Materia Medica
Lobelia Inflata
Indian Tobacco
Is a vaso-motor stimulant; increases the activity of all vegetative processes; spends its force mainly upon the pneumogastric nerve, producing a depressed relaxed condition with oppression of the chest and episgastrium, impeded respiration, nausea and vomiting. Languor, relaxation of muscles, nauseu, ?'omirug, and use of this remedy, in asthma and gastric affections. Best adapted to light-complexioned fleshy people. Bad effects of drunkenness. Suppressed discharges. [Sulph.] Diphtheria. Catarrhal jaundice. [Chionanth.]
Head
Vertigo, and fear of death. Gastric headache with nausea, vomiting, and great prostration, worse. afternoon until midnight; tobacco. Dull, heavy pain.
Ears
Deafness due to suppressed discharges or ec- zema. Shooting pain from throat.
Face
Bathed inl culd sweat. Sudden pallor.
Mouth
Profuse flow of saliva ; acrid burning taste; mercurial taste; tenacious mucus, tongue coated white.
Stomach
Acidity, flatulence, shortness of breath after eating. Heartburn with profuse flow of saliva. Extreme iausca and vomiting. Morning sickness. Faintness and weakness at epigastrium. Profuse all- vation, with good appetite. Profuse sweat and prostra- tion.( Cannot bear smell or taste of tobacco. Acrid, burning taste; acidity, with 1 contractive feeling in pit of stomach. Flatulence, shortness of breath after eating. [Carbo.] Heartburn.
Urinary
Deep red color and copious red sediment.
Respiratory
Dyspneu from conslriclion of chest; worse, any exertio. Sensation of pressure or weight in chest; better by rapid walking. Feels as if heart 465 would stop. Asthma; attacks, with weakness, felt in pit of stomach and preceded hy prickling ail over.( Cramp, ringing cough, short breath, catching at throat.
Back
I'ain in sacrum; cannot bear slightest touch. Sits leaning forward.
Skin
Prickling, itching with intense nausea.
Modalities
HW'orse, tolacco, afternoon, slightest mo- tion, cold, especially cold washing. Better, by rapid walking (chest pain), toward evening, and from warmth.
Relationships
Antidote: Iprc. Compare: Tabac.: Ars.: Tart. c.: Vcrui.; Rosa. Lobelia syphilitic or cerulca (gives a perfect picture of sneezing infucnza. involving the posterior nares. palate, and fauces. Very depressed. Pain in forehead (ver eyes; pan and gas in bowels, followed by copious watery stools with tenesmus and soreness of anus. Pain in knees. Prickling in soles. Great opfression in lower Fuyt of chest, as if air could not each there. Pain in chicst under sl:ort ribs o; left side.] Dry, hacking (cugh. Breathing difficult. Dull. aching pain over root of nose. Eustachian catar!. Pain in posterior part of spleen.) Lobelia erinus (malignant growwths; colloid cancer of the omentum; cor-screw-like pains in abdo- men; great dryness of skin, nasal and buccal mucous membranes; distaste for brandy; dry, eczematous patches covering points of first fingers. Malignant disease of the face. Epithelioma).
Dose
Tincture, to thirtieth potency. Locally the tincture is antidotal to Poison-oak. Often the Acetum Lobelia acts better than any other preparation. Lobelia hypodermically acts clinically almost precisely as the antitoxin of diphtheria does upon the infection and renders the system stronger to resist future infections (F. Ellingwood).