Understanding a colourful snake – Elaps corallinus

Dr Aniket Hari Ghatage

 INTRODUCTION

• Common name- BRAZILLIAN CORAL SNAKE
• O – ELAPIDAE.
• Prover- It was proved by MURE and LIPPE, who pressed out the poison from the venom sac of the living reptile, and triturated with sugar of milk.

LIFE STYLE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF – ELAPS CORALLINUS WITH IT’S SURVIVAL AND DEFENSE

• The most colorful of the venomous snakes, the coral snakes are slender and small, reaching barely two feet.
• Coral snakes spend most of their life buried in the ground or in the piles of leaves covering the rainforest floor, or in rocky and sandy, upland deserts.
• They are most active in the spring and fall; during cold months these snakes hibernate in their burrows.
• These are solitary creatures that do their hunting by day. They move mainly on the ground and usually do not climb trees or shrubs.
• Eastern coral snakes are not aggressive and when they feel threatened will elevate and curl the tip of their tail and may release gas from their cloaca to frighten predators.
• Coral snakes are found active during the day if the sky is overcast or soon after the rains.
• Females are longer than males. They are ophiophagies, feeding primarily on other snakes.
• They also feed on other cold-blooded animals such as lizards and amphibians; but less often on young birds, frogs and insects.
• When they bite, they “chew” several times in succession, a behavioural pattern that is extremely rare in venomous snakes.
• Of course, repeated biting increases the amount of venom injected. The swallowing of prey is a slow process, because the jaws are not very flexible.
• Coral snakes do not have a strong tendency to bite [less than 1% of venomous snakebites], and cases of bitten humans are unusual; but when they happen, there are serious injuries. Thus, coral snakes are highly poisonous.
• According to the studies at Butantan, approximately ten percent of all untreated bites are fatal.
• Coral snakes are shy and secretive creatures. They prefer to hide rather than be seen. They are not aggressive, or prone to biting.
• Coral snakes are tolerant of touch until they feel restrained, in.

TYPES OF CORAL SNAKES BASED ON THEIR EXTERNAL APPERANCE:

• People who live in the natural range of Eastern coral snakes often teaches a folk rhyme (commonly used for North American coral snakes) to children such as:
• “Red next to black, safe from attack;
• Red next to yellow, you’re a dead fellow,” Red touching yellow, you’re a dead fellow”, Or simply “red and yellow kill a fellow”.
• Red on black, venom lack or “Red touching black, friend of Jack;

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION: –

• The venom is primarily neurotoxic but often contains substances that damage the body tissues or blood cells. The bite is relatively painless, but death occurs from paralysis of the heart and lungs.
• “Coral snake venoms tend to have significant neurotoxicity, inducing neuromuscular blockage, thus leading to cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest.

MIND:

• Depressed, imagines that he hears someone talking; dreads to be left alone.
• Fear of rain.
• Can speak but cannot understand speech.
• Fears apoplexy.
• Acoustic hallucination. Imaginary singing and whistling are also prominent.
• Patient stands of literary to find the source of sound. Disturbance of bodily perceptions.
• A delusion of falling forward all the time is characteristic.
• Fear of being alone, – something horrible will happen.
• In lippes proving, it says that there is a dread, as if rowdies would break in”
• This fear is present in mind, permanently also in their day dreams.
• Dr Mure says,” Reveries in daytime, he imagines he is beaten. So, desire for company it is for protection against assaults or encroachments of other people.
• “If other person spoke, they feel as an assault”. Doesn’t want to be spoken to’ (desire to be in deep cavern)
• Horror of rain and especially thunderstorms.
• General agg. Before onset of a storm.
• Anxiety of fatal disease. Angry about one’s self.
• Fear causes chattering of teeth and trembling’(Boger). So indicated in strongest panic attacks, when the fear is so great leading to trembling from strong fear of death.
• Fear of animals; esp. snakes
• Quarrelsome: – Inclination to strike and pick a quarrel; from behavior of others.
• Disputation, temper tantrum.
• At least contraindications the body shivers and the blood boils.
• Hysterical remedy: – even bite himself in hysteria crises.

According to Dr Rajan sankaranan: –

• It has features common to the “snake” group of remedies, like loquacity, jealousy, egotism, deceit, venomous disposition, etc.
• They have very strong physical cravings/concomitants, for example the desire/aversion for bananas oranges, salads, sweetened buttermilk (in India, a yoghurt drink called “Lassi”), ice, sweet, sour, milk.
• One of the dreams repeatedly seen in Elaps is the dream of falling, sometimes described as falling into an abyss or a pit.
• Patients have a fear of falling down and losing their position, their image in society. They like to maintain a very good image and value the good opinion of others. Their talk is quite animated and egoistic.
• They are loquacious and have a tendency to put others down, but not in an egoistic way.
• They often come from respected families and are multi-talented in the areas of leadership, appearance, cooking, etc.
• For ex: A tremendous fear about the well-being of her husband and daughter, especially if they were a bit late returning home or if the daughter had gone for rock climbing and the husband was travelling by air. The fear of high places is also very strong in these people.
• To conclude, the most important features of Elaps are the fear of crashing down from a high place and the anxiety to uphold her image, the fear that her image should stand and not crash down.
• Dreams of falling into a pit.

HEAD

• Violent headache, extending from the forehead to occiput; first one eye, then another eye. Otalgia.
• Vertigo with tendency to fall forward. Weight and pain in forehead. Sensation of fullness of the head.
• Eyes – Black rings before eye (left). Large red fiery spots, before the eyes.
• Ears –
• This remedy has very marked black discharges. Cerumen black and hard. Sudden nightly deafness, with roaring, cracking in ears.
• Illusions of hearing. Otorrhoea; offensive, watery; with deafness, itching.
• Nose –
• Nasal-pharynx stuffed up. Chronic nasal catarrh; with foetid odour and greenish crusts.
• Pain from nose to ears, on swallowing. Ozaena. Nose-bleed, black like ink; after a blow.
• Face – Red spots on face. Bloated with dull yellowish colour.
• Throat
• Spasmodic contractions of oesophagus and pharynx; food and liquids are suddenly arrested and then fall.
• Sensation of a sponge in oesophagus. Painful, difficult swallowing for solids and liquids. Paralysis of oesophagus.
• Stomach –
• Drinks and fruits feel like ice in stomach, and causes coldness in chest. Sensation as if food turned like corkscrew on swallowing.
• Its other symptoms are burning pain in oesophagus and stomach, commonly described by the patient as “acidity” which is ameliorated by cold drinks.
• Also, the pain is ameliorated by lying on abdomen. This cold sensation descending down the oesophagus and settling in the stomach is unique to Elaps.
• Stomach, pain, lying on abdomen ameliorates.
• Abdomen – Bowels feel twisted together in a knot. Stools of black frothy blood.
• Urinary – Urine red. Discharge of mucus from urethra.
• Male: Weight and swelling of the testes.
• Discharge of prostatic fluid. The skin of the prepuce is thick and inflamed.
• Female –
• Dysmenorrhoea with black blood. Sensation as if something burst in the womb, then continuous stream of dark coloured blood, amel. when urinating.
• In these cases, the flow is so very free that the patient becomes severely prostrated. This extreme haemorrhage gives them a pale, haggard, cachectic look.
• Discharge of black blood between menses.
• Elaps is a capital remedy for uterine cancer.
• Respiratory –
• Air hunger. Coldness in chest after drinking. Stitches in apex of right lung. Cough, with terrible pain through lungs.
• Lungs seems forcibly separated. Haemoptysis; black, like ink and watery.
• Extremities –
• Arms weak. Arms and hands swollen bluish. Knees joints feel sprained. Pricking under the nails. Peeling off-palms and finger tips. Icy cold feet.
• Sleep –
• Dreams of business; of dead persons. Bites hand, during sleep.
• Fever –
• Cold perspiration all over. Skin hot, dry.

Learning mind of Elaps Corallinus through Synthesis Repertory: –

Sr. no	Rubrics from Mental General	Grading or Marks of Elaps under this Rubric.
1	MIND – BITING – fingers	1 mark
2	MIND – BITING – fingers – sleep – during	1 mark (only remedy)
3	MIND – BITING – hands	1 mark
4	MIND – ANGER – himself; with	1 mark
5	MIND – ANGER – himself; with – spoken to; does not wish to be	1 mark (only remedy)
6	MIND – DELUSIONS – beaten, he is being	1 mark (only remedy)
7	MIND – DELUSIONS – falling – forward – is falling forward; she	1 mark
8	MIND – DELUSIONS – hearing – illusions of	1 mark
9	MIND – DELUSIONS – injury – being injured; is	1 mark
10	MIND – DELUSIONS – rowdies would break in if she was alone	1mark (only remedy)
11	MIND – FANCIES – exaltation of	1 mark
12	MIND – FEAR – rain, of	2 marks
13	MIND – FEAR – robbers, of	1 mark
14	MIND – FEAR – snakes, of	2 marks

• According to Dr J.T.Kent:
• Aversion, bananas.
• Desires ice.
• Desires oranges.
• According to Dr S.R Pathak:
• Drinks, cold, as if.

GENERAL MODALITY: –

WORSE –

• Approach of storms.
• Cold; drinks; food; air.
• In room.
• Warmth of bed.

BETTER –

• Walking amel.
• nosebleed and pain in abdomen and chest.

REFERENCES:

1. A Pocket Manual of homeopathic Materia Medica by William Boerike
2. A Study on Materia Medica by N.M. Choudhari
3. Materia Medica of Homeopathic Medicine by Dr Phatak. S. R
4. Soul of remedies by Sankaran. R
5. F., Prisma
6. Materia Medica by Adolf zur Lippe
7. Synthesis repertory by Fredrick Shreyones.

Dr Aniket Hari Ghatage,
MD -Part 2, Department of Materia Medica,
Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru – 560079.

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF –
Dr Jyoti A Moolabharati, PG guide and Associate Professor,
Department of Materia Medica, Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru – 560079.

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