Category: Materia Medica Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg

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

The main indications are:

Disturbances in fertility and potency, as a supporting remedy with Carcinoma Recti.

The mother tincture is prepared from the fresh aerial parts of Ephedra distachya

L. N.O. Ephedraceae.

The main indications are:

Asthmatic bronchitis and bronchial asthma. Dyspnoea. May be tried in emphysema. According to the provings carried out by the Russian doctor Mouravow, it acts on the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system and causes congestion of the spinal cord with great apathy, stiffness of the neck and backward pulling of the whole body on turning the head; there was also protrusion of the eyes and violent headache with

a slow pulse and violent pains in the region of the spleen.

Ephedra should also be tried in goitre with exophthalmos and headache.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Ephedra distachya, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for ephedra vulgaris: Basedow’s disease.

The attenuations of this sarcode are prepared from the 6 to 8 week old embryo of a healthy pig (Sus scrofa domesticus).

The main indications are:

For revitalisation. General use in cellular phases. Arteriosclerosis. Muscular dys- trophy.

A proving of this substance was conducted in the summer and fall of 1994 by  Dr. David Riley.

Congruent symptoms with Dr. Reckeweg:

• Pain and cramping in the extremities, particularly in the legs.
• Disturbances of the circulation.

The most important symptoms from David Riley’s drug proving were:

Essential Characteristics

A strong sense of anxiety and irritability that is even noted with restless sleep is a prominent characteristic of this remedy. There are many strong headaches in the temples and dull forehead pains. There are also strong abdomen pains associated with distension and flatulence.

Anxiety and irritability. Impatience. Sadness. Difficult concentration. Numerous delusions. Many dreams. Sensation of being too hot or too cold. Vertigo. Heaviness of the head. Sore throat. Decreased appetite. Nausea. Increased thirst. Constipation alternating with diarrhea. Increased urgency to stool. Soft stool. Frequent waking after midnight.

Mind

Active and busy. Anger or improvement of anger. ANXIETY on waking or improve- ment of anxiety. COMPANY, either aversion to or desire for. DIFFICULT CONCENTRATION or improvement of concentration. Increased confidence. Confusion on waking. Con- tented or discontented. Delusions that she is floating or that her husband is disgusted with her. Better from diversions. Many types of dreams: of giving birth, swollen or amputated body, of her dead mother, foolish and nonsensical, frightful, remembered or unremembered, or of work. Dullness of the mind. Dwells on past unhappy events at night that keeps her awake at night. Fear of poverty or improvement of the fear something bad will happen. Grief from deception. IMPATIENCE. Improvement of in- trospection. Irascible. Irresolution. IRRITABILITY to her family, from noise, on waking, or from dreams. Changeable mood. Music ameliorates. Critical of others. Restless- ness improves. SADNESS for others. Sensitivity or improvement of sensitivity to music and noise. Startling when closing the eyes before sleep. Sympathetic. Thoughts that are persistent, or that are clear but with more emotion. Calm and peaceful and less sensitive to external impressions. Weeping.

Generalities

Desire for open air. Increased energy. Desire for and improved by physical exer- cise. Food desires of bread, cakes, cold drinks, honey, ice cream, salt, sweets, tea, and wine. Food aversions to beer, spicy food, and tobacco. HEAT SENSATIONS or feel- ing chilly. Tired, fatigued, and weary. Rapid pulse in the morning. Sensitive to touch and so aggravated from touch.

Vertigo

Dizziness. Sensation of floating and lightheadedness.

Head

Sensation as if floating. Heat in the head. HEAVINESS OF THE HEAD especially the forehead that feels like an increased density or the sensation that the head is light as relieved of a burden. Perspiration. Pulsations in the left temple. DULL PAIN IN THE FOREHEAD or temples, vertex, or sides. Head pain better from applied pressure. Sharp pain in the temples. HEAD PAIN ON THE SIDES especially the left side. TEMPLE PAIN that extends to the vertex or that is pulsating on the left side. Vertex pain extending from the temples. PRESSING PAIN at the temples, extending to the head, or better from pres- sure. Sore pain in the temples.

Eye

Dryness, daylight photophobia, and burning of the eyes. Tired sensation.

Ear

Mild itching in the internal ears. Constant ringing noises in the ears. Pain that is aching, or shooting in the left ear. Stopped sensation with ear popping.

Nose

Congestion as from sinus pressure. DISCHARGE that is thick or green or yellowish white. POST NASAL DRIP. Pain in the left nostril.

Face

Flushes of heat in the face. Dryness of the lips. Numbness of the cheek, lower jaw and lips. Tingling of the lips.

Mouth

Dryness of tongue or palate. Insensitivity and numbness of the tongue. Bad breath unnoticed by the person. Sore tongue pain. Increased salivation.

Taste

Altered sensation of taste. Metallic taste or liquids taste metallic. Sour taste. Bitter or bitter sweet. Chalky.

Teeth

Grinding of the teeth during sleep. Dark brown spots on the teeth.

Throat

Swelling of the cervical glands. Dryness. Heat. Irritation. Pain better from drink- ing. THROAT PAIN THAT IS SORE when talking or that is raw, sharp, or scratching. Throat tension.

Stomach

APPETITE is decreased or increased. Full sensation. Heartburn in the afternoon. NAUSEA before or after eating or with a headache. Cramping pain. THIRST or thirst- lessness.

Abdomen

Tense sensation in the umbilical region. DISTENSION before the menses. FLATU- LENCE before the menses, or in the morning, or at unexpected times. Fullness or heaviness as if the pants are too tight. ABDOMINAL PAIN. Sharp pain in the iliac region. Sore pain in the umbilical region. Stitching pain before the stool. Rumbling.

Rectum

CONSTIPATION with ineffectual urge or with straining. DIARRHEA in the morning or afternoon. Flatus that is offensive or before the stool. Bleeding. Pain during the stool. URGING that is sudden or ineffectual or on waking.

Stool

SOFT or watery stools. Hard stools. Stools that are acrid, like balls, covered with some blood or mucus, copious, frequent, and long and sticky.

Bladder

Pain that is burning and extends through the urethra and occurs even when not uri- nating.

Urine

Strong odor that is offensive.

Genitalia, Female

Dry and numb sensation of the vulva that is uncomfortable. Sensation of fullness in the labia and vagina. Warms sensation in the labia. Leucorrhea that is thick, yel- low, mucusy, or bloody. Menses is scanty, protracted, or has odor. Increased sexual desire in females.

Speech & Voice

Hoarseness.

Chest

Intense pressure and constricted feeling in the upper chest that extends to the throat.

Back

Tightness or tension in the cervical region at the base of the skull. Dull or sore pain in the lumbar region. Stiffness in the left kidney region.

Extremities

Uncoordinated and drops things. Aching calf and leg pain at night. Cramps in the leg and calf at night improves.

Sleep

DISTURBED AND RESTLESS SLEEP. Difficulty falling asleep. WAKING AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAKING that is difficult in the morning, too early, from perspiration, sudden, from warmth, or with the desire to urinate.

Perspiration

Cold sweats at night on waking from a nightmare sequence.

Skin

Voluptuous itching of the skin. Wandering itch. Prickling and crawling sensations.

The attenuations of this nosode are prepared from antigen of the canine tape- worm, Echinococcus.

Following spontaneous (traumatic or surgical) opening up of the primary cysts, there is a universal scattering of the ova, with possible serious and fatal destruction of the affected organs. On the other hand, tumour-like growths may develop with perforable cavities.

Since in the case of echinococcosis we are dealing with a worm-infestation, it is questionable whether the echinococcosis itself is susceptible to the nosode, but it should at least be tried, taken on account of the other symptoms, which may vary ac- cording to the way in which the organs are affected.

However, the use of the nosode should be generally borne in mind in other tu- mour-like growths, and as an intermediate remedy in treating neoplasms. Prophy- laxis is all-important, i.e. avoidance of close contact with dogs, since they are fre- quently infested with the canine tapeworm (Echinococcus).

The mother tincture is prepared from the whole fresh plant in flower, without root, of Echinacea purpurea [L.] Moench, a native of North America. N.O. Compositae.

The indications are as for Echinacea angustifolia. When it is injected intravenous- ly, a strange taste is detected on the tongue.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Echinacea purpurea, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for echinacea purpurea: adjuvant therapy for serious and feverish infec- tions.

The mother tincture is prepared from the whole fresh plant in flower, with root, of Echinacea angustifolia DC., a native of North America. N.O. Compositae.

The main indications are:

Fever, sepsis, inflammations of every kind.

Echinacea is an “internal antiseptic”, acting on the lymphatic system. In the com- prehensive provings (Fahnestock), the first symptom was a biting, prickling sensa- tion on the tongue, on the lip and in the throat; a feeling of fear and pain in the praecordium followed. After that there appeared fever-symptoms with a sensation of fullness in the head, a red face and rapid pulse. Many provers also complained of weakness and sharp, neuralgic pains moving here and there, also of catarrhs of the digestive and respiratory organs, with griping abdominal pains and discharge of evil- smelling flatus and thin, yellowish stools. In two provers a decrease in the red blood corpuscles was established.

In America, Echinacea was formerly used not only for typhoid fevers, diphtheria, malignant scarlet fever, carbuncles and boils, but also for snake bites. Later on, diar- rhoea, cholera infantum, adynamic feverish states, appendicitis, blood-poisoning, puerperal fever, pyaemia and toxaemia from poison-ivy were added as indications.

Echinacea was used as well for the bad consequences of vaccination, in gangrene, abscesses, ulcers of a tubercular or syphilitic kind, or when a malignant degenera- tion began in the course of acute or subacute illnesses.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Echinacea angustifolia, pub- lished the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for echinacea angustifolia: adjuvant therapy for serious and feverish in- fections.

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

The principal indications are:

Duodenal ulcer. Ulcerous diathesis. Inflammation of the duodenum. Pancreatitis. Peptic oesophagitis. Pylorospasm.

The attenuations of this nosode are prepared from the surgically removed inflamed duodenum.

The main indications are:

Duodenal ulcer and chronic inflammation of the duodenum; also as an intermedi- ate remedy in pancreatitis.

The mother tincture is prepared from the fresh young shoots and leaves, gathered before flowering, of the plant, Solanum dulcamara L., which grows by streams and riverbanks and in damp thickets and areas liable to flooding in Europe, North Africa, Northern India and China. N.O. Solanaceae.

Dulcamara, or Bittersweet, is indicated in a typical situation which to some extent reflects the areas where the plant grows. Dulcamara, one of the Solanaceae distin- guished by its shiny blue and yellow flowers and red berries arranged like grapes, is found in flood-areas which are at times completely under water. As Dulcamara berries may be mistaken for red currants, cases of poisoning sometimes occur, par- ticularly in children. The symptoms of poisoning are diarrhoea, vomiting, colics, sweating, skin-rash, convulsions, paralysis and possible death. The complaints of Dulcamara are aggravated by cold, damp weather and when the weather changes, especially in rainy weather. Also, when cool nights follow hot days, then Dulcamara complaints usually occur, especially in the form of neuralgias and rheumatism. The same is true of complaints which occur after becoming chilled when hot and per- spiring, e.g. in footballers. Thus Dulcamara acts in a hydrogenoid constitution. All complaints tend to be ameliorated by warmth. Increased mucosal secretions are also typical of Dulcamara.

Other symptoms which point to Dulcamara as the remedy are difficulty in think- ing, linked with certain states of confusion. The patients cannot find the words they want, and can only pronounce them with difficulty. There is also often a dull headache, coupled with hardness of hearing and a sensation of coldness in the oc- ciput. The nose is usually blocked as well (sinusitis), the discharge being more copi- ous in the warmth. The saliva is tough and soap-like.

Acute gastritis and enteritis, dysentery, cystitis and acute nephritis may also be found as consequences of chill and getting thoroughly wet. These are associated with violent stomach pains, colic, mucous, sour or dysenteric watery stools, pains persisting even after the stool, associated with colic and rheumatic complaints.

Cystitis with mucous, offensive urine and continual strangury is likewise typical of Dulcamara, especially when the onset coincides with a sudden spell of cold, wet weather, or occurs after getting thoroughly wet. The same holds for coughs which occur after a thorough soaking. Dulcamara can be beneficial in acute nephritis, with violent pains in the renal area and with mucous, albuminous, offensive urine. Like- wise in influenza with coryza, cough, haemoptysis, and tonsillitis with muscular pains and fever, various pareses (e.g. Bell’s palsy) often also occurring as a conse- quence of getting wet.

Also typical of Dulcamara are urticarial symptoms as a consequence of gastric disturbances, with large, burning itching, swollen patches, often along with diar- rhoea; similarly these symptoms are typically aggravated by warmth and ameliorat- ed by cold. Dulcamara is also a remedy for cradle-cap, when the scales are dry and bran-like.

The typical aggravation of all symptoms when the weather changes, and especial- ly in cold, wet weather, is always characteristic of Dulcamara. Thus the remedy has proved its worth in chronic sore throats, when these always occur or are worse in wet weather. This is often the case with suppurating tonsils, thus Dulcamara is one of the best remedies for suppurating tonsils. Also spinal inflammation after lying on damp grass demands Dulcamara.

Dulcamara is also beneficial in asthma which comes on in wet weather, likewise in ear-aches which occur with every chill, and conjunctivitis with a thick, purulent discharge.

Dulcamara also has progressive vicariations after suppression of discharges by chilling, e.g. menstruation (with vicarious epistaxis), lochia, milk and nasal catarrhs, followed by onset of fever and headaches in vicariation; these will be cured by Dul- camara, particularly if the cause was a chill in cold, damp weather. Dulcamara is also required in influenza-like states, when the whole body feels battered and there is a dull, swimming feeling in the head, possibly associated with hardness of hear- ing; also in herpetic eruptions on the genitalia, breasts and lips, and herpes which erupts before each monthly period, possibly with formation of crusts and easy bleed- ing.

There is usually a characteristic activity of the mucosa with marked secretions, whilst the skin may be comparatively inactive. However, rheumatic conditions such as torticollis, stiffness and weakness in the back, sensation of coldness in the sacrum, rheumatic pains in the limbs and joints, associated with stiffness and deaf- ness, are particularly characteristic of Dulcamara. The cough which requires Dulca- mara is hoarse and dry, loose later with copious expectoration. The diarrhoea which is relieved by Dulcamara is accompanied by a cutting pain around the umbilicus. With catarrhs which require Dulcamara, the nose is usually blocked. In warmth, co- pious discharge begins.

Dulcamara can also be useful in warts, where these are large and fleshy.

If we sum up the main symptoms of Dulcamara once again, we have the following characteristic remedy-picture:

1. Symptoms occur or are aggravated when weather turns cold and wet. (Hy- drogenoid constitution.)
2. Rheumatism of muscles and joints, and lumbago, following chill and getting wet, with twitching of muscles, eyelids and mouth. Stiffness of the neck and violent muscular pains in the loins, possibly associated with diarrhoea and cystitis, (di- version into excretory processes). Amelioration from dry warmth and movement. Typical intercostal neuralgias and neuralgic pains in the left neck/shoulder area; also intercostal neuralgias (cf. Ranunculus, Colocynthis), with sensation of pres- sure and heaviness on the shoulders.
3. Pareses of various kinds following thorough wetting, or worse in wet, cold weath- er.
4. Acute gastritis with violent pains, vomiting, colics and mucous, sour stools. Um- bilical colics.
5. Cystitis and nephritis following chill and thorough wetting, with mucous, offen- sive urine and continuous strangury. Also paralysis of the bladder, aggravated in cold, damp weather.
6. Influenzal colds with coryza, coughing, haematemesis. Catarrhal bronchitis, laryngitis, tracheitis with hoarseness and copious expectoration. Acute and chron- ic tonsillitis. Suppurating tonsils, also of a chronic kind, linked with muscular pain, diarrhoea, colic and fever.
7. Urticaria with large, burning and itching swollen patches, often associated with diarrhoea, worse for warmth, better for cold. Cradle-cap with dry, bran-like desquamation. Large, fleshy warts. Herpetic eruptions on the genitalia, breasts, lips, especially before each menstrual period. Swelling of the breasts.
8. Nosebleeds in vicariation with the menses.
9. Thinking more difficult. Words cannot be found or can only be pronounced with difficulty. Along with this, certain states of confusion.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Solanum dulcamara, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for dulcamara: feverish infections; inflammations of the respiratory or- gans, the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract, the joints, and the skin, as elicited by exposure to cold and wet.

see Vas Deferens Suis.