Solanum dulcamara, Woody night shade, Bitter sweet

Natural order: Solanaceae (Bell, Hyos, Stram, Tabac, Caps). Contains alkaloid Solanine, has narcotic property.

Introduced by Hahnemann and extensively proved by him and others, among who were Gross, Nenning, Ruckert, and Stapf, later Rockwith.
It is a climbing shrub, from six to eight feet height, flowering in clusters, berries oval, bright scarlet; grows in moist places through Europe and America.

Tincture is prepared from fresh stems and leaves gathered before flowering.

Through cerebrospinal nervous system, acts esp. upon mucus membranes, producing catarrhal inflammations, similar to those produce in damp, rainy weather; and if used as a prophylactic after exposure to damp, rainy weather, it will ward off all bad effects. Also affects the skin, medulla oblongata and pneumogastric nerve. It paralyzes the action of vagal filaments of the lung. Acts on kidneys producing condition like Bright’s disease.

Phlegmatic, torpid, scrofulous patients, who are restless and irritable, who take cold on damp changes. Dark hair, delicate skin, sensitive to cold (sensitive to cold damp runs through the solanaceae and is marked in Bell and Caps). Tend to be obese (Calc, Ant.c)

It is said to have shown itself useful in diseases in which the following were some of the ailments : Boring and burning in the forehead ; sensation as if there was a board before the forehead ; scrofulous inflammation of the eyes ; incipient amaurosis ; crusta lactea ; cough with hoarseness ; catarrh of the bladder, with urinary troubles ; a sort of whooping cough, after taking a cold ; tearing pains in the limbs after a cold ; humid, suppurating herpes ; herpetic eruption, with glandular swellings, etc.

Leading indications is found in its modality – worse from cold damp weather. Effects of lying on damp ground. Changes from hot to cold weather (Bry), esp. if sudden. Persons working in damp cold basements or a milk dairy (Aran, Ars, Nat.s).
Paralyzed part feels icy cold. One sided spasms. Convulsions beginning in the face. Rheumatic paralysis. Painless ulcers. Offensive sweat, effects of sudden cooling while sweating. Dryness of mucus membranes strongly indicates. Sensation as if worms were crawling up and down in the abdomen, biting in rectum as from salt, lung moved in waves, arms were wood, needles over whole body. Small furuncles appear at the places hurt by concussion.

Mind:
Mental confusion, can not concentrate his thought. Can not find the right word. Asks for one thing or other, rejecting it when proffered. (Bry, Cham, Cina, Kreos). Very ill-humored, not disposed to do anything for several days. Quarrelsome disposition, in the afternoon, without getting vexed. Irritable mood, easily angered. Great restlessness and impatience. Inclination to scold without being angry. Delirium, at night, with increased pains, and during fever.
George Vitholkas: domineering and possessive in their relationship with other people esp. those closest to them. Very opinionated, insist upon their own point of view. (she is always right, and she expects others to acknowledge that). Suspicious out of their sphere of influence. Great anxiety about others, about health of her relatives (exaggerates trifles) arising out of their possessiveness. Very self centred. It almost never crosses her mind that others also have rights and freedom of choice. Uptightness.

Head:
Momentary vertigo, when walking with darkness before eyes. Heaviness of head. Dullness and painful stupefaction of head. Worse by motion and even speaking, before midnight and lying quiet. (Boericke – Better when talking, when lying quiet) Severe head ache with dry nose (head ache comes after catarrh has been suppressed). Worse from cold damp spells or getting over heated with too much clothing. Dark before eyes on awaking in morning. Dullness of senses. Sensation as of a board pressing against forehead, as if head was enlarged, hair stood on end.

Eyes:
Dim sightedness, sees everything as through gauze. Sparks before eyes. (Incipient amaurosis). Ptosis. Itching in cold air. Sensation as if fire was darting out of eyes, when walking in sun or in room. Pupils are greatly dilated. Eruptions of yellow vesicles under eyes.

Ears:
Otalgia at night, with nausea. Earache whole night preventing sleep. Swelling of parotids, also after measles.

Nose:
Dry coryza with headache; better by motion, worse during rest, in cold air, in open air (Nux.v – better in open air), renewed by slightest exposure, amelioration in closed room. Profuse discharge of water from nose and eyes, worse in open air. Thick yellow mucus, with bloody crusts in nostrils. Nose stuffed up, > heat. Bleeding from nose, bright red, very hot, with pressure over the nose < getting wet.

Face:
Eruptions and warts on the face. Pale face and circumscribed redness of cheeks. Crusta lactea. Moist tetter on cheeks. Paralysis of lower jaw. Swelling of sub maxillary glands. Distortion of face, it is drawn to one side. Thick herpetic crusts, brown or yellow. Facial neuralgia on left side, involving temple, ear, orbit and jaws; usually seemed to start from malar bone, paroxysms preceded by the parts becoming very cold, and attended by canine hunger > external warmth.

Mouth:
Salivation – tenacious, soap like, putrid odor. Constant hawking up of very tough saliva, with much rawness in fauces. Dryness of tongue and roughness, with much thirst and increased flow of saliva. Swelling of tongue, hindering speech and impending breathing. Stammering from time to time as if drunk, indistinct articulation, though he tried constantly to speak. Itching, crawling on the tip of the tongue. Ulceration of mouth even gangrene with great swelling of mucous membrane. Swelling of tonsils; difficult deglutition.

Stomach:
Unquenchable thirst, strong desire for cold drinks, with dryness of tongue and increased saliva. Desires sweets. Hunger after the fever. Hunger with repugnance to all food (without appetite). Nausea accompanies desire for stool. Chilliness during vomiting. Vomitings after cold drinks.

Abdomen:
Colic with trembling before and after stool, after taking cold, with pain in small of back, sticking in umbilical region. Colic as diarrhea would occur. Swelling of inguinal glands. Dropsy of abdomen.

Stool:
Green, mucus, changeable in color, of sour odor. Yellow watery diarrhea with cutting and tearing before stool, worse after taking cold, when hot day is followed by cold damp night. Constipation with infrequent, sluggish, hard, difficult stool.

Urine:
Retention of urine. Scanty and foetid urine. Turbid and whitish urine. Involuntary discharge of urine from paralysis of bladder. Difficult urination, dribbling drop by drop. Thickening of bladder (cystitis). Stricture urethra. Must urinate when getting chilled and must hurry to pass water. Albumin in urine with oedematous feet.

Genitals:
Tetters on genitals. Miliary eruptions before catamenia. Herpetic eruptions on face before menses (Coc, during profuse menses – Bell, Graph) with unusual sexual excitement. Suppressed menstruation or milk from cold. Tetters on breast in nursing woman. Mammae engorged, hard, sore, painful. Threatened induced by exposure in damp, cold places as in a spring house or a cellar. After weaning mother has eruptions on skin; sore nipples.

Respiratory:
Bronchial catarrhal. Cough with hoarseness. Cough with expectoration of bright red blood. Trachea full of mucus, tough, greenish expectoration with moderate cough. Cough similar to Whooping cough excited by taking deep inspiration, with profuse secretion of mucus in the larynx and trachea. During each attack easy expectoration of tasteless mucus, which is often streaked with blood. Moist cough. Oppressed breathing from cold, from accumulation of mucus.

Extremities:
Icy cold arms. Paralysis. Exostosis from suppressed itch. Sweat in palms of hands. Rheumatism after eruptions or when chronic forms alternate with diarrhea.

Skin: urticaria over whole body, no fever; itching burns after scratching, < warmth, > in cold. Thick brown yellow crusts on scalp, face, forehead, temples, chin, with reddish borders, bleeding when scratched. Warts – fleshy, large, smooth; on face or back of the hands and fingers (Thuj).

Worse: cold air, change of weather (hot to cold), damp weather, getting wet, using water, cold drinks, ice crams, lying on back, stooping, bending diseased part backward, rest, evening and night, suppressed – menstruation, eruptions, sweat.

Better: lying on side, erect, motion (Ferr, Rhus), warmth (but worse cough and nettle rash), pressure.

Antidotes: Cupr, Merc.
Antidoted by: Camph, Cupr, Ip, Kali.c, Merc
Follows well by: Bry, Calc, Lyco, Rhus, Sep, Verat.
Follows well after: Calc, Bry, Lyco, Rhus, Sep.
Similar to: Merc in ptyalism, glandular swellings, bronchitis, diarrhea, susceptibility to weather changes, night pains. Kali.s is chemical analogue.
Incompatible: acetic.ac, Bell, Lach should not be used before or after.
Complementary: Baryta.c, Kali.s
For bad effects or abuse of mercury.

References:

• Materia Medica Pura by Hahnemann (vol 1) – 318 symptoms from self and 10 fellow provers and 83 from authors.
• The guiding symptoms of our Materia Medica by Hering C
• A Cyclopedia of Drug Pathogenesy by Hughes. R (vol 2)
• Characteristics of Materia Medica by William H. Burt
• Lectures on Homoeopathy by J.T. Kent
• Concise Materia Medica of Homoeopathic remedies by S.R. Phatak
• Encyclopedia of pure Materia Medica by Allen T.F (vol. 4)
• Keynotes with nosodes by Allen H.C
• Dictionary of practical Materia Medica by Clarke J.H
• Homoeopathic Materia Medica by W. Boericke

0 0 votes
Please comment and Rate the Article
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments