Author: Urenus

The mother tincture is prepared from the fresh young leaved shoots of the plant Tox- icodendron quercifolium (Michx.) Greene, a native of North America and Eastern Asia. N.O. Anacardiaceae.

Rhus Toxicodendron contains rhoitannic acid and the sap, urushiol, is a strong skin irritant. It also contains the dye fisetin, and rhamnose.

In Rhus Toxicodendron we see typical complaints and typical aggravations which make it one of the most important anti-rheumatic remedies. The complaints are worse at rest and on first movement. They are better for continued movement. There is also a tpyical aggravation of the complaints from cold, damp weather and from becoming thoroughly wet, and also at night and from over-exertion.

In the provings of Rhus Toxicodendron we have a multiplicity of symptoms, which not only suggest a rheumatic origin, but also are characteristic of a wide vari- ety of inflammations. Thus we have the symptom: “Mentally confused, understands with difficulty and replies slowly, is absent-minded”. There may possibly be shiver- ing and a sensation of pressure behind the eyes, and possibly also a numbing headache, as if there were a plank in front of the forehead, amelioration coming from movement and warmth. There is also a sensation in the head as though the brain were loose, particularly on ascending or on shaking the head. The scalp may be sensitive, particularly on the side on which one is not lying. In the eyes there may be violent conjunctivitis with severe photophobia, spasmodic closing of the lids and excoriating tears, giving rise to pimples on the cheeks. The tip of the nose may be red and sensitive, in many cases with a greenish-yellow, offensive nasal discharge.

There may also be cold-sores around the mouth, and pains in the bones of face and cheeks, as well as wandering toothache, which is better from pressure of the hand.

The tongue has a typical appearance in Rhus Toxicodendron; dry, red and fis- sured, possibly coated yellowish with a red triangle at the tip. Or there may be a mapped tongue (cf. Arsenicum Album, Taraxacum). There may also be stomatitis with bloody saliva which runs from the mouth during sleep. There may be gastroen- teritis with watery, bloody, mucous stools and tenesmus, and also a tormenting, dry cough with bloody, purulent sputum.

There are also palpitations in the picture of Rhus Toxicodendron with a rapid weak, irregular and fluttering pulse. The slightest exertion may be followed by a feeling of weakness in the heart, associated with palpitations. Also characteristic of Rhus Toxicodendron are fissures on the back of the hand and violent itching on the lower leg, possibly also an eruption like measles all over the body, or a vesicular eruption (herpes), and also a crusty eruption on the head. Spasmodic yawning may also be an indication for Rhus Toxicodendron.

Nash gives as the main symptoms of Rhus Toxicodendron the restlessness and the aggravation on first movement with amelioration on continued motion, and also dis- turbances of consciousness such as occur in febrile conditions, e.g. dysentery, peri- tonitis, pneumonia, scarlatina, rheumatism, diphtheria, and other febrile illnesses, for which otherwise Baptisia and Arnica might be considered. Nash considers the cough during the chill of malaria to be typical, likewise erysipelatous eruptions of a vesicular nature with restlessness and consciousness symptoms such as occur in poi- soning with Rhus Toxicodendron, and are also characteristic of many forms of scar- let fever. Rhus Toxicodendron is particularly indicated when the eruptions are bluish-grey in colour, e.g. in smallpox, and thus it is one of the main remedies for herpes zoster.

However, Rhus Toxicodendron is also valuable in chronic skin diseases and espe- cially in eczema with vesicle formation, but also in all chronic inflammations of a dark red colour. Rhus Toxicodendron may be used in parotitis, mastitis, phlebitis, whitlow, and orbital cellulitis, also in other inflammations of the connective tissue and the periosteum, in furunculosis, appendicitis, peritonitis and carbuncles. It may also be used in the abdominal symptoms of typhus and pneumonia, and particularly in influenzal conditions with very painful limbs, especially if there is a recent histo- ry of rheumatic symptoms or of having been wet-through.

Rhus Toxicodendron is also indicated in myelitis with paresis, particularly after lying on wet ground or becoming chilled after profuse sweating (sports) with paraes- thesias in the affected limbs, or in ptosis with the same aetiology. Rhus Toxicoden- dron is also of assistance in conjunctivitis, especially the tubercular variety, and in serious cases of keratitis, and possibly also when attempts to open the eyelids are ac- companied by a thick, purulent discharge with welling up of tears. Rhus Toxicoden- dron is also a main remedy for facial and frontal impetigo, if there is violent itching. It is the main remedy for eruptions on the genitalia and on the scrotum, in erysipelas, in pruritus vulvae, in pemphigus and particularly in herpes zoster, but it may like- wise be given for cardiac hypertrophy, particularly in sports-people.

If we now put together the main symptoms of Rhus Toxicodendron, we arrive at the following list:

1. Special anti-rheumatic remedy with aggravation at rest and on first movement, and amelioration on continued movement (cf. Rhododendron).
   1. Complaints which occur after being wet-through and before damp, cold weather.
   1. Occipital, brachial, intercostal and sciatic neuralgias, and also other rheumatic and neuralgic complaints, whatever the location, which are better for warmth and worse on first movement, but are relieved with continued movement.
   1. Conjunctivitis with swelling of the eyelids and muco-purulent discharges.
   1. Other inflammations such as parotitis, mastitis, whitlow, carbuncles, with dark redness and suppurative tendency. Erysipelas with fiery redness. Cradle-cap.
   1. Typhoid delirium with restlessness and weakness, and also pains in the limbs.
   1. Myelitis after lying on damp grass, with paraesthesias and possibly pareses. Sports injuries.
   1. Herpetic conditions with neuralgia and bluish-red discolouration, also impetigo and smallpox.
   1. Spasmodic yawning. Uncoordinated imagination and thinking, with heaviness of the head and states as if drugged, possibly violent headaches, and a sensation as if the brain were wobbling to and fro inside the skull when walking or ascending.
   1. Creaking in the joints and arthritis.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Toxicodendron quercifolium, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Fed- eral Gazette) for rhus toxicodendron: pruritic skin diseases; feverish infections with drowsiness or stupor; inflammations of the respiratory passages; inflamma- tions of the gastrointestinal tract; eye inflammations; paramenia; headaches; neural- gia; lameness; paralysis; vertigo; rheumatic pain in bones, periosteum, joints, ten- dons, and muscles; sequelae from traumata and overexertion; states of anxiety, rest- lessness, emotional discord, or upset.

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried leaved twigs of the plant Rhododen- dron campylocarpum Hook. f., Rhododendron chrysanthum Pall. and their hybrids separately or in combination, which occurs in Siberia and Northern Russia. N.O. Ericaceae.

This most important remedy produces a typical aggravation of all complaints in windy weather, in wet, cold weather, particularly before rain begins to fall, but also in other changes in the weather and before a thunderstorm.

Complaints occur periodically and frequently change their location. In the case of pains in the limbs these frequently originate in small, circumscribed sites on the pe- riosteum, associated with drawing pain deep inside the bone, and possibly also with paraesthesias and twitching sensations. They are accompanied by relaxation, a sore, bruised feeling and lassitude after the slightest exertion.

Repeatedly one notices a striking sensitivity to cold and wind, and a resurgence of complaints in rough, changeable weather.

Frequently there is an indifferent, cross or reluctant mood.

Rhododendron is required in many cases where there are tearing or jerking pains in the face, or toothache which is better for warmth and may cease for one or two hours after eating a meal.

Apart from the pains in bones, muscles and joints, heart complaints are also char- acteristic of Rhododendron, the heart-beat often becoming stronger, in many cases typified by an aggravation of complaints before a change occurs in the weather.

In Rhododendron there are also vesicular eruptions, as well as epididymitis and pains in the testes, which feel as though they had been squashed; these symptoms may also occur in the glans penis. Thus Rhododendron acts (alongside penicillin) where there is a specific cause. It has also occasionally proved its worth in hydro- coele of boys.

Since the nervous system is also affected, and disturbances of sleep were observed during the provings, Rhododendron may also be used in sleeplessness, above all when this has a rheumatic cause or is the result of rheumatic complaints occurring, particularly if the patients cannot get to sleep because of physical restlessness.

In general Rhododendron is an anti-rheumatic, but it can be used where there are gouty deposits, and particularly in primary chronic arthritis, for which it is one of the chief remedies, especially where there is deformity of the small interphalangeal joints. Rhododendron, apart from having an aggravation while at rest, which pre- vents sleep, also has an amelioration from movement (cf. Rhus Toxicodendron).

Indeed, Rhododendron bears an uncommon similarity to Rhus Toxicodendron, however the pains of Rhododendron are deeper, and localised in the periosteum.

A summary produces the following main symptoms:

1. Rheumatic remedy with a typical aggravation before rainy weather and changes of weather in general.

• 2.   Aggravation of complaints at night and at rest; amelioration on continued move- ment. The pains are located deeply, as if originating in the periosteum.
• Special localisation (primary chronic polyarthritis) in the small joints (fingers). Neuralgia in the arm.
• Vesicular eruptions.
• 5.   Affections of the testes. Epididymitis. Neuralgia of the spermatic cord. Conse- quences of gonorrhoea and syphilis (neural complications).
• 6.   Heart complaints, with increased strength of the heart-beat, possibly associated with feelings of anxiety, and with aggravation before a change in the weather.
• 7.   Tearing, jerking pains in the face, resulting from toothache, ameliorated after eat- ing and by warmth.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Rhododendron, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for rhododendron: rheumatism; neuralgia; orchitis.

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried rootstock, peeled off almost to the cambium, of the plant Rheum officinale Baill., Rheum palmatum L. or hybrids of ei- ther, which are present in China. N.O. Polygonaceae.

The main indications are:

Diarrhoea, sour, mucous, as if fermented. Anus sore and red. Tenesmus and cut- ting pains in the abdomen. The child smells sour. Teething complaints with diar- rhoea (in summer).

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Rheum, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for rheum: diarrhoea; behavioural disorders among children; teething complaints.

The attenuations of this sarcode are prepared from the fresh retina removed from the eyes of healthy pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus).

The main indications are:

Choroiditis. Disorders of vision. Myopia. Degenerative illnesses of the retina and of the eye in general. May be tried in glaucoma.

The attenuations of this sarcode are prepared from the fresh kidney removed from healthy pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus).

The main indications are:

Nephrolithiasis. Hydronephrosis. Urinary-tract infections. Albuminuria. Nephros- es. In glomerulonephritis, do not give in the acute stage. Hypertrophy of the prostate. Oedema. Oxaluria. Depressed renal function with oliguria. Hyperhydrosis.

The attenuations of this sarcode are prepared from the fresh rectum of a healthy pig (Sus scrofa domesticus).

The main indications are:

Intestinal tenesmus. Constipation. Insufficient elimination per rectum. Pre-can- cerous condition of the rectum. Diverticulitis. Carcinoma of the rectum and its pre- liminary stage. Mucous colitis. Anal fissure.

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried root of the plant Rauwolfia serpenti- na (L.) Benth. ex Kurz., which occurs in the Himalayan region. N.O. Apocynaceae.

The main indication is:

Hypertension.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Rauwolfia serpentina, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for rauwolfia: hypertension; emotional discord or upset.

The mother tincture is prepared from the whole fresh plant, gathered when in flower, of Ranunculus bulbosus L., which occurs in Europe and North America.

N.O. Ranunculaceae.

Ranunculus Bulbosus, the buttercup, a member of the Ranunculaceae family, is used to treat rheumatic and neuralgic symptoms, and likewise skin-eruptions, partic- ularly crops of vesicles which occur grouped closely together (herpes zoster with burning and itching).

Attacks of vertigo, swimming in the head and a sensation of heaviness may also be present, also stabbing, tearing headaches with congestion of blood, and burning and itching of the eyelids with redness. There may be earaches deep in the ear and in the area of the ear drum.

There are characteristic complaints in the chest muscles, with drawing pains in the nape of the neck and in the axilla, bruised, sore pain in the sacrum, and soreness in the right lower arm and small muscles of the hand, as well as a painful sensation of jerking and tearing. There may also be blisters on the fingers; and drawing pains in the hips and inner side of the knee and ankle, stabbing pulsations in the heel with a clamping pain in the calf muscles, weakness and giving-way of the legs, and pain in the heels as if from external pressure, which are all typical of Ranunculus.

There may also be coryza with a discharge of viscid mucus, and possibly ulcera- tion of the nasal mucosa with a painful red swelling of the tip of the nose, usually accompanied by the characteristic chest complaints with shortness of breath and a sense of construction, so that the patient has to hold the chest with his hands when coughing (cf. Bryonia). Thus Ranunculus is also a good remedy in adhesions fol- lowing pleurisy.

Typical of Ranunculus are burning, pressing pains, and a bruised soreness which is felt particularly in the left and right hypochondria. These may be accompanied by gastric symptoms with purging, eructations and nausea, burning in the stomach, ab- dominal rumbling and bleeding haemorrhoids, as well as erections and seminal emissions in the early hours of the morning.

Thus Ranunculus Bulbosus is chiefly indicated in illnesses of a neuralgic or rheu- matic kind with spasmodic and paralytic symptoms, in gouty complaints, but also in oozing eczemas and vesicular eruptions (as in herpes zoster, in pemphigus and par- ticularly in coryza with a red, swollen nose). Complaints are aggravated by change of temperature and by damp weather. The skin eruptions are frequently also present on the palms of the hands in the form of desquamating vesicular eruptions.

A summary provides us with the following remedy-picture:

1. Intercostal neuralgia and rheumatism of the chest muscles. Disc prolapse in the area of the dorsal spine, but also generally.
2. Pleurisy, dry or with serous effusion, consequent adhesions and pleuritic com- plaints.

• 3.   Skin eruptions of a vesicular nature, particularly herpes zoster and pemphigus (according to Dahlke, especially in children). Should also be tried as a supporting remedy in epithelioma and skin cancer. Vesicular eruptions on the palms of the hands.
• 4.   Chronic rheumatism of the joints, and gouty symptoms.
• Acute excoriating coryza, possibly lasting for weeks, with a red, inflamed nose.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Ranunculus bulbosus, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for ranunculus bulbosus: virus diseases of the skin and the cornea; dis- eases of the parietal pleura; rheumatism in the thoracic region; neuralgia.

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried bark of trunks and twigs of Aspi- dosperma quebracho-blanco Schlecht., a native of South America. N.O. Apocy- naceae.

The main indications are:

Bronchial asthma and asthmatic bronchitis with dyspnoea; also in emphysema and catarrh of smokers.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Aspidosperma quebracho-blan- co, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for quebracho: chronic diseases of the respiratory passages, ac- companied by acute respiratory distress.

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried wood of trunks and branches of Quassia amara L. or Picrasma excelsa [Sw.] Planch., a native of tropical America.

N.O. Simarubaceae.

The main indications are:

Liver and biliary remedy; also in cirrhosis of the liver with ascites.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Picrasma excelsa, Quassia amara, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (Ger- man Federal Gazette) for quassia amara: hepatic diseases; digestive insufficiency.