Apis mellifica


Dr. S.R. Phatak describes the clinically confirmed symptoms of the homeopathic remedy Apis Mellifica in his Concise Materia Medica, published in 1977….


Generalities

      The well known effects of a bee sting; burning, stinging, smarting, prickling, lancinating pain, with excessive swelling; are the leading symptoms for the selection of this remedy. It acts on CELLULAR TISSUE esp. of eyes, face, throat, ovaries, causing oedema of skin and mucus membranes. In the SEROUS MEMBRANES of heart, brain, pleura etc. it produces inflammation with effusion. Various parts are swollen, PUFFED UP; become oedematous and of shiny, red-rosy colour. The burning is like hot needles. There is great debility, as if he had worked hard; is compelled to lie down. Symptoms develop rapidly. The pains are sudden that extort cries. SUDDEN SHRILL CRIES in hydrocephalus and meningitis. Extreme sensitiveness to touch and general bruised SORENESS is marked; of brain; ABDOMEN; ovaries; bladder. Sensation of constriction. Sensation of stiffness and as of something torn off the interior part of the body. Great restlessness and fidgetiness. Trembling, jerking and twitching. One half of the body twitching, the other, lame or paralyzed. Neuralgia of lips, tongue, gums. Great prostration even to faintness. Infections. Ill effects of grief; fright; rage; jealousy; hearing bad news; mental shock; suppressed eruptions. Right side is affected more. Symptoms go from right to left. Numbness. Thrombosis. Lymphangitis. Inflammation of kidneys, bladder. Oedema; of eyelids, of lips; red, saccular. BURNING itching Paralysis after diphtheria and other severe diseases.

Worse

      HEAT of room; of weather; of fire; hot drinks, bath, bed. Touch, even of hair. Pressure. After sleep. Lying down. Suppressed eruptions. 4 p.m.

Better

      COOL AIR; cool bathing; uncovering. Slight expectoration. Motion. Sitting erect.

Mind

      Jealous, with lewd talk. Fussy and fidgety; hard to please. Awkward drops things and laughs either due to nervousness, or absent-mindedness. Foolishly suspicious. Childish, silly behaviour in women, after delivery. Irritable, excitable. Fruitless activity. Frivolous, cheerful. Constant whining in children. Great tearfulness, cannot help crying, weeps day and night without any cause. Sexual mania alternating with stupor (in women.) Indifference, says nothing ails him. Cannot concentrate mind on attempting to read and write. (Hysterical girls at puberty.) Cannot bear to be left alone. Nothing seems to satisfy; all wrong and out of place. Premonition of death. Borrows trouble about everything. Fear of being poisoned.

Head

      Brain feels very tired. Vertigo, with sneezing worse lying or closing eyes. Sudden stabbing in head, or as of a blow worse occiput, with occasional SHARP SHRIEKS. Numb, tired headache better pressure. Flow of tears, with headache. ROLLING OF THE HEAD from side to side in hydrocephalus; boring of the head backward in pillow in meningitis. Fontanelles sunken Painful hair. Musty head sweat. Inability to hold the head, in meningitis. Head feels swollen. Hair falls out; bald spots.

Eyes

      Puffy; lids or conjunctiva red; oedematous like water-bags, red, chemosed. Hot lachrymation. Eyes brilliant. Burning, stinging, shooting pain in. Staphyloma of cornea. Bag like swelling under eyes. Photophobia, yet covering intolerable. Blindness better stool. Squint. Myopia. Puffy or red about eyes. Cannot look fixedly at any object; or cannot read in artificial light. Cornea opaque. Styes_prevents their recurrence. Perforating corneal ulcer.

Ears

      External ear red and inflamed. Raises the hand to the back of ear with each scream. Scarlatinal otitis.

Nose

      Swollen, red and oedematous. Nose and tip cold. Boils in nostril better cold. Coryza, with feeling of swelling in nose.

Face

      Expression; happy, terror stricken or apathetic. Face red, hot, swollen and oedematous with piercing pains; or waxy pale and oedematous. lips; bluish, oedematous, upper. Jaws stiff, with stiffness of tongue. Paralysis of right side, with right eye closed. Desire for washing face with cold water. Formication and prickling in face.

Mouth

      Tongue; red or vesicles on edge; swelled, raw, feels, as if burnt as if wooden; sore; stiff. Grinding of the teeth. Mouth glossy as if varnished. Tongue hangs out; or cannot be protruded. Sudden involuntary biting teeth together.

Throat

      Sandy, glossy or translucent better cold, swollen inside and outside. Throat purple. Tonsils; swollen, fiery red, stinging pain, while swallowing, better cold drinks, Angina, Diphtheria with early prostration; dirty membrane, oedema of uvula. Throat sore, swallowing painful worse solids, sour or hot substances.

Stomach

      THIRSTLESS, with dropsy, Craving; for sour things, for milk which better. Child nurses by day, refuses at night. Nausea. Vomiting. Soreness in the pit of stomach when touched. Neither eats nor drinks for weeks. Eructations; tasting of ingesta worse drinking water; flow of water.

Abdomen

      Feels tight as if to break, on straining at stool. Sore; bruised on pressure, when sneezing. Dropsy. Peritonitis. Diarrhoea; watery yellow orange yellow or tomato-sauce like stools. Stools; odourless, or offensive involuntary worse motion. Anus; sore, swelled, profuse haemorrhage from, remains open; prolapsus ani. Electric shocks in rectum before urging to stool. Burning, pain and tenderness in epigastrium. Pains from below ribs going upwards. Burning or soreness below ribs.

Urinary Organs

      Burning urination. Dysuria with stinging pains. Urine, scanty foul, high coloured; last drops burn and smart; milky in hydrocephalus. Albuminuria. Urine profuse, more than he drinks. Coffee ground sediment. Incontinence of urine worse night, coughing. Cannot urinate without a stool. Nephritis. Cystitis. Retention of urine in new born. Difficult, frequent or slow urination, must press to pass urine, in prostatic affections.

Male

      Dropsy of the scrotum. Hydrocele, in multilocular cysts. Affections of prostate gland.

Females

      Amenorrhoea of puberty. Ovaries; numb, or congested, with suppressed menses. Ovarian cysts. Oedema of labia. Burning, stinging pains in ovaries or uterus. Dysmenorrhoea, with scanty discharge of slimy blood or with ovarian pains. Menorrhagia, with abortion. Leucorrhoea; profuse, acrid, green. Stinging burning pains in mammae. Tumors or open cancer of mammae. Abortion, during early months. Dropsy in later parts of pregnancy, with puerperal convulsions. Mania in women from sexual excesses or suppressed menses. Pains in ovaries worse coition. Menses last a day or appear at intervals of one day. Ulceration of navel in new born.

Respiratory organs

      Panting breathing, feels every breath would be his last. Air hunger. Oedema of larynx. Burning stinging pains throughout entire front of the chest. Hydrothorax, after pleurisy. Chest feels as if beaten or bruised. Painful shock in head and chest from every cough. Asthma, from hives better small quantity of expectoration. Larynx drawn in. Hoarseness. Expectoration sweetish.

Heart

      Beats, shake the whole body. Heart stitches backward from apex. Palpitation of heart from scanty secretion of urine. Pulse; hard small, intermittent, and quick, weak. Insufficiency of mitral valves. Organic heart disease.

Neck and Back

      Back of the neck stiff. Rheumatic pain in back. Burning pressing in coccyx worse when sitting down. Back tired and bruised. Vascular goitre.

Extremities

      Numbness of hands and tips of fingers. Palms hot. Oedema of hands. Felon in the beginning, with burning_stinging throbbing pains. Limbs; immovable, heavy, numb. Feet numb and stiff. Legs and feet waxy, pale swollen oedematous. Trembling of hands and feet. Nails feel loose. Hemiplegia from severe mental shock. Staggers when eyes are shut.

Sleep

      GREAT INCLINATION To SLEEP; but cannot sleep from nervous restlessness. Drowsiness during fever. SCREAMS, during sleep and suddenly starts from sleep. Kicks off covers during sleep. Dreams full of care and toil.

Fever

      Chill; anticipating, with dyspnoea, urticaria, desire to uncover; alternate with heat. BURNING HEAT, but chilly when moved. Thirstless during fever. Heat of one part with coldness of another. Sweat in gushes, partial. Sweat breaks out and dries frequently. Thirst during chill.

Skin

      Rosy red, sensitive, sore. Rough eruptions or stinging-like spots on skin. Large urticaria. Skin dry; hot, alternating with gushes of sweat. Oedematous swellings. Erysipelas. Scarlatina. Carbuncles.

Related

      Ars; Canth; Graph; Iod; Lyc; Puls; Stram; Sulph; Urt-u.

Complementary

      Arn; Ars; Hell; Merc-cy; Nat-m; Pulsatilla

S.R. Phatak
A pioneer of Homoeopathy in Maharashtra, Dr Shankar Raghunath Phatak was born on 6th September, 1896. He did his MBBS from Grant Medical College, in 1924. Started his practice but somehow not satisfied with Allopathic Treatment.

He was convinced about Homoeopathy while going through Sir William Osler's writings on 'History of Medicine' so switched over to an entirely Homoeopathic Practice in 1932. He also started working on Homoeopathic literature along with his Practice.

He has contributed immensely to homoeopathic literature. He was an ardent follower of Dr Boger. His Repertory is based on Boger's ''A Synoptic key to Materia Medica'.