Stramonium


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


Generalities

      Thorn-apple or Datura expends its force of action on the BRAIN, producing marked and persistent disorder of the mental faculty; hallucinations; fixed notions, terrifying delirium etc. Therefore it is a remedy of TERRORS; but it does not in its ordinary effect cause actual pain. Secretions are suppressed, passes neither urine nor stool. Throat, skin and spinal nerves are affected as well. Increases the mobility of the muscles of expression and of locomotion; the motions may be graceful, rhythmic or disorderly, of head and arms. Trembling of limbs. Parkinsonism. Tremors; nervous. Convulsions, spasms worse at night; after masturbation. Paralysis of one side, convulsions of the other side, or unilateral paralysis; with twitching. Chorea, epilepsy; from fright. Hysteria, weeping, laughing, with sexual excitement. Catalepsy, limbs can be moved by others. Tonic and clonic spasms alternately. Traumatic neuritis. General paralysis of the insane. Ill effects of shock, fright; sun; childbirth; suppressions. Hydrophobia. Delusions as to size and distance. Sensation as if limbs were separated from body.

Worse

      Glistening objects; (mirror, surface of water). Fright. After sleep. Dark. Cloudy days. Swallowing. Suppressions. Intemperance. Touch.

Better

      LIGHT. Company, Warmth.

Mind

      Awakes terrified, knows no one, screams with fright, clings to those near him (child). DREAD OF DARKNESS, and has a horror of glistening objects. Praying, singing, devoutly; beseeching; entreating; ceaseless talking. Fearful hallucinations which terrify the patient; sees ghosts, vividly brilliant or hideous phantoms, animals; jumping sideways out of ground or running to him. Wildly excited; as in night terrors. Does all sorts of crazy things. Active variable delirium; delirium tremens. Raving MANIA; with cold sweat. Religious insanity. The talk of others is intolerable. Self accusation. Loss of reason or of speech. Strange absurd ideas thinks himself tall, double, lying crosswise, one half of the body cut off etc. Desires company; shy, hides himself or tries to escape. Talks in foreign tongue. Laughs at night, weeps during day. Proud, haughty, merry exaltation. Lascivious talk. Limbs separated from the body as if. Fear and anxiety on hearing water run. Aversion to all fluids. Maniac, curses, tears ones clothes with teeth. Violent speech. Exposes the person. Stupid; imbecile. Sits silent, eyes on ground, picking at her clothes. Wants to kill people or himself. Anxiety when going through a tunnel. Exalted states alternating with settled melancholy. Everything, everybody seems new. Wife thinks husband neglecting her, man thinks his wife faithless.

Head

      Vertigo worse walking in dark or with eyes closed. Jerks head up from pillow and drops it again; during unconsciousness; delirium; puerperal fever etc. Headache with tendency to speak incoherently. Head bent backwards; in vertigo, supports head with hands while bending or rising; after sunstroke. Meningitis; from suppressed ear discharge. Headache from sun.

Eyes

      Fixed, sparkling, staring, wide open. Squint. Half open in sleep. Diplopia. Lachrymation; with headache, fever, otalgia. Night blindness. Green vision. Hallucinations in which everything looks jumbled. All objects look black; crooked, small, large, Squint; in brain affections, during convulsions, worse terror, fear. Sight darkened. Pupils dilated.

Ears

      Sensation as if air rushing out of ear. Deafness. Hallucinations of hearing.

Nose

      Alae nasi white.

Face

      Red, bloated, hot. Expression rapidly changing; now flushed, now pale; a sardonic grin; then expression of terror. Forehead wrinkled; frowning; in brain diseases. Thinks face elongated. Lips; dry, glued together. Chewing motion. Lockjaw.

Mouth

      Fine red dots on tongue. Tongue; dry, parched, swollen; hangs out of the mouth. Taste bitter; to food. Stammering. Aphasia. Constantly spits saliva. Dribbling of viscid saliva. Grinding of the teeth.

Throat

      Dry with great thirst; yet dreads water, it chokes him. Up and down movement of larynx as in swallowing. As if boiling water rising in. Swallowing; difficult; hasty.

Stomach

      Food tastes like straw. Vomiting of greenish substance. Great desire for acids; lemon juice better. Hiccough obstinate.

Abdomen

      Putrid, dark, painless, involuntary diarrhoea, with a squint and pale face. Cholera infantum. Stools suppressed.

Urinary

      Suppression of urine; esp. during typhoid, bladder empty. Loss of power of bladder in the aged; stream flows slowly, cannot make haste. Rigor during urination.

Male

      Sexual passion exalted; with indecent speech and action. Hands constantly kept on genitals.

Female

      Nymphomania; lewd talking; sings obscene songs. Excessive menses, preceded by sexual excitement. Loquacity and singing, during menses. Menses have strong smell as of semen. Puerperal; convulsions, mania; with mental symptoms and profuse sweating. Hands constantly kept on genitals. Sobs and moans, after menses. Excessive menstrual flow.

Respiratory

      Inspiration slow, expiration quick. Spasmodic cough; of drunkards; whooping. Voice hoarse and croaking; suddenly fails in higher tones. Spasms, twitching of larynx. Nervous asthma. Cough worse looking at light, fire, or bright objects. Cough with jerking of lower limbs, when sitting.

Heart

      Feeble; pulse irregular. Cardiac affections, with constrictions of chest and mental symptoms.

Neck and Back

      Neck stiff, cannot bend it backwards. Drawing pain in the back. Spine sensitive; slightest pressure causes outcries and ravings. Opisthotonos.

Extremities

      Graceful and rhythmic motions. Clasps hands over head. Hands open and shut. Wringing of hands. Staggering gait. Misses step of stairs while descending. Violent pain in hip. Trembling of limbs. Inside of right thigh red and swollen. Abscess of left hip joint, with violent pain. Hemiplegia, with convulsions in unparalysed parts. Heels numb, sometimes painful.

Sleep

      Comatose. Weeping in dreams. Awakes in fear or screaming Lies on back with thighs and knees flexed. Sleepless in darkness. Frightful dreams. Laughs, screams starts during sleep.

Fever

      Profuse sweat which does not relieve. Violent fever. Cold sweat; during spasms.

Skin

      Crawling as of many bugs. Non-appearance of exanthemata. Shining red flush. Chronic abscesses, fistulae. Fiery red patches on skin. Abscesses and tumours with severe pain. Burns and scalds.

Related

      Bell; Hyos; Opium

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'.