Cyclamen Europaeum. Sow-bread. *N.O. Primulacae. Tincture of the root gathered in spring.
Clinical
Anaemia. Bones, pain in. Chlorosis. Climacteric sufferings. Coryza.Diplopia. Dyspepsia. Enteralgia. *Eyes, *affections of. Headache. Heel, pain in. *Hiccough. Menstruation, disorders of. Mental derangement. Pregnancy, sickness of, disorders of. Prostatitis. Rheumatism. Strabismus. *Thirst, *absence of. Urethritis. Vertigo. Weaning, complaints after. Writer’s spasm.
Characteristics
*Cyclamen has a traditional reputation as a remedy for affections of the uterus and appendages. The later provings have demonstrated the correctness of this. It is in many ways analogous to *Pulsatilla, from which it differs mainly in having not better from open air, and in not having thirstlessness as so frequent an accompaniment of other conditions.
It is suited to the phlegmatic temperament, blonde leucophlegmatic subjects with chlorotic conditions, disinclined for labour and easily fatigued, special senses enfeebled or their functions suspended. Debility, torpidity of mind and body. Dullness of senses, flickering before the eyes, squint, especially in connection with menstrual irregularities or fevers, after convulsions, convergent squint, left eye drawn inwards. Amblyopia, diplopia, hemiopia. Many digestive disturbances, saliva has a salty taste, which is communicated to all food eaten. After eating but little, satiety, aversion to food, with nausea in palate and thirst. Desire for lemonade. Aversion to bread, butter, meat, fat, beer, and ordinary food, craving for inedible things, for sardines. Frequent vomiting in morning. Prostatic troubles, with stitches and pressure, urging to stool and micturition. Menstruation too early, with some relief of melancholy mood and heaviness of feet.Scanty or suppressed menstruation, with headache and vertigo. During pregnancy: hiccough, loathing and nausea in mouth and throat, complaints after weaning. Pressing, drawing, or tearing pains at parts where bones lie near surface. Chilliness. Itching leaving a numb sensation. Chilblains, itching and pricking, worse at night in bed. Eidherr, of Vienna, has given the best account of this remedy (*Allg. *Hom. *Zeit., liv. 7, translated *H.R., viii. 558). Hahnemann proved it on males only, eliciting as leading symptoms: “Stupor, sluggish memory, *vertigo, dull, pressing headache, obscured sight, dilated pupils, drawing pains in neck and teeth, nausea, eructation, disgust for food, hiccough following soon after dinner, stitching, pinching pains in abdomen, flatulence and pressure to urinate. Oppression of chest, pressing pain in chest, drawing and stitching pain in back. Sawing pressure, drawing and stitching in extremities, prostration and itching. Moroseness, sleepiness, lassitude, troubled, heavy dreams, chilliness of whole body alternating with heat, thirstlessness, disinclination for work or conversation, great dejection and melancholy, at times joyous sensations with lively phantasies.” The Vienna provings corroborated these, but, including both sexes, also elicited symptoms in the female sexual sphere: Menstruation more copious, more frequent, too early, with severe abdominal pains. Accompanied with labour-like pains, flow excessive, black and lumpy. Recommencement of menses after protracted cessation (clinical). Eidherr’s clinical experience illustrates in a remarkable way *Cyclamen’s sphere of action. His cases include: 4 of chlorosis, 9 of retarded and scanty menstruation, 18 of complications with vertigo and headache accompanying scanty menses, 2 of diplopia, I of strabismus. In numbers of cases *Cyclamen developed ocular symptoms in the patients, in 15 x and 3X. In one instance a higher potency of the same remedy antidoted this effect. He found the remedy especially suited to blonde leucophlegmatic subjects. (But one of the cured was a Jewess and was presumably not a blonde.) It will be noticed. That the “Sleepiness, moroseness, and lassitude,” and also the vertigo noted by Hahnemann, are prominent in many of Eidherr’s cases. Josepha K., 24, blonde, pale delicate skin, pale lips and gums, had menstruated normally till 22, when she got wet at a picnic just as menstruation was starting. It stopped at once and did not reappear till ten months later, after vigorous use of all kinds of domestic remedies. Now the periods were accompanied by terrible abdominal, labour-like pains, lasting eleven hours. Menses recurred every two or four months, always with the pains, starting from sacrum, extending along both sides of abdomen to pelvis. They were periodical, every one, two or five minutes, during which time there was no flow, the blood appearing after these attacks was somewhat watery. Other symptoms were: Eyelids slightly edematous, pressing pain in forehead, vertigo frequently changing into syncope, chilliness of whole body, disturbed, unrefreshing sleep interspersed with terrible dreams, continued loathing for meat, longing for salt fish, frequent vomiting in morning. After partial relief from *Pulsatilla, *Cyclamen made a complete cure. The ocular symptoms which developed were remarkable. The vertigo and headache were untouched by *Pulsatilla, but quickly subsided under *Cyclamen 15X. On their disappearance she saw fiery flames dancing before her eyes on awakening at night, and in the morning she saw everything double. And she had the hallucination as if two persons lay in her bed, and that the body of the other overlapped hers by half. *Cyclamen was discontinued and in two days her sight was normal. Anna F., 20, blonde, menstruated since her tenth year. In seventeenth year suffered from chlorosis, ever since, menstruation regular, but lasting only one-two days in a moderate degree. Is trouble also at other times by vertigo and pressing pain in forehead and temples, which attacks are ameliorated by foot baths with ashes. Appetite poor, little thirst, stool regular, sleeps too long, always sleepy, is
of dejected mood, morose, all movements, as well as speech, languid, palpitation *Pulsatilla made no change, *Cyclamen 3X quickly improved headache, vertigo, and spirits. After three days sight became obscured, and there was glimmering before eyes. A vivacious Jewess, 16, menstruated twice regularly after the first commencement in June, then went six weeks, and by the end of December the recurrence entirely ceased. She lost spirits, sought seclusion, was offended by very trifles, her usual work was distasteful to her, and she could not be prevailed upon to leave the house for a walk. She would sleep unusually long in the morning. The hitherto blooming girl had become pale, anemic, with swollen eyelids, lips and gums pale, heart turbulent. She complained chiefly of great lassitude compelling her to rest frequently on going up stairs, palpitation without cause, she was apprehensive, had a feeling as if all the rooms were too small, and yet would not leave the house. All pastimes rejected, was only content when she could seclude herself and sit down and weep. During the forenoon often had pressing pains in forehead with vertigo, appetite poor, stool sluggish. March 14th *Cyclamen 15X was prescribed. After several weeks the headache and vertigo had become less severe and the attacks less frequent. April 19th the period set in, and with its flow headache and vertigo left her completely. May 15th, menstruation recurred rather copiously, and the patient was well. Two cases of pulmonary catarrh were cured, both had pressing headache and vertigo and one scanty menses as well. The following case of *hemicrania was cured: Theresa F., 37., has menstruated sparingly and irregularly (often at two or three months’ intervals). For four years suffered from violent headache affecting right side of head and face, coming every 8-14 days, spells lasting 12-36 hours. During menstruation the attacks were extra severe. Patient was emaciated, skin, gums, and lips pale. Right eye closed owing to cramps in eyelids, when forcibly opened a stream of hot tears gushed out, otherwise the eye was normal. Under *Cyclamen 3 the symptoms diminished, but there appeared “glittering sparks before the eyes” and these remained after all symptoms of headache had gone. *Cyclamen was given persistently, the periods became regular and rather copious and the headaches entirely ceased. Another case (in a wet-nurse who had just weaned her baby) presented unceasing, violent, stitching pain in temporal region extending to vertex. Throbbing temporal arteries. Belladonna diminished the pain, but vertigo came on. Under *Cyclamen 3X headache and vertigo disappeared altogether, but the patient *complained of her sight having become so weak that she did not dare to walk alone. This passed off when the medicine was discontinued and her headache did not recur. *Cyclamen 15 x cured a boy of violent squinting. Six months before, he had a fall from a table, convulsion followed, and after the second attack the squinting came on. *Arnica was given and the convulsions did not recur, but the squinting remained. *Cyclamen 15X was given, and after a few weeks the squint entirely disappeared. (Wurmb cured a case of squint in a coachman with *Cyclamen) Acute rheumatism with retrocession of menses was also cured by Eidherr. His last case was remarkable and important. Theresa P., 30., of short, robust stature, had never been ill till ten years previously. At that time, without apparent infection, an eruption appeared over her whole body with terrible itching. It was declared to be itch and was driven away with Sulphur ointment. With the receding of the eruption her eyesight waned so that she was soon unable to walk without a guide. She sees large objects only in outline and only then if in a strong light, in closed rooms she cannot discern anything. The pupils are dilated, but there are no other objective symptoms. She had never menstruated. She complains of congestions of the blood about every three or four weeks, accompanied by headache, a pressing vertigo, heaviness and
