Acanthaster planci (Acan-p) = Dornenkronenseestern/= crown of thorns starfish/= coral-eating starfish

Vergleich: Siehe: Meeresgruppe + Molluscae

Poisening: Causes hypotension, thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count; increased haemorrhagic tendency)/leucopenia (low white blood cell count; increased risk of infection.). Contains liver damaging substances. Enhances vascular permeability.

Hypotension: low blood pressure

Muscles, destruction: A rich source of useful venoms has been found in Acan-p. One of its deadly venoms has been identified as a myotoxic (muscle destroying) phospholipase A. Muscles, contraction: One study found that venom of the crown of thorns starfish caused contractions of the uterus in rats and enhanced vascular permeability in rabbits.

It acts contracting smooth muscle.

Poisoning: PAIN (lasting several hours or days), itching, swelling, heat and redness may occur by contact. The puncture site turns blue (erythema) and swells (oedema).

~ More severe reactions: stiffening of the joints with aching, numbness, tingling, weakness, paralysis, nausea, vomiting, headaches and cough. Swollen tender lymph

glands in groin or armpit.

~ A spine tip of Acan-p. in the finger: swelling and stiffness caused by the growth of granulation tissue typical of a foreign body reaction. In severe cases bone-destroying

(osteolytic) processes may cause narrowing of a joint by destruction of cartilage, which requires surgery;

Negativ: Immunsystem. Nervous system. Skin. Eczema. Herpes. Ulceration. Oedema. Sinusitis. Migraine. Influenza. Haemorrhage. Complaints of the liver. Travel sickness.

Palpitations. Thrombocyto-/Leucopenia. Peripheral numbness;

Polarities: Despair or Peacefulness. Expansion or Contraction.

Berührung: Übelkeit/Lähmungen/SCHMERZ/ronde wond, donkerblauw van kleur en zwelling;

[Jörg Hildebrandt, St. Pölten Austria]

Poisonous, voracious starfish with far more than the typical five arms, which causes great epidemic damage to coral reefs worldwide.

The remedy was prepared from a part of a living animal taken from the shores of Bohol/Philippines and was potentized to C30 and C200.

14 healthy provers between 21 and 50 years of age and one patient provided symptoms. The double-blind proving took place from Oct. 1998 to Dec. 1999.

"Characteristic symptoms" were very much those of the toxicology: tearing, stitching, burning pain or sensation of heat, itching, local numbness (face). A very prominent symptom was an eczema on the eyelids, which had to be antidoted in one prover by Nat-m., and could be cured in one patient. Another focus lay on flu-like and sinusitis-like symptoms (weakness in muscles in the afternoon, feeling of impending illness, pain in head, eyes and teeth < bending forward).

The mind picture seems to reflect the tuberculine miasm: dreams of wandering, trains, getting lost - comparable with the larval stage of the starfish. Themes of eroticism, pregnancy, marriage are comparable with its tendency to rapid propagation. Illness, disgust, necrosis are comparable with its poisonous slime and armoured appearance, and itself being a plague to the coral reefs. An interesting delusion of being naked or not properly dressed in one prover was repeated in a dream of another prover.

Proving:

Burning/stitching/weak/eczema/sinusitis

Eruptions of LIDs/face/ear

clinically verified:

itching, numb, swollen, hot, (scaly)

Sinusitis

pain in head, eyes, teeth < bending forward

Influenza - weakness - necrosis

partially clinically verified:

feeling ill, „As if flue impending“/fever/weak

sleepy/leucopoenia (toxicol), dreams of necrosis (of liver toxicol)

Teeth: pain, itching, „As if loose“

characteristic: burning, heat in lids/teeth/tongue/neck/throat/inguinal/heel/skin/flushes/fever

characteristic: itching of teeth/rectum/lip/lids

Numb: nose/lips/lids/hands

characteristic: stitching eyeball/temple/cheek/teeth/pharynx/stomach/abdomen/mamma

characteristic: Drawing in eyeball/head/teeth/stomach/mamma/thigh/back/elbow

Dreams: ocean/water/larvae/plankton/train, subway/„infection“ of the reefs/„outbreaks“/disease (abscess of brain/necrosis on legs/pustule with parasites on hand/ill relative)/armed adult/pregnancy/marriage/erotic

Delusions: being naked and waiting for the tram I felt people looking at me, as if I still wore my nightshirt. Looking down I was glad to wear street clothes.

(Didn’t feel them, so I felt naked/ of being naked or not properly dressed in one prover was repeated in a dream of another prover ).

Patient: „for me the train for children has left“ = I’m too old for children now.

A patient healed from chronic eczema of the lids admitted: „I realised that I had suffered 3 severe mortifications (business and private) when

the eczema started. Meanwhile I “stretched out many legs” to gain a broad (financial) basis to live on, costing a lot of energy.

Repertorium:

Mind: Dazed, intoxicated, fear of disease (cancer/necrosis). Delusions brain is dissolving or necrosing. Delusions of insects, slugs or snails infesting the skin.

Delusions naked. Erotic dreams. Irritability and anger.

Sensation: Burning, heat, flushing. Stabbing, stitching, pricking. Pulling, drawing. Numbness. Pulsating. Pressure. Congestion. Falling, flying. Expansion.

Itching. „As if broken apart“, „As of a stone“.

Face: Itching, numb, swollen, hot. Stitching. Expansion, tension. Pressing pain in cheekbones.

Herpes. Perspiration. Scaly skin eruptions at the margins of the hair

(cured symptom), eyelids, ear and face in general. Painful sinusitis in head, eyes and

teeth, < bending forwards.

Vertigo: „As if the floor gave way“

Head: „As if there is an abscess on the brain“. Pulsating, throbbing. Stitching,

stabbing. Drawing. Congestion of blood. Waves of heat.

Pressing - above eyes/inwards.

Crushing „As if broken into pieces“.

Migraine. Perspiration of head and brow.

Headache - appears suddenly/from the slightest touch to the nape. forehead, above eyes, temples, back of head

>: Coffee/warmth; <: afternoon/midnight/rising/after breakfast/stooping/bending forward/laughing/fast movement;

Skin eruptions at the margins of the hair (cured symptom). Sweating.

Eyes: and Vision Burning and heat (lids). Stitching (in eyeball), pricking, stabbing.

Numbness. Drawing (as if pulled). Pressure and „As if expansion in the forehead“. Of expansion with waves of heat in the head. Heat and itching of eyelids.

Swelling. „As if the l. eye smaller“.

Eyeballs rolling.

Lids - itching/red/scaly eruptions

Vision: Focal length changed when reading.

<: Rubbing/bending forwards, bending over;

Ears: Numb/Pulsating/blocked.

Eczema of the ears. Itching eruptions become painful.

Hearing: loss.

Noises in ears (with headache).

Nose: Discharge; Thin/clear/watery.

Numb. Cold. As if dripping water.

Blocked.

Smell: imaginary and real odors: rotten apples in the house, sweet smells.

Mouth: Taste metallic after eating.

Tongue - burning, heat.

Blisters (edges/under tongue) < touch.

Lips - itching/numb/swollen. „As if covered“. Dry.

Herpes around the mouth. White fever blisters.

Saliva - watery/increased < night. Inclined to swallow constantly.

Teeth: Burning and heat. „As if loose“. Stitching. Itching. Drawing, pulling. Pulsating. „As if new teeth are growing“. Pain < pressure/stooping/jarring/walking. > Fresh air. Pain in healthy teeth.

Swollen gums. Affects molars.

Tooth pain with common cold.

Throat: Burning, heat. Pricking and stitching. Tickling. „As if coated“

Hawking constantly.

Magen: Appetite - strong, ravenous (with flushes of heat).

Abdomen: Stitching, pointed. Drawing, pulling. Contraction, cramps (> crouching). Heat. Pain „like stones“

Hiccoughs. Travel sickness.

Headache with complaints

Rectum: Violent itching. Pain during stool.

Diarrhoea. Bleeding fi ssure. Constipation (chronic).

Stool: Light brown. Yellow. Light. Odourless.

Half formed. Hard. Like sheep-dung, agglutinated balls. Soft.

Urinary organs: Pain in abdomen before urination.

Female organs: Pain with menses, cramps, contract ions: ext. like a belt to the lumbar/sacral region.

Larynx: Voice - hoarse.

Cough: Ice-cold air in passages. Scratching behind sternum. Tickly. Dry.

Chest: Stitching. drawing, pulling in breasts

Eruptions under the arms: axillae.

Heart and Blood: Audible, irregular palpitations. Palpitations with trembling hands.

Haemorrhage. Thrombocytopenia [Reduced platelet (thrombocyte) count, resulting in

reduced ability to clot blood, increased hemorrhagic tendency.

Initial signs: bleeding gums, nosebleeds and increased bruising.] Hypertension. Leucopenia [low white blood cell count].

Oppression with trembling. Pulsating. Stabbing (sides/paroxysmal).

Pulling, drawing (sides).

Palpitations (< bending forwards). Trembling. Perspiration in the axillae.

Touch, Movement and Temperature

Back: Back and spine: drawing/pressing. Heat (as if sunburnt).

< Bending over/bending forwards/stretching. Heat in dorsal region.

Perspiration. Twitching (shoulder blades).

Extremities: Cold hands during chill.

Pain - thighs/calves/buttock muscles/bones of fingers

Fingers and toes: Dry, rough, exfoliating, cracked: soles of feet and fingertips.

Blistered/vesicles on feet < walking. Infected/ulcerated. Numbness of finger(tipps),

around the toes and fingers (eruptions/ulceration/numbness).

Perception of body: Brain is dissolving/rotting away. Expansion. Tension.

Stitching, stabbing. Stabbing pain in elbow. Numbness. Drawing, pulling. Drawing in elbow, thigh. Heavy, tired. Burning of heel.

Pains

~ Burning, hot

~ Stabbing, darting, stitching

~ Pulling, drawing

~ Expanding/pulsating

~ Contraction/cramps

~ Crushing/“As if broken apart“

Cold: Cold hands and feet. General burning. Skin flushes. Fever.

Chill in waves, > external warmth (not > from warmth of bed).

<: Afternoon/evening;

Generals: Weakness. „As if influenza coming on“. Burning, flushing. Numbness. Stabbing or pricking pains. Pulsating. Trembling. nervous restlessness.

Labor test: Thrombocytopenia: low blood platelet count; increased haemorrhagic tendency.

Leucopenia: low white blood cell count; increased risk of infection.

Skin: Burning. Numbness. Itching.

Goosebumps. Eczema (eczema from mortification and emotional causes). Dry and rough. Cracked. Exfoliating. Ulcers. Blisters. Vesicles. Oedema.

Sleep: Sleepy (and sleepless)/waking with headache. Comatose. Snoring. Disturbed through

Dreams: (((<<< viele >>>)))

Generalities: Swelling, oedema. Burning, heat. Numbness. Stitching. Pressing.

Tearing. Itching. Of impending influenza.

Weakness. Trembling. Eczema. Oedema. Sinusitis. Migraine. Influenza.

Haemorrhage. Chill. Weak and heavy extremities. restless. Liver complaints. Thrombocytopenia. Leucopenia.

Ailments from mortification (eczema). Mental exhaustion. Mistakes in

speech and writing. Difficulty concentrating. Talks thimself when alone. Nervous

irritability from slight causes (< music). Angry.

Poisoning symptoms were borne out by the proving: itching, swelling, heat, oedema, reddening, numbness, stiffness of muscles and inflammation of lymph glands.

The ‘thorns’: stabbing, stitching, pricking pains.

Quotations: “Meanwhile I stretched out many legs to gain a broad (financial) basis to live on, costing a lot of energy.” “For me, the train for children has left”

(= I’m too old for children now). (DD.: Aversion to children Aster. Medus. Sep.)

Desires powerful, strong music (Tchaikovsky). Business activity; Aversed to: Company;

<: Soft music (Schubert); >: strongly rhythmic music (Tchaikovsky/Latin Jazz);

Food and drink: Desires: Eggs; Aversed to: Salad/sweets/tea.

Sensation of pressure, expansion and crushing; < touch.

Ungewöhnliche Prüfungssymptomen: “As if”

Necrosis, Dissolving, Insects infesting the skin

Dreams of being inadeqately dressed in public

Desires powerful strong music but is aggravated by soft music

Ameliorated by strongly rhythmic music

“As if” an abscess in the brain

“As if” the head is crushed and broken to pieces

Sensations of waves of heat and expansion

Metallic taste after eating

“As if” a new tooth is growing. Tooth pain + common cold

Pain like stones in the GIT

Imaginary smells of rotten apples

General picture is one of Itching, Swelling, Heat, Oedema, Redness, Numbness, Stiffness of muscles, Inflammation of lymph glands

Strong affinity for the fingers and toes (proposed for all starfish)

Allerlei: Able to sense predators as well as prey by means of chemoreception, a means of smelling and tasting underwater.

Feeding: Large numbers of crown of thorns starfish may gather to eat their way through a coral reef, but they are generally considered solitary, nocturnal feeders,

maintaining distance from one another even when moving over a reef in numbers.

Adult starfish normally feed on coral polyps. They extrude their stomachs and digest the coral polyps by releasing digestive enzymes to then absorb the liquefied tissue.

When live hard corals are not available, alternative foods include soft corals, algae, clams, encrusting organisms, gastropods, gorgonians, hydrozoans and sea anemones.

They can live for 6 - 9 months without food.

Reproducing: Acan-p. reproduces sexually. Females shed eggs into the water and these are subsequently fertilised by sperm released from nearby males.

They typically assume a bell-shape then spawning. Fertilisation is synchronised through chemical signalling (= Pheromonen?). There is no parental care of offspring.

Larvae settle on the sea floor and continue developing here, ending the swimming phase.

Initially the juvenile starfish has only 5 rudimentary arms but extra arms develop rapidly as the starfish begins to feed on encrusting algae. Within 6 months the starfish

is about one centimetre in size and begins to feed on corals. It becomes sexually mature at the end of its 2nd year, by which time it has grown about 20 centimetres in

diameter. It is not known how long this species lives, but they have been kept in aquaria for as long as 8 years. Growth rate and reproduction rates decline after 3 - 4 years.

Movement: Crown of thorns starfish walk on large numbers of tiny tube feet situated in the grooves running along the underside of their arms. These act like hydraulic suckers, operating by means of water pressure in the central cavity and tubes. The arms are muscular and strong, allowing the starfish walk across the sea floor, as well as navigate the reef; they can move in reverse, turn around and move individual arms independently.

Defending: Crown of thorns starfish armoured with impressive spines, offering a strong deterrent attackers. However, a number of animals are known to attack and prey on Senses: Chemical messaging (smelling and tasting). Touch. Photoreceptors.

Signature and Symbol

Acan-p. is spiky, sinister-looking and venomous; its threatening image provokes an immediate sense of danger. Known as the plague of the coral reefs, systematically eating their way through large areas of reef, destroying everything in their wake. This not only kills the living coral polyps but the infrastructure of vast numbers of reef species that depend on the coral for their habitat.

Reefs can take up to two decades to regenerate. The imbalance is thought to have occurred largely as a result of over-harvesting the triton shell (= main predator).

Destructiveness of coral reefs, digesting the polyps alive: the delusions of necrosis (of the brain: dissolving). Fear of disease (cancer).

As well as obviously having many arms/legs, is this an area of great sensitivity for echinoderms, with a higher density of sensory cells here than any other part of the starfish body. (Aster. has affinity with toes and fingers).

The theme of infestation by insects and parasites occurs in the clinical data of Aster.

[Jörg Hildebrandt]

Proving:

Crown-of-thorns-starfish (Acanthaster planci) - proving the threat of the coral reefs

by Jörg Hildebrandt, St. Pölten Austria

Acanthaster is a poisonous, voracious starfish with far more than the typical five arms, which causes great epidemic damage to coral reefs worldwide.

The remedy prepared from a part of a living animal taken from the shores of Bohol/Philippines and was potentized to C30 and C200.

14 healthy provers between 21 and 50 years of age and one patient provided symptoms. The double-blind proving took place from Oct. 1998 to Dec. 1999.

"Characteristic symptoms" were very much those of the toxicology: tearing, stitching, burning pain or sensation of heat, itching, local numbness, especially in the face.

A very prominent symptom was an eczema on the eyelids, which had to be antidoted in one prover by Nat-m., and could be cured in one patient. Another focus lay on

flu-like and sinusitis-like symptoms (weakness in muscles in the afternoon, feeling of impending illness, pain in head, eyes and teeth aggravated by bending forward).

The mind picture seems to reflect the tuberculine miasm: dreams of wandering, trains, getting lost - comparable with the larval stage of the starfish. Themes of eroticism, pregnancy, marriage are comparable with its tendency to rapid propagation. Illness, disgust, necrosis are comparable with its poisonous slime and armoured appearance,

and itself being a plague to the coral reefs. An interesting delusion of being naked or not properly dressed in one prover was repeated in a dream of another prover.

Keywords:

Acanthaster planci, COTS=Crown-of-Thorns-Starfish, Starfish, proving, tuberculine miasm.

Schlüsselwörter:

Acanthaster planci, Dornenkronenseestern, Seestern, Arzneimittelprüfung, tuberkulinisches Miasma.

Korrespondierender Autor: Dr. Jörg Hildebrandt, Feldmühlweg 103, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria

E-Mail: j.hildebrandt@telering.at

"Characteristic symptoms" were very much those of the toxicology: tearing, stitching, burning pain or sensation of heat, itching, local numbness (face). A very prominent symptom was an eczema on the eyelids, which had to be antidoted in one prover by Nat-m., and could be cured in one patient. Another focus lay on flu-like and sinusitis-like symptoms (weakness in muscles in the afternoon, feeling of impending illness, pain in head, eyes and teeth aggravated by bending forward).

The mind picture seems to reflect the tuberculine miasm: dreams of wandering, trains, getting lost - comparable with the larval stage of the starfish. Themes of eroticism, pregnancy, marriage are comparable with its tendency to rapid propagation. Illness, disgust, necrosis are comparable with its poisonous slime and armoured appearance, and itself being a plague to the coral reefs. An interesting delusion of being naked or not properly dressed in one prover was repeated in a dream of another prover.

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