[Reprinted from The Medical News, July 20, 1889.] 
A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE USE OF EUCA- 
LYPTUS IN HEADACHE. 
By MORRIS J. LEWIS, M.D., 
PHYSICIAN TO THE INFIRMARY FOR NE'R'VOUS DISEASIS, AND TO THE 
children’s HOSPITAL, 
G. E. DE SCHWEINITZ, M.D., 
AND 
OPHTHALMOLOGIST TO THE INFIRMARY FOR NERVOUS DISEASES, AND 
OPHTHALMIC SURGEON TO THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. 
A brief history of the following cases, where the 
use of oil of eucalyptus was beneficial in relieving 
headache of various types after other means had 
failed, is here put on record in order that others 
may try this remedy as a therapeutic measure in a 
class of cases in which it has been used with asserted 
success,1 but certainly without extended trial. Our 
own attention was called to this use of the oil of 
eucalyptus on account of the markedly beneficial 
effect in Case L, presently to be described, where it 
was exhibited to control headache believed to be of 
malarial origin, quinine having failed. The sudden 
and surprising improvement which followed its use 
led us to employ it in other forms of functional head- 
ache not due to eye-strain or similar removable cause. 
1 United States Dispensatory. 2 
LEWIS AND DE SCKWEINITZ, 
Case I.I—Susan 8., set. forty-eight, single. Marked 
history of malaria and rheumatism. Formerly had 
severe head-pains once in two months, lately violent 
occipital headache every other day, with zig-zag 
lines and hallucinations as prodromes, entirely un- 
relieved by quinine. With the exhibition of five 
minims of the oil of eucalyptus six times a day the 
headache completely disappeared. Examination of 
the eyes revealed slight refraction error, the correc- 
tion of which did not alleviate the pain. 
Case 11. Mrs. D., set. thirty-one. Nervous 
family history, menstruation irregular and too free, 
headaches grouped about periods, no apparent eye- 
strain, indiscretion in diet sometimes appears to pre- 
cipitate headache which is not a hemicrania, but 
general and mostly occipital and congestive in type. 
If headache is not due to dyspeptic attack, eucalyp- 
tus will usually abort it, one capsule (five minims) 
four or five times a day. Her plan is first to take 
aromatic ammonia and if no relief is afforded then 
eucalyptus. Antipyrin and cannabis indica gave 
no relief. 
Case lll.—Mrs. T., set. forty-six. Gouty family 
history, menopause, headaches for years, mainly in 
occipital region, congestive in type, any increase of 
blood in head greatly increases pain, doubtful 
malarial history, quinine in full doses sometimes 
lessens attack, salicylate of soda at first gave relief, 
but caused dyspeptic symptoms, likewise cannabis 
indica; antipyrin unless given in heroic doses is use- 
less. Patient was placed on rigidly restricted diet, 
and given five minims of oil of eucalyptus four times 
a day, with marked benefit. Subsequently the ad- 
ministration of a few doses of the drug sufficed to 
1 University Medical Magazine, May, 1889. USE OF EUCALYPTUS IN HEADACHE. 
3 
ward off any severe attack. Eyes were normal, no 
asthenopia. Patient reports a sister greatly relieved 
by the same remedy given by another physician at 
her solicitation. 
Case IV.—Miss L. W., get. twenty-eight. Right- 
sided frontal headache. Attacks formerly accom- 
panied by visions, lately has silver rings constantly 
before eyes. Cannabis indica gave but little relief, 
eucalyptus gave great relief, headaches much better 
lately; no malarial history. The eyes revealed re- 
sults of former granular lids, and the headaches were 
never in apparent association with eye-strain. 
Case V. Miss C., get. twenty-five. Menstrual 
irregularities. No former severe illness. No history 
of malaria. Headaches for twenty years, chiefly on 
left side, bearing no relation to menstruation, con- 
gestive and lasting several days. No apparent eye- 
strain. Iron and arsenic were prescribed for the 
angemia and oil of eucalyptus in the event of head- 
ache. With the prodromal symptoms of a headache, 
twenty minims of the drug, served in the belief of 
the patient to abort the attack. 
Case Vl.—Mrs. G., get. thirty-three. Gouty family 
history; pelvic peritonitis three years ago; a great 
sufferer from “hay fever; ” frequent attacks of ton- 
sillitis; the patient in girlhood had lived in a malari- 
ous district. For years she has been the victim of 
the most violent occipital headaches of a congestive 
type, beginning with the feeling of a band in the 
back of the neck, succeeded by a thumping pain in 
the occiput which rapidly spreads over the entire 
cranium and is associated with intense injection of 
the conjunctiva and swelling of the face. The eyes 
showed a low grade of hypermetropic astigmatism 
and io° of insufficiency of the internal recti. Ap- 
propriate glasses were ordered, and prisms for the 4 
LEWIS AND DE SCHWEINITZ, 
relief of the muscular defect, with the result of 
ameliorating the asthenopia, but not materially in- 
fluencing the headache. A prolonged course of all 
the usual remedies employed for the relief of head- 
ache of a congestive type was ordered, but without 
any very satisfactory results. Oil of eucalyptus, 
five minims every four hours, gave great relief even 
during a paroxysm, but was most efficient when ex- 
hibited during a prodromal period, or when taken 
after such exposure, like cooking, which was always 
succeeded by a headache. The ability to abort a 
paroxysm was a marked feature of the medication. 
Case VII.—-Miss S., set. twenty-one. Nervous 
and with a nervous family history; ansemic and 
suffering much from enforced loss of sleep; was 
subject to violent neuralgic headache uncontrolled 
by the ordinary remedies and not relieved by treat- 
ment of a slight ocular defect. Oil of eucalyptus in 
five-minim doses produced better results than any 
other remedy; indeed, while the patient continued its 
use the headaches were practically absent, although 
they returned when this was discontinued. There 
was no history of hnalaria in this case. 
Case Vlll,—Miss L., a plethoric woman, set. 
nineteen, the subject of hemorrhoids ; slight leucor- 
rhoea and sharp frontal with dull occipital headache 
brought on by fatigue, by the use of the eyes and 
often without apparent cause, usually worse in the 
first few hours of the morning. Both eyes hyper- 
metropic with insufficiency of the external recti of 
four degrees, the correction of which did not stop 
the headaches, nor was medication directed to the 
regulation of the portal circulation followed by re- 
lief in this direction. Eucalyptus was the means of 
producing marked relief. The patient also took USE OF EUCALYPTUS IN HEADACHE. 
5 
strychnia and nitro-muriatic acid. Antipyrin, can- 
nabis indica, and the bromides were not successful. 
We have given the histories of these eight cases in 
which the results are sufficiently definite to stimulate 
further trial of this remedy. We are employing the 
drug in a number of cases, in which we are not yet 
in a position definitely to state the result; in others 
we know that relief has been afforded. Dr. Weir 
Mitchell and Dr. Wharton Sinkler, of the Infirmary 
staff, have employed the drug in like cases with 
benefit. The latter has used it in three cases with 
decided relief; in one, in a case of long-standing 
migraine, it was the sole medicine for five or six 
weeks. In this case the paroxysms, which were right 
supraorbital and severe, were materially shortened 
and the intervals lengthened. 
Eucalyptus has been used with asserted success in 
migraine and other forms of neuralgia as mentioned 
above. In our experience it appears to be of most 
service in the headaches of congestive type; in one 
case where indiscretion in diet precipitated an attack 
the drug did not appear to be of use, although it re- 
lieved other seizures. In this and other of our cases 
the drug acted more beneficially when given at the 
very onset of the attack than after full development 
of the paroxysm, and we would suggest its trial as 
early as possible in the seizure, especially when there 
is a long prodromal period. The question has arisen, 
Are the headaches of a malarial origin that are re- 
lieved by this drug, or has it some other mode of 
action? In the first case the evidence of malaria is 6 
USE OF EUCALYPTUS IN HEADACHE. 
undoubted, in none of the other cases is it positive, 
and in some not at all probable. We intend, in a 
future paper, to give the results of further trial with 
the oil of eucalyptus, and hope to be able to state 
more definitely the type of headache in which the 
most relief maybe anticipated. In two instances 
our results were entirely negative, in both an 
organic lesion existed, the one in the alimentary 
canal, the other in the ovaries. We have used the 
drug in one case of ciliary neuralgia without effect 
and intend to give it trial in other types of neuralgia. 
Postscript.—Gimbert has used eucalyptus with 
success in neuralgias of intermittent type even when 
he could obtain no history of malarial infection. 
(“ L’Eucalyptus Globulus: son Importance en Agri- 
culture, en Hygiene, et en Medecine.” Paris, 1870.)