Bloodroot.
Introduction
WHEN one thinks of recurrent sick headaches, one’s thoughts are apt to fly beyond the polycrests to, especially, Iris and Sanguinaria; and it may be well to take them one after the other, in order to realize their great differences, as well as their correspondences: because there is no such splendid way of learning anything, as teaching it. The person you teach may absorb little or much — depends perhaps a bit upon the way the thing is presented and the extent to which it interests him and gets his attention: but the person who teaches is obliged to really study and get the subject up, and it probably goes in a little deeper, and more ought to stick.
Sanguinaria, like Iris, has won a great reputation in sick headaches; but Sanguinaria is of the “sun headache” variety: starts with sunrise, grows more intense as the day wears on, a nd declines towards evening. There is nothing like this in Iris. Other drugs that come in here are GLON., Natrum mur., Phosphorus, Spigelia, Stann.
Sanguinaria also lacks the burning acridity of Iris, while it affects lungs more than, like Iris, the length of the digestive tract. Sanguinaria is a great chest medicine: useful even in phthisis. Hahnemann, in his arrangement of provings (and all his followers in their arrangement of materia medica and Repertories, following his useful lead), starts with mouth, runs through the whole of the digestive tract, oesophagus, stomach, intestines, rectum, anus and stool, adding the organs of digestive secretions, liver, pancreas; –in all these Iris meddles fearfully, and therefore heals. Then he starts again at mouth, and runs through the respiratory system, and here Sanguinaria especially interferes, for evil and for good. So, after all, one can place these two remedies,, and realize their possibilities and peculiarities very easily, if one “figures it out” thus.
We are trying to stress the spheres of these two sick headache remedies: but they are only two among the many.
BLACK LETTER SYMPTOMS
(most often confirmed by caused and cured symptoms) are of course emphasized by every teacher and every text book that treats of “Bloodroot”.
Determination of blood to the head, with whizzing in the ears and transitory feeling of heat, then a sensation as if vomiting was about to take place.
HEADACHE begins in occiput, spreads upwards, and settles over right eye.
Periodical sick headache; begins in the morning, increases during the day, lasts until evening. Head feels as if it must burst, or as if eyes would be pressed out. Throbbing, lancinating pains through brain, worse on right side, especially in forehead and vertex; followed by chills, nausea, vomiting of food or bile; must lie down and remain quiet; relieved by sleep.
Paroxysmal headache. Headache, with nausea and chilliness, followed by flushes of heat, extending from the head to the stomach.
Neuralgia in and over right EYE.
NASAL polypi.
Red CHEEKS with burning in ears, with cough.
Burning in PHARYNX and OESOPHAGUS.
VOMITING of bitter water; of sour acrid fluids; of ingesta; or worms; preceded by anxiety; with headache in stomach; head better afterwards, with prostration.
Dry COUGH, with considerable tickling in throat-pit, and a crawling sensation, extending down beneath the sternum. Teasing, dry, hacking cough, with dryness in the throat. Hacking cough, caused by tickling in the throat, several evenings after lying down. Tickling cough with very dry throat.
Severe cough occurring after whooping-cough, when patient takes cold, which partakes of the spasmodic nature of whooping-cough.
Catarrhal irritation in chest; night sweats; after a cold, several months previously.
RHEUMATIC PAIN in right arm and shoulder; worse at night; on turning in bed; cannot raise arm.
Lassitude, torpor, languor, not disposed to move or make any mental exertion. Worse in damp weather.
Lameness of right arm.
ITALIC OR CURIOUS SYMPTOMS
Flushes of heat, extending from head to stomach.
Some hard substance in stomach.
Head drawn forward: will burst: as if eyes would be pressed out.
Temples and scalp alive with irrepressible pulsations.
As if in a vehicle, moving jarring her: as if all about her moved rapidly.
Tongue as if scalded: as if in contact with something hot.
Throat so dry, as if it would crack.
As if something alive in stomach (Croc. Thuja).
As if hot water were pouring from breast into abdomen.
Cough as if head in a blanket.
Upper part chest as if too full of blood.
Severe pain: head: root of nose: frontal sinuses; right breast, extends to shoulder. Right side chest.
The pains are burning: stitching: constricting.
Rheumatic pain, in places least covered with flesh.
GUERNSEY briefly epitomizes Sanguinaria: hitting, as usual, the principal points helpful in prescribing.
Useful where there is a pain rising from the back of the neck over the top of the head, running down the forehead: this symptom may occur alone, or in connection with some other trouble.
Headache begins in the morning, gets worse during the day, and lasts until evening. Comes every seventh day (Sabad., Silicea, Sulphur)
He says it is useful often for menopausic troubles, flashes of heat, etc. Rheumatism of right shoulder.
NASH emphasizes the service Sanguinaria has rendered him. The headache coming up from the back of head, and settles down over the right eye (left eye, Spigelia), with nausea and vomiting: better quiet in a dark room. “It will probably cure, or greatly relieve the ordinary American sick headache as often as any other remedy. I use the 200th.”
He italicizes, “Loose cough, with badly smelling sputa; the breath and sputa smell badly to the patient himself.” Sometimes pain behind sternum. This kind of cough usually comes on after severe bronchitis or pneumonia, and it looks as if patient were fast running into consumption. There may be flushes of fever, circumscribed redness of cheeks, like hectic fever. Many a case of this kind has been helped by this remedy. He says Dr. T. L. Brown used the first trituration of the alkaloid with fine effect. The 200th has made just as good cures. Sanguinaria in my hands has done good service in typhoid pneumonia with great dyspnoea and circumscribed redness of the cheeks. The right lung seems to come under its influence, in either acute or chronic troubles.
He says that in the right shoulder and arm pain, Sanguinaria has won him much credit. He has seen one dose of the first trituration cure such cases of long standing: also the C.M. do the same thing.
Acts intensely on right lung and chest.
ALLEN (Keynotes) emphasizes a curious symptom, which when it occurs should be very helpful in fixing the remedy. “Neuralgia of face, relieved by kneeling down and pressing head firmly against floor: pain extends in all directions from the upper jaw.” “Again, re cough, this peculiarity; cough dry; wakes him at night, does no cease till he sits up and passes flatus.”
KENT says, Bloodroot is an old domestic remedy. Eastern farmer’s wives will not go into winter without bloodroot in the house. In cold winter days, for “cold” in head, throat and chest, then they make a bloodroot tea: their routine remedy and provings show its relation to “colds” that go to the chest.
Headaches, when headaches come once in seven days: begins on waking in the morning, or wakes the patient. Begins occiput, travels up to settle over right eye and in temple. Patient is driven into a dark room, and has to lie down. Then vomiting — bile, slime, and food taken the day before: then relief of pain, and sleep. If there are hot palms and soles, which he must put out of bed, this is an additional striking feature.
He says, it is not a long-acting remedy, and only of medium depth. Needs a deeper drug, an antipsoric, later, or headache may return–or worse, as Sanguinaria does not go deeply into the nature of the case. He says, Hahnemann warns against the use of Phosphorus in such cases of deficient vitality: here Sanguinaria is an excellent surface remedy : it does excellent palliation.
Sanguinaria has “rose colds” in June: is sensitive to flowers and odours:–hay fever palms and soles dry, wrinkled and hot to touch; toes burn: corns burn: put hands and feet out of bed for relief. (An addition to Sulph., Pulsatilla, Chamomilla and Medorrh. here.) With the headache and many complaints Sanguinaria has a faintness: like a hunger, yet not for food. A sinking, faint, all-gone feeling. Psorinum leads all others in hunger headaches, but Psorinum wants to eat and can’t get enough. Sanguinaria has a hunger, but not for food: aversion at the thought and smell of food it is a false hunger with the headache in Sanguinaria
