Cimicifuga racemosa and its therapeutic utility in homoeopathy

Dr Nandan K H

ABSTRACT:
Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa), a member of the Ranunculaceae family, is a traditional herbal remedy recognized for its therapeutic properties. Commonly found in regions of Canada and the United States, this plant is categorized by its chilly thermal nature and is associated with the psora miasm, often exhibiting a hysterical temperament with rheumatic and gouty diathesis. Its sphere of action focuses on ailments triggered by fright, anxiety, and cold, leading to physiological disturbances in the nerve centers and arterial tension. Characteristic symptoms include puerperal mania, sensations of encroaching darkness, ciliary neuralgia, and significant heart issues stemming from reflexive symptoms related to the uterus or ovaries. The remedy is particularly noted for its effects during menstruation, pregnancy, and labor, addressing conditions such as irregular menses, nausea, and severe after-pains. Additionally, Black Cohosh is indicated for excessive muscular soreness, rheumatic pain, and contractile muscle stiffness, with a marked tendency to affect the left side of the body. Its multifaceted properties make it a valuable consideration in homeopathic and herbal therapeutic practices.

KEY WORDS: puerperal mania, hysteria, rheumatic and gouty diathesis, maism, neuralgia female- false labor pain.

INTRODUCTION

• Common name: Black Cohosh, Black Snake Root.
• Family: Ranunculaceae
• Prover: Jeanes
• Thermals: Chilly
• Miasm: Psora
• Temperament: Hysterical
• Diathesis: Rheumatic and Gouty.

Habit and Habitat

• The plant is found in Canada, Georgi, and the western states of America.

Ailments From

• Fright, anxiety, cold .

Physio-pathological Changes

• It disturbs the nerve centres and produces irritation.
• It also increases arterial tension.

Characteristic keynotes

• Puerperal mania; thinks she is going crazy (compare, Syph.); tries to injure herself.
• Mania following disappearance of neuralgia.
• Sensation as if a heavy, black cloud had settled all over her and enveloped her head so that all is darkness and confusion.
• Illusion of a mouse running under her chair (Lac. c., Aeth.).
• Ciliary neuralgia; aching or sharp, darting, shooting pains in globes, extending to temples, vertex, occiput, orbit, < going up stairs, > lying down.
• Heart troubles from reflex symptoms of uterus or ovaries.
• Heart’s action ceases suddenly; impending suffocation; palpitation from least motion (Dig.).
• Menses: irregular; exhausting (Alum., Coc.); delayed or suppressed by mental emotion, from cold, from fever; with chorea, hysteria or mania; increase of mental symptoms during.
• Spasms: hysterical or epileptic; reflex from uterine disease; worse during menses; chorea < left side. Severe left-sided infra-mammary pains (Ust.).
• Sharp, lancinating, electric-like pains in various parts, sympathetic with ovarian or uterine irritation; in uterine region, dart from side to side.
• Pregnancy: nausea; sleeplessness; false labor-like pains; sharp pains across abdomen; abortion at third month (Sab.).
• During labor: “shivers” in first stage; convulsions, from nervous excitement; rigid os; pains severe, spasmodic, tedious, < by least noise
• After-pains, worse in the groins.
• When given during last month of pregnancy, shortens labor, if symptoms correspond (Caul., Puls.).
• Excessive muscular soreness, after dancing, skating, or other violent muscular
• Rheumatic pains in muscles of neck and back; feel stiff, lame, contracted; spine sensitive, from using arms in sewing, type writing, piano playing (Agar., Ran. b.). Rheumatism affecting the bellies of the muscles; pains stitching, cramping.
• Rheumatic dysmenorrhoea.
• Affects the l. side most.
• Pains come on suddenly.
• Pains like electric shocks here and there.

Modalities

• Aggravation: During menstruation; the more profuse the flow the greater the suffering, From cold.
• Amelioration: From warmth.

Mentals

• Sensation of a cloud enveloping her.
• Great depression, with dream of impending evil.
• Fears riding in a closed carriage, of being obliged to jump out.
• Incessant talking. Changing from subject to subject.
• Hughes pharmacodynamics excellent in its way got the nickname “HOMOEOPATHIC MILK FOR ALLOPATHIC BABES”
• It is the remedy of crazy feelings of chorea and one of the remedy that affect especially uterus and all the condition dependent on uterine abnormalities of function.
• One thinks of cimicifuga in stiff neck and sciatic, in chorea, in hysteria, as well as in obscure conditions such as myalgia of  diaphragm to which Hughes draws attention .
• As if the black cloud had settled all over her and enveloped her head , so that all was darkness and confusion, it weighed like lead on her head. (M L Tyler)
• Fear of death; fears those in house will kill him/her.
• Would not answer, or very loquacious at times suspicious of everything ,would not take medicine.
• There is lack of will.( KENT)
• A terrible mental state alternate with physical states. ( KENT)
• Overwhelming gloomy bowed down with sorrow. ( KENT)
• The mind is full of imaginations and the body is full of uneasiness, because she can find no place to rest upon. Sometimes it is soreness, sometimes numbness, sometimes jerking, that prevents her from lying in peace. ( KENT)
• Relief from diarrhea- from flow from uterus, some flow must be established , otherwise the mind takes the trouble. ( KENT)
• Is grieved and troubled with sighing or is very gloomy with sleeplessness.( NASH)
• Relief from diarrhea- from flow from uterus, some flow must be established , otherwise the mind takes the trouble. ( KENT)
• Is grieved and troubled with sighing or is very gloomy with sleeplessness. ( NASH)
• Suspicious – will not take the medicine because there is something wrong about it.
• Terrible mental state alternates with physical state- gloominess, sorrow

Head

• Rush of blood to head ; brain feels too large for cranium.
• Top of head feels as if it would fly off.
• Wild feeling in brain.
• Shooting and throbbing pains in head after mental worry, over-study, or reflex of uterine disease.
• Waving sensation or opening and shutting sensation in brain.
• Brain feels too large. Pressing-outward pain.
• The headaches , however are better in the open air and from cold, which is exception and a particular, for the general feature is aggravation from cold.

Eyes

• Deep seated throbbing and shooting pains in eyes, with photophobia from artificial light.
• Intense aching of eyeball.
• Pain from eyes to top of head.
• Pain in eyeballs , shooting into eyeballs so severe it seems she would go crazy.
• Ciliary neuralgia. Needles running into left eyeball. (HUGHES)
• Asthenopia associated with pelvic trouble.

Ears

• Ears sensitive to least noise.

Face

• Pale, eyes large, sunken, surrounded by dark rings.
• Neuralgia affecting malar bone; pain goes off at night and reappears next day.
• Lips dry; lower lip cracked as if bitten.
• Tongue pointed and trembling.

Stomach

• Nausea and vomiting caused by pressure on spine and cervical region.
• Sinking in epigastrium (Sep; Sulph).
• Gnawing pain.
• Nausea with uterine affections

Abdomen

• Excruciating pains in the bowels, small of back, and limbs.
• Abdominal muscles sore.
• Periodical colicky pains, better bending double and after stool.

Female genital system

• Menses profuse, early; dark, coagulated; scanty, irregular, delayed, or suppressed.
• Pain immediately before menses.
• During menses: hysterical or epileptical spasms.
• Feels strange, talks incoherently, screams, tries to injure herself
• Menses profuse, dark, coagulated, offensive with backache, nervousness; always irregular.
• Pain across pelvis, from hip to hip
• Pain in ovarian region; shoots upward and down anterior surface of thighs.
• After-pains, with great sensitiveness and intolerance to pain.
• Ovarian neuralgia.
• Infra-mammary pains worse, left side.
• There is bearing down sensation show that it is very useful remedy for prolapsus of uterus.
• Here with menstruation the more the flow the greater the pain.
• Many of the conditions of Actea are worse during the menses, rheumatic, jerking, cramping, sleeplessness, soreness of muscles or joints .
• So he call it as rheumatic dysmenorrhea is not a bad name.
• Kent says the best results have been from 30^th , 200^th , 1000^th and still higher potencies in single doses.
• Leucorrhœa, with sensation of weight in the uterus.
• During pregnancy: nausea; false labour-like pains;
• sharp pains across abdomen; sleeplessness.
• During parturition “shivers,” first stage; pains too strong; spasmodic cardiac neuralgia;
• Lochia suppressed (by cold or emotions); rigid os; Puerperal mania.
• Tendency to abort at third month
• Says “ given before term it renders labour easier, cures sickness of pregnancy. And prevents after pains and over sensitiveness.” (CLARKE)
• It is true that remedies will cure prolapsus when symptoms agree and at no other time .
• The more the flow the greater the pain this is vey peculiar.

Generally the flow will relieve pain ( KENT)

Respiratory organs

• Night cough, dry, constant, short, < on every attempt to speak.
• Tickling in throat, with violent cough.
• Pains in (r.) side of chest, < from motion, extorting cries
• Acute pain in apex to base of right lung , worse inspiration.

Heart

• Angina pectoris ; pain heart region all over chest and down left arm , palpitation , unconsciousness , numbness of body, left arm numb and as if bound to side.
• Irregular, slow, trembling pulse.
• Heart’s action ceases suddenly, impending suffocation

Neck and back

• Spine very sensitive, especially upper part.
• Stiffness and contraction in neck and back. < cold air
• Intercostal rheumatism.
• Violent lightning-like pains in posterior spinal sclerosis.
• Rheumatic pains in muscles of back and neck.
• Pain in lumbar and sacral region, down thighs, and through hips. Crick in back.

Extremities

• Aching in limbs and muscular soreness.
• Rheumatism affecting the belly of muscles, especially large muscles
• Stiffness in tendo-Achilles. Pains down arms with numbness as if a nerve compressed.
• From using arms in sewing, type writing, piano playing (Agar., Ran. b.).
• Cold sweat on hands
• Heaviness in lower extremities. Heavy, aching, tensive pain.
• Towards evening soreness, aching, and stiffness in region of tendo Achillis.
• Dull, aching, burning in second joint of r. great toe, extending up the limb.
• Affects the nerves especially muscular nerves .
• Myalgia

Similar to caulophullum in uterine and rheumatic affections

References

• Tyler ML. Homoeopathic drug pictures. B. Jain Publishers; 1990.
• Yasgur J. Comparative Materia Medica: Integrating New and Old Remedies.
• Choudhuri NM. A study on materia medica. B. Jain Publishers; 1990.
• Nash EB. Leaders in homoeopathic therapeutics. Boericke & Tafel; 1913.
• Kent JT. Lectures on homoeopathic Materia Medica: together with Kent’s” New Remedies” Incorporated and arranged in one alphabetical order. B. Jain Publishers; 1989.
• Patil JD. Group Study in Homoeopathic Materia Medica. B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd., D-157, Sector. 2018;63:387-94.

Dr Nandan K H
Dept Of Materia Medica
Part 1 MD Scholar.

Guide: Dr Amitha P Baliga
HOD, Proff. Dept Of Homoeopathic Materia Medica
Father Muller Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital.
Email: nandancool021@gmail.com.