Kent's - Classical Homeopathy Online

EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM [eup-per] [Kent’s](Boneset) Every time I take up one of these old domestic remedies I am astonished at theextended discoveries of medical properties in the household as seen in their domestic use. All throughthe Eastern States, in the rural districts, among the first old settlers, Boneset-tea was a medicine forcolds. For every cold in the head, or running of the nose, every bone-ache or high fever, or headachefrom cold, the good old housewife had her Boneset-tea ready. Sure enough it did such things, and theprovings sustain its use. The proving shows that Boneset produces upon healthy people symptoms likethe cold the old farmers used to suffer from.The common winter colds through the Eastern States and the North are attended with muchsneezing and coryza, pain in the head, as if it would burst, which is aggravated from motion, chillinesswith the desire to be warmly covered; the bones ache as if they would break; there is fever, thirst, and ageneral aggravation from motion. Such common every day cold correspond sometimes to Eupatoriumand sometimes to Bryonia. These two remedies are very similar, but the aching in the bones is markedin Eupatorium. If this state goes on for a few days the patient will become yellow, the cold will settle inthe chest, a pneumonia may develop, or an inflammation of the liver, or an attack commonly called abilious fever. Such fevers frequently call for Bryonia and Eupatorium, each fitting its own cases.These remedies are especially useful throughout New England, New York Ohio, the North andCanada. They do not have this kind of a cold very frequently in the warmer climates, but Eupatorium isoften indicated in the warmer climates for fevers, yellow fever, bilious fever, break-bone fever andintermittent fever. It seems to be useful in one kind of complaints in one climate and in another kind ofcomplaints in another climate.In the Southwest and the West, in the valleys of the great rivers, Eupatorium cures complaintsbeginning as if the back would break, great shivering from head to foot spreading from the back, greatsensitiveness to cold, congestive headaches, flushed face, yellow skin and yellow eyes, pain in theabdomen, and in the region of the liver, inability to retain any food, nausea from the sight and smell offood; the bones ache as if they would break, the fever runs high, the urine is of a mahogany color, thetongue is heavily coated yellow, and there is nausea and vomiting of bile. That gives the picture ofEupatorium in the Mississippi Valley, in the Ohio Valley, in Florida and Alabama, and all through theSouthern States. The most prominent symptoms are the vomiting of bile, the aching of the bones as ifthey would break, the pains in the stomach after eating, and the nausea from the thought and smell offood. The stomach is very irritable; the thought of food gags him. The patient desires to keep still, butthe pain is so severe that he must move and so he appears restless. These are among the acutemanifestations, and are things only very general that we must take up and apply to sick people.Eupatorium has been a very useful remedy in intermittent fever, when epidemic in the valleys.Among the first signs is nausea some time before the attack, and there are sometimes spells of vomitingof bile. About seven or nine o'clock in the forenoon, he commences to shudder, the shivering runsdown the back and spread from the back to the extremities; he has violent thirst, but the shiverings aremade worse from drinking so that he dare not drink cold water. There is soreness and pulsation in theback of the head, violent pain in the occiput and back before and during the chill. During the chill hewants to cover up and the clothing needs to be piled on. The thirst extends through all the stages. At theclose of the chill there is vomiting; often it does not occur until the heat, but before the sweat fairly setsin he vomits copiously, first the contents of the stomach and then bile. When the heat is on he seems toburn all over, sometimes as though with electric sparks. Intense heat, burning in the top of the head, hisfeet burn and his skin burns. The burning is more intense than the heat would justify. It is characteristicof this remedy for the sweat to be scanty; a violent chill, intense fever which passes off slowly, andvery scanty sweat. The bones ache as if they would break. During the chill his head aches as if it wouldburst, it throbs, it tears, it stings, it burns; he describes the headache in terms expressive of violence, asif probably a congestive headache. One would think after the fever subsides and he commences tosweat a little that he would get relief, which is true excepting the headache, which often gets worseclear through to the end of the attack whole day free from the headache, but on the third day at seven ornine o'clock on will come the same trouble with increasing violence. At times these attacks areprolonged, the one will extend into the other, that is center into a sort of remittent character with nointermission. The longer this runs the more the liver becomes engorged, and finally the urine is loadedwith bile, the stool becomes whitish, the fever increases, the nausea increasing, the tongue becomespointed and elongated, and is dry, the headache is extremely painful, and a state of masked fever comeson.In those intermittent fevers that begin with violent shaking, and the and headache continueswithout sweat, or, if with sweat the headache is made worse, thirst during all stages, vomiting of bile at