Digitalis Purpurea

▲   GENERAL

General

Comes into play in all diseases where the heart is primarily involved, where the pulse is Weak, irregular, intermittent, abnormally slow, and dropsy of external and internal parts. Weakness and dilation of the myocardium. Its greatest indication is in failure of compensation and especially when Auricular fibrillation has set in. Slow pulse in recumbent posture, but irregular and dicrotic on sitting up. Auricular flutter and fibrillation especially when subsequent to rheumatic fever. Heart block, very slow pulse. Other symptoms of organic heart disease, such as great weakness and sinking of strength, faintness, coldness of skin, and irregular respiration; cardiac irritability and ocular troubles after tobacco; jaundice from induration and Hypertrophy of the liver, frequently call for Digitalis Purpurea. Jaundice with heart disease. Faint, as if dying. BLUISH appearance of face. Cardiac muscular failure when asystole is present. Stimulates the heart’s muscles, increases force of systole, increases length. Prostration from slight exertion. Collapse.

▲   MODALITIES ETC

Worse

WORSE, when sitting erect, after meals and music.

Better

BETTER, when stomach is empty; in open air.

▲   RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships

Compare also: Digitoxinum (Digitalis dissolved in Chloroformium ^Chloroform; which has yellow vision very marked, and distressing nausea, Aggravated by champagne and aerated waters.) nitri. sir. Dulcamara ^Dulc. increases action of Digit. Ichthyotoxin. Eel Serum ( Experiments show great analogy between the serum and the venom of Vipera ^Vipera. Indicated whenever the systole of the heart is insufficient, decompensated valvular disease, irregular pulse due to fibrillation of the auricle. Asystole, feeble, frequent, irregular pulse, dyspnoea and scanty urine. Liver enlarged, dyspnoea, albuminuria. No oedema.) Convallaria (heart disease with vertigo and digestive disturbances). Quinidine - Isomeric methoxyl compound. - (Restores normal rhythm in auricular fibrillation, often supplements the action of Digitalis. Two doses of 3 grains each, three hours apart - if no symptoms of cinchonism develop, 4 doses 6 grs. each daily ( C. Harlan Wells.) Paroxysmal tachycardia. Establishes normal heart rhythm at least temporarily, less in valvular lesions.)

Compare

Weak heart will be strengthened by it. Lock-jaw). Adonia; Crataegus (a true heart tonic); Kalmia Latifolia ^Kalmia; Spigel; Liatris Spicata ^Liatris

Antidotes

Antidotes; Camphora ^Camph.; Serpentaria.

Incompatible

Incompatible: China ^China.

▲   MIND

Mind

Despondency; fearful; ANXIOUS about the future

Dullness of sense

Every shock strikes in epigastrium

Melancholia, dull lethargic with SLOW pulse.

Emotions, feelings, attitude, disposition

anguish

suspicious

Intellectual faculties; impaired thinking; confusion; as after being intoxicated

Insecure, uncertain, scared

anxiety

anxiety; evening

anxiety; of conscience (as if guilty of a crime)

fear

▲   VERTIGO, DIZZINESS

Vertigo

Vertigo, when walking and on rising, in cardiac and hepatic affections

▲   HEAD

Head

Heaviness of head, with sensation as if it would fall backward

Face bluish

Confusion, fullness and noise in head

Cracking sounds during a nap

Blue tongue and lips.

Headache

Sharp, shooting frontal pain, extending into nose, after drinking cold water or eating ice-cream

▲   EYES

Eyes

Blueness of eyelids

Dark bodies, like flies, before eyes

Change in acuteness of perception of shades of green

Objects appear green and yellow

Mydriasis; lid margins red, swollen, agglutinated in morning

Detachment of retina

Dim vision irregular pupils, diplopia.

▲   EARS

Ear

Noises in ear; hissing

▲   FACE

Face

Pain; pulling

Skin

discoloration; bluish

discoloration; pale

Sunken

▲   MOUTH

Tongue

Discoloration; tongue; blue

▲   CHEST

Chest

Irregular heart especially of mitral disease

very slow pulse

intermits; weak

Cyanosis

Inequality of pulse; it varies

Sudden sensation as if heart stood still

pulse weak; and quickened by least movement

Pericarditis, copious serous exudation

Dilated heart, tired, irregular, with slow and feeble pulse

Hypertrophy with dilatation

Cardiac failure following fevers

Cardiac dropsy.

Congestion

Heart

sensation as if heart had ceased

fluid build up around heart

palpitations

anxiety

from exertion

on movement

tumultuous, violent, intense

Murmurs

Pulse

Heart; The least movement causes violent palpitation, and sensation as if it would cease beating, if he moves ( Opposite: Gelsemium Sempervirens ^Gels.) Frequent stitches in heart

Respiration

Desire to take a deep breath

Breathing irregular, difficult; deep sighing

Cough, with raw, sore feeling in chest

Dyspnoea, constant desire to breathe deeply, lungs feel compressed

Chronic bronchitis; passive congestion of the lungs, giving bloody sputum due to failing myocardium

Cannot bear to talk

Hemoptysis with weak heart.

Irregular

Sighing

▲   SKIN

Skin

Erythema, deep red, worse on back, like measles

Blue distended veins on lids, ears, lips and tongue

Dropsical

Itching and jaundiced.

Coldness

Discoloration; bluish

▲   ABDOMEN

Abdomen

Stomach; Sweet taste with constant ptyalism

Faintness, Great weakness in stomach

Burning in stomach extending to oesophagus

After cold water or ice-cream, sharp pain in forehead, extending to nose

Tenderness of epigastrium

Copious salivation

Pain in left side apparently in descending colon and under false ribs

Severe abdominal pains, pulsation in abdominal aorta, and epigastric constriction

Enlarged, sore, painful liver.

Hard; liver

Pain; sore, bruised, tenderness, etc.; behind lower ribs; right

Bladder

fullness

fullness; after urinating

retention of urine (see urination delayed); from enlarged prostate

urge to urinate, but producing nothing

urging to urinate (unhealthy desire); night

urging to urinate (unhealthy desire); anxious

urging to urinate (unhealthy desire); constant

night

urging to urinate (unhealthy desire); ineffectual

urging to urinate (unhealthy desire); violent

Stomach; sinking (see emptiness)

Eating

Discomfort, even after a small quantity of food, or from mere sight or smell

Neuralgic pain in stomach, unconnected with taking food.

Vomiting

Excessive nausea, not relieved by vomiting

Faintness and vomiting from motion

▲   RECTUM, ANUS, STOOL

Stool

White, chalk-like, ashy, pasty stool

Diarrhoea during jaundice.

Light-coloured

White; milk like

▲   GENITALS ETC

Urine

Continued urging, in drops, dark, hot, burning, with sharp cutting or Throbbing pain at neck of bladder, As if a straw was being thrust back and forth; worse at night

Suppressed

Ammoniacal, and turbid

Urethritis, phimosis, strangury

Full feeling after urination

Constriction and burning, as if urethra was too small

Brick-dust sediment.

Scanty

Sediment; sand; red (brick-dust)

Bladder

Hydrocele; scrotum enlarged like a bladder

Urethra

Urethra (urinary part of genitals); discharge; gonorrhoea

Male

Gonorrhoea, balanitis (Merc Viv ^Merc.), with oedema of prepuce

Male; thick emission from penis

Womb

Uterine hemorrhage.

Genitals

Male; Nightly emission (Digitalin), with great weakness of genitals after coitus

Dropsical swelling of genitals ( Sulphur ^Sulph.) Enlarged prostate.

Male

prostate gland; enlargement

prostate gland; enlargement; in aged persons

Menses

Female; Labor-like pains in abdomen and back before menses

▲   EXTREMITIES, LIMBS

Extremities, limbs

Swelling of the feet

Fingers go to sleep easily

Coldness of hands and feet

Rheumatic pain in joints

Shining, white swelling of joints

Muscular debility

Nocturnal swelling of fingers

Sensation in legs as If a red hot wire suddenly darted through them (Dudgeon).

Coldness

lower limbs

leg

lower limbs; foot

Numbness (see tingling); fingers

Paralysis; upper limbs; left

Weakness; upper limbs

▲   FEVER AND CHILL

Fever and chill

Sudden flushes of heat, followed by great nervous weakness.

Internal

One-sided

▲   GENERALITIES

Sleep and dreams

Starts from sleep in alarm that he is falling from a height

Continuous sleepiness.

Generalities

General physical anxiety

Blood vessels

blue discoloration (from lack of oxygen in blood)

blue discoloration (from lack of oxygen in blood); in infants

Physical exertion

Faintness, fainting

Fluid build up

external

internal

Pulse

abnormal

frequent, accelerated, elevated, exalted, fast, innumerable, rapid

full

intermittent

irregular

heavy; and slow

slow

small

soft

Rising

Swelling; puffy

Weakness (see lethargic, weariness)

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