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Schwabe News Volume 4 | Issue 4 & 5 | April & May 2013
Symphytum officinalis
Symphytum officinalis is a plant belongs to the family Boraginaceae. This drug has been used in homoeopathy for over a century for injuries, wounds, glands, etc. To re-establish its curative efficacy in homoeopathic doses, a placebo controlled pathogenetic trial was conducted by David Riley with the support from Deutsche Homöopathie-Union (DHU), the homoeopathic division of Dr. Willmar Schwabe, Germany, using 12CH with 19 female and 3 male provers. Important symptoms found during proving are reported here along with old symptoms.
This drug is available from Schwabe India in mother tincture, 6CH, 12CH, 30CH, 200CH, 1M, 1M, 10M, 50M and CM.
Important Proving Symptoms
Irritability with a sense of hurry. Anxious and vivid dreams with weeping. Intense headaches in the temples, forehead and extending to the neck. Nasal discharge, worse after eating and associated with flatulence and diarrhoea. Improvement of dysmenorrhoea and premenstrual breast tenderness. Delayed menses. Pain, aching, and soreness in the bones and joints of the body. Itching eruptions, especially on the digits of hands and feet.
Mind
Impatience and irritability before menses and even during sleep. Sense of hurry in occupation, work, and thought. Anxious dreams, fearful and sexual dreams. Remembered dreams and also lack of recall. Vivid dreams. Violent dreams. Weeping, particularly during dreams. Mental dullness.
Vertigo
Light-headed and dizzy.
Head
Headache in occiput, in top of head, in forehead, changing places. Intensely painful headaches, worse in the temples on the left side, also in the right forehead. Headaches that extend to the neck. Constricted sensation in the head as if the head were in a vise or there were a band or hoop around the head. Pulsations, particularly in the temples. Dull headaches in the temples, or left temple headache is cured. Pressing head pain in the forehead. Shooting head pain.
Eyes
After being struck upon eye with a cane by a child, no visible injury, but a sensation on closing eye as if upper lid passed over an elevation on bulb of eye; on waking eye could not be easily opened, seemed spasmodically closed. Nearsighted vision is clearer and improved.
Ears
Cannot hear well; feels as if ears were stopped up. Inflamed ears. Ringing noises in the ear. Tinnitus. Pulsations in the ears.
Nose
Increased discharge from the nose that is greenish. Increased congestion. Epistaxis.
Face
Bleeding and cracking of the lips. Painful, sore lips. Swelling of the face.
Mouth
Aphthae and thick saliva.
Teeth
Aching and pain in the teeth. The teeth feel as if they were »fuzzy«.
Throat
Sore throat or tonsils with an increase in mucus.
Stomach
Nausea, associated with stomach pain that is relieved by eating. Fluctuating appetite. Heartburn. Decreased appetite. Burping.
Abdomen
Distension and flatulence. Flatulence worse after eating, also associated with distension. Full sensation. Soreness in abdomen. Rumbling.
Rectum
Diarrhea, worse after eating. Flatus during the evening or with diarrhea.
Stool
Hard stools shaped like small balls. Soft stools.
Bladder
Increased urge to urinate.
Female
Leukorrhea and itching. Increased sexual desire. Improvement of dysmenorrhea. Menses delayed.
Respiration
Difficult respiration, worse on inspiration and when climbing or at work.
Cough
Dry, tickling, spasmodic cough.
Chest
Sense of constriction and pain in the chest that is better when one is being fanned. Improvement of breast pain originating in the muscles of the rib cage. Palpitations worse on climbing or from anxiety. Eruptions of red pimples.
Back
Aching back pain, worse in the lumbosacral area and worse with motion. Stiffness in the cervical and lumbosacral areas. Red pimples in the cervical region.
Extremities
Complained of loss of power in the large joints, they seemed to get fixed, being particularly painful on turning in bed; and then followed great working in all the joints, esp. in feet, with prickings and shootings in toes of both feet. Pain and aching in joints throughout the body. Stiffness worse in the lower extremities. Eruptions and itching on the forearms and fingers, and on ankles and feet. Tingling and pulsations in the legs and toes.
Sleep
Difficulty or improvement in falling asleep. Restless sleep. Difficulty waking from a nap during the afternoon. Sleeping on the right side or curling up. Waking frequently. Waking with desire to urinate.
Skin
Itching that is voluptuous and without eruptions. Eruptions of rashes or pimples. Bruised sensation on the skin.
Generalities
Desire for rich foods and sweets like ice cream, cake and chocolate. Low energy and weariness or an increase of energy.
Bibliography
- J. H. Clarcke, Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, Reprint Edition 1992, B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi.
- W. Boericke, New Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory [with Relationship of Remedies], Second Re-Augmented & Revised Edition Based on Ninth Edition, Reprint Edition 2002, B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi.
- David S. Riley, Materia Medica of New and Old Homoeopathic Medicines, Springer-Verlag GmbH, 2012.
