Solanaceae comparison Anhängsel
Solanaceae themes: sudden and abrupt violence, rupture, explosion, burst,
tear, touch, constriction, fulgurating, violent terror, persecution, murder,
life and death issue,
black or white. Anesthetised, stupefaction. Reaction: shouting,
escaping, acute sensations, hitting and kicking. Brace before danger.
(Sankaran)
Fight or flight: expecting overwhelming hidden dangers, fighting demons,
leading to inner tension, and finally parasympathetic paralysis.(Scholten)
[Massimo Mangliavori]
„Lyssinum“ oder „Gallicum Acidum“
[Tim Shanon]
Solanacae in general:
• Dreams - Demons & Faces, Possessed
• Shameless sexually
• Forsaken/Jealousy
• Out of Control, Wild Animal
• Averse to Water
• Fear of Dogs (Wild animals)
[Tim Shannon]
Discussion about nightshades
Massimo mentioned how the nightshades are related to controlling ones
instincts. The drugs were used in the old times to allow someone to release
their inhibitions - to be out of control. In patients requiring nightshades,
you often find this conflict. In children who are less compensated, the
wildness comes out more readily. But with adults you often see someone who is
more controlled, more suppressed as this patient was. This patient talks
repeatedly of keeping his anger and rage under control.
This is why archetypes like the dark, water, and wild animals can
receive such strong projections with nightshade patients. They have suppressed
their “dark side” in order to be able to matriculate in society. They often
feel rejected or neglected and are quite resentful and angry about it – as this
patient was. Yet sometimes they feel they can’t fully express their outrage as
they may loose what little support they feel they are receiving. So they can
present as timid or controlled, yet they are often sitting on Pandora’s box.
This is stronger in the toxic nightshades or their look-alikes
(Bell. Stram. Mand. Hyos. Lyss. Gall-ac.).
Nightshades well known for congestion, which he mentioned regarding his
pounding headaches. His sensitivity to light and sound during the headaches
also helps to confirm the nightshades.
Nightshades (the poisonous ones such as Bell. Stram. etc.) are
parasympatholytics. They are neurological toxins that suppress the
parasympathetic nervous system.
This leaves the sympathetic nervous system unrestrained - the fight or
flight response is thus intensified. This leads to a type of “wildness”, a lack
of inhibition.
This is why you’ll see some nightshades who are somewhat shameless in
presentation.
Often we are told to consider Stram. Bell. or Hyos. in children who are
violent and out of control. Nightshades in adults often present as over
controlled. They may have
a very violent history, but often learn to suppress or even over-control
their reactions. They can become emotionally somewhat cold for this reason -
this is true in particular
of Belladonna. So they present with nervous tics, impulse control
issues, rages, etc. This is indicative of their system’s attempt at keeping
things under control.
Adult Nightshade patients can also often get stuck in their head, in
their intellect, to avoid emotions. This is seen in this patient, he talks
about always trying to wonder why this happened, or brooding on the past always
with trying to find an answer. They can also avoid emotions via this physical
restlessness as he describes. These are used as strategies to avoid
experiencing feelings directly.
In this case too, you can see the split between the “dark-side” or the
unconscious and the conscious side. He often refers to having lost one side of
himself, or the repeating dream of darkness on one side and light on the other.
The voice calling him to the dark side. This again shows the common conflict
seen in nightshades with this split, or
lack of integration.
Of course the toxic nightshades are also narcotics. But their use in the
old times was different from the sacred psychedelics of the old times. Peyote,
Ayahuasca,
and Psilocybin
have been traditionally used to alter consciousness and then come back with a
lesson, something learned for our conscious side.
Yet the toxic nightshades were often used before battle, to help one do
their killing without remorse. Then when the drug wore off, they couldn’t
recall their violence.
This helps to understand why these different broad classes of narcotics
have different applications in homeopathy. Patients needing the sacred
narcotics are often struggling with being too open to the universe, struggling
between feeling too blended with the larger world, or feeling totally isolated.
The nightshades are certainly can also be oversensitive to the world around
them. Yet the emphasis is more on struggling with trying to keep their
“dark-side” under control. Nightshades are useful for patients with difficulty
integrating their “dark-side” with their daily life. It appears that their dark
side is their feelings or needs they had to suppress in the past for fear of
being forsaken.
A parting note about Massimo Mangialavori’s teaching:
I’ve been studying with Massimo Mangialavori since 1998. He talks about
studying materia medica via cured cases. This has become a growing and profound
reality for me. Of course learning from the provings and repertory are always
important. I was never able to read materia medica and understand the Rx and
how it might apply to a patient. But once one has seen a cured case, whether
someone else’s or one’s own, that is the beginning of understanding a Rx. By
extension, this also helps to learn the family of
the Rx.
Another fundamental teaching is that of learning to see the greater
themes or trends in a patient rather than just symptoms. He also talks a lot
about understanding Rx’s and people by looking at the underlying strategy of
the patient – how they are getting their needs met as constrained by their
pathology. These lessons have particularly helped
with autistic patients, unwilling teens, and some delusional patients.
Often these patients won’t give us some of the deeper symptoms we prefer. Using
themes, and patient strategies has helped to solve some very difficult cases
where the patient was unable or unwilling to disclose deeper details.
As examples, I currently have two autistic boys who were unable to
speak. One case is doing wonderful on Lac felinum, the other on Coca. I also have a paranoid
delusional patient who was adamantly claiming she had no problems or
complaints– physical or mental. She was brought in by her daughter, who in a
separate interview revealed some very intractable paranoid delusions.
That patient is doing wonderful on Thea. The above cases were solved using the
larger themes and strategies of the patients rather than looking for symptoms
that were simply not available.
Using Massimo’s specific theory of families was also fundamental to
solving these cases as well as many others.
Massimo also uses a lot of contemporary psychology to elucidate a more
contemporary understanding of the psyche. Besides teaching with his long term
cures, he also shows his deeper understanding of the patient and the Rx from
many different angles. This has helped me to truly understand Rx’s, instead of
just seeing a Rx as a list of symptoms. It is hard to use words to convey how
profoundly this teaching has impacted the accuracy and ease now common in my
practice.
In the beginning as a student, one needs to borrow other good
prescribers knowledge by studying their long term cured cases. But as I’ve seen
good cures of many families of Rx, rare as well as common Rx’s, it has
completely altered my perception. It is common now for me to give a Rx that
works well and deeply right from the initial intake, doing all the
repertorization and differential during the initial intake (mine are 2 hours or
less).
As my working body of knowledge has expanded I’ve seen more and more
cures with a full range of Rx’s. I mostly credit this to Massimo’s grounded
clinical knowledge as well as my own growing database of long term cured cases.
Massimo’s teaching is about learning how to fish for oneself. It has helped me
to grow and express my love of homeopathy via beautiful and growing success
with my patients.
[Rajan Sankaran]
With the Solonaceae family the
jerking, constricting, choking, shooting, sunstrokes, apoplexy, violent terror,
pursued, murder, killed snakes” (Insight into Plants Vol 2).
In Belladonna, it is a very violent
shocking feeling of being terrified.
In Stramonium, the person feels
lost terrified and all alone.
Dulcamara is the state of being frightened and
helpless, primarily as a consequence of becoming cold.
In this way each remedy of the
Solanaceae family has a distinctive kind of feeling of being frightened and
terrified.
‡ Folgendes hat anthroposofische Einschlüsse ‡
[Wilhelm Pelikan]
Belladonna: = deadly nightshade, banewort
Highly typical of the family, a perennial growing in mountain forests,
where it mysteriously makes itself part of these places where nature is so
elemental, part as something dangerous, something demonic. The twilight border
zone, where the light of day meets the humid darkness of the forest, is the
area where the deadly nightshade likes to grow. It may be at the edge of the
forest, in a small clearing, or an area where all trees have been felled,
providing the soil contains dark humus, and there is sufficient shade.
If the sun comes through more strongly and there is not sufficient
darkness to hold the sun forces in balance, the plant will soon disappear.
Not only the habitat, the whole form of the plant expresses the battle
between forces of light and of darkness. One major organ, the strong root stock
which develops several heads as it grows older, is for ever hidden away in
darkness. From it, spring energetically calls forth the shoot with its large
petiolate foliage leaves, oval in shape with a pointed apex and margin entire,
taking them up into the upper region - until autumn, when the nether region
demands the return of their essential principle down to the root. The shoot
grows strongly and rapidly, one would expect to see it develop to more than a
man's height, or even into a tree. Yet how soon an end is put to this vitality
of growth. There, it has stopped - what has inhibited it? A flower has stepped
into its path, an unsurmountable obstacle. Having got going, the powerful
current of growth cannot stop at the height it has reached, which is about a
meter; it breaks apart into lateral rays, usually three, not unlike the water
of a fountain will be deflected to go up at an angle when
a fist has come down to stop it gushing straight upwards. But from this
point onwards the whole plant has become something other. Something which has
announced itself so early and so clearly with that first flower, has now taken
hold of all further growth and development, lateral deflection having brought
no escape. The plant structure now is one of three rays forming a funnel
opening out wide at the top, and this has become one whole inflorescence,
though we also see rich herbage. In the process of developing to full power its
abundant foliage, the plant was literally assaulted by the flowering process.
The lateral shoots forming the funnel have thus become a strange mixture
of intermingling leaf and flower elements. The following trinity may be
observed, rhythmically repeating itself all the way up the branch: a small leaf
which, being a bract, intimately belongs to the flower, and from its axil the
bud rising on a stem; beside them on the other side, a large leaf, wanting to
appear as a bract subtending that flower, though in fact it is a bract
belonging to the flower below, one floor lower down; its stem has fused with
the shoot and been taken one floor up with it. The large leaf thus belongs more
to the shoot, and owes its size to the stronger etheric forces of the shoot;
the small leaf belongs more to the flower, and the astral forces of this have
obviously reduced its growth. The flower buds are all on the inside of the
funnel formed by the plant, and face upwards. This needs to be emphasized, for
the proper appreciation of what is to follow. As it opens up, the flower makes
a strong movement, seeking shade, rotating downward and outward and creeping
under the large leaf beside it - as under a parasol.
It flees the light and in doing so, falls
subject to gravity.
A deeply invaginated throat opens up, its colors revealing a struggle between
a weak, fading yellow and a gloomy brown-violet. The "earth bee", the
heavy bumble bee, gathers the nectar. Then the many-seeded "cherry"
swells, black-violet, like the eye of an animal, and as it does so, leaves the
shade of the parasol and rises up again into the lighter twilight. The dark
hues apparent even on the stem, in shades of black, violet and brown, lending
their tinge to branches and flowers, reach their final peak in the shiny black
berry. Thus the whole plant is sensitive to the interplay of light and
darkness. The leaves show it; they are real shade leaves, finely structured,
though structure changes when more light washes around them. The seeds however
need light to germinate, they only come up reluctantly if in deep shade.
The characteristic nature of Bell. lies, however, not only in the
interaction of light and shade, but also in the interweaving of water and air.
The roots, the growing shoot, suck up water greedily from the moist humus of
the forest, and exhale it into the atmosphere. This intensive
"aerification" of the fluid element becomes apparent if we pick a
branch of the plant. Within a very short time it will hang down limply, for no
more fluid follows up, to make up for the losses due to evaporation.
Drying-out, withering forces from the astral element, the air, are constantly
striving to get hold of the plant, but all the time this is made good, as
water, the element of the etheric, pulses afresh through the plant. A powerful
life process generally counterbalances the effects of excessive
"astralization". We have seen this already in the way in which flower
and leaf processes blend; the flower succeeds in prematurely irrupting into the
plant form, but it must suffer the leaf element to continue unchanged by its
side, right to the tip of the shoot. It is also evident in the vitality shown
by the petals of the calyx, for these survive long after the flower, forming a
wide green dish with the black violet berry at the center. Vitalization and
devitalization are thus constantly contending for supremacy. The plant flowers
in June and July, and the berry ripens during the autumn.
Bell. is poisonous to man in all its parts. Birds, rabbits (in whom, in
a sense, the nervous and sensory processes are preponderant) feed on it with
impunity. The chemist will find in it the typical Solanaceae alkaloids
(l-hyoscyamine, atropine, l-scopolamine, apoatropine, belladonnine) and in
addition a substance called a-methyl-aesculetin; this shows blue Fluoreszenz
and is closely related
to the iridescent substance found in the Aesc-h. (aesculin).
The ash contains silicic
acid. and magnesium in appreciable quantities and also a trace of copper. The
first two relate to the hidden longing for light in this plant, for both
silicic acid and magnesium are connected with light processes, serving them,
and are "light elements".
Bell. is a polycrest. Its actions arise from the processes we have
described which make up its specific nature. The action is directed at the mode
of coordination of the members of man's being; it applies generally, and also
in specific organ spheres. As we have become aware of the special relation of
the deadly nightshade process to light and darkness, it will come as no
surprise that the eye holds a special place among those specific organ spheres.
The encounter between light and darkness, the world of night and that of
day, is not limited, however, to one organ, the eye, "created in the light
and for the light". As the transition from sleeping to waking
consciousness, it concerns also the human being as a whole. In the 19th
lecture in Spiritual Science and Medicine, 2 a description is given of
how certain plants resist the immediate forces of earth and then reserve many
of their form-giving forces for the development of flower and fruit (and Bell.
does this most noticeably). R.S. then continues:
"As the plant resists those forces of earth it becomes exposed to
forces from outside the earth when the final stage of seed-formation, of
fruiting, is reached; it then becomes a plant which desires to look out upon
the world in the same way as higher beings, beings from a sphere above that of
the plant kingdom, look out upon the world. The desire to perceive is
revealed. The plant is not organized for perception, however; it remains a
plant though it desires to develop something of the nature found in the
human eye. (Italics by W. Pelikan.) Yet it is unable to develop an eye,
because its body is that of a plant, not of a human being or animal. And so it
becomes a banewort, a deadly nightshade (German Tollkirsche; toll
= mad, Kirsche = cherry).
I have attempted to give you a clear and rather vivid picture of the
process which occurs as the deadly nightshade comes into being.
It becomes a deadly nightshade, and as it does so, and has in its roots
already the forces which will finally cause it to produce its black berries,
the plant is related to everything which in the human body tends to impel
towards the development of form and shape, to impel towards something which can
actually only take place in the sphere of the senses, i.e. to lift man out
of the sphere of his organization into the sphere of his senses.
The process which occurs when small amounts of Bell. are given in
potentized form is indeed highly interesting. It is terribly like the process
of waking from sleep, when one is not yet quite perceiving with the senses, and
sensory perception is still potentized, within, to fill our consciousness with
dreams. At that moment one always gets a sort of Bell. action in man. Bell.
poisoning occurs because the very process which normally goes on when human
beings wake up, when their waking is permeated with dreams, is now evoked in
them by the poison of Bell., but in this case becomes a continuous state and is
not taken over by (daytime) consciousness.
The phenomena of the transitional state thus become lasting. This is
what is so interesting, that here one can see how the processes evoked by the
phenomena of poisoning are processes which, if they have the right timing,
actually pertain to the whole human organization . . . waking from sleep in man
has something in it of becoming Bell., but toned down . . . limited to the
moment of waking."
If the moment of waking were to become a permanent state, R.S.
concludes, it would be fatal - like Bell. poisoning.
Thus Bell. may be said to bring the "night-time man" close to
the day-time man, though night-time man is everywhere projecting into day-time
man.
Their eyes are open, but in broad daylight they look as though they had
opened to total darkness. Lower man, blood man, is forcing his way up from the
subconscious, unconscious depths into nerve-man, into the region of the head.
For in its senses the organism is awake; in its metabolism it is asleep,
always, even during the day. The blood pushes upwards, the head grows hot, the
face red. Under the influence of Bell. poison, the blood principle erupts into
the nerve principle. The blood vessels in the eye become engorged, epistaxis
occurs, the salivary glands and tonsils become enlarged, and the tongue grows
red and swollen. Hypersensitivity to external cold develops. A similar state is
seen with many diseases involving acute temperatures and the initial stage of
inflammation, and the homeopathic school has come to regard Bell. as a major
remedy for these initial stages. Other conditions are migraine, congestive
headaches, and also the treatment of sequelae of influenza (Raeff's Bulgarian
cure). Here we see the effect on the head of the powerful root action of Bell.
A plant in which astral activities are forced in to such abnormal degree
will obviously act on conditions in the human organism where certain organic
regions are subject to abnormal action on the part of the astral body, so that
cramps or spasms result. Bell. has accordingly been used to treat whooping
cough, asthma, gastric and intestinal spasms, the spastic component of biliary
and renal colic, spasms in the uterine region, and even paralysis, e.g. of the
sphincter vesicae.
In the sphere of the nerves and senses, "day-time man" is able
to live fully in conscious activity of the spirit; in the system of metabolism
and limbs, man is unconscious, he is active in a state of consciousness dimmed
down to sleep; this activity is very much of the spirit, but it is unconscious;
"night-time man" lives in it. Spiritual qualities, in remaining
unconscious, are shackled, one might say, to organ activity and the preparation
of physical substance. With the poison of Bell., part of this spiritual
principle is driven out of the physical and liberated. Normally such a
liberation of the spiritual principle from its organic base and support should
take place only in the brain, the nervous and sense organs. If it rises
unfettered from the depth of the metabolic organs, abnormal soul contents will
be experienced in form of visions and the like. At the same time a mad,
pathological urge to move takes hold of the muscular system. The role of Bell.
in the treatment of "mental disorders" may be discerned from this.
We must remember, however, how we discerned the intense struggle between
etheric and astral principle going on in every part of the deadly nightshade.
Particular note should also be taken that the plant remains soft and resists
hardening at all stages of growth. In autumn, the whole handsome structure
withers away to almost nothing. One aspect of the Bell. action, therefore, is
that given in suitable dosage it stimulates the life processes (the activity of
the ether-body) and combats processes of hardening and mineralization such as
might occur in the organization as a whole, or in an organic region (eye),
due to premature aging.
It would however, go far beyond the scope of this book to enter thus
deeply into purely medical aspects. Anyone interested in specific details and
in the many possibilities of medicinal action, is strongly advised to consult
the detailed and comprehensive studies in Dr. Simonis' Die unbekannte
Heilpflanze.
‡ Folgendes
hat anthroposofische Einschlüsse ‡
One of the Solanaceae be truly at home in our parts is the deadly
nightshade. It is highly typical of the family, a perennial growing in mountain
forests, where it mysteriously makes itself part of these places where nature
is so elemental, part as something dangerous, something demonic. The twilight
border zone, where the light of day meets the humid darkness of the forest, is
the area where the deadly nightshade likes to place itself. It may be at the
edge of the forest, in a small clearing, or an area where all trees have been
felled, providing the soil contains dark humus, and there are sufficient forces
of shade. If the sun comes through more strongly and there is not sufficient
darkness to hold the sun forces in balance, the plant will soon disappear.
The habitat and the whole form of the plant expresses the battle between
forces of light and of darkness. One major organ, the strong root stock which
develops several heads as it grows older, is for ever hidden away in darkness.
From it, spring energetically forth the shoot with its large petiolate foliage
leaves, oval in shape with a pointed apex and margin entire, taking them up
into the upper region - until autumn, when the nether region demands the return
of their essential principle down to the root. The shoot grows strongly and
rapidly, one would expect to see it develop to more than a man's height, or
even into a tree. Yet how soon an end is put to this vitality of growth. There,
it has stopped. A flower has stepped into its path, an unsurmountable obstacle.
Having got going, the powerful current of growth cannot stop at the height it
has reached, which is about a meter; it breaks apart into lateral rays, usually
3, not unlike the water of a fountain will be deflected to go up at an angle
when a fist has come down to stop it gushing straight upwards. But from this
point onwards the whole plant has become something other. Something which has
announced itself so early and so clearly with that first flower, has now taken
hold of all further growth and development, lateral deflection having brought
no escape. The plant structure now is one of 3 rays forming a funnel opening out
wide at the top, and this has become one whole inflorescence, though we also
see rich herbage. In the process of developing to full power its abundant
foliage, the plant was literally assaulted by the flowering process.
The lateral shoots forming the funnel have thus become a strange mixture
of intermingling leaf and flower elements. The following trinity may be
observed, rhythmically repeating itself all the way up the branch: a small leaf
which, being a bract, intimately belongs to the flower, and from its axil the
bud rising on a stem; beside them on the other side, a large leaf, wanting to
appear as a bract subtending that flower, though in fact it is a bract
belonging to the flower below, one floor lower down; its stem has fused with
the shoot and been taken one floor up with it. The large leaf thus belongs more
to the shoot, and owes its size to the stronger etheric forces of the shoot;
the small leaf belongs more to the flower, and the astral forces of this have
obviously reduced its growth. The flower buds are all on the inside of the
funnel formed by the plant, and face upwards. This needs to be emphasized, for
the proper appreciation of what is to follow. As it opens up, the flower makes
a strong movement, seeking shade, rotating downward and outward and creeping
under the large leaf beside it - as under a parasol.
It flees the light and in doing so, falls subject to gravity. A deeply
invaginated throat opens up, its colors revealing a struggle between a weak,
fading yellow and a gloomy brown-violet. The "earth bee", the heavy
bumble bee, gathers the nectar. Then the many-seeded "cherry" swells,
black-violet, like the eye of an animal, and as it does so, leaves the shade of
the parasol and rises up again into the lighter twilight. The dark hues
apparent even on the stem, in shades of black, violet and brown, lending their
tinge to branches and flowers, reach their final peak in the shiny black berry.
Thus the whole plant is sensitive to the interplay of light and darkness. The
leaves show it; they are real shade leaves, finely structured, though structure
changes when more light washes around them. The seeds however need light to
germinate, they only come up reluctantly if in deep shade.
The characteristic nature of Bell. lies in the interaction of light and
shade, and in the interweaving of water and air. The roots, the growing shoot,
suck up water greedily from the moist humus of the forest, and exhale it into
the atmosphere. This intensive "aerification" of the fluid element
becomes apparent if picking a branch of the plant. Within a very short time it
will hang down limply, for no more fluid follows up, to make up for the losses
due to evaporation. Drying-out, withering forces from the astral element (air)
are constantly striving to get hold of the plant, but all the time this is made
good, as water, the element of the etheric, pulses afresh through the plant.
A powerful life process generally counterbalances the effects of
excessive "astralization". We have seen this already in the way in
which flower and leaf processes blend; the flower succeeds in prematurely
irrupting into the plant form, but it must suffer the leaf element to continue
unchanged by its side, right to the tip of the shoot. It is also evident in the
vitality shown by the petals of the calyx, for these survive long after the
flower, forming a wide green dish with the black violet berry at the center.
Vitalization and devitalization are thus constantly contending for supremacy.
The plant flowers in June and July, and the berry ripens during the autumn.
Bell. poisonous to man in all its parts. Birds and rabbits (in whom, in
a sense, the nervous and sensory processes are preponderant) feed on it with
impunity. The chemist will find in it the typical Solanaceae alkaloids
(l-hyoscyamine, atropine, l-scopolamine, apoatropine, belladonnine) and in
addition a substance called a-methyl-aesculetin; this shows blue fluorescence
and is closely related to the iridescent substance found in Aesc-h.
(aesculin). The ash contains silicic acid and Mg in appreciable
quantities and also a trace of copper. The first two relate to the hidden
longing for light in this plant, for both silicic acid and magnesium are
connected with light processes, serving them, and are "light
elements".
Bell. is one of the "great" remedies. Its actions, for all
their multiplicity, arise from the processes we have described which make up
its specific nature. The action is directed at the mode of coordination of the
members of man's being; it applies generally, and also in specific organ
spheres. As we have become aware of the special relation of the deadly
nightshade process to light and darkness, it will come as no surprise that the
eye holds a special place among those specific organ spheres. The encounter
between light and darkness, the world of night and that of day, is not limited,
however, to one organ, the eye, "created in the light and for the
light". As the transition from sleeping to waking consciousness, it
concerns also the human being as a whole.
In the 19th lecture in Spiritual Science and Medicine, 2 a
description is given of how certain plants resist the immediate forces of earth
and then reserve many of their form-giving forces for the development of flower
and fruit (and Bell. does this most noticeably). R.S.: "As the plant
resists those forces of earth it becomes exposed to forces from outside the
earth when the final stage of seed-formation, of fruiting, is reached; it then
becomes a plant which desires to look out upon the world in the same way as
higher beings, beings from a sphere above that of the plant kingdom, look out
upon the world. The desire to perceive is revealed. The plant is not organized
for perception, however; it remains a plant though it desires to develop
something of the nature found in the human eye.
Yet it is unable to develop an eye, because its body is that of a plant,
not of a human being or animal. And so it becomes a banewort, a deadly
nightshade (German Tollkirsche; toll = mad, Kirsche = cherry). I have attempted
to give you a clear and rather vivid picture of the process which occurs as the
deadly nightshade comes into being. It becomes a deadly nightshade, and as it
does so, and has in its roots already the forces which will finally cause it to
produce its black berries, the plant is related to everything which in the
human body tends to impel towards the development of form and shape, to impel
towards something which can actually only take place in the sphere of the
senses, i.e. to lift man out of the sphere of his organization into the sphere
of his senses. The process which occurs when small amounts of Bell. are given
in potentized form is indeed highly interesting. It is terribly like the
process of waking from sleep, when one is not yet quite perceiving with the
senses, and sensory perception is still potentized, within, to fill our
consciousness with dreams. At that moment one always gets a sort of Bell.
action in man. Bell. poisoning occurs because the very process which normally
goes on when human beings wake up, when their waking is permeated with dreams,
is now evoked in them by the poison of Bell., but in this case becomes a
continuous state and is not taken over by (daytime) consciousness. The phenomena
of the transitional state thus become lasting.
This is what is so interesting, that here one can see how the processes
evoked by the phenomena of poisoning are processes which, if they have the
right timing, actually pertain to the whole human organization . . . waking
from sleep in man has something in it of becoming Bell., but toned down . . .
limited to the moment of waking“.
If the moment of waking were to become a permanent state, R.S.
concludes, it would be fatal - like Bell. poisoning.
Thus Bell. may be said to bring the "night-time man" close to
the day-time man, though night-time man is everywhere projecting into day-time
man.
Their eyes are open, but in broad daylight they look as though they had
opened to total darkness. Lower man, blood man, is forcing his way up from the
subconscious, unconscious depths into nerve-man, into the region of the head.
For in its senses the organism is awake; in its metabolism it is asleep,
always, even during the day. The blood pushes upwards, the head grows hot, the
face red. Under the influence of Bell. poison, the blood principle erupts into
the nerve principle. The blood vessels in the eye become engorged, epistaxis
occurs, the salivary glands and tonsils become enlarged, and the tongue grows
red and swollen. Hypersensitivity to external cold develops. A similar state
seen in diseases involving acute temperatures and the initial stage of
inflammation. Other conditions are migraine, congestive headaches, sequelae of
influenza (Raeff's Bulgarian cure = root of bulgarian Bell. in wine for
Parkinson).
A plant in which astral activities are forced in to such abnormal degree
will obviously act on conditions in the human organism where certain organic
regions are subject to abnormal action on the part of the astral body, so that
cramps or spasms result. Bell. has accordingly been used to treat whooping
cough, asthma, gastric and intestinal spasms, the spastic component of biliary
and renal colic, spasms in the uterine region, and even paralysis, e.g. of the
sphincter vesicae.
In the sphere of the nerves and senses, "day-time man" is able
to live fully in conscious activity of the spirit; in the system of metabolism
and limbs, man is unconscious, he is active in a state of consciousness dimmed
down to sleep; this activity is very much of the spirit, but unconscious;
"night-time man" lives in it. Spiritual qualities, in remaining
unconscious, are shackled, one might say, to organ activity and the preparation
of physical substance.
With the poison of Bell., part of this spiritual principle is driven out
of the physical and liberated. Normally such a liberation of the spiritual
principle from its organic base and support should take place only in the
brain, the nervous and sense organs. If it rises unfettered from the depth of
the metabolic organs, abnormal soul contents will be experienced in form of
visions and the like. At the same time a mad, pathological urge to move takes
hold of the muscular system. The role of Bell. in the treatment of "mental
disorders" may be discerned from this.
We must remember, however, how we discerned the intense struggle between
etheric and astral principle going on in every part of the deadly nightshade.
Particular note should also be taken that the plant remains soft and resists
hardening at all stages of growth. In autumn, the whole handsome structure
withers away to almost nothing. One aspect of the Bell. action, therefore, is
that given in suitable dosage it stimulates the life processes (the activity of
the ether-body) and combats processes of hardening and mineralization such as
might occur in the organization as a whole, or in an organic region (especially
the eye), due to premature aging.
Bell. (woman/child) react rapidly, often with high body temperature, are
very sensitive to all external influences, are erethic, sanguine, irritable,
usually fair and full-blooded. cannot go to sleep although they feel sleepy,
they start up from sleep with fright, moaning and crying; also talking and
walking in their sleep, restlessness and twitching of the limbs and throwing
about can be observed.
Grinding of teeth.
During waking hours, hyperacuity of the senses makes itself felt
(seeing), but hearing, taste and smell may also be oversensitive.
Flashes of light appear before the eyes, things glitter and shine, but
cannot be clearly distinguished from each other. (visual hallucinations: swarms
of animals coming close, as in delirium). The visions grow more importunate on
closing the eyes. In the motor sphere, restlessness, twitching, throwing
himself about, incoordination of speech and walking appear. Loquacity and
confused talking are forerunners of delirium.
More rarely the sudden contractions of the muscles of a single limb go
over into general convulsions similar to epileptic attacks. Epilepsy in overexcitable,
"nervous" children.
Fever suddenly, with dry, burning heat; there is no preliminary stage of
chilliness, or only very little. Sweating is generally not profuse and can only
be noted here and there on covered parts of the body. Thirst is not marked, it
is more a desire to moisten the dry and sometimes cracked mucosa; the drinking
of water brings no relief or only a very temporary one.
The fever comes on suddenly and rises high, the lack of outlet through
sweating and other secretions probably contributing to this. It generally also
drops down to normal suddenly. Bell. fevers are acute.
Upper body hot (feet cold).
Face red/eyes glazed and staring, the widened vessels of the conjunctiva
stand out clearly against the white (wild expression results). The congestive
headaches, fullness, pressure and "bursting" lie chiefly in the
forehead and temples, r.-sided (+ dizziness "like early stages of
drunkenness"). < Cold draughts (Glon.)
< bending down/lying down/sudden movement (vibration on walking);
> resting in the upright position; headache (dizziness) > in open
air/< heat of sun.
< touching the head; steady pressure may >: <
noise/light/strong smells/< evening/beginning of the night;
The syndromes relating to the gastro-intestinal canal cannot be reduced
to a simple common denominator such as atonic or spasm. If it is a matter of
relieving spasms one approaches the palliative end of the range of action and
low potencies of Bell. or Atro. are required; this has already been mentioned
for the bile ducts. Neither constipation nor diarrhea are characteristic of
Bell.; some provers observed delayed sparse stools without or with unsuccessful
urging, but others reported frequent small, thin evacuations with tenesmus, and
the greenish color of the stools is mentioned several times. All types of
incoordination of secretion and motility do thus occur.
For the stomach, cramp-like pains, going through to the back, which
force the patient to bend backwards and are ameliorated by stretching are
characteristic of Bell. In the abdomen meteoric complaints predominate and
particular sensitivity of the abdominal wall to touch is worth noting.
In the urinary passages, too, all types of incoordination in emptying
the bladder occur; Bell. has proved particularly helpful for enuresis nocturia
in easily excited, "nervous" children. Other remedies like Equisetum
and Tuberculin have given more permanent successes.
In the same way, successes with dysmenorrhea in hyperexcitable young
girls are often prompt but only short-lived. The following may serve as
indications for Bell.: period too early and too profuse, menstrual discharge
bright red and hot; downward pressure, as though everything were going to fall
out, at the same time severe pain in the small of the back, as though it would
break, aggravation of pains from movement.
Even with an acute remedy such as Bell. the constitutional type of the
patient is more important in the selection of the remedy than the articular
organ syndrome and in selecting the potency the known or estimated sensitivity
of the patient has to be considered.
[Otto Leeser, M.D., Ph.D.]
When we make a study of the medicinal plants of a family such as the
Solanaceae there is no need to linger over their botanical classification. We
can rely for this on the botanists. There is no doubt that they have correctly
determined the main relationships of the family from the morphology and
histology of the species. But these gross structural characteristics cannot be
correlated to the medicinal actions of the plants. Poetic observations on the
exterior of the plants as clues to their medicinal actions in the fashion of
the signature rerum may seem very attractive to many, but they have no place in
the homeopathic materia medica.
The relevant structures are on the molecular level. To understand the
actions from structural characteristics of the plants, one must take account of
those special chemical products of their metabolism which, being alien, can
interfere with the functions of the human organism. In the Solanaceae these
substances are chiefly alkaloids, i.e. basic products of the amino acid
metabolism characteristic of this family of plants. And it is the structure of
these alkaloids which leads to a natural grouping of the species we use in
medicine.
1st most important group characterized by atropine (or rather
hyoscyamine). We shall discuss only Bell., Hyos., Stram. and Mand.; Duboisia
and Scop. need not concern us here.
2nd group, characterized by nicotine is only represented by
Nicotiana tabacum;
3rd the solanine plants: Solanum Dulcamara and Capsicum
annuum. In the latter, however, other non-alkaloid constituents must also be
considered to play a part in its actions.
ATROPINE AND BELLadonna
Let us begin with the biggest and most important group, the atropine
plants. You know everything or at least a great deal about atropine from
pharmacology. But perhaps it would be a good idea to recall some of it and
establish the context. Atropine is the racemic mixture of 1-hyoscyamine and
dextrohyoscyamine. The plants contain only, or almost only, 1-hyoscyamine; the
racemic compound is formed on chemical extraction of the alkaloids.
As with nearly all the alkaloids, the levorotatory form is the more
active. We are only concerned with 1-hyoscyamine. But experimental
investigations in pharmacology and the palliative applications based on them
have throughout been made with the less active atropine.
In experimental pharmacology, the inhibiting or paralyzing action on the
parasympathetic nerve endings in muscles and glands has been put forward as the
main effect of atropine. But that is only part of the potential action, just
as, and indeed because, the neuromuscular and neuroglandular preparations on
which this effect is demonstrated form only part of the living organism.
Nevertheless, we may take this as a starting point and see what they have got
to say with regard to therapy. First of all we have the well-founded theory
that atropine is able to inhibit the action of acetylcholine, the transmitter
or parasympathetic impulses. It may not yet be generally acknowledged, but it
is a good working hypothesis that atropine may temporarily take the place of
acetylcholine at the nerve end-plates; perhaps because it is structurally
similar, so that as a structural analogue it would stop the functioning of the
physiological neurohormone. If one looks at the structural formulae of atropine
and acetylcholine side by side, a similarity is not easily recognizable.
Both are esters. The tropic acid radicle of atropine can be taken as a
substituted acetic acid. The atropine radicle, however, is a tertiary compound
(derived from NH3), while choline, a quarternary, derives from NH4OH. Tropine
could, however, combine with halides in the organism to form a quarternary
salt. And it has indeed been maintained that this is responsible for the
action. When the large atropine molecule replaces acetylcholine the
physiological regulation of the transmission of impulses fails because the enzyme
cholinesterase is then ineffective; the parasympathetic blockage persists until
the atropine is eliminated from the system. If atropine is used for its
inhibiting effect, no more than a temporary suppression of symptoms can be
expected.
The secretion of the salivary glands is reduced, hence the dry mouth and
throat; the secretions of the mucous glands of the esophagus and trachea and
bronchi, the production of acid and pepsin in the gastric mucosa, and the
pancreatic, biliary and intestinal secretions are decreased to a greater or
lesser extent. The most familiar example of the paralyzing action on unstriped
muscle is that on the sphincter iridis via parasympathetic branches of the n.
oculomotorius. This action is frequently made use of in ophthalmology;
accommodation is paralyzed at the same time through the relaxation of the
ciliary muscle. The forcible widening of the pupil is used regularly, and in
my opinion much too regularly, for iritis; it should be carefully considered
for each case. The tearing or prevention of adhesions is a valid reason, but
the regular administration of atropine to the eye for prolonged periods may
not only provoke conjunctivitis, but even render the iritis more and more
chronic. I have quoted some cases of this type on an earlier occasion, 1 when
the inflammation could only be terminated by stopping the atropine and instead
using Merc. 3x. In discontinuing the routine of instilling atropine one must,
however, guard against the danger of seclusio pupillae. On the other hand, the
danger of increased intraocular pressure through atropine must also be
considered. Cases of poisoning with psychotic symptoms and damage to the heart
muscle following the local application of atropine to the eye have been
reported.
Now let us consider the action of atropine on the smooth musculature of
the hollow organs. Relaxation of the spasm of the bronchial muscles in an
attack of asthma is only rarely attempted with atropine or Bell., Stram. being
more commonly used. Acute hallucinatory psychosis has been recorded from
overdosage of Stramonium in this palliative use.
Therapeutic doses of atropine have a palliative effect on spasmodic
contractions of the smooth musculature of other organs, too: in the
gastrointestinal tract, bile ducts, ureter, bladder and uterus. Particularly
sensitive to atropine appear to be the parasympathetic nerve endings on the
gall bladder and the sphincter Oddi. The irregular spasmodic contraction in
biliary colic often responds well to Atropine 3x; that is of course also a
palliative action, but after all one does not expect more. It is noteworthy
that a preliminary phase of excitation has been observed following the
administration of atropine, for instance on the uterus, the ureters and the
bladder, and even on the sphincter iridis. My late uncle. J. Leeser, wrote his
doctorate thesis on the primary miotic effect of atropine. One could claim utilization
of this primary stimulant action for the homeopathic action on, for instance,
the gastro-intestinal canal and the bile ducts, an action which we will have to
discuss later for Bell. and Mandragora. Experimental pharmacology explains a
stimulating action on the intestine via Auerbach's plexus which maintains the
rhythm of the peristaltic movements. The speeding up of this rhythm does not
lead to tonic spasms, so that on the whole the action of atropine is sedative.
This might explain why one can observe from atropine not only temporary relief
in spastic obstipation, but a beneficial action in certain cases of atonic
obstipation as well. With such general statements as that atropine in small
doses is a stimulant and in large doses an inhibitor one does not get far
towards an understanding of its mode of action.
That is particularly obvious in the effect of atropine upon the heart.
In large doses atropine paralyzes the inhibitory terminations of the vagus;
hence the acceleration of the heart action can be seen from atropine or from
Bell.
This stimulation has occasionally been made use of to relieve heart
block. Such an action cannot very well be called an inhibition through large
doses (as the Arndt-Schulz rule would have it). It is also known since Schroff
(1852) that atropine has a preliminary phase with slowing down of pulse.
For this effect another point of attack has been suggested, the heart
muscle itself. In a case of toxic psychosis after drops of the usual 1%
solution of atropine sulphate had been instilled into an eye, damage to the
myocardium was indeed established by E.C.G.
From the negative cholinergic actions of atropine on the parasympathetic
nerve endings we now go on, or rather up, to the actions on neuronal centres.
About these actions we know less from animal experiments than from what can be
inferred from poisonings in human beings. There, too, an antagonism to
acetylcholine is suspected, but it has not been proved. It is not an easy thing
to prove, since nothing definite is known about the role of acetylcholine in
transmitting impulses within the central nervous system. Let us take the
vasomotor disturbances to begin with. The scarlatinoid erythema which occurs
with atropine and Bell. poisonings
has not yet been sufficiently explained. It is improbable that it can be
explained by the dilatation of the blood vessels when tissues are irrigated
with atropine solution in animal experiments. A central action would seem more
likely.
Increase in arterial blood pressure and a 1-3° C. rise in body
temperature is almost certainly due to central action of the alkaloids. This
stimulation goes hand in hand with the excitation of the respiratory center.
Breathing accelerated and deepened. Hence the attempt to stimulate the
respiratory center through large doses of atropine in cases of morphine
poisoning. ("Strong stimuli enhance life activities", in contrast to
Arndt-Schultz's rule!) Stimulation of the respiratory center may also be taken
into account for the palliative use of Stramonium for asthma, even if the chief
consideration is relaxation of the spasm of the bronchial muscles.
Finally we come to the cortical excitation elicited by atropine. Animal
experiments tell us little about this. Herbivorous animals and birds react
hardly at all to atropine and Bell. and experiments on dogs give a very
incomplete picture; the only thing which could be shown was the increased excitability
of the motor centers of the cortex after small doses of atropine. The main
psychoso-mimetic symptoms are well established from atropine and Bell.
poisonings. (By the way, why did the so-called psychoso-mimetic action of
substances such as mescaline and lysergic acid have to be announced with much
to-do as a new phenomemon when alcoholic, atropine and numerous other psychoses
from drugs had been well known for ages?) The picture of acute atropine or
1-hyoscyamine poisoning is in the main comparable to that of Bell. The
differences only become apparent in the more gradual unfolding of symptoms by
provings on man, and it is fortunate that we have extensive drug-proving
records of both Bell. and Atropine.
If we now sketch the sequence of events in acute poisoning as ascending
from the periphery to the center, this does not mean that they always follow
the same course. Depending on the sensitivity of the person the central
syndromes may occur first or even exclusively, both with atropine and Bell.
Usually dryness and rawness appear first in the mouth, sometimes with
hoarseness, difficulties in swallowing and nausea; the skin grows dry, hot and
raw, often with a scarlatinoid erythema particularly of the head and neck,
sometimes with prickling and itching. The difficulties in swallowing may
increase until swallowing becomes quite impossible. The pulse is usually
somewhat slowed down to begin with, but later on becomes much faster and
combines with palpitations; the pupil is widened and immobile; the eyes are
dry, brilliant, staring, and may protrude slightly. Headaches and dizziness are
frequent early symptoms, accompanied by a feeling of weakness, heaviness and
tiredness in the limbs. Cerebral irritation starts with restless, hasty
movements, trembling and staggering walk; this is followed by confused talking,
visual and, more rarely, auditory hallucinations, finally delirium with
laughter and crying, paroxysms of rage; hydrophobia is marked, reminding of
rabies. In the terminal stage the ability to see, hear and the sensitivity to
touch may decrease; retching and incontinence of urine and stools may set in;
the acute excitement changes into convulsions, and finally collapse, coma with
greatly accelerated respiration may lead to fatal asphyxia.
The drug provings have added the finer details and nuances to this
toxicological outline. If the stimulus is applied in planned gradations of
intensity and time intervals the defense reactions of the organism can unfold
gradually and may be studied in detail. And it is these finer nuances which we
use as indications for a planned stimulative therapy. Because of its more
elaborate drug picture Bell. is definitely of more use to us than Atropine.
The effects of atropine are too stormy and too violent, the reactive range
and therapeutic index are narrow. With Bell. the action is modified by the
secondary alkaloids scopolamine and apoatropine which are related to atropine.
Other substances found in the crude drug may be even more important,
particularly the glycoside scopolin. Its aglucone is scopoletin
(methylaesculin). Such lactone compounds are known to have an action on the
smooth musculature, particularly of the intestine and uterus. It may be assumed
that additional substances in extracts of the plants slow down the passage of
the alkaloid through the organism and allow the gradual unfolding of the
reactions to become more apparent. Such a difference in the development of
symptoms can also be seen between other alkaloid plants and their respective
alkaloids, for instance in the case of Nux vomica and Ignatia on the one hand
and their chief alkaloid strychnine on the other. Atropine itself is mostly
used on fairly gross pathological indications, for instance in achylia gastrica
where one expects a simple reversal to be affected.
But when it is a question of adjusting the remedy to the diseased person
rather than to the disease, Bell. is more to the purpose.
Individual sensitivity to Bell. varies greatly. That has already been
noticed in the cases of poisoning; only very few people will react to atropine
eyedrops with psychosis. On an earlier occasion
I described one case of hypersensitivity to Bell. 6x. One constitutional
type, particularly of women and children, has proved especially sensitive to
Bell.: they react rapidly, often with high body temperature, are very sensitive
to all external influences, are erethic, sanguine, irritable, usually fair and
full-blooded.
The preliminary stage of sensory and motor excitation has come out
clearly in the drug provings and these symptoms provide good indications for
the use of Bell.. The patients, usually children, cannot go to sleep although
they feel sleepy, they start up from sleep with fright, moaning and crying;
also talking and walking in their sleep, restlessness and twitching of the
limbs and throwing about can be observed. Grinding of teeth during sleep has
proved to be a particularly good indication for Bell. During waking hours,
hyperacuity of the senses makes itself felt, particularly that of seeing, but
hearing, taste and smelling may also appear oversensitive. It seems that the
intraocular disturbances of refraction and hyperaemia of the fundus coincide
with excitation of the visual
center in the cortex, or pass into each other. Flashes of light appear
before the eyes, things glitter and shine, but cannot be clearly distinguished
from each other. This excitation progresses into visual hallucinations, usually
in the form of swarms of small animals or even large animals coming close, as
in delirium. The visions grow more importunate on closing the eyes. In the
motor sphere, restlessness, twitching, throwing himself about, incoordination
of speech and walking appear. Loquacity and confused talking are forerunners of
delirium. More rarely the sudden contractions
of the muscles of a single limb go over into general convulsions similar
to epileptic attacks. With epilepsy in overexcitable, "nervous"
children I have seen remarkable improvement from Bell.
The Bell. fever is well characterized. Excitation of the temperature
center combines with that of the vasomotor center in producing the active
hyperaemia which is one of the main characteristics of the Bell. picture.
The fever comes on suddenly, with dry, burning heat; there is no
preliminary stage of chilliness, or only very little. Sweating is generally not
profuse and can only be noted here and there on covered parts of the body.
Thirst not marked, it is more a desire to moisten the dry and sometimes cracked
mucosa; the drinking of water brings no relief or only a very temporary one.
The fever comes on suddenly and rises high, the lack of outlet through sweating
and other secretions probably contributing to this. It generally also drops
down to normal suddenly. Bell. fevers are acute.
The arterial hyperemia of Bell. need not by any means have progressed to
inflammation and fever. Similarly as with Glonoin the Bell. hyperaemia affects
preferably the upper half of the body, particularly the head and neck, whilst
the feet are usually cold. The face is reddened, the eyes are glazed and
staring, the widened vessels of the conjunctiva stand out clearly against the
white, and altogether a somewhat wild expression results.
The congestive headaches, fullness, pressure and "bursting"
lie chiefly in the forehead and temples, mainly on the right, and there seems
to be a general preponderance of right-sidedness with Bell.. The headaches are
often accompanied by dizziness, "like early stages of drunkenness".
There is nothing in the provings or in clinical records to support this. On the
contrary, I have found that Bell. headaches are always ameliorated by cold
compresses. Cold draughts of air can, of course, produce other troubles with
that marked hyperaemia (Glon). Both Belladona and Glonoin have the strange
indication: Wry neck after haircut, obviously to be interpreted as great
sensitivity to cold and draught of the hyperemic head and neck. But this does
not mean that a general aggravation through cold can be deduced, and even less
that Bell. corresponds to chilly persons. If neuralgias, of the n. trigeminus
for instance, are ameliorated by warmth, this modality does not signify much
for the Bell. case. Atropine and Bell. certainly do also have an affinity to
the sensory nerve endings, they can even produce anaesthesia; the use of Bell.
plasters as an analgetic was formerly very common. Without any further
indications acute neuralgias rarely lead to the choice of Bell.
The other modalities fit well with the hyperemic, congestive nature of
the headaches and the dizziness "as if drunk": they are worse on
bending down and lying down, from any sudden movement, from vibration on
walking; Bell. > resting in the upright position; headache and particularly
the dizziness > in the open air, but < heat of sun. Further modalities
arise from the great sensory irritability: < touching the head, the scalp is
very sensitive to touch, less so to steady pressure which may even ameliorate;
< noise/light/strong smells. < towards evening/beginning of the night
(hyperaemia/inflammatory/febrile conditions).
The early stage of inflammation with marked arterial hyperaemia is the
main sphere for the use of Bell. It acts preferably on highly vascularized
tissues. The fauces are frequently affected: violent
dark red swelling and dryness, sudden high temperature are characteristic.
With extensive inflammation of the tissues one generally finds strong pulsation
in the Bell. case, particularly of the
carotids, a full hard, rapid pulse, thirst not quenched by drinking.
With iritis, the time during which Bell. would be effective is brief,
the hyperemic stage, before exudation begins; usually one sees cases of iritis
only in the stage corresponding to Mercury.
The purpose of using Bell. is to prevent exudation or at least to reduce
and shorten it. The same consideration applies with other acute inflammations,
for instance an otitis media coming on suddenly with a bright red tympanic
membrane, i.e. before such remedies as Merc./Hep./Caps./Puls.e indicated. In
the early stages of acute appendicitis when the patient tosses restlessly in a
dry fever, one used to be able to see prompt results from Bell.; nowadays the
reflex from the diagnosis to the knife has become so habitual, both with
doctors and relatives, that the attempt is hardly ever made.
The similarity of the erythema and inflammation of the throat to scarlet
fever led Hahnemann to recommend Bell. as the remedy for scarlet fever as early
as 1799. It is little known that the Bell. erythema if severe and persistent
also leaves behind a scarlatinoid scaling. During the last 40 years scarlet
fever has become so much more benign that the success of Bell. can no longer be
simply evaluated as "proper hoc." I have no personal experience of
Bell. with the severe, often fatal, cases seen 50 years ago, since at that time
I was homeopathically still in a state of innocence. But Bell. may also be
indicated for other exanthemata, such as measles, in irritable children with
abrupt fever. It is said that Bell. is able to bring out suppressed exanthemata
in acute infectious diseases and thus to forestall complications, particularly
meningism. I have no personal experience of this. For smooth erysipelas, i.e.
without pustules and rhagades, Bell. is foremost as a remedy.
In the action of Bell. on the hollow organs the symptoms from the mucosa
combine with changes in the tone and motility of the smooth musculature.
In the upper respiratory tract an irritative cough < lying down may
be an indication for Bell. (or Hyoscyamus), whether the irritation comes from
the dry mucosa or from the tickling of an elongated, swollen uvula. With
whooping cough in "nervous" children the cough is dry, produces no
mucus, but streaks of blood. In acute laryngitis Bell. is specified for
laryngospasm, but with laryngismus tridulus, children's croup, Spongia has proved
more successful.
The syndromes relating to the gastro-intestinal canal cannot be reduced
to a simple common denominator such as atonic or spasm. If it is a matter of
relieving spasms one approaches the palliative end of the range of action and
low potencies of Bell. or Atropine are required; this has already been
mentioned for the bile ducts. Neither constipation nor diarrhea are
characteristic of Bell.; some provers observed delayed sparse stools without or
with unsuccessful urging, but others reported frequent small, thin evacuations
with tenesmus, and the greenish color of the stools is mentioned several times.
All types of incoordination of secretion and motility do thus occur.
For the stomach, cramp-like pains, going through to the back, which force
the patient to bend backwards and are ameliorated by stretching are
characteristic of Bell. In the abdomen meteoric complaints predominate and
particular sensitivity of the abdominal wall to touch is worth noting.
In the urinary passages, too, all types of incoordination in emptying
the bladder occur; Bell. has proved particularly helpful for enuresis nocturia
in easily excited, "nervous" children. However, other remedies like
Equisetum and Tuberculin have given more permanent successes.
In the same way, successes with dysmenorrhea in hyperexcitable young
girls are often prompt but only short-lived. The following may serve as
indications for Bell.: period too early and too profuse, menstrual discharge
bright red and hot; downward pressure, as though everything were going to fall
out, at the same time severe pain in the small of the back, as though it would
break, aggravation of pains from movement. Even with an acute remedy such as
Bell. the constitutional type of the patient is more important in the selection
of the remedy than the articular organ syndrome and in selecting the potency
the known or estimated sensitivity of the patient has to be considered. I have
mostly used the 6x.
HYOSCYAMUS and STRAMONIUM
If one has a knowledge of Atropine and Bell., there is little to be
added in respect of the other plants of the tropane group, Hyoscyamus,
Stramonium and Mandragora. Their actions and use differ from those of Bell.
only in minor points of emphasis. In Hyoscyamus and Stramonium the influence of
scopolamine (1-hyoscine, an oxidation product of hyoscyamine) is more
noticeable, although compared to hyoscyamine the scopolamine content of these
plants is still small. But the differences in their action may also partly be
due to the other alkaloids they contain and to volatile amino bases, with
scopolamine and stramonium the actions on the cerebral cortex are prominent,
while with Mandragora present evidence points mainly to peripheral actions on
the smooth musculature of the gastro-intestinal tract and bile ducts.
Scopolamine is best known from its use in psychiatry. Much used to quiet
excited patients and make them drowsy, the dosage being about 1/2 mg. In some
cases hallucination precedes the sedation even with this dosage. But generally scopolamine
in small quantities reduces excitement of the motor centers. While large doses
produce strong motor excitement in man as well as in animals.
In sensitive persons doses of 1 mg. may produce a state of confusion,
unrest and visual hallucinations with delirium; with larger doses this is
always the case and the excited condition grows longer and more severe and may
lead to convulsions. In a case of habitual scopolamine injection of up to 2 mg.
continuous delirium with visual hallucinations and persecution complexes was
observed.
And those are the very indications on which the plants containing
scopolamine, Hyos. and Stram. generally used in Homeopathy in preference to
Bell. Hyos. and Stram. leading remedies for severe states of excitement in
psychoses or delirious fever.
Hyos.: motor unrest particularly marked; the patients are
"wild", with staring eyes, they cry, gesticulate and grimace and hit
out wildly, make inintelligible speeches. The manic condition often has a
strong erotic emphasis which finds expression in the speeches, gestures and
sometimes in exhibitionism.
The paranoiac syndrome also comes out most strongly in Hyoscyamus. The
delusions go from jealous obsession to out-and-out persecution complexes; the
patient thinks he is being poisoned or has been poisoned, or shows other
variants of delusion. In the case of one hebephrenic with manic attacks I
thought that an extended remission may have been due to the Hyoscyamus he was
given; similar cases have also been quoted by other observers. But one should
not speak of "cures" in such psychoses. With puerpural psychoses,
where the prognosis in itself is a better one, the position is,
of course, different.
The hyperemic and inflammatory symptoms of the Bell. picture are almost
absent with Hyoscyamus. The peripheral hyper-reflexia of the smooth musculature
with all its modalities is described in the same terms as for Bell.
Some prescribers prefer low potencies of Hyos. to Bell. for the
spasmodic attacks of tickling cough < at night/lying down. Hyoscyamus is
also greatly praised for singultus; my own experience does not confirm this. If
Hyos. is given for spasm of the bladder of central origin, the low potencies
used in this instance suggest that one finds oneself at the palliative end of
the range of action.
As far as we know Hyos. and Stram. are not distinguishable by the type
of alkaloids they contain; the relative amounts do vary anyway in the different
parts of the plants and at different times. Stram. also matches Hyoscyamus in
its main action on the cerebral centers. The states of excitement are no less
violent with Stramonium. Delirium and hallucinations are stronger, but the
paranoiac syndrome is less marked than in Hyos. Again, as in the case of Bell.,
the visual sphere is particularly affected, the hallucinations are throughout
of a visual nature. The syndrome is most similar to delirium tremens: the
patient shows all the signs of terror, sees wild animals approaching, tries to
escape. It is stated that strong light stimuli, looking at glittering objects
or the reflections on water, may produce convulsions. On the other hand, desire
for light and company
has come out as a leading indication for Stramonium, and perhaps fear
and terror of the visions play a part in this. The illusions of Stramonium
often refer to the subject's own body, for instance "sees himself double,
in two parts". Gross motor unrest and the manic syndrome with unceasing
incoherent talking, singing and crying occur with Stram. as well as Hyos.;
likewise the erotic excitement, and Stramonium has a particular reputation in
satyriasis; the bright red head (ears), may in that case serve as a clue. The
scarlatinoid erythema has also been described for Stramonium, and some prefer
Stramonium to Bell. when in acute infectious diseases exanthemata are subdued
while cerebral irritation (meningism) is marked.
Incoordination of voluntary movements is also often described for Stram.
But its usefulness in chorea minor is no better proved than that of Hyos.
Stammering is given as a particular indication for Stramonium; but that could
hardly apply to old-established speech disturbances with a psychic motivation.
MANDRAGORA
The alkaloids of Mand. also stated to be hyoscyamine and scopolamine;
their relative amounts in the root or herb are not known. A proving was made in
1951 with potencies of the tincture from the root. The most striking result was
that no definite symptoms were noted of the central stimulation which is so
characteristic of the alkaloids, be it then that the statement of one prover (5th
day after 2x): 'Irritable and nervous, very sensitive particularly to
noise" is taken as pointing in this direction. No widening of the pupils
was observed, and definite visual disturbances only in one case where they were
perhaps connected with the strong congestion to the head and swelling around
the eyes. The cardiovascular symptoms as well as their modalities were similar
to those known from Bell., as were also the sensory disturbances.
Incoordination of voluntary movements was noted by one prover only; he was
unable to control the walking movements; the same prover also observed
torticollis.
The greatest part of the provings is taken up with disturbances of the
motility and of the secretions of the gastro-intestinal canal and bile ducts.
These again are very similar to those known from Bell., as for instance gastric
pain > stretching and bending backwards. It is remarkable that apart from
Bell. and Mandragora only Dioscorea has this modality and that dioscorine is
also a tropane alkaloid
(a tropine lacton).
Two provers referred to this modality as a hunger pain > eating. Much
more significant is the, to my knowledge, singular modality which has been
brought out by the Mandragora provings, that the sensation of fullness,
pressure and eructations > eating. On the advice of one of the provers who
had observed this peculiar syndrome on himself Mandragora 6x was given to a
patient with all the signs and symptoms of almost complete cicatricial stenosis
of the bulbus duodeni. The improvement was impressive and lasting over the many
months of subsequent observation. Just as with Bell. so with Mandragora one
cannot speak one-sidedly of spasms in the smooth musculature. Colics certainly
do occur, but atonic comes out just as much in the symptoms; for instance in
that "soft stools are evacuated only with difficulty and with much
pressing".
But this is a symptom which occurs with many remedies and hence is not
very distinctive. One peculiar modality, like the one mentioned above, makes up
for a whole register of commonplace symptoms in the selection of the remedy.
Heart symptoms which were very frequently noted in the proving, oppression,
pressure, palpitation, stitches, constriction and dyspnea, appear to be part of
the gastrocardial syndrome.
TABACUM
In Nicotiana tabacum we find a new type of alkaloid in the form of
nicotine which is the principal alkaloid among a great number of similarly
structured minor alkaloids in the plant.
The difference between nicotine and the tropane alkaloids is not as
fundamental as it first looks on paper. The methylpyrrolidine component of
nicotine is also found in the tropane alkaloids. There is a biogenetic
connection between the two types. This is also suggested by the fact that in
some species of Duboisia hyoscyamine is the principal alkaloid, in others
scopolamine, and in Duboisia Hopwoodii (Pituri plant) nicotine. Although
Tabacum contains many minor alkaloids right down to simple pyridine bases, the
actions of the crude drug largely correspond to those of nicotine. Nicotine is
a volatile alkaloid and Tabacum probably owes its rapid and direct action on
bulbar and brain stem centers to this. Recently a temporary antidiuretic action
on the posterior part of the hypophysis via the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system
has been discovered as well. On the other hand the peripheral action of
nicotine on both the parasympathetic and sympathetic synapses is more
emphasized in experimental pharmacology. Nicotine interrupts the transmission
of impulses at these synapses and this is used to distinguish the pre-from the
post-ganglionic fibers in the autonomic nervous system. But in this peripheral
action as well as in that on the centers the paralyzing phase is preceded by
one of stimulation. Reflex actions from autonomic ganglia, such as those on the
sinus aortae and the carotid plexus, combine with those on the respiratory,
vasomotor and vomiting centers to form a very complex picture. Added to this,
the discharge of adrenaline from the adrenal glands is stimulated. No wonder
then that the actual symptoms vary greatly with the dose given and from species
to species. In the acute action on man, however, it is the vagal excitation
which dominates the first state: bradycardia, lowering of the blood pressure,
"deathly" nausea with retching and vomiting, dizziness, salivation
and increased intestinal peristalsis, then irregular cardiac activity, weakness
as if fainting, paleness with cold sweat, shaky weakness in the legs with
sudden lowering of the blood pressure; the breathing is at first deepened and
quick.
If the action is prolonged the blood pressure rises which, partially at
least, must be ascribed to the increased amounts of adrenaline in circulation.
In the long run nicotine may produce atheromatosis. It was possible to
demonstrate calcareous degeneration of the aorta in animals after repeated
injections of nicotine. Another end result of the chronic action is known to be
amaurosis due to atrophy of the optic nerve. Just like arteriosclerosis this is
no longer responsive to a stimulative therapy with Tabacum. But the preceding
stages, the visual disturbances which are similar to those in some cases of
migraine, do belong to the picture of stimulative actions. The carcinogenic
effects of smoking, particularly of cigarettes, apparently must be ascribed to
other pyridine bases rather than to nicotine.
The homeopathic indications follow quite straightforwardly from this
picture of the toxicological actions. Even Rademacher's former use of tobacco
water for cholera-like conditions can be regarded as homeopathic: symptoms of
collapse with paleness, cold sweat, shaky weakness, interruption of heart beat,
and vehement diarrhea. The Tabacum diarrheas are accompanied by meteorism and
burning in the abdomen, and at the same time desire to have the abdomen
uncovered. Apart from the symptoms of collapse, deathly nausea and vomiting,
dizziness is one of the cardinal symptoms
of Tabacum.
This is a true rotatory vertigo, or "objects moving up and down in
front of the eyes". I was not able to confirm the statement that the
vertigo grew < on opening the eyes when I made some involuntary provings
with heavy cigars; on the contrary, the up and down movement only became
definite on closing the eyes, and very much so. Amelioration in open air and
probably also from sour things can be confirmed; in my own experience the
condition improved by eating an apple. This type of vertigo, nausea and general
prostration, with indifference towards life or death, is characteristic of the
syndrome of seasickness, for which Tabacum has been recommended. Cocculus,
containing picrotoxin which also stimulates the vagal center strongly, is,
however, more commonly used. Rotatory vertigo accompanied by tinnitus has also
served as an indication in Meniere's syndrome, but in that I had such good
results with Chininum salicylicum that I never tried Tabacum.
It has however proved helpful in arteriosclerotic attacks of vertigo
with cerebral retching and vomiting; of course, one cannot expect any lasting
effect on the structural changes of arteriosclerosis.
The same applies to attacks of angina pectoris which are characterized
by fear, with symptoms of collapse, icy coldness and cold sweat, tachycardia
and arrhythmia. Tabacum does not have the feeling of constriction as in Cactus,
the attacks resemble more those of Latrodectus. There seems to be little
clinical experience on its use in migraines with visual disturbances. In that
case a patchy redness of the face is said to precede the paleness. And finally
Tabacum has been recommended, to my knowledge first by Emil Schlegel, as a
euthanasiacum, similar to Verat., when collapse of the circulation with cold
sweat and great fear of death require a sedative.
Modalities not very characteristic: >: vertigo in the open air.
Vertigo and migraine < any movement. "< in a warm room in spite of a
feeling of inner coldness" may point to an increased desire for oxygen
when the circulation is failing. If it is stated that vomiting relieves, this
is probably based on the observation that the attacks which indicate Tabacum
often end with vomiting. It will be noticed that these modalities refer to the
acute syndromes and not to the patient as a person.
With Tabacum the action of nicotine on the autonomic centers develops
rapidly; only a short span is available for defense reactions to be stimulated
before the toxic effects set in. That is probably the reason why Tabacum has
found only limited use, and chiefly only in acute syndromes occurring in
attacks.
DULCAMARA
= „die kleine Schwester“ der heftiger Nachtschattengewächse;
There remain two species of the sub-family Solaninae for us to consider,
Dulcamara and Capsicum. The Solaninae include by far the largest number of
Solanaceae and among them Sol-t. (= potato)/Sol-lyc. (tomato)/Sol-n.
The predominant alkaloids in the sub-family are peculiar glycosides, and
solanine may be taken as representative of the type. Several modifications of
this type occur in the Solaninae species. The aglycone of solanine is
solanidine, a fusion of a steroid structure of the cholesterol type, with a
methyl piperidine or a methyl pyrrolidine. It is quite possible that there is a
biogenetic connection with nicotine and the tropane alkaloids.
The alkaloidal component is probably responsible for the actions of
solanine on medullary centers, particularly the respiratory center. Potatoes
also sometimes form excessive solanine, most of it directly under the skin and
at the germination points. Cases of poisonings from such potatoes have been
reported occasionally, with vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. 6 A number
of experiments have been made with solanine and solanidine on both animals and
human beings. A detailed discussion of the alkaloid actions involving
respiration, cardiac frequency and body temperature is not called for in this
context as they have not so far proved significant for the picture of Dulcamara
or of Capsicum. A much more definite influence from solanine has come out in a
proving of Solanum nigrum which produced some symptoms strongly reminiscent of
Bell. But Solanum nigrum is hardly ever used. It is interesting that the
aglycone solanidine applied locally produced widening of the pupil while
solanine had no effect; furthermore, that a central motor excitation was
observed from solanine, while in the sensory sphere drowsiness, stupefaction
and dizziness and at the same time hypersensitivity to light, noise and touch
were noted.
What is new and important about solanine is that it is a steroid alkaloid.
It is thus close to the steroid alkaloids of Veratrum album and Sabadilla.
These, however, are more toxic than solanine and that is probably due to the
fact that the Veratrum alkaloids are mostly esters of steroid alkaloids and not
glycosides like the solanines. The greater toxicity shows itself with Veratrum
in the stronger action on the circulation and in the cholera-like and collapse
symptoms. The similarity between Dulcamara and Sabadilla will be seen chiefly
in the action on the mucosa. It appears that it is not so much the alkaloid
component as the steroid which is responsible for this affinity.
At this point we must take a look at the substances which are called
saponines. Many saponines are steroid glycosides, so that solanine differs
from this group solely by having the alkaloid component in addition. It is a
likely assumption that through an antagonism to cholesterol solanine, like the
actual saponines, unfolds an irritant or toxic action on the cell surfaces.
Cholesterol has an important function in the cell membranes. When a foreign
steroid alkaloid takes its place this protection may be lost to the cell. The
entering of allergens or even microorganisms is facilitated. This would
explain the allergy-like syndromes met with Dulc./Sabad.
Extensive painful and itching edemata have been observed also from the
handling of tomato leaves (containing the glyco-alkaloid tomatine) and from
Sol-n. Besides solanine (or rather the very similar solaceine) Dulc. contains a
mixture of saponines, called dulcamarine. As the glyco-alkaloid content of
Dulcamara has been found to vary greatly, the saponine mixture may be more
significant, perhaps in that one irritant substance makes it easier for the
other to enter through the cell membranes. The constitutional formulas of the
two constituents of dulcamarine, a glycoside dulcamaric acid and the
non-glycoside dulcamaretinic acid, are not yet known. The saponines and
solaceine are responsible for the taste of the Dulcamara herb which is bitter
at first and then sweetish. Sugar is liberated from the bitter glycosides by
the saliva. This change in taste has given the bittersweet its name in all
languages.
Here we cannot go fully into the centuries-old history of the medicinal
use of Dulcamara. It is, however, remarkable that even in old herbals (for
instance, Conker) the herb was recommended as a remedy suitable only for
persons of a cold and humid nature, and the particular effectiveness of
Dulcamara in patients who were exposed to cold and wet has been emphasized
already before Hahnemann (for instance by Carrere 7 in 1789).
Hahnemann had several times concerned himself with the action of Dulcamara
before he did his proving in 1811. One of these passages I cannot resist
quoting 8 : "If, as v. Haller (in Vicat) assures us, the bittersweet has
cured cough developed from chill, this is because in cold and damp air it has a
marked tendency to produce all sorts of catarrhs, as Carrere and de Hahn
observed. The reason why just the bittersweet has so effectively cured a type
of eczema and herpes (under the eyes of Carrere, Fouquet and Poupart) is sought
in vain in the sphere of fanciful conjectures, since simple nature herself puts
it right under our noses, namely: the bittersweet excites for itself a type of
eczema; Carrere saw a herpes spread for two weeks over the whole body from its
use and on another occasion eczema develop on the hands. Can there be a more
natural connection between potential action and effect?"
In Hahnemann's proving of Dulcamara 8, the action of solanine (or of
solaceine) on the central nervous system appears insignificant compared with
that on the skin and mucosa and on peripheral muscle and nerve. The main
actions may be summarized as of the allergy type; but that is not to say that
Dulcamara itself contains an allergen, the actions of which resemble those of
Dulc. in many respects. It is more likely that the solanine or the saponines of
Dulcamara make it easier for any allergens to enter through the mucous
membranes. Though this is at present only a hypothesis, it is conducive to an
understanding of the actions on which we base our homeopathic use of
Dulcamara.
Affinity to the skin, which has been known since ancient days, has had a
new light thrown upon it by the provings: at first there is a burning and
itching which is worse at night. The subsequent eruptions a urticaria-like,
'like flea bites or nettle rash", or in the form of red pimples and
vesicles which later on may become purulent. In some cases sudden swellings
"similar to acute articular rheumatism" have been observed (by
Rockwith) in the region of the wrist, with pain along the ulnar nerve.
Moreover, severe inflammatory edemata have been seen in cattle who had eaten
Dulcamara.
The skin symptoms of an allergic type must be seen in connection with
the catarrhal and rheumatic symptoms. Indeed, the alternation of syndromes,
now from mucous membranes, be it of the respiratory or the gastro-intestinal
tracts, now from the skin or as "rheumatic" from the neuro-muscular
system, has become one of the main indications for Dulcamara. The basic observation
was: aggravation of skin eruptions or their reappearance when Dulc. had been
given for rheumatism or diarrhea. This alternation of syndromes is not of the
type to qualify Dulcamara for inclusion among the constitutional remedies in
the narrower sense of the word, the so-called anti-psoric remedies. The
symptomatology of Dulcamara points rather to acute reactions to environmental
agents and influences.
The saponine-like action of Dulcamara comes out even more clearly in the
mucous membranes than it did in the skin. All secretions are increased acutely.
The catarrhs of the ocular conjunctiva, of the nose, and upper respiratory
passages are similar to those of Sabadilla, and as with the latter have led to
the use in hay fever. In the lower respiratory passages fewer signs of
increased secretion are found in the provings than one might have expected from
what animal experiments with solanine have shown. Pain in the chest and
oppression were more conspicuous in the proving of Dulcamara. This may be due to
action on centers controlling respiration which is more evident from the
reports of Dulcamara and solanine poisoning. Allergic asthma is frequently
taken as an indication for Dulcamara, but apart from the alternation of asthma
with skin eruptions and rheumatic complaints there are no other more definite
characteristics. The long-established and proved modality that cold and wet are
causal and aggravating factors in Dulcamara complaints is accepted.
But for asthma this modality applies just as well to Natrium sulphuricum
which in my experience at least has shown itself superior to Dulcamara.
Because of the aggravation from cold and wet Dulcamara has been regarded
as a remedy for v. Grauvogl's "hydrogenoid constitution", but not too
aptly; for the second characteristic of this constitutional type, periodicity
in the occurrence of symptoms, there is no evidence. With Natrium sulphuricum
this second modality is somewhat better substantiated, for there a regular
aggravation of asthma in the early hours of the morning and a recurrence of the
skin eruptions every spring are mentioned. But then the aggravation from cold
and wet in the case of Dulc. should not be presented simply as proneness to
colds, as may equally apply to dozens of other drugs. What is meant rather is
that the catarrhal and rheumatic syndromes are of the type which is produced
particularly by cold and wet, through sudden cooling after being heated, and
suppression of sweat. Dulcamara acts "as if" there had been a
"cold".
Earaches and noises in the ears appear so frequently in the provings
that one would assume that Dulcamara should be useful for catarrhs ascending
along the Eustachian tubes to the middle ear.
But there seem to be no records of clinical experience in this
condition.
Symptoms of irritation from the gastro-intestinal mucosa do not come out
very clearly in the provings, merely as pain and rumbling in the stomach.
It was known from Dulcamara poisonings already before Hahnemann that
vomiting and diarrhea may occur. Carrere: diarrhea slimy and yellow or greenish
and this statement has been borne out. From clinical observation comes the
indication of Dulc. for autumnal diarrhea, partially also due to sudden changes
of weather such as from hot days to cold nights, or moving from the heat of the
sun into chilly rooms; a variation of the "catching cold" motif.
A better indication is given if the diarrheas appear as equivalents for
other syndromes, perhaps alternating with asthma or moist eczema.
Signs of irritation of the urinary passages and the female genital passages
with Dulc. poisoning have been reported particularly by Carrere: cystitis,
stranguria, pain on micturition, frequency of micturition, slimy cloudy urine;
again as the result of cold and wet; symptoms of irritation with eruptions on
the external female passages with increased libido, and menstrual disorders of
various,
in themselves non-characteristic, types. If in addition there is
premenstrual urticaria and if secretions or eruptions seem to be suppressed
through a chill, the case for Dulcamara would be stronger. Hemorrhagic
nephritis has been seen as a rare occurrence in Dulc. poisoning, but this has
apparently not been taken up as an indication for the use of Dulc. so far.
A tendency to hemorrhage may well be due to the action of the saponines.
Epistaxis has been reported several times in the provings.
Vicarious nose bleeds, in the place of missing menses or after the
suppression of other discharges, would be in line with the action of Dulcamara;
but there seems to be little clinical experience in this respect.
With regard to the neuro-muscular system which so often manifests the
effects of cold and wet, the provings have brought out many symptoms.
Apart from rheumatic-neuralgic pains, stiffness and lameness are frequent,
particularly in the back of the neck and shoulder region. Neuralgias have been
described particularly in the face, arms and calves, combined with a feeling of
icy coldness, lameness, tension, twitching and trembling.
The important factor with these syndromes is the modality amelioration
from movement; it indicates stagnation in the tissues, an altered turgidity.
This modality often brings Dulc.
into the final choice with Rhus-t. has a similar affinity to muscles, mucosa and
the skin on an allergic basis. Dulc. often used as a matter of routine when
Rhus Tox. has failed. The clinical indications for Dulc., "rheuma #
diarrhea" or "rheumatic symptoms following acute skin
eruption," need no further elucidation after what has been said above.
Symptoms from the central nervous system which are marked in the picture
of solanine and Dulcamara poisoning are much less significant in the drug
picture. Headache and dizziness, slight twitchings and tensions, sensations of
lameness, and psychically a discontented, off-putting mood do appear in the
drug provings. But no definite therapeutic indication have arisen from them.
The character of Dulcamara comes out most clearly in the alternation of
syndromes of the skin, mucosa, and locomotor system, and in the following
modalities: causal and aggravating factors are cold and wet, sudden change from
hot to cold; > movement (rheumatic symptoms); the skin symptoms
< at night.
CAPSICUM
Finally, there is Capsicum annuum, the fruits = Spanish pepper or
paprika.
Also belongs to the subfamily of Solaninae, but it is doubtful whether
it contains the glyco-alkaloid solanine, some say so and others not; it seems
at any rate to be of no significance for the action of Capsicum.
But there are also traces of another alkaloid which has not yet been
identified; being volatile it may be similar to confine or the tobacco
alkaloids.
But with regard to the actions of Capsicum nothing definite can as yet
be said about it. The rich vitamin content of the Capsicum fruits
(C/beta-ascorbic acid), may well have a bearing on its former use, in
substantial amounts, for reduced resistance to infections, marasm and
dysentery, but for the use of Capsicum potencies a vitamin substitution can
hardly be considered. The chief active principle of Capsicum is capsaicin. This
is no true alkaloid, but an acid amide, a combination of vanillyl amide with
dimethylnonenylic acid. Capsaicin is a strong irritant for the skin and mucosa.
It appears to stimulate first of all the sensory receptors, and particularly
those for the sensation of warmth. Hence the characteristic burning of Capsicum
at any site where it comes in contact with tissues. This is followed by a
reflector hyperemia and this again is characterized in that the expansion of
the capillaries relaxation of the small vessels persists for a long time. The
vessels can then no longer adapt themselves to cold stimuli, hence the general
sensation of chilliness and great sensitivity to cold. The contrast with the
saponine action of Dulc., where increased secretion stands in the foreground,
is obvious. As to the use of Capsicum plasters as a derivative counter irritant
for rheumatism, synovitis, chilblains and occasionally also for bronchitis and
bronchiolitis, nothing further need be said. More rarely, Capsicum tincture is
used as a gargle for torpid inflammation of the throat with an elongated uvula.
For homeopathic use the skin affinity of Capsicum has achieved no significance.
The tincture has also been used occasionally as a stomachic for lack of
appetite and dyspepsia. Lyon recommended it especially for alcoholism;
apparently it not only relieves the dyspeptic symptoms with morning sickness,
but the craving itself is said to be abolished. It is also maintained that
Capsicum has a calming and hypnotic action in the early stages of delirium
tremens; the provings show trembling and disturbances of sleep, but no
hallucinations. Possibly the alkaloid of which no details are known may play a
part.
But it is capsaicin which is responsible for the main actions of
Capsicum. Wherever this peppery principle passes the mucosa it produces a
burning, hot sensation, and a dryness which in turn gives rise to spasms.
On elimination through the urine the bladder is irritated until there is
tenesmus, the urge to urinate is strong but ineffectual. A sharp burning passes
along the urethra and concentrates particularly on the urethral orifice; if
the irritation is continuous a state of near-paralysis arises. I have found
Capsicum particularly helpful for ectropium of the female urethral orifice
which can bring with it a distressing irritation. A good indication is chronic
urethritis, either non-specific or following gonorrhea, if there is more
irritation than secretion: a small amount of creamy secretion is discharged
with sharp burning and great urging and cramp-like erection, so-called chords.
If the bladder is involved the severe tenesmus points to Capsicum. Capsicum
seems to be less indicated for the acute initial state of an infection, and
rather more when the blood vessels and thus the mucosa are already lax from
earlier attacks and a relapse of irritation and inflammation supervenes.
Sharp burning and tenesmus indicate Capsicum also for hemorrhoids,
particularly if they occur together with the same symptoms from the urinary
passages. In such cases the symptoms of irritation
< passage of stools.
A small amount of slimy secretion, but sometimes also bleeding from the
relaxed mucosa serve as a further indication. The old-established indication of
Capsicum for dysentery with violent tenesmus has been give a special note by
the provings: after every stool there is thirst and if this is slaked with cold
water intense shivering will follow. This latter modality is given as a general
characteristic of Capsicum: after cold drinks shivering starts between the
shoulders, runs down the back and spreads over the whole body. That is but an
example of the great sensitivity to cold: cold draft aggravates pain, cough
and other complaints, and is anxiously avoided. In this one can see the lack of
adaptability to cold on the part of the relaxed and widened capillaries and
arterioles. A particular aggravation from cold wetness, as in the case of
Dulcamara, has not been noted for Capsicum.
The irritation of the upper respiratory passages is characterized by
dryness of the mucosa. The cough arising from this is explosive, shaking, it
causes pain not only in the throat and chest but also in more distant parts,
such as bursting headaches, pressing earaches, shooting pains into the
extremities, (along the sciatic nerve). Here again cold aggravates, and that
applies also to a dry laryngitis with hoarseness. Attacks of coughing <
lying/at night/in bed;
The provings also record dyspnea, a feeling of fullness and distension
in the chest and constriction worse from movement. But Capsicum has no
indications for humid asthma like Dulc.
On the other hand, a tendency of the dry hyperemia of the respiratory
mucosa towards ulceration can be inferred from the following symptoms in Hahnemann's
proving: "Me cough expels an evil-smelling breath from the mouth. The
breath coming from the lungs on coughing produces a strange, repugnant taste in
the mouth." In fact, Capsicum has been used successfully in bronchitis
foetida and even for lung abscesses.
Another strange observation in the proving has led to the frequently
successful use of Capsicum for impending mastoiditis: a swelling over the
petrous bone behind the ear which is painful on touch. That was probably only
an intercellular inflammation of the type which has been seen in one case
described in the literature of lethal poisoning from Capsicum; there the
swellings appeared on the cheeks, ears and back of the neck after papular
eruptions had changed into vesicles. One can merely guess why the tympanum and
the petrous bone should be sites of preference for the action of Capsicum.
The lax, spongy mucous membrane attached directly to the periost of the
mastoid and with a wide capillary bed may well be predisposed for the
irritating action of capsaicin.
The widening and relaxation of the capillaries through Capsicum may
persist and leave circumscribed areas of redness on the cheeks, the nose or
ears.
The dilatation of the small blood vessels remains even under the
influence of cold, hence the red areas on the face present a contrast to the
chilliness and frostiness of the Capsicum type. Relaxation of tissues generally
is characteristic of the constitutional type. Hahnemann already noted that
Caps. was less suitable for persons of a tense fibre. The cold, flabby type
with circumscribed redness of the cheeks has been described by later authors as
sluggish, indolent, fat--probably with some measure of poetic license.
It certainly is not a stipulation for the effectiveness of Capsicum in
the well-defined pathological conditions in which mostly low potencies are
used.
Stiffness and pain in muscles and joints and along nerves also appear
frequently in the provings; they are said to be worse when starting to move,
> continued movement (Dulc.). Capsicum has, however, been little used in
this direction.
A number of mental symptoms have also come out in the Capsicum provings:
changeable mood, peevish, sullen, timid, indifferent; also offish and even
obstinate, carping, taciturn, withdrawn; fearful and sentimental.
One prover states that such moods were not over persons or moral issues,
but over lifeless objects, having no relation to ordinary causes or events.
From this wide scale of unease towards the environment, home-sickness has been
picked out as a particular indication for Capsicum; not exactly a complaint for
which our medical aid is very often demanded. I do not know whether any
remarkable successes have been scored with Capsicum in this field. And when
some authors phrased the indication "home-sickness with red cheeks"
one really does not know whether they wanted to make a laughing stock of
themselves or of the homeopathic materia medics.
This survey of the family of Solanaceae was made to show what the drug
pictures have in common and where they differ. Without recourse to their active
substances, the closer or more distant relationships among the remedies of this
family of plants could hardly be conceived. Incomplete though our knowledge may
still be, such an approach to understanding their actions serves an intelligent
application of the drugs on the homeopathic principle.
[Farina Fontaine]
Es gibt viele verschiedene Nachtschatten aus der Familie der Nachtschattengewächse, auch bekannt als Solanum, die in der Homöopathie eingesetzt werden. Doch welches Mittel hilft gegen
welche Beschwerden? Wir stellen Ihnen vier verschiedene Mittel vor, die aus Nachtschatten gewonnen werden und wann sie wofür eingesetzt werden.
Solanum ist in der Welt der Pflanzen die Kategorie für Nachtschatten. 1400 verschiedene Nachtschatten gibt es, eins der bekanntesten ist mit Sicherheit Solanum Lycopersicum, besser bekannt als Tomate. Die Gemüsepflanze ist reich an Vitalstoffen, Spurenelementen und Carotinoiden.
Solanum Lycopersicum bei grippalen Infekten
In der Volksheilkunde ist Solanum Lycoersicum als ein kräftigendes Stärkungsmittel bekannt. Sie regt die Verdauung im Magen und in der Bauchspeicheldrüse an und unterstützt mit einem hohen Eisen- und Mangangehalt die Blutbildung beim Menschen. Tomatensaft gilt zudem als leicht blutdrucksenkend.
Als homöopathisches Mittel kann Solanum lycopersicum vielfältig eingesetzt werden. So lindert es Kopfschmerzen, die durch Blutwallungen im Kopf entstehen, allergische Beschwerden und die Symptome bei grippalen Infekten. Hierzu gehören Fließschnupfen, Husten, der besonders nachts sehr quälend ist und Heiserkeit. Auch Gliederschmerzen und das Gefühl von Zerschlagenheit, das häufig mit grippalen Infekten einhergeht, kann Solanum lycopersicum lindern.
Solanum dulcamara als Mittel bei Klimawechseln
Doch auch andere Nachtschattengewächse haben die Eigenschaft, Symptome bei Krankheiten zu lindern. So hilft zum Beispiel Solanum dulcamara Beschwerden der Blase und Nieren, des Auges, der Haut und Schleimhäute und der Gelenke. Klimawechsel oder feuchte Kälte haben dabei meist diese Beschwerden ausgelöst.
In Zusammenhang mit den Symptomen der Patienten treten häufig typische Gemütszustände auf. Hierzu zählen Redseligkeit, ständige Eile und Streitsüchtigkeit.
Hauptanwendungsgebieten.
Erkältungen
Asthma
Bronchitis
Blasenentzündung
Bindehautentzündung
Durchfall
Nackenschmerzen
Rheuma
Herpes
Gürtelrose
Neurodermitis
Warzen
Nervenschmerzen im Bereich des Gesichts
Wodurch verbessern oder verschlechtern sich die Beschwerden bei Solanum ducamara-Patienten?
Das Mittel kann Personen, die beruflich dem ständigen Wechsel von Kalt und Warm ausgesetzt sind, gegeben werden. Hierzu zählen zum Beispiel Personen, die in Kühlhäusern arbeiten.
Die Symptome der Solanum dulcamara-Patienten verschlechtern sich durch Kälte, Nässe, einem Wechsel von warm zu kalt und bei schneller Abkühlung nach dem Schwitzen. Durch Wärme, Bewegung und trockenes Wetter können sich die Symptome verbessern.
Solanum malacoxylon bei Kalkablagerungen/Rheumatologie
Es wirkt Verkalkungen des Gefäßapparats und des Bindegewebes entgegen und löst Kalkablagerungen an den Gefäßwänden ab. Patienten, die unter diesen Verkalkungen leiden, nehmen 2x
täglich 10 bis 20 Tropfen Solanum malacoxylon in der Potenz C6.
Solanum tuberosum bei Kopfschmerzen
Kopfschmerzen, die durch Blutwallungen im Kopf ausgelöst werden, eingesetzt. Wärme und Ruhe bessert die Beschwerden der Soluanum tuberosum-Patienten.
Auch bei krampfhaften Verdauungsbeschwerden kann Solanum tuberosum helfen. Ein starkes Verlangen nach Kartoffeln oder eine starke Abneigung.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum