Underused homeopathic remedies as a similimum

Dr M Shabna Shree

Hay fever one of the most troublesome ailment of the present day, was discovered and aptly named so by John Bostock. It is commonly addressed as Allergic rhinitis and sometimes referred to as Catarrhus Aestivus or Summer Catarrh. Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa caused by indoor or outdoor allergens¹.

The incidence of this debilitating disease is found to be around 11.3% in the 6-7 years age group and 24.4% in the 13-14 years age group ². Allergic rhinitis presents with nasal symptoms including congestion, itching, rhinorrhoea, sneezing and ocular symptoms like itching, redness and tearing¹.

Homoeopathic remedies are often unused, underused or misused as specifics rather than being used as a similimum for the patients. The following rubric from Boericke’s New Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica with Repertory would be used to learn about few such remedies³:

Nose- INFLAMMATION (rhinitis); Acute, catarrhal from pollen irritation, HAY FEVER, rose cold, summer catarrh: All-C, Ambro., Aral., Ars., Ars-i., Arum-t., Arund., Benz-ac., Chinin-ar., Cupr-act., Dulc., Euph-pi., Euph., Gels., Hep., Ip., Kali-i., Kali s-chr., Lach., Linu-u, Merc-i-f., Naphtin., Nat-i., Nat-m., Nux-v., Poll., Psor., Ran-b., Ros-d., Sabad., Sang., Sangin-n., Sil., Sin-n., Skook., Solid., Stict., Suprar., Trif-p., Tub.

Ambrosia artemisiaefolia: Lachrymation and intolerable itching of the eyelids. Watery coryza; sneezing: Epistaxis. Stuffed up feeling in the nose and head.

Arundo mauritanica: Hay fever begins with burning and itching of the palate and conjunctiva. Annoying itch in the nostrils and the roof of the mouth. Coryza; loss of smell. Sneezing, itching of nostrils.

Euphorbium pilulifera: Sneezing, cough, chilliness and heat alternating; inflamed eyelids glued together at night; dryness of mouth and throat; oppression of chest; < from draught of air or dust⁴.

Ichthyolum: Hay fever. Bland Coryza; stuffed feeling; feels sore inside. Irresistable desire to sneeze.

Linum usitatissimum: Irritation rapidly extended through lachrymal duct to nose, heat, burning dryness with indescribably scraping, itching sensation, nearly driving him wild- Nasal passage completely closed, was compelled to breathe through mouth⁵.

Lemna minor: A catarrhal remedy. Acts especially on the nostrils. Nasal polypi; swollen turbinates. Atrophic rhinitis.

Naphthalinum: Sneezing; eyes inflamed; painful; head hot. Hay fever.

Osmium: Irritation and catarrh of respiratory organs. Coryza, with full feeling in nose. Nose and larynx sensitive to air. Small lumps of phlegm from posterior nares.

Ranunculus bulbosus: Smarting in eyes, eyelids burn and feel sore, nose stuffed up, < evening, with pressure at root of nose, crawling and tingling within its cavity: much hawking; hoarseness; sharp stitiching pains in and about chest.

Rosa damascena: In the beginning when the Eustachian tube is involved, with some hardness of hearing and tinnitus aurium.

Senecio aureus: Acute inflammatory conditions of the upper respiratory tract. Hoarseness.

Sinapis nigra: Mucous membrane of nose dry and hot, no discharge, <afternoon and evening; or red smarting eyelids, much lachrymation, frequent sneezing and discharge of thick acrid mucus, excoriating.

Solanum nigrum: Acute coryza; profuse, watery discharge from right nostril; left stopped up, with chilly sensation, alternating with heat.

Solidago virga: Feeling of weakness, chilliness alternating with heat; naso-pharngeal catarrh, burning in throat, pain in limbs. Hay-fever when Solidago is the exciting cause. Nares irritated with abundant mucus secretion; paroxysms of sneezing.

Wyethia: Hay- fever symptoms; itching in posterior nares. 

The materia medica is an ocean of knowledge consisting of hidden gems which when used appropriately as a similimum can give astounding results. The masquerading key symptoms helps to differentiate between remedies and choose the similimum.

Bibliography:

1. Roxbury C, Qiu M, Shargorodsky J, Lin S. Association between allergic rhinitis and poor sleep parameters in U.S. adults. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology. 2018;8(10):1098-1106.
2. Singh S, Sharma BB, Salvi S, Chhatwal J, Jain KC, Kumar L, Joshi MK, Pandramajal SB, Awasthi S, Bhave S, Rego S. Allergic rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema: prevalence and associated factors in children. The clinical respiratory journal. 2018 Feb;12(2):547-56
3. Boericke W. New manual of homoeopathic materia medica and repertory. New Delhi: Kuldeep Jain for B. Jain Publishers; 2003.
4. Lilienthal S. Homoeopathic therapeutics, The classical therapeutic Hints. 24th ed. New Delhi: B. Jain; 2016.
5. Clarke J. Dictionary of materia medica. Essex, England: Health Science Press; 1982.

Dr M Shabna Shree
Email : shabna.murali@gmail.com