Prunus Spinosa


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


Generalities

      This remedy specially acts on the nerves; respiratory; orbital; and on urinary organs. Pains are shooting; pressing outwards; lightning like; wandering; CAUSING SHORT BREATH. Neuralgia. Cramps. Oedema. Pains, after shingles. Nerve paralysis. Compensatory effects. Ill effects of sun; sprains; over-lifting. Dropsy caused by defective heart.

Worse

      Touch; pressure. Motion. Jarring. Stooping. Ascending.

Better

      Bending double.

Mind

      Restlessness; walks about constantly; cannot remain in one place.

Head

      Shooting from frontal bone (right), through brain to occiput. Headache from heat of sun.

Eyes

      Ciliary neuralgia; pain in eyeballs as if bursting, or pressed apart; better lachrymation.

Mouth

      Teeth feel pulled out. Toothache better by biting teeth together.

Urinary

      Cramp in bladder; from pressure of flatus; must double up to urinate. Urgent desire to urinate; urine reaches glans penis and then returns; with violent pain and spasms and tenesmus in rectum. Neuralgic dysuria. Glans pains on urinating. Must press a long time before urine appears. Pulsating pudendum. Stream of urine thin like a thread or forked.

Male

      Pulsation in glans, from jar of walking.

Female

      Leucorrhoea; acrid, watery purulent, staining yellow. Menses; thin, watery, too early, too copious, with sacral pain.

Respiratory

      Short breath; with pains. Feeling as if air inhaled did not reach the pit of stomach; has to yawn and try to take a deep inspiration to force the air up to that point. Air hunger.

Heart

      Hypertrophied. Knocking at heart, with laboured breathing worse least motion. Cardiac dropsy. Throbbing of carotid arteries. Angina pectoris.

Back

      As of a lump below the left scapula.

Extremities

      Oedema of feet. Itching at the tips of fingers as if frozen. Thumb as if sprained, hindering writing.

Skin

      Herpes zoster. Dropsy.

Fever

      Night sweat.

Related

      Laur.

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'.