Belladonna


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


Generalities

      Belladonna acts upon nerve centres producing twitching, convulsions and pain. Its action upon the brain causes furious excitement and perversion of special senses. Circulation in blood vessels and capillaries becomes active causing congestion, throbbing, and dilatation of arteries. Mucous membranes become dry. Its effects are sudden and violent. BURNING HEAT, BRIGHT REDNESS and DRYNESS are very marked. HOT; body, part, discharges etc. Redness occurs in streaks. SEVERE NEURALGIC PAIN, that comes and goes suddenly. FULLNESS; CONGESTION esp. to head and SWELLING are other characteristic features. PAINS ARE THROBBING; SHARP; CUTTING; SHOOTING; or clawing, of maddening severity; coming and going in repeated attacks. Discharges are hot and scanty. SPASMS; SHOCKS; JERKS and TWITCHING. CONSTRICTIONS occur in parts of the body like throat, vagina etc. or in whole body. Sensitive to LIGHT, NOISE’ JARRING. Epileptic attacks are followed by nausea and vomiting. Convulsions commence in the arm. Spasms are followed by prolonged unconsciousness. Throws body forwards and backwards; chorea. Acts as a prophylactic in scarlet fever. Exophthalmic goitre, with extreme thyroid toxaemia. Hydrophobia. Useful in air-sickness. Its influence is felt more in intelligent and plethoric persons who are jovial and entertaining when well, but violent when sick, therefore a great children’s remedy. Ill effects of hair cutting, head getting wet. Sausages. Sun. Walking in wind or draft. Haemorrhages, hot. Heat in body; parts are hot, swollen, and dry. Right sided symptoms.

WORSE

      Heat of Sun; if heated. DRAFTS_on head; haircut; washing head. After taking cold. Light; noise; jarring. CHECKED SWEAT. Touch. Company. Pressure. Motion. Hanging down affected part. Afternoon. Lying down. Looking at shining objects or running water.

BETTER

      Light covering. Bending backward, semi-erect. Rest in bed. Standing. Leaning head against something. Bending or turning the affected part.

Mind

      Acuteness of senses. WILDLY DELIRIOUS. Excited ferocious; noisy; cries out. Talks fast; VERY RESTLESS. Biting, striking, tearing mania. Spits on faces of other persons. Sees monsters, hideous faces. Fear of imaginary things. Desire to escape or hide himself. Perversity, with tears (children). Excitable, easily weeps. Quarrelsome. Tendency to dance, laugh, sing, whistle. Starts in fright at the approach of others. Constant moaning. Craving for snuff. An angel when well and a devil when sick. Sits and breaks pins. Mental symptoms better taking light food. Patient lives in his own world.

Head

      THROBBING, HAMMERING, HEADACHE worse temples; worse motion; better letting hair down; laying the hand on head; bending head backwards. Feeling in the brain like swashing of water. It rises and falls in waves. Cold sensation in head at the middle of the forehead. Vertigo worse stooping and rising from stooping. Hydrocephalus, with boring of head in the pillows. Hairs split, are dry and come out. Rolls head. Pulls her hair. Meningitis. Sunstroke. Pains go downward from head. Head sensitive to drafts and cold, or washing hair.

Eyes

      PUPILS DILATED. Eyes, sparkling, prominent, staring. Red conjunctiva. Fiery, red, vivid hallucinations; even on closing the eyes. Attacks of blindness, then yellow vision. Sees red flashes before vision. PHOTOPHOBIA. Diplopia. Triplopia. Moon light blindness. Sensation as if eyes were half closed. Eyelids; feel sore, congested and swollen. Exophthalmus. Lachrymation like brine. Lines appear crooked when reading.

Ears

      Pain causes delirium; child cries out in sleep. Otitis media. Autophony_hearing one’s voice in the ear. Haematoma. Noises in ears.

Nose

      Red; swollen. Imaginary odours; odour of tobacco intolerable. Bleeding from nose, with flushed face.

Face

      Fiery; RED; turgid and hot; or becomes pale and red alternately. Semilateral swelling of the face. Spasmodic distortion of mouth (risus sardonicus). Convulsive motions of muscles of face. Facial neuralgia, with twitching of muscles and flushed face. Lower jaw, as if drawn backwards.

Mouth

      DRY, HOT. Tongue; red, hot, swollen. Edges of tongue red. Strawberry tongue. Red streak in middle of tongue, wider at tip. Grinding of the teeth. Tongue hangs out of the mouth (children). Forepart of the tongue cold and dry. Toothache better biting. Chewing motions of the mouth as though chewing or sucking. Stammering speech. Lock-jaw. Hot breath.

Throat

      DRY and HOT. Tonsils enlarged. Tonsillitis worse right side. Urging to swallow, with choking. Throat feels constricted. Swallowing difficult; Drinks in sips. Must take a drink to swallow solid food. When swallowing, bends head forward and lifts up knees. Clutches at, during epilepsy.

Stomach

      Desire for lemonade or lemons (which agree). Distaste for meat, acids, coffee, milk, beer. Vomits everything, with paleness and weakness. Great thirst for cold water. Dread of drinking. Spasmodic hiccough, with sweat and convulsions. Pain in stomach extending to shoulder and throat worse pressure.

Abdomen

      Distended, hot worse touch of bed-clothes. Cutting pain in epigastrium better bending backwards. Transverse colon distends and protrudes, like a pad, during abdominal colic. Cramp and colic, as if a hand has clutched some part. Acute pain in liver region, extending to shoulder and neck worse lying on it. Clawing pain around the navel. Downward forcing in abdomen as if all the viscera would protrude through genitals. Acute prolapsus ani. Stools; green, dysenteric or contain chalky lumps. Involuntary stools. Piles, with back pain as if breaking. Pain in splenic region worse sneezing, coughing, touch.

Urinary Organs

      Involuntary urination, on lying down; or when standing, or at night; when sleepy, during day. Retention of urine; with paralysis of bladder; post partum. Fiery red urine; frequent and profuse urination. Haematuria without pathological conditions. Sensation in bladder as if a worm were turning in, without desire to micturate.

Male

      Testicles; hard, drawn up, inflamed. Sweat on genitals. Soft painless tumour on glans.

Female

      Menses; bright, red, with clots, too early, too profuse, hot, gushing, offensive. Metritis. Rigidity of the os. Violent bearing down towards genitals, as if everything would fall out, better standing and sitting erect worse lying down. Mastitis; pain throbbing, redness, streaks radiate from the nipples. Breast; heavy, hard and red. Lochia; diminished, hot offensive. Useful in confinement of women who have their children late in life. Leucorrhoea, with colic. Labour pains come and go suddenly; or ceasing.

Respiratory organs

      Tickling, short, dry cough worse night. Larynx very painful, feels as if foreign body were in it, with cough. Cough worse fine dust in air. Child cries before cough. Cough worse yawning. High piping voice. Barking cough or voice. Whooping cough, with pain in stomach before attack; with haemoptysis. Cheyne-Stokes respiration. Moaning at every breath. Difficult, short quick respiration. Asthma in hot damp weather.

Heart

      Throbbing in carotid and temporal arteries. Pulse full, hard, tense. Violent palpitation, with laboured breathing. Bubbling at the region of the heart.

Neck and Back:

      Stiff neck and shoulder (right). Swelling of glands in the nape of the neck. Back feels broken. Lumbago, with pain in hips and thighs.

Extremities

      Jerks or spasms in limbs. Joints, swollen, red, shining; with red streaks radiating. Heaviness and paralytic feeling in limbs. Cold extremities. Involuntary limping. Phlegmasia alba dolens. Trembling of limbs. Weakness and tottering gait. Lies or sits with feet crossed, cannot uncross them.

Sleep

      Sleepy but cannot sleep. Moans and tosses about in sleep. JERKS DURING SLEEP. Frightful dreams of quarrels, fire, robbers, assassins. Sees frightful visions on closing eyes. Sleeps with hands under the head. Heavy sleep with hot skin.

Fever

      High fever with comparative absence of toxaemia. Internal coldness, with external pungent, burning, steaming heat HOT HEAD, with cold limbs. Skin hot; but moist and dry alternately. No thirst with fever.

Skin

      BRIGHT, RED, glossy. Dry and hot. Alternate paleness and redness of skin. Intense dermatitis. Scarlatina. Erysipelas. Boils, returning every spring.

Related

      Glon; Hyos; Stramonium

Complementary

      Bor; Calc; Hep; Merc; Natrum mur.

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'.