a body-mind approach to chronic illness
HOMŒOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA
by William BOERICKE, M.D.
ARNICA MONTANA
Leopard's Bane
Produces conditions upon the system quite similar to those resulting from injuries, falls, blows, contusions. Tinnitus aurium. Putrid phenomena. Septic conditions; prophylactic of pus infection. Apoplexy, red, full face. It is especially suited to cases when any injury, however remote, seems to have caused the present trouble. After traumatic injuries, overuse of any organ, strains. Arnica is disposed to cerebral congestion. Acts best in plethoric, feebly in debilitated with impoverished blood, cardiac dropsy with dyspnœa. A muscular tonic. Traumatism of grief, remorse or sudden realization of financial loss. Limbs and body ache as if beaten; joints as if sprained. Bed feels too hard. Marked effect on the blood. Affects the venous system inducing stasis. Echymosis and hæmorrhages. Relaxed blood vessels, black and blue spots. Tendency to hæmorrhage and low-fever states. Tendency to tissue degeneration, septic conditions, abscesses that do not mature. Sore, lame, bruised feeling. Neuralgias originating in disturbances of pneumo-gastric. Rheumatism of muscular and tendinous tissue, especially of back and shoulders. Aversion to tobacco. Influenza. Thrombosis. Hematocele.
Mind.--Fears touch, or the approach of anyone. Unconscious; when spoken to answers correctly, but relapses. Indifference; inability to perform continuous active work; morose, delirious. Nervous; cannot bear pain; whole body oversensitive. Says there is nothing the matter with him. Wants to be let alone. Agoraphobia (fear of space). After mental strain or shock.
Head.--Hot, with cold body; confused; sensitiveness of brain, with sharp, pinching pains. Scalp feels contracted. Cold spot on forehead. Chronic vertigo; objects whirl about especially when walking.
Eyes.--Diplopia from traumatism, muscular paralysis, retinal hæmorrhage. Bruised, sore feeling in eyes after close work. Must keep eyes open. Dizzy on closing them. Feel tired and weary after sight-seeing, moving pictures, etc.
Ears.--Noises in ear caused by rush of blood to the head. Shooting in and around ears. Blood from ears. Dullness of hearing after concussion. Pain in cartilages of ears as if bruised.
Nose.--Bleeding after every fit of coughing, dark fluid blood. Nose feels sore; cold.
Mouth.--Fetid breath. Dry and thirsty. Bitter taste (Colocy). Taste as from bad eggs. Soreness of gums after teeth extraction (Sepia). Empyæma of maxillary sinus.
Face.--Sunken; very red. Heat in lips. Herpes in face.
Stomach.--Longing for vinegar. Distaste for milk and meat. Canine hunger. Vomiting of blood. Pain in stomach during eating. Repletion with loathing. Oppressive gases pass upward and downward. Pressure as from a stone. Feeling as if stomach were passing against spine. Fetid vomiting.
Abdomen.--Stitches under false ribs. Distended; offensive flatus. Sharp thrusts through abdomen.
Stool.--Straining of tenesmus in diarrhœa. Offensive, brown, bloody, putrid, involuntary. Looks like brown yeast. Must lie down after every stool. Diarrhœa of consumption; worse lying on left side. Dysenteric stools with muscular pains.
Urine.--Retained from over-exertion. Dark brick-red sediment. Vesical tenesmus with very painful micturition.
Female.--Bruised parts after labor. Violent after-pains. Uterine hæmorrhage from mechanical injury after coition. Sore nipples. Mastitis from injury. Feeling as if fœtus were lying crosswise.
Respiratory.--Coughs depending on cardiac lesion, paroxysmal, at night, during sleep, worse exercise. Acute tonsillitis, swelling of soft palate and uvula. Pneumonia; approaching paralysis. Hoarseness from overuse of voice. Raw, sore feeling in morning. Cough produced by weeping and lamenting. Dry, from tickling low down in trachea. Bloody expectoration. Dyspnœa with hæmoptysis. All bones and cartilages of chest painful. Violent spasmodic cough, with facial herpes. Whooping cough, child cries before coughing. Pleurodynia (Ranunc; Cimicif).
Heart.--Angina pectoris; pain especially severe in elbow of left arm. Stitches in heart. Pulse feeble and irregular. Cardiac dropsy with distressing dyspnœa.
Extremities distended, feel bruised and sore. Fatty heart and hypertrophy.
Extremities.--Gout. Great fear of being touched or approached. Pain in back and limbs, as if bruised or beaten. Sprained and dislocated feeling. Soreness after overexertion. Everything on which he lies seems too hard. Deathly coldness of forearm. Cannot walk erect, on account of bruised pain in pelvic region. Rheumatism begins low down and works up (Ledum).
Skin.--Black and blue. Itching, burning, eruption of small pimples. Crops of small boils (Ichthyol; Silica). Ecchymosis. Bed sores (Bovinine locally). Acne indurata, characterized by symmetry in distribution.
Sleep.--Sleepless and restless when over tired. Comatose drowsiness; awakens with hot head; dreams of death, mutilated bodies, anxious and terrible. Horrors in the night. Involuntary stools during sleep.
Fever.--Febrile symptoms closely related to typhoid. Shivering over whole body. Heat and redness of head, with coolness of rest of body. Internal heat; feet and hands cold. Nightly sour sweats.
Modalities.--Worse, least touch; motion; rest; wine; damp cold. Better, lying down, or with head low.
Arnica is useful whenever the body feels bruised and sore, especially if markedly worse after exertion. A characteristic feeling is of “the bed feeling too hard”, in other words, soreness and bruised feeling is worse if the part is lain upon.
Bryonia is for pain that is much worse for the slightest movement. Heat aggravates the pain while pressure on the relevant part alleviates.
Causticum is for soreness, weakness and stiffness, worse with exertion and cold, better for warm applications and being warm in bed. With Causticum the symptoms are worse in dry weather and better when it rains.
Cimicifuga is for pain, soreness and stiffness mostly in the neck and upper back muscles. These may have been preceded by an injury and are generally worse for cold or drafts. There are headaches, especially on the top of the head or radiating up from the neck.
Kalmia latifolia is especially helpful for severe shooting pains in muscles, and there is often an accompanying numbness or cold sensation. Always make sure that there is no suggestion of nerve pressure or damage, if these symptoms are present.
Rhus tox is for pain and stiffness which is worse when having been still and gets better for getting moving, particularly bad after overdoing things or in cold damp weather, eased by warmth and moderate exercise.
Rhododendron is very similar to Rhus tox except that the pains are very much worse for changes in the weather, especially if there is an impending storm or thunderstorm
Ruta grav is similar to Rhus tox except that the stiffness is more marked and less susceptible to improvement with gentle movement. Pain in the tendons or the places where tendons meet bone (heels, elbows etc). There is often a bruised feeling. Pains are worse for cold damp weather.
