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Schwabe News Volume 4 | Issue 10-12 | October – December 2013
Luffa operculata
Details about this mother tincture was given way back in August 2012 issue of this e-newsletter series. This issue covers a recent proving of this remedy.
A communication concerning the symptomatology of Luffa operculata was made at the Congress of the International League of Homoeopathy in 1962 by Willmar Schwabe and M. Stübler. Then it was covered by O. A. Julian and others. Prior to these developments, Boericke’s Materia Medica had included this under one rubric Locomotor – Body – Coldness. Its main symptomatology include lassitude and physical fatigue, frontal and occipital headache, acute or chronic inflammation of the mucous membranes in the nasal cavities, hypertrophy or atrophy of the nasal mucous membranes, hypothyroid. A proving has been published recently. This is also from the Dr. Willmar Schwabe Group. With the support from the homoeopathic division of Dr. Willmar Schwabe, Germany, called Deutsche Homöopathie-Union (DHU), a placebo controlled pathogenetic trial was conducted by David Riley to re-establish its curative efficacy in homoeopathic doses, using 12CH with 14 female and 8 male provers. Important symptoms found during proving are reported here along with old symptoms. For the complete details of the proving, readers are requested to refer the original proving.
Mind
Lack of concentration, absent minded, anger at trifles. Lack of reaction, with attitude of indifference and prostration. Anger before menses. Anxiety with restlessness. Brooding. Aversion to company. Delusions of being at war, of another person being in the next room. Discontented with self. Dreams of death, disease, killing, murdering her father, or painful events. Fear of insanity. Impatient and irritable. Cheerful talking and desiring to talk with someone. Memory weakness and mistakes with numbers. Thoughts too rapid to write. Desire for cursive writing. Tearful mood. Internal discontent with irritability, impatience, brooding and aversion to company and also loquacity and desiring to talk or to write.
Head
Pain in the forehead worse in stuffy room, morning, better in the evening and oversensitive to light. Violent headaches going from the forehead towards the nape of the neck. Pain in the occipital region. Frontal pains with vertigo and musca volitantes. Dull head pain over the left eye or at the temples. Fullness or heaviness. Flushes of heat to the head alternating with chills. Blinding head pain. Head pain aggravated by reading. Pain in the forehead that extends to the occiput or the sides, or behind the eyes, above or between the eyes. Pain on the sides about the ears or in spots. Pressing pain in the forehead that extends to the side of the head or is behind the eyes. Lancinating head pain to the temples or sides.
Eye
Musca volitantes. Heavy dry, tearful with sensitivity to light, heavy vision. Moist discharges of clear mucus. Left-sided lacrimation in the morning. Styes, worse on the right side with swelling of the lower lid. Burning pain especially at the canthi. Dryness. Itching in the canthi. Pain as from sand. Tired sensation. Sees spots during headaches.
Nose
Acute rhinitis and pharyngitis. Purulent sinusitis. Chronic atrophic rhinitis. Head colds with pale or yellow nasal secretion, especially in the morning. Dryness of the nasal mucus with sticky scab formations. Nasal polyps. Chronic rhinitis, with involvement of the sinuses. Obstructed, with frequent sneezing, cold with sinus, dryness of inner nose. Sinusitis with headache and watery discharge from the nose. Coryza with bland, clear discharges. Discharges in the morning and evening. Sneezing. Congestion.
Face
Itching and red discoloration worse at night. Numbness around the lips during migraine headache.
Mouth
Dryness of the tongue, back of the throat and pharynx. Burning sensation at the tip of the tongue. Metallic or bitter taste, ulcers, corners cracked. Tongue thickly coated with ulcers.
Throat
Dryness, inflammation, coated. Scratchy sore throat. Raw sensation. Snoring.
Stomach
Diffuse gastric pains. Empty feeling in the stomach. Extreme hunger with emaciation. Painful feeling of thirst and hunger, difficult to satisfy. Nausea better after eating, or after stool, or with headache, or with abdominal pain. Thirst for cold drinks.
Abdomen
Abdominal pain. Cramping in the hypogastrium when walking. Pain from incarcerated gas. Shooting, stitching pain in the inguinal or liver area. Flatulence. Hard distention with rumbling. Anxiety in the abdomen. Constriction that extends to the chest.
Rectum
Tendency to constipation. Constipation associated with flatus or with straining or without urge. Itching from external hemorrhoids like grapes. Offensive flatus. Frequent, hard stools. Green stool. Offensive stools. Stools like balls.
Bladder
Increased urge to urinate in the morning. Frequent urination.
Female
Uterine cramps, worse before menses. Short, scanty menstrual flow or cycle appearing early.
Respiration
Difficult respiration with little exertion. Spasmodic cough, worse by cold breeze, dust, dust fog, exposure to cold, night, early morning, better by heat, covering the head. Breathlessness from the least effort. Bronchial asthma.
Chest
Constriction under the sternum associated with fear, anxiety, or pain. Pain during sneezing coughing. Constriction under the sternum with anxiety and fear, or that is painful. Palpitations when in bed at night. Painful pimples and eruptions in the left axilla area. Wheezing and rattling sound in the chest with difficulty in expectoration. Tachycardia.
Back
Spasmodic, aching and drawing pains in the lumbar area. Shivering down the spine. Back pain during stool.
Extremities
Numbness of lips and fingers with a migraine. Trembling of the hands and legs with excessive physical energy and better motion. Twitching in the foot and leg while in bed on falling asleep. Deep aching in the joints.
Sleep
Sleep on the left side. Difficult to fall asleep. Dreams or delusions of war, fighting, killing or murdering and death.
Skin
Formation of small purulent, itching pimples on the face, lower lip and chin. Loses hair in abundance. Eruptions of hard, painful pimples. Sensitive in spots.
Generalities
Increased energy but also weakness and weariness. Weakness and light-headedness with surges of energy or decreased physical energy. Motion ameliorates. Fatigue in the afternoon. Desires for fried foods like potatoes or eggs. Desires cold drinks. Chilliness. Desire for open air.
Bibliography
- Riley, David S. Materia Medica of New and Old Homoeopathic Medicines, Springer-Verlag GmbH, 2012.
- Boericke, W., 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.
- Clarcke, J. H., Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, Reprint Edition 1992, B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi.
- Allen, T. F., Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica, B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi.
- Julian, O. A., Materia Medica of New Homoeopathic Remedies, RadarOpus 1.33, Archibel S.A. Rue Fontaine St. Pierre 1E, Zoning Industriel de la Fagne, 5330 Assesse, Belgium.
- Murphy, R., Homeopathic Remedy Guide, RadarOpus 1.33, Archibel S.A. Rue Fontaine St. Pierre 1E, Zoning Industriel de la Fagne, 5330 Assesse, Belgium.
- Varma, P. N., Indu Vaid, Encyclopaedia of Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia, Updated edition 2007, B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi.
- Vermeulen, F., Synoptic Materia Medica II, RadarOpus 1.33, Archibel S.A. Rue Fontaine St. Pierre 1E, Zoning Industriel de la Fagne, 5330 Assesse, Belgium.
- Kulbhushan Juneja, Luffa operculata in Sinusitis, Hpathy Ezine, February, 2005
