Lachesis


Dr. S.R. Phatak describes the clinically confirmed symptoms of the homeopathic remedy Lachesis in his Concise Materia Medica, published in 1977….


Generalities

      Native American name of this snake is surukuku_(Bushmaster); and the poison of this snake was first proved by Dr. Hering. Like other snake poisons it decomposes BLOOD; affects the HEART AND CIRCULATION. NERVES become very sensitive esp. CUTANEOUS and VASO-MOTOR. Excessive sensitiveness of the surface with intolerance of touch or constriction; intense nervous irritability, restless, tossing, moving. Symptoms appear on LEFT SIDE; then go to right_THROAT, OVARIES, GREAT FEMALE REMEDY. Intensively rapid onset of the disease with great prostration. Malignant or septic states; diphtheria; gangrene, diabetic; traumatic; senile; carbuncle, erysipelas come under its influence. HAEMORRHAGES; are thin, containing dark particles like charred straw; vicarious, nosebleed, bloody urine etc. Small wounds bleed much. Blueness; of the affected parts; of hands. Discharges; acrid, OFFENSIVE. ASCENDING SENSATIONS; in throat; chills. FLUSHES OF HEAT; rushes of blood. Sensation of a LUMP, in throat, abdomen, liver, rectum, etc., rolls about in bladder. EXCESSIVE PAINFULNESS; of throat; ulcers; spots on body. Sensation of constriction; in throat; on head_as if a skullcap; of anus; drawing; vertex to jaws; in rectum etc. Great physical and mental weakness. Trembling; of the whole body; of hands, tongue etc. Hard throbbing, or hammering pains. Neuralgic pains change locality with palpitation. Epilepsy; comes on during sleep; from jealousy; onanism; loss of fluids. Left sided paralysis; after apoplexy; or cerebral exhaustion. Fainting; with pain in heart, nausea, pale face, vertigo. Chorea, from piercing ears. Awkward gait; left side weak. Dropsy; from liver and spleen diseases; after scarlatina. Cellulitis; with burning and blue colour of the skin. Purpura. Bubonic plague. Cancer. Diphtheritic paralysis; and other affections. Carriers of Diphtheria. Ill effects of injuries, punctured wounds. Grief, fright. Vexation; anger. Jealousy; disappointed love, masturbation; sprains (blueness of parts). Never well since climaxis. Symptoms develop in sleep and the patient wakes up from symptoms; at any time day and night. Hysteria. Catalepsy. As of thread drawing the part or spreading over.

Mind

      Nervous; excitable. LOQUACITY; rambling, frequently jumping from one subject to another, then sadness; or repeats the same thing. Compelling delusions; thinks herself under super human control; thinks she is dead and preparations are being made for her funeral; thinks herself pursued, hated and despised. Persistent erotic ideas, without ability. Insane jealousy. Suspicious. Sad in the morning; no desire to mix with the world. Malice. Mischievous. Mania from over-study. Delirium; tremens; from over-watching; over-fatigue; loss of fluids, over-study. Feels full of poison. Fears; going to sleep; lying down; or that heart will stop. Restless, uneasy; does not want to attend to business; wants to be off somewhere all the time. Derangement of time sense. Aversion of women to marry. Religious insanity. Talks, sings, whistles; makes odd motions. Mocks. Crawls on the floor; spits often; hides, laughs or is angry; during spasms. Weak memory. Mistakes are made in writing and speaking. Mind worse after sleep. Predicts the future correctly. Proud and lazy. Hateful.

Worse

      SLEEP; AFTER SLEEP. MORNING. HEAT; of SUMMER; SPRING; of room; OF SUN. SWALLOWING; EMPTY; LIQUIDS. SLIGHT TOUCH OR PRESSURE. PRESSURE OF CLOTHES; around neck; waist. RETARDED DISCHARGES. Start and close of menses. CLIMAXIS. ALCOHOL. Cloudy weather. Standing or stopping. Motion. Closing eyes. HOT DRINKS.

Better

      OPEN AIR. FREE DISCHARGES. Eructation. Hard pressure. COLD DRINKS. Bathing affected part. Sitting bent. Eating; esp. fruits. Warm applications.

Head

      Vertigo; worse turning to right; closing eyes; looking at the one and same object; from walking in open air. Headache; heavy, bursting, down to nose, side (right) feels cut off. Migraine, pain extending to neck and shoulders. Weight, pressure or burning of the vertex. Sun headaches, with glimmering of vision. Falling of hair esp. during pregnancy. Perforating tumour of the skull. Numbness, crawling (left). Does not want hair touched.

Eyes

      Feel small or as if drawn together by cords which were tied in a knot at the root of the nose. Blindness with lung or heart affections. Eyes watery, from pain. Fistula lachrymalis; with eruptions on face, Intra-ocular haemorrhages. Feels as if eyes were forced out on pressing the throat. Dim sight. Unsteady look, eyes roll vacantly.

Ears

      Hardness of hearing; with want of wax. Ear wax too hard, pale, dry. Ear pain with sore throat. Pulsations in. Ear wax like chewed paper. Stricture of eustachian tube.

Nose

      Stopped coryza. Discharge, with every cough. Nosebleed, with amenorrhoea; on blowing the nose. Blood and pus from nose. Paroxysms of sneezing in hay asthma. Red pimples on nose (rum blossom); of drunkards. Cannot bear anything before nose.

Face

      Purple, mottled; dusky, during heat. Netted veinlets on face. Neuralgia (left side); heat rises to the face. Lower jaw drops (coma). Septic mumps. Flushes of heat. Enormous swelling of lips.

Mouth

      Gums; bluish, swollen, easily bleeding. Tongue; swollen; trembles when protruding; catches on teeth; lolls about; red, dry; cracked at tip. Bad odour from mouth. Aphthae and denuded patches, with burning and rawness. Much thick, pasty saliva. Thick blundering speech; cannot open mouth wide. Peppery; sour; taste. Cannot bear anything before mouth. Teeth ache extends to ears. Chattering of teeth. Teeth feel too long. Sudden forcible protrusion and retraction of tongue.

Throat

      As of a lump in throat; ascending and is swallowed back again. As of hot lump or soft body or crumb of bread. Throat pain extends to ear. Choking. SWALLOWING; painful; the wrong way; returns through nose; worse empty swallowing, less from liquids and better by solids. Excessive tenderness of throat to external pressure; must loosen collar. Diphtheria, laryngeal. Tonsillitis. Quinsy. Hawks out foul pellets from throat, in chronic sore throat; or thick mucus which cannot be forced up or down. Throat pit feels swelled or sore spot back of pit. Constriction better eating. Cannot swallow sweet or acrid things.

Stomach

      Craving; for alcohol, oysters, for coffee which agrees. Hungry, cannot wait for food, or loss of hunger alternately. Thirsty but fears to drink. Gnawing pressure in stomach better eating, but returning in few hours (cancer), soreness or cramp in epigastrium. Vomits during menses, with headache. Eructations; before epilepsy; at menses. Nausea; comes on, after going to bed; after drinking ice water.

Abdomen

      Sore festering, throb deep in liver; cannot bear anything around waist. Inflammation of liver and abscess. Septic gall bladder. Cutting pain in right side of abdomen causing fainting. Swelling in caecal region, must lie on back, with knees drawn up; appendicitis. Pain from anus to navel. Abdomen hot, sensitive, painfully stiff from loin down thighs. Constipation of pregnancy. Anus feels tight. Pains up the rectum every time coughs or sneezes. Haemorrhages from bowels containing charred particles. Piles; protrude, painful, worse coughing or sneezing. Constant urging in rectum, not for stool. Offensive stools. Beating in the anus as from hammers; with menses. As of a ball, rolling when turning over. Diarrhoea from fruits and acids.

Urinary

      As of a ball rolling in the bladder when turning over. Bloody urine. Urine, frequent, foamy, dark. Small tumour in urethra causing retention. No urine, no stool.

Male

      Strong sexual desire, without physical power. During coition the emission is tardy or does not occur at all. Lascivious ideas without erection of penis. Prepuce thickened. Semen with pungent odour. Ill effects of masturbation. Cheerful after night emission.

Female

      Left ovary, swollen, indurated, painful, must lift covers. Menses; black, scanty; lumpy, acrid, vicarious from nose. Uterine and ovarian pains better by flow of blood. Uterus feels as if the os is open. Mammae; inflamed, bluish. Nipples swollen, erect, painful to touch. Milk; thin, blue. Leucorrhoea; copious, smarting, staining and stiffening the linen greenish. Climacteric troubles; palpitation, flushes of heat, haemorrhages etc. Nymphomania. Less the flow more the pain. Ovarian tumours. Dysmenorrhoea on first day. Desire to go in open air and run about before menses.

Respiratory

      Suffocation and strangulation, on lying down; on dropping to sleep; must spring from bed and rush for open air window. Feels he must take deep breath. Air hunger. Tickling, choking cough worse touching neck or auditory canal; better retching out a little expectoration. Cough during sleep without being conscious of it. As of a skin hanging in or a valve in larynx. As of a plug moving up and down with cough. Larynx painful to touch. Last stage of pneumonia. Abscess of the lungs. Expectoration; frothy, purulent, difficult, bloody with excessive perspiration. Loss of voice; from paralysis of vocal cords, or oedema. Cough as if some fluid has gone into wrong way; most during day.

S.R. Phatak
A pioneer of Homoeopathy in Maharashtra, Dr Shankar Raghunath Phatak was born on 6th September, 1896. He did his MBBS from Grant Medical College, in 1924. Started his practice but somehow not satisfied with Allopathic Treatment.

He was convinced about Homoeopathy while going through Sir William Osler's writings on 'History of Medicine' so switched over to an entirely Homoeopathic Practice in 1932. He also started working on Homoeopathic literature along with his Practice.

He has contributed immensely to homoeopathic literature. He was an ardent follower of Dr Boger. His Repertory is based on Boger's ''A Synoptic key to Materia Medica'.