Directions for drug-provers

The object in proving a drug is to ascertain the changes which the drug is
capable of producing in the functions and organs of the healthy body.
It is very important that each prover should know and be able to recognize the
various sensations and variations of function to which she may, by peculiarity of
constitution, be subject when in average health; so that she may not, while
proving a drug, mistake such natural variations for effects of a drug.
The prover should have at hand, at all times, a notebook, in which to record the
times of taking the drug and the doses, as well as the symptoms as they occur. The
record should be made as soon as the symptom is perceived, and the time of its
occurrence and the circumstances of the prover at the time should be recorded.
Before beginning the record of a proving, the prover should inscribe in the
note-book a statement of her age, temperament, the sicknesses which she has
had, and those to which she has an inherited or acquired tendency; also whatever
pains or sensations she may be habitually subject to; also any peculiar
susceptibilities she may possess to external influences of any kind, or to mental or
moral of emotional excitements, depressions, or perversions. Her constitutional
peculiarities respecting the menstrual function should be carefully recorded;
regarding frequency, quantity, character, and whatever inconveniences or
sufferings precede, accompany, or follow menstruation; such as headache,
backache, colic, leucorrhoea, etc., together with peculiar states of mind or emotion.

In describing sensations or pains which may occur during a proving, it is not

sufficiently definite to say "pain in the head," "pain in the back," etc. The
character and locality of the pain must be exactly described in graphic
language,-stating, for example, that the pain is "cutting," "burning," "sticking,"
etc.,-and specifying its location, and, if it move, its course.
The prover should find out by experiment, and should carefully state, what
circumstances aggravate or ameliorate the pain (or other symptom), and note
its periodical recurrence, because periodicity is a very important element in the
history of the action of drugs. For example: is the pain worse when the prover
stands, or sits or lies down, worse during exercise and better during rest, worse on
first waking, worse in the cold and relieved by heat, worse or better from touch or
pressure, etc., etc. All such conditions of aggravation or amelioration should be
carefully recorded.
If the pain move from one part of the body to another, the fact and the course of
the pain should be recorded.
The sides of the body on which symptoms occur should always be stated.
The times of occurrence, aggravation, and amelioration are very important
elements; as, in the morning or afternoon; at night, before or after midnight, or
waking from sleep; just before or after eating, etc., etc.
Changes in the quantity, quality, and appearance of the natural secretions
should be carefully described. The urine, for instance, should be measured, and the
quantity per day recorded; it should be tested for acid and albumen, and whatever
sediment it may deposit should be carefully described. Modifications of the
menstrual functions should be most carefully recorded; such as its greater or
less frequency or quantity; alterations of color and consistency; whether acrid or
not; pains and discomforts of body or mind which precede, accompany, or follow
it.

Secretions not observed by the prover when in health-such as leucorrhoea,

unusual perspirations, etc.-should be described, as to color, consistency, odor,
nature; whether bland or acrid, times of occurrence, and circumstances which
increase or diminish them, and symptoms which accompany them.
If organic symptoms occur, such as eruptions or suspected enlargements or
displacements of organs, it is well to consult a physician in order to ascertain
the exact condition, which should be carefully described.
The records should be full and minute. It is better to be obliged to erase
something afterward, than to risk the loss of an important symptom by aiming at
brevity(shortness/briefness).
The dose should be taken at a time when the prover can rest, in mind and
body, for a half hour after taking it. The early morning is the best time, for
then the prover will have a chance to observe the action of the drug for fifteen
to eighteen hours without interruption by sleep. It is better to design with a
small dose, gradually increasing it until effects are recognized, and then to
cease taking the drug until these effects have ceased. It may then be repeated
in a somewhat larger dose. No danger of permanent illness is incurred by this
mode of proving drugs.
During a proving, the prover should abstain from the use of medicines,
cosmetics and perfumes, but should make no marked deviation from her
usual diet and regimen. Habits of so long standing as to have become "second
nature" should be continued in moderation, since to break them off suddenly
is to institute at once a morbid state.