Camomile in the smallest dose seems to diminish in a remarkable manner over-sensitiveness to pain or the too acute sufferings of the organs of the emotions from excessive pain. Hence it alleviates many of the affections caused by coffee-drinking and by courses of treatment with narcotic palliatives. On this account it is unsuited for persons who bear pain calmly and patiently. I attach great importance to this observation.
Of late I have seldom been able to employ camomile as a curative agent. When in new patients the symptoms indicated the employment of camomile I have usually found that they were not original symptoms of disease, but as the history showed, symptoms resulting from the abuse of camomile, so that I had only to give antidotes for the ailments occasioned by the latter in order to cure the disease that had been artificially produced thereby.
[The only one of his disciples who assisted HAHNEMANN in this proving was STAPF.
The old-school authorities are very few.
CULLEN, Mat. Medorrhinum, is quoted for one symptom: “diarrhoea.”
LIND, MONRO, PRINGLE, and ROSENSTEIN (no reference being given to their works) are cited for another: “vomiting-“
SENAC, De Recondita Febrium Intermit. et Remitt. Natura, supplies a third: “pungent heat.” All the other symptoms were observed by HAHNEMANN himself. The Frag. de Vir. had 276 symptoms, the let Edit. 481, and this 2nd Edit. 493.]
CHAMOMILLA
(Vertigo on stooping forwards.)
Giddy when sitting upright, not when lying. [Stf.](In a girl of 19, from some cupfuls of strong camomile tea. [Apparently all Stapf’s symptoms were observed in this subject.])
Vertigo, especially when talking (aft. 16 h.).
Vertigo after a meal.
5. Soon after a meal, when walking, vertigo as if he would fall, just as if the head were top-heavy.
Vertigo after drinking coffee.
Vertigo in the morning.
Drunken, staggering vertigo in the morning on rising from bed.
Vertigo with dizziness. (See also the following symptoms of dizziness, also 245.)
10. Vertigo in the evening, as if he could not recollect himself properly.
(Vertigo and dimness of vision after lying down, with flying heat in the face.)
Syncopal vertigo.
Slight attacks of syncopal vertigo (aft. 1/4 h.).
Obtuseness of the senses, diminished power of collecting himself. (aft. 4, 5, 6 h.).
15. Joyless obtuseness of the senses with drowsiness, but without being able to sleep.
Stupidity in the head. [Stf.]
He does not rightly understand a question, and answers wrongly, with low-toned voice, as if he was delirious (aft. 6 h.).
He is easily fatigued by thinking.
He understands and comprehends nothing properly, just as if he were prevented doing so by a sort of dulness of hearing, or a waking dream (aft. 1/5 h.).
20. A state of distraction; he sits as if absorbed in thought.
His thoughts leave him.
When writing and speaking he leaves out whole words.
He stammers, he makes mistakes in speaking (aft. 4 h.).
Unobservant, inattentive; external things make no impression on him; he is indifferent to everything (aft. 2 h.).
25. Dull aching headache when sitting and thinking.
Heaviness in the head.
Heaviness in the head. [Stf.]
Headache compounded of heaviness and bruised feeling (aft. 3 h.).
Headache felt even when asleep.
30. Headache, in the morning in bed, while the eyes are still shut, in a half waking state, which goes off when quite awake and after getting up.
On awaking from sleep, pain in the head, as if it would burst (aft. 13 h.).
Repeated attacks of tearing pain in the forehead.
(When sitting up or turning in bed, tearing pains in the forehead, with the sensation as if a lump fell forward. [Stf.]
Very violent tearing headache at midnight, which, however, only wakes him up for instants on account of the very profound sleep.
35. Semilateral drawing headache (aft. 3, 4 h.).
Tearing headache on one side in the temple.
Shooting tearing pain in the forehead, which extends to the chest.
Pain in the bone on both sides of the forehead (aft. 3 h.).
Tearing and shooting outwards at the temples.
40. Single stitches in one-half of the brain, especially the right (aft. 11 h.).
Single severe stitches in the brain.
Severe stitches in one-half of the head, as after a chill.
Fine shooting headache.
Headache like needle-pricks, as if the eyes would fall out of the head.
45. Transient attacks of throbbing in one-half of the brain.
Throbbing headache (aft. 14 h.).
Single beats in the head (aft. 1/4-h.).
Twitching headache in the forehead, especially after a meal.
A cracking and grating in the left half of the brain.
50. The left temple is swollen, and painful when touched (aft. 6 h.).
The forehead wrinkled above the nose. [Stf.]
Her head waggles to and fro. [Stf.]
Puffiness of the face and hands. (52, 53,-see 91, 104, 105.).
An eroding itching on the skin of the forehead.
55. When the consciousness has returned and the drowsiness is past the pupils become more dilated (aft. 7 h.).
Pupils very contracted, or rather having a tendency to contract (See 411) (aft. several h.).
Contracted pupils (the first 4 h.).
A great dryness (of the Meibomian glands) on the border of the upper and lower eyelids (aft. 1 h.).
Feeling of soreness in the outer canthi of the eyes, and sore excoriated lips (aft. 36 h.).
60. The canthi in the morning full of matter.
The eye is swollen in the morning, and sealed up with mucus.
After sleeping the eyelids are gummed together.
Painless extravasation of blood in the white of the inner angle of the right eye (aft. 14 h.).
Aching in the eyes; the eyes are inflamed and full of mucus in the morning.
65. An aching pain under the upper eyelid on moving the eye and on shaking the head.
Severe stitches in the eyes.
Sensation as if fire and heat came out of the eyes(See 412) (immediately).
Glittering before the eyes (immediately).
Glittering before the eyes; she did not see where she was. [Stf.]
70. Obscuration of the sight on one side, when he fixes his look on a white object.
Eyes dull and weak in the morning, more rarely in the evening; with the candle a ray of light seems to extend from the eyes to the candle flame.
Dimness of vision, with chilliness.
It became black before his eyes. [Stf.]
Red miliary rash on the cheeks.
75. Tearing in the ears, earache.
(Tearing in the lobe of the right ear.)
Single coarse stitches in the ear, especially when stooping, with taking things ill and vexation about trifles.
Some stitches on the neck near the ear.
When stooping obtuse pressure in the internal ear, as from a blow.
80. Sensation as if the ears were stopped up, and as if a bird were rustling and scratching in them.
In the evening he has dulness before the ears. (See 410.)
Roaring in the ears as from rushing water.
Ringing in the ears (aft. 1, 3, 4 h.).
Epistaxis.
85. Ulcerated nostrils; sore nose.
The lips become cracked and desquamate (aft. 16 h).
The lower lip parts in the middle in a crack (from the 3rd to the 10 th h.).
Scabby ulceration on the border of the lip (from 1 to 4 h.).
Swelling of the gums.
90. Looseness of the teeth.
Toothache, with swelling of the cheek. (See 104 and 105, also 50 and 53. The toothache which camomile can cause (see 89 to 108) corresponds very closely to that so frequently prevailing in recent times (generally resulting from drinking coffee) and hence this will be homoeopathically and specifically cured by small doses of camomile.)
After midnight (3 a.m.), wakened by toothache (a gnawing pain as if the nerve were scraped), which ceased about 7 a.m., so that only occasional stitch-like jerks remained.
In the teeth of the upper jaw a stirring up and formication.
Stirring-up drawing toothache in the jaw.
95. Drawing pain in the teeth.
Toothache as from a chill from exposure to the open air while perspiring profusely.
Toothache on taking something warm into the mouth.
(Toothache renewed in the warm room.)
Toothache particularly severe after warm drinks, especially after coffee.
100. After eating and drinking, especially warm things (but also from cold things), the toothache comes on either immediately or after a minute.
Drawing pain in the teeth after eating and drinking.
Toothache after eating and drinking, although neither was either warm or cold (later).
On opening the jaws, pain as if the masseter muscles ached as from cramp, which pain at the same time extends into the teeth.
Toothache recurring intermittently in fits, with swelling of the cheek and accumulation of saliva; the pain darts hither and thither, and extends even to the eyes, and is aggravated by drinking cold water.
105. Tearing toothache in the jaw towards the ear, with swelling of the cheek.
In the lower jaw, towards the front, drawing toothache (aft.1/2 h.).
Drawing toothache, he knows not in which tooth exactly, which goes off while eating, and rages particularly at night, during which the teeth feel too long. (The camomile-pains have this peculiarity as a rule, that they are most severe in the night and then often drive the victim almost to despair, not unfrequently with incessant thirst, heat, and redness of one cheek; sometimes also hot sweat in the head even in the hair The pains of camomile seem generally intolerable, and not to be endured (see 457). All these characteristic symptoms of camomile point to the similar cases of disease capable of being cured homoeopathically by it.)
Hahnemann's three major publications chart the development of homeopathy. In the Organon of Medicine, we see the fundamentals laid out. Materia Medica Pura records the exact symptoms of the remedy provings. In his book, The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homoeopathic Cure, he showed us how natural diseases become chronic in nature when suppressed by improper treatment.