Nash's Trios of Flatulence: Learn A Drug Challenge

Books Referred : Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics, Nash
                              Lectures on Clinical Materia Medica, Farrington
                              A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, Clarke
                              Allen's Keynotes


 Nash's trios of flatulence are Carbo Veg, Lycopodium and Cinchona, well known to every student of homoeopathy. Nash is definitely a master when it comes to grouping of medicines, making our life easier. Carbo Veg has flatulence in the upper abdomen, Lycopodium in the lower abdomen and Cinchona in the entire abdomen. There is a lot more in the symptomatology of these drugs which would help us in selecting the similimum wisely.

Nutrition Nightmares- Part 2

A child was brought into my clinic by a loving father and a doting grand father. The 2 year old kid has a cold and a cough, seasonal, I would say. The dad says the daughter has a cold and a loss of appetite. How do you prescribe for a running nose, an everyday dilemma of a homeopath. I need more details. Anything else, "No, just the cold and she is not eating anything." We have been warned by our teachers not to ask leading questions to our patients. I am at a loss. We engage in a Q&A session, still yielding only an affirmative for cough and a no for fever. The father doesn't know other details or has failed to notice the changes in her routine, that would have been really helpful to me. He is back to the loss of appetite now. Here is what I have to say. You have a cold, the body identifies that something is out of sorts with your body. Who would want to stuff on an elaborate meal? At least this little girl is active and playing about. A cranky child would be a lot in the parents hands. No matter how serious or how superfluous the disease is, there is this obsession about "Not eating anything". The body has its turn offs and its absolutely normal to not want to eat much, when you are sick. The care should be on providing the required nutrients for the body to recover in the shortest possible time, without much damage.

A Comprehensive Guide to Select a Remedy for Suppuration : Learn A Drug Challenge

Books Referred:  Lectures on Clinical Materia Medica, Farrington
                            Kent's Materia Medica
                            Nash's Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics

For any given diagnosis or for any given set of symptoms, there are several drugs in our materia medica to choose from. Suppurations are one difficult case for me to treat. A wrong move could easily spoil the case, further it could lead them to a surgeon's knife. Farrington, in his Clinical Materia Medica gives a list of drugs for inflammations that has gone into suppurations, whether the disease be a boil, a tonsillitis or any other form of inflammation. They are Belladonna, Hepar, Mercurius, Lachesis, Silicea and Sulphur.

Belladonna is at the head of the list. Belladonna is the preferred remedy in the beginning of inflammation as in tonsillitis. A point of importance in Bell is the sudden and violent onset.There is intense heat and burning in the parts involved. The person cannot tolerate any jar, he will not even let the bed to be moved. The throat is bright red and swollen, difficulty in swallowing fluids and sharp pains. The pains come suddenly, they remain longer or shorter and goes suddenly. The fever too is never continuous. There is often a thirst in Bell fever, sometimes in large quantities other times constantly to wet the dry mouth. In fever the Bell has hot head with cold extremities. We may think of Bell in an abscess, when pus develops with lightning like rapidity.

How to Differentiate Rhus Tox and Bryonia in Fever : Learn A Drug Challenge

Books Referred: Lectures on Clinical Materia Medica, Farrington
                           A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, Clarke
                           Lectures on Materia Medica, Kent
                           Homoeopathic Treatment of Influenzas, D. M. Borland

While still a student, any cases of fever with body pains would always bring a picture of Rhus Tox or Bryonia to my mind. It was not until later, I realized that there are much more drugs with body pains along with fever. It takes a lot of reading to retain the finer points of drug differentiation. Bryonia and Rhus Tox are complementary remedies. This week in Learn A Drug Challenge, is a humble attempt to highlight the similarities and the differences between the two in fever.

A/F
The complaints of Bryonia comes from exposure to cold air. The influenza, pneumonia, pleurisy, rheumatism etc. all could be caused after exposure to cold air. Bryonia is also indicted for complaints that come when warm weather sets in, taking cold or getting hot in summer. In Rhus Tox, it is usually the dampness that brings on the complaints. Lying on damp ground, too much summer bathing in river or lake, exposure to damp cold weather etc.