irritability of the temperament exhibited by all the provers, favor the doctrine that the lepra is a particular lesion of the nervous system. If the exanthems and the insensibility of the skin characteristic of the lepra, have been less marked in our provings, it is undoubtedly because these phenomena belong to some chronic form which a continued use of the drug and a real poisoning are alone capable of producing.

These four provings have been instituted with a single drop of the fifth attenuation. It is our rule to avoid repeating the dose lest the chronological succession of the symptoms which we regard as important, should be disturbed. We do not believe that repeated doses can do much good, and if a prover should not experience any effects from one dose, we should prefer dropping this proving, and resort to some other drug, to which his organism should be more sensible.

First prover: Aug. Joly, 29 years of age, bilious-nervous temperament, healthy constitution.

First day.—Took one drop of the 5th attenuation at ten o’clock at night.

1. One hour after, itching at the ribs and sternum, at the biceps and the posterior parts of the right arm. Doughy mouth, in the morning, on waking. Dreams about a ball, about houses in process of erection. In the morning, itching at the arms, legs, outer parts of the tibia. 5. The upper and lower eyelids are inflamed and blueish. Itching at the right arm, at the lower and inner portion of the humerus, owing to a little pimple which is forming. Taste of blood in the mouth. Whizzing in the ears, especially the right. Clusters of miliary pimples on the back, arms, legs and chest. 10. Irritated by the least contrariety. Desire to vomit, sick stomach. Rheumatic pain at the left arm. He looks weary as if he had been carousing all night, though he slept well all night. Pinching at the right side of the tongue. 15. Lancination in the canal of the urethra. Prickling around the eyes, and especially around the right one. Sensation as if small pimples would break out on the inside of the eyelids. Nervous beating in the eyelids. Rheumatic pain at the sacrum, especially when stooping. 20. Contusive pain at the lumbar region. Miliary eruption in the joints.

Second day.—Dry mouth in the morning. Acute pain in the lumbar region and at the sacrum, as from a fall. Smoky taste of the water which is drank at breakfast. 25. Pain in the ileo-femoral articulation. Pain all along the left thigh. Sneezing, and frequent blowing, as when a catarrh is about setting in, followed by involuntary discharge from the nose of a lemon-colored mucus, with tickling. Constant pain in the lower part of the lumbar regions, worse when stooping or sitting down. Lancinating pain at the top of the head. 30. Slight desire to vomit at eleven o’clock in the morning. Dizziness. He dreams that he was swimming in a river with warm and dark-green water; afterwards that he was on a plantation in Brazil, where men drew water from a yellow pond. Moist, intermittent heat, mounting every fifteen minutes from the feet to the face. Prickling at the right eye. 35. Sense of heat mounting to the clavicles. (At a quarter of ten o’clock:) Dry nose, he cannot blow it; with itching at the interior of the nose.

Third day.—In the morning, the pain at the sacrum had disappeared. (At ten o’clock and a half:) The pain at the sacrum returns worse, after moving a box. Burning at the right index-finger, a red spot extending from the nail to the second phalanx. Numbness; almost amounting to insensibility. 40. (At half past twelve:) Pain as from a splinter under the thumb-nail. In the evening, tickling under the arms and along the dorsal spine. No sleep at night, frequent waking, feverish agitation.

Fourth day.—Heat in the hands, in the morning. At two o’clock, a small vesicular pimple on the back of the left hand; for four hours. 45. Stiffness in the trapezoid muscle, near its attachment at the occiput. Pain at the left forearm as from a blow. Small vesicular pimples, and itching at the ribs, arms, and at every prominent process of the bones.

Fifth day.—In the morning, the pimples on the arms have almost disappeared; there remains only a little itching at the sternum. Heat at the tips of the right fingers. 50. Sensation as if a small portion of the nail of the right index-finger had become detached. At half past six in the evening, heat and passing sweat. At half past seven in the evening, sensation of burning, smarting on the left side of the chin, in the beard, as from an incipient tetter. Sensation under the masseter muscle, as from a recent blow on the parotid. At eight o’clock in the evening, the spot becomes sensible to contact; a small swelling is observed extending below the zygomatic arch. 55. Sensation at the supinator muscle of the forearm, as from an incipient tetter. Small pimples on the inner surface of the lower lip. Stiffness of the trapezoid muscle and the neck. Prickling as from dust, at the border of the lower lid of the right eye. 60. Itching at the back, legs, arms, at the same time.

Sixth day.—Fleshy excrescenses on the inner surface of the lips. At four o’clock, weariness in the legs, in going up-stairs. At eight o’clock in the evening, painful stiffness of the neck. The pain in the masseter muscle, which had already decreased in the morning, disappeared entirely in the evening. Weight in the testicles in walking, at five o’clock in the evening. 65. Taste of blood in the throat before breakfast.

Seventh day.—Itching at the right lower eyelid, as if a pimple would appear. At three o’clock, sensation as of dust in the left eye. Sense of weight at the eyes, as if they had been strained.

Eighth day.—No sleep all night. 70. Pressive pain at the cranium. Heat in the nails of the left hand.

Ninth day.—Straining sensation in the upper part of the sacrum, preventing him from standing erect, at noon. Taste of blood in the throat before breakfast. Sputa mixed with blood. 75. Sense of giving way in the knee-joint, in going down-stairs, at two o’clock. At four o’clock, pain in the renal region, which keeps increasing; it decreases at five o’clock. Prickling in the left eye, and intolerable itching, with nervous irritation which spreads to the heart, but passes off soon.

Tenth day.—Prickling in the left eye as from dust. Smarting sensation in the beard as from a pimple at each hair, at nine o’clock. 80. Burning sensation at the inner canthus of the right eye, at half past nine in the evening. The carunculæ lachrymales look inflamed.

Eleventh day.—Itching at the anterior surface of the tibia, at night, and smarting sensation as from a tetter. Appearance of a small red circle, with a small dark-red pimple in the middle; followed by peeling off. Itching at the hairy scalp, especially behind and in the mastoid process, as from a tetter. 85. Sensation as if he had torn off a hang-nail, or as from a splinter in the ring-finger of the left hand. At ten o’clock, smarting at the bend of the right elbow, on the outside.

Twelfth day.—Tickling at the left arm, with small vesicular pimples. Itching in the beard, with small pimples which form a crust under the chin. Itching and small crusty pimples on the hairy scalp. 90. Constrictive sensation at the anus; at half past five o’clock.

Thirteenth day.—Painful sensation at the upper and lateral portions of the sacrum, as if strained or bruised. Clusters of small miliary pimples at the bend of the elbow, with redness around the pimples after scratching them. The pimples cease to be vesicular; other pimples appear on the insteps. Prickling sensation in the eyes all day, with redness and smarting at the border of the lids. 95. Sensation as if there were dust or foreign bodies in the eyes. The right eye is more sensible than the left. Weariness in the legs, after noon. Pain in the left knee as from a sprain, with lancinations below the pain.

Fourteenth day.—Contractive sensation below, and at the right side of the coccyx. 100. Rheumatic pain at the left side of the neck, the splenius, complexus and trapezoides muscles.

Fifteenth day.—Rheumatic pain at the neck, with difficulty of turning the head to the left side, in the morning. Pain in the head like a weight on the skull, extending to the mastoid processes. Sense of loathing with nausea. Oppression at the stomach when standing erect. 105. Pale face, with rings around the eyes and redness at the margin of the eyelids. Pains in the head like a beating in the sides and at the vertex, reverberating in the mastoid processes, and extending to the sterno-mastoid muscles. Sense of constriction in the upper part of the throat. Yellowish, heavy and frothy expectoration, ever since he took his drug. The affective sphere is very active. 110. Painful stiffness of the neck, which prevents one from turning the head to the left side. Sensation, in closing the eyes, as though the eyelids were cold. Pain from the occiput to the vertex, with beating, and acute pains.

Sixteenth day.—Horrid pain in the sacro-lumbar region, at the articulation of the last lumbar vertebra and sacrum, when attempting to raise a weight. Pain as when straining a ligament; numb pain in the left thigh, along the course of the sciatic nerve. 115. Inability to stoop without experiencing acute pains in the sacro-lumbar region; he is obliged to lie down. Fainting when trying to sit down, caused by the violence of the pain at the sacrum; sense of tearing. Nervous spasms, convulsions, cramps in the calves and toes during the fainting spell. Sense of shuddering at the rectum. Tickling like worms creeping along in the rectum. 120. In spite of the pains, he slept pretty well in the night, from the fifteenth to the sixteenth. Desire to urinate, every half hour. He urinates a long time. Watery urine, with a greenish tint. Cramp in the right middle, and ring-finger. 125. Pulse interrupted for two minutes, ringing in the ears, roaring in the head, beating in the temples. During and after the fainting-spell disposition to love everybody, especially those around you. He often thinks of death, but he is not afraid of dying; he even feels as though he would die without regret. He reproaches himself with everything bad he has done, even the least trifles, and considers himself very guilty for having done them. During the nervous attacks, he thinks of his salvation. The sense of smell is very acute, he even smells persons at a distance.

Seventeenth day.—130. The pain at the sacrum seems to decrease, but he is not yet able to rise from bed, nor stir about in it, he has to remain lying on the back. He has an appetite, but eats little. A sort of painful glandular swelling behind the masseter muscle, below the right ear. Dulness of the head, in front. Sense of oppression at the forehead.

Eighteenth day.—135. Frequent waking at night. He wakes earlier than usual. Doughy mouth, in the morning. Foul, bloody sputa, of the color of chocolate with milk. The pain at the sacrum is feebler, it seems to have spread over a larger space, rises a little towards the dorsal and lumbar muscles, and to the dorsal vertebræ. 140. The head, above the eyebrows, is still somewhat dull. Weakness in the finger-joints and wrists. The gland at the neck continues painful, with lancinations. Taste of blood in the throat. Flushes of heat. 145. The breathing is painful, as if there were a sore in the lumbar region.

Nineteenth day.—Deep and long sleep. Nosebleed, in the morning. Pimple at the forehead. Weight above the eyes, he is unable to read long. 150. Sense of weariness in the arms, though lying down. The pain at the sacrum decreases; sometimes, however, it rises again to the cervical vertebræ. Prickling in the eyes. A cluster of pimples breaks out at the wrist, on the external and inferior surface of the radius; they are vesicular, (like those which he had after his return from Brazil.) Bloating sensation in the eyes. 155. Throbbing at the sacrum, without pain. Pale face, eyes sunken, with redness around the eyelids.

Twentieth day.—No stool from the sixteenth to the twentieth day. Hard and difficult stool. The pain at the sacrum is much less, though he still feels a violent throbbing in this region, but painless. 160. Rose at eight o’clock, his legs were weak and his head felt heavy; he laid down again an hour after, with very cold feet. He feels a pain at the iliac bones, though not all the time. There are fever pimples on the arm, and the remaining pimples contain a little water which spirts out when pressed. Sensation in the glutei muscles as if bruised. Full and slow painless beatings in the sacro-lumbar region.

Twenty-first day.—165. Restless night, dreams about crime, dead bodies, children with their heads half cut off, and of others whose heads were being cut. Pain in the glutei muscles as if bruised, now on the right, then on the left side. Pain as if bruised at the sacrum, with heat mounting to the face, at nine o’clock in the morning, shortly after rising. Cramp in the toes. Beatings in the left temple. 170. Painful stitch and beating sensation between the shoulder-blades.

Twenty-second day.—Lascivious dream with emission. Heat mounting to the face, with oppression of the chest. Acute pain in one of the right toes. Weight at the sacrum, but less bruising in the glutei muscles; weakness in the knee joints, with cracking, either in going up or down-stairs, 175. Sensation as if a warm liquid were flowing from a sore in the lumbar region. Heat mounting to the face, at seven o’clock in the evening. Weakness of the legs in going up or down-stairs.

Twenty-third day.—Restless night, heat and sweat all night. Dream about work, vast business. 180. Dizziness at two o’clock, waves before the eyes; the sight becomes dim when writing. Sparks and zig-zag movements before the eyes, when walking or sitting. Weak legs. Weight in the upper lids. Frontal headache. 185. Pressure at the forehead, with damp coldness at the feet and hands. The headache extends to eyebrows and eyes. Short-lasting oppression at the throat, in the region of the tonsils. The eyes are red, with blue dark margins; face pale, yellow, dull. Less pain in the renal region; but he is unable to stand any length of time without experiencing an uneasiness in the stomach which extends to the chest with oppression. 190. Sclerotica red, inflamed, and the capillaries injected. Beating pressure at the sclerotica. Weakness of the knee-joint, when walking or going up and down-stairs. Hiccough four hours after eating.