The diarrhoea is usually painless, with great and sudden urging and often associated with tenesmus (61) “occurring only after stool” (Bell). The diarrhoea is caused by fright or emotional excitement, especially from grief (57) and is accompanied by much rumbling in abdomen (11) and emission of flatus. It is one of the remedies useful for alternation of diarrhoea and constipation (34).
With the hysteria calling for Ignatia we have very profuse, watery urine. (199). It is a remedy to be remembered in incontinence of urine in women and children (199) due to an irresistible desire or pressure to urinate, as well as for retention of urine after confinement (200).
Menstruation under Ignatia is apt to be irregular as the result of irritation of the nervous system; it is too early and too profuse (135) or suppressed, especially from grief (135),
with severe pains and great mental excitement. Preceding menstruation there may be a good deal of sighing as if she were full of suppressed sorrow.
It is of great value in ovarian neuralgia (147), with great mental anxiety, as well as during labor, where the mental symptoms occupy a prominent place, and they will not only tell you that they can’t stand the pain, as they say in Chamomilla, but that they won’t.
Remember Ignatia in hysterical paralysis (120) of various kinds and for hysterical aphonia (117).
It has a reflex cough (47) due to some remote affection, as from the uterus or ovaries, or from worms, but the especial cough is a nervous (46), irritable, constant one (44) caused by tickling in the throat or trachea, perhaps as if “from sulphur fumes (43) or from dust” (Lippe). The cough is worse after lying down at night, with the “contrary” indication that coughing does not relieve the irritation but rather aggravates it (41) and the more he coughs the more pronounced the irritation becomes and he tries in every way to suppress the cough.
In nervous conditions we find twitching of the extremities (193) or a single jerk in a limb on falling asleep.
The sciatica of Ignatia is worse at night (164) and during cold weather (164). The pains are intermittent, last perhaps an hour, boring or tearing in character, and are preceded by coldness or shivering and maybe with thirst. During the paroxysms the patient is unable to remain in bed but must get up and walk the floor (164).
In intermittent fever, Ignatia is true to itself as regards its contrary aspects. There is no especial hour for the onset of the paroxysm, as it may come on at almost any time and in fact it is said that irregularity as regards the return of the chill is a characteristic of the remedy.
The great characteristic, however, is thirst (121) during the chill and none during the fever. Hahnemann says: “the heat of Ignatia is hardly every anything but external; moreover, there is hardly ever any thirst accompanying it, not even when it occurs in the form of an intermittent fever.” “Hence Ignatia in the smallest dose can only homoeopathically and permanently cure those agues which have thirst during the chill, but none during the heat” (Mat. Medorrhinum Pura).
During the chill, external warmth is not only grateful, which we usually find, but it relieves (121), which we seldom find. During the fever the patient also wants to be covered up warmly (121) The sweating stage is usually less pronounced than either of the others.
Preceding the chill there is frequent yawning and often neuralgia of the head (104) or extremities.
Hahnemann says: “It is best to administer” Ignatia “in the morning, if there is no occasion for hurry. When given shortly before bedtime it causes too much restlessness at night” (Mat. Medorrhinum Pura).
Ignatia is especially useful for women, as Nux vomica is for men.
Nux vomica and Pulsatilla are more or less antidotal to Ignatia. Coffea cr. is incompatible.
I use Ignatia 1st.
