Spigelia anthelmia

Lecture XVIII — Spigelia anthelmintica, Curare and the Juglandaceae

Spigelia.

Spigelia is another member of the order LoganiacecE. To understand it as a remedy is not a difficult thing to do, if we start with the idea that it acts on the nerves, having as a grand characteristic, neuralgia. Associated with these neuralgic symptoms we almost always find symptoms sympathetic from the head, whether these be neuralgic or not. Mentally, we find the patient exhibiting fear, anxiety, forebodings, as though something were about to happen. This is a very common symptom with nervous, neuralgic subjects, especially those whose nerves are very much weakened. Another symptom which sometimes appears is fear of pointed things; for instance, the patient is afraid of pins. There is often, also, precordial anguish. The neuralgia itself, if it involves the head, begins in the occiput, coming forward and settling over the left eye. It may also involve the cheeks, especially the left. There are burning, jerking, tearing pains, worse from any noise or from any jarring of the body. They are usually aggravated by change of weather, and are especially worse in stormy weather. At the acme of the pain there is often bilious vomiting. The period of exacerbation is marked. The pain begins in the morning with the sun, increases during the day, and diminishes toward evening.

We often find Spigelia indicated in sick-headache when the patient can bear neither noise nor jarring of the body.

This remedy is our mainstay in ciliary neuralgia. The pain may be in either eye; more frequently, however, it is in the left. There may be photophobia from slight retinitis; sharp stabbing pains in the eye, or radiating from the eye. The supraorbital region is tender to touch. The eye-ball feels swollen, or as if it were too large for the orbit. Associated with these symptoms are lachrymation and coryza. Three remedies are here to be compared with Spigelia. The first of them is Mezereum. This is useful in ciliary neuralgia. The pains radiate and shoot downward. There is a cold feeling as though a stream of cold air were blowing on the eye. Mezereum is especially indicated when the bones are involved, a frequent sequence of mercury.

Another remedy useful in ciliary neuralgia is Thuja. I^ike Mezereum, it has a cold feeling in the eye, but the pains take the opposite direction; they go upward and backward instead of downward. Still another remedy to be thought of is Cedron, which has neuralgia recurring at the same hour with clock-like regularity. Spigelia is a valuable heart remedy. It is to be thought of when there are sharp stitching pains referred to the left chest, shooting into the arm and neck; on placing the hand over the heart, there is a peculiar '

' purring '

' feeling. The patient is worse from the slightest motion of the hands or arms. He cannot lie down. The pulse is not synchronous with the heart-beat'.

Spigelia may be used for worms. It should be given when there are strabismus from abdominal irritation, jerking over the eyes, paleness of the face, with blue rings around the eyes. The patient feels faint and nauseated on awaking in the morning, when there is also hunger, which is relieved by eating breakfast; there is colic, worse about the navel; stool consisting of mucus, fseces and worms.