A Homoeopathic Treatise on Homoeopathic Help, Research and Allied Work

Dedicated to my late parents and other family members who reared me and the teachers who taught me to help mankind.

This book is the outcome of my association with the Homoeopathic System of Medicine as a teacher, practitioner, and researcher for nearly 25 years. Although most of the text of the book has already been published in the past in various journals and dailies, it was imperative to compile all the published and unpublished work in book form. I am therefore pleased in presenting the same to you.

The contents have been bifurcated into two parts. Part I deals with the description of 30 drugs. Part II contains mainly research and other Allied work.

In the end I am grateful to Mr. Upendra, Ravindra, and Mrs. Shashi Kala who are my son, daughter and wife for helping me directly and indirectly in bringing out this small contribution of mine for Homoeopathy.

M. M. of Aconitum, Aethusa, Aloes and Ambra grisea

ACONITUM NAPELLUS

Aconite Napellus or Monkshood is a poisonous plant called Dakra in Hindi, one of the five species of Aconite plant cultivated in America but also found in Europe and the mountains of the Himalayas. This homoeopathic medicine is given to those who suffer from sudden and violent inflammatory conditions of the brain, lungs, heart, kidneys, and other organs of the body along with a state of anxiety of mind and great nervous excitability generally reflected in the form of fear.

In diseased condition the fear is so marked that the patient starts predicting the time of his death. He may call his family members around to take leave of them or say “Doctor, there is no use of taking medicine as I am going to die.” Such disturbance may be triggered of by the exposure to the dry cold air particularly in autumn when the days are still hot but the nights have become cold or, vice versa, specially when the person, seeming healthy, is actually sensitive to heat and cold. The mind too is like the body i.e., extremely sensitive and that’s why the patient exaggerates the complaints to such an extent that his own imagination of the enormity of his complaints overpowers him. Even in a most trifling ailment like inflammation of the eyes or body temperature, the patient has uncomfortable anguish and anxiety along with fear in the mind.

Aconite is an effective medicine when there is fear of dark places in children and others as they have been frightened by their elders or because of wrong perceptions and stories, etc., when the objects had looked like ghosts, fearful images watched at night while awake or asleep. On account of news or sights of accidents, arson, riots, violence, etc., these sensitive persons develop fear of going out in crowded places like cinema halls, fairs, markets and crossing the roads, etc. At times, they may have actually come across such situation of violence, destruction, shoot-out or threat to their life from their enemies.

The fear and fright may lead to abortion in a sensitive pregnant woman or menses may get suppressed in others. For the same reason Aconite is an excellent medicine for the prima gravida when she thinks about her parturition or when the process has become really difficult.

During epidemics of various tropical diseases like cholera, when the atmosphere is surcharged with fear, Aconite acts as a preventive drug. It not only removes the fear from the minds of the people but actually cures the victims. At time, it comes to the rescue of the doctor when there is anaphylactic shock i.e., serum reaction and the patient’s life is threatened, especially when the patient says, “Save me doctor, save me doctor, I shall die.” He may take hold of the doctor with the fear of death in his mind.

It is also the life saviour medicine for newborn babies when they have difficulty in breathing especially after the use of forceps or from tedious labor. It is a good medicine for school-going children who are occasionally punished either by the parents at home or by the teachers at school for not doing well, for not doing home work or for being mischievous in class; it is useful for children who leave the school or run away from home forever.

A good medicine for bowel trouble when the days are hot and nights are cold.

The most notable feature of this remedy is that on many occasions when one needs its help, already there has been enough delay as either the trouble is over or the disease has passed to the next stage or the patient is no more. The actions of this remedy are thus like a fearful storm that sweeps and passes over.

AETHUSA CYNAPIUM

Aethusa cynapium is a European weed, commonly known as Fool’s parsley. This homoeopathic medicine is prescribed to persons who have intolerance of milk or milk preparations in any form due to irritability of the stomach particularly noticed in infants and children during dentition in summer months. As a consequence no sooner has the child finished the feed, it comes up either with a great gush and in big quantity or when it is retained for a while in the stomach, the milk is vomited in the form of big, thick, greenish vomit, partly in curds and partly in liquid form.

Owing to the exertion in vomiting and the weakness thereafter, the child falls into a sort of helpless slumber from which it wakes up crying with violent hunger to eat and then vomits again. Very often vomiting is accompanied with diarrhoea that is slimy, bilious and light yellow in colour. Such conditions if not checked with the timely administration of this medicine runs on to cholera infantum, where the child cannot stand,

is unable to hold up the head and is prostrated and sleepy.

The child may have the appearance as if it were dying with pale, Hippocratic face. There appears a whitish blue hue around the lips of all that portion of the face bounded by the upper lip and two distinct lines drawn from two orifices of the nose to the angles of the mouth called the linea nasalis.

Aethusa cynapium is a good medicine for brain trouble with a hot head, vomiting, exhaustion, sweat and prolonged sleep. At times, the brain trouble does not affect the stomach but the child goes into convulsions where the eyes of the child turn downwards with dilated pupils and the thumbs get clenched.

Aethusa cynapium has been found an effective remedy to overcome examination funk when the patients, generally students, are unable to read anything after over-taxation (brain fag) of mental faculties. Some times there may occur inability to think or fix attention from want of the power of concentration. The result may be confusion and idiocy.

ALOES SOCOTRINA

Aloes socotrina is a succulent plant. The medicine is prepared from the gummy leaves.

This homoeopathic medicine is recommended to persons who lead a sedentary life and consequently suffer from excessive fullness (engorgement) of the veins especially of the portal system. As a result the liver area (right hypochondrium) is felt heavy, hot and burning.

Sometimes the veins become engorged and tortuous (varicose) and may ooze venous blood particularly from the nose, bowel, bladder, and genitalia. The skin and other orifices of the body like the eyes, mouth, throat and anus may also become hot and burn. The soles too burn and the patient keeps them uncovered.

Owing to portal congestion, the muscles of the rectum get relaxed leading to protrusion of the mucosa of the anus like a bunch of grapes, commonly known as piles or haemorrhoids. These too, may be felt hot, sore and burn preventing sleep. At times, itching is so violent that the patient is compelled to bore the finger into the anus.

Concurrently, there may be great rumbling in the abdomen, so much so that it may be heard by anyone in the room due to accumulation of flatus, which generally passes downward causing distress in the lower bowel.

The abdomen many be much distended even after great quantity of flatus has been passed out without any relief. There is a great feeling of fullness and weight in the pelvis specially in the rectum as though it were full of faecal matter.

The urging for stool is so great that he rushes to the toilet but even before reaching the toilet, his clothes are all soiled. Generally the stools are passed involuntarily while expelling flatus or passing the urine. Sometimes, when there is urge to clear the bowel the patient passes only hot flatus and gets relief for a short time but the urge soon returns compelling him to go again for evacuation. At times, the patient holds the stool with great difficulty and cannot even dare to take his mind off the sphincter owing to the fear of escaping faeces.

Normally the stool gurgles out like water runs out of the bottle when it is passed out. Sometimes children may go round dropping involuntarily hard, round, marble like pieces of stool. They don’t even know the stool has been passed out or, these little nodules remain in the rectum for a long time without any urge to evacuate them. It ultimately escapes unconsciously and are found in the clothings. At times, the patient may pass a cup full of thick, jelly like mucus before having stool which may have occupied the lower part of the rectum.

Aloes is a good medicine for diarrhoea when it may be brought on by drinking beer and eating oysters in the hot summer season. It is worse after eating or drinking anything else. Useful in dysentery when there may be violent tenesmus, heat in the rectum, perspiration even to fanting and profuse clammy sweat.

The stool may be yellow, bloody or transparent, jelly-like mucus, coming in great masses or ‘gobes’ which drop out of the anus unnoticed. Sometimes, stool is watery, hard lumps mingled with faecal fluid or hard lumps looking like marbles or sheep-dung during stool.

It has also been found to be an effective medicine in curing prolapse of the uterus of long standing when there is dragging down feeling due to its outward pressure. It is accompanied with fullness, heat on the body surface and feeling of a wedge in between the symphysis pubis and coccyx along with the tendency of morning diarrhoea. The patient may at times experience funnelling sensation in the vagina.

AMBRA GRISEA

Ambra Grisea is also known as Ambergris, a fat like morbid secretion found in the intestine and in the excreta of the spermwhale.

This homoeopathic medicine is prescribed to persons who are intensely shy and blush easily. They cannot do anything in the presence of others. At times, they cannot even defecate when somebody is present nearby. The result is inveterate constipation specially experienced by children, bedridden and old people.

It is a useful medicine for those who go among strangers and become nervous. The result is cough which may often be followed by eructation of wind. At times, this occurs particularly from little exertion like attempting sexual intercourse.

Ambra is a superb medicine for domestic shock especially after repeated deaths in the family. There seems to be nothing remaining. The patient takes on dreaminess and wonders whether life is worth living. In great business loss, the result may be sleeplessness, where the patient feels sleepy but as soon as the head touches the pillow, he wakes up.

Such patients may dwell upon unpleasant happenings of the past, which they cannot get rid of. While concentration of mind is difficult, he has to make an unusual effort every time to bring his thoughts back to place before he can concentrate on the present subject.

When there is perversion in the ability to hear music which brings on congestion to the head, it sometimes aggravates the cough and often makes the patient weep.

Ambra is a good medicine for bleeding from the nose of such persons especially in the morning. Also, for the slightest show of blood between menstrual periods of females, every little accident or exertion such as straining at stool or a slightly longer walk than usual brings on the bleeding. During menses the left leg becomes quite blue and distended with tortuous veins (varices). At times, menses may appear seven days before time which may be followed by soreness, itching, and swelling of genitalia.