Minor Homoeopathic Remedies C

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Cactus grandiflorus

Cactus grand; Selinecereus grandiflorus, night-blooming cereus, sweet-scented cactus, vanilla cactus, large-flowered cactus This plant grows in the parched, arid desert regions of South America, Mexico and the United States. It is a shrubby plant with thick fleshy stems and large white flowers with yellow centres. The flowers are about eight to twelve inches across and have a pleasant perfume resembling vanilla. They open in the evening and are closed during the day. The homoeopathic remedy is made from the fresh flowers and young stems, and it was investigated and proved in 1862 by Dr Rubins.

He discovered that it produced effects on the heart with feelings of constriction and pain. Hence, the remedy is used to treat the unpleasant and frightening symptoms of angina. These include severe, gripping pain that is worse for physical exertion and stress, and a feeling of the chest being held and compressed by tight, constricting bands. There may be numbness, coldness and tingling in the left hand and arm and palpitations.

The person feels extremely anxious and fears that death is imminent, and the pain is worse if he or she lies on the left side. Symptoms are worse from late morning until late evening and improve for lying on the right side with the head raised. A person with these symptoms needs reassurance and should not be left alone.

Calcarea hypophosphorosa

Hypophosphate of lime This is a remedy for persons with the Calcarea constitutional type. The remedy is used for arthritic and rheumatic disorders, especially of the hands and wrists. The hands feel clammy and cold, and the symptoms are made worse by cold, damp weather. The person is very susceptible to cold and has a pale, chilly skin.

Calcarea iodata

Iodide of lime A remedy for glandular swellings and infections in the neck, including tonsillitis, swollen adenoids and enlarged thyroid (goitre). It is also given for fibroids in the uterus and similar benign breast lumps of a fibrous nature.

Calcarea sulphurica

Calc. sulph.; calcium sulphate, plaster of Paris, gypsum
The source of calcium sulphate is the mineral deposit gypsum, which was formed as a precipitate when salt water evaporated. It is one of the SCHUSSLER TISSUE SALTS {see Glossary) and is used to make plaster casts for immobilizing fractured bones. It is a remedy for infected conditions of the skin in which pus is produced. Ailments include boils, carbuncles, skin ulcers and abscesses and infected eczema.

The skin looks grey and unhealthy and feels cold and clammy although the soles of the feet may be hot. There may be yellow fur on the tongue, and the person may suffer from malaise and weakness. Symptoms are worse in weather that is wet and cold and improve in dry, fresh open air. They are also better for eating and for drinks of tea. A person suitable for Calc. sulph. has a tendency to be irritable and gloomy, with a jealous nature. Although symptoms are made worse by cold, Calc. sulph. people dislike heat and prefer to feel cool even to the extent of wearing inadequate clothing in winter weather.

Camphora

Camphor; Laurus camphora, gum camphor, laurel camphor
This remedy was investigated and proved by Hahnemann who used it to treat a cholera outbreak during the 1830s. The remedy was used again during a further epidemic in 1854 and proved to be highly successful on both occasions. Camphor is obtained from a tree that grows in central China and Japan. Chips of wood are heated with steam, and a liquid is collected from which clear deposits of camphor are precipitated out. Camphor has a characteristic pungent odour and has a range of applications in herbal medicine. In homoeopathy, it is used to treat acute conditions and fevers in which there is sweating, a cold clammy pale skin, chills and anxiety. There may be severe symptoms of very low blood pressure, collapse and convulsions. It is sometimes used in circumstances in which other homoeopathic remedies have failed to produce an improvement.

Capsicum frutescens

Capsicum; African pepper, red cayenne pepper, chilli pepper, bird pepper The capsicum plant is a native of South America, West Indies and East Indies, but it is cultivated in many countries throughout the world. Elongated red chilli fruits, which may be used fresh or dried, are much used in Eastern cookery for their fiery properties. They cause sweating and a feeling of heat, dilate blood vessels and promote blood flow. They have been used to treat infectious disorders but are now mainly given for digestive symptoms.

Cayenne is one of the most important remedies in herbal practice and is a constituent of many compound medicines. The fruits and seeds are used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy, which is used to treat ailments with hot, burning, stinging pains. It is used for indigestion, especially heartburn, piles, or haemorrhoids, diarrhoea, sore throat with painful burning sensation on swallowing, and rheumatic disorders.

Symptoms are made worse by cool, draughty conditions and when the person first begins movement. They are made better for warmth and heat, and with sustained exercise and movement. People suitable for this remedy are often fair-haired and blue-eyed and tend to be obese. They are often unfit, disliking physical exercise. Overindulgence in alcohol or rich spicy foods makes them lazy and lethargic, and they tend to have a melancholy disposition. If they go away from home, they soon become depressed and homesick.

Carboneum sulphuratum

Carbon bisulphide This remedy is used for ailments affecting the nerves, in which there may be weakness, numbness, tremor or paralysis. Also, for some disorders of the eye and vision and for indigestion, abdominal pains, wind, diarrhoea and constipation.

Caulophyllum thalictroides

Caulophyllum; papoose root, squawroot, blueberry root, blue cohosh This is an attractive perennial plant that is a native species of Canada and North America, growing in moist conditions near creeks or in swamps. It produces greenish-yellow flowers in early summer and, later, large pea-sized seeds that were gathered, roasted and used by the Indian people to make a hot drink. The root of the plant is brown, gnarled and contorted, and this is the part that is used in homoeopathy.

The preparation made from the root acts as a stimulant on the uterus, and this property was well known to the Indian people, who used the medicine to hasten a slow or painful labour. Caulophyllum was investigated and proved by an American homoeopathic doctor, Dr Hale, in the late 1800s, and one of its main uses in homoeopathy is to speed up and strengthen weak or painful ineffective contractions of the womb during labour. It is also used to treat absent menstruation and some other conditions of the uterus, such as menstrual and postpartum pain.

Caulophyllum is an effective remedy for rheumatic disorders affecting the fingers, hands, wrists, toes, ankles and feet. Typically there are cramp-like stabbing pains that are intermittent in character. Symptoms are worse in women when menstruation is absent or erratic and during pregnancy. All symptoms improve in warm conditions or with the application of heat.

Causticum hahnemanni

Causticum, potassium hydrate This remedy was prepared, investigated and proved in the early 1800s by Hahnemann, and is used only in homoeopathy. It is prepared by a chemical process in which lime that has been newly burnt is combined with potassium bi-sulphate in water. The mixture is heated and distilled, and the clear liquid distillate is collected and used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy. It is used for weakness of nerves and muscles that control the throat and voice box or vocal cords, bladder, eyelids and face on the right side.

Typical throat complaints include hoarseness and loss of the voice and there may be a dry, unproductive cough. Bladder complaints include stress incontinence (i.e. a leakage of urine when the person coughs, sneezes, laughs loudly, etc) and wetting the bed, particularly if suffering from a chill. Other symptoms include sore, hot pains as in heartburn and rheumatic complaints. The symptoms are made worse by exposure to cold winds, physical exercise and also during the evening. They improve with warmth and are better for drinking something cold and having a wash.

People suitable for Causticum are often thin, pale and with darkeyes and hair. They are able to enter into other people's suffering and feel the effects of grief very profoundly. They tend to feel the cold rather acutely and may be prone to warts on the skin. Causticum people may be rather rigid in their views and tend to have a weak constitution.

Ceanothus americanus

Ceanothus; red root, Jersey tea root, New Jersey tea, wild snowball
This shrub, which grows to a height of about five feet, is a native species of North America and Canada. It produces numerous small white flowers in June and July, and its leaves were used to make tea during the War of Independence when real tea was hard to come by. The plant has thick, reddish-coloured roots that give it one of its common names. The root is used in herbal medicine, but in homoeopathy the fresh leaves, gathered when the plant is in flower, are used to prepare the remedy.

Ceanothus is given for abdominal pains and enlargement of the spleen and for symptoms on the left side of the abdomen. The pain is of a piercing nature and is made worse by lying on the left side. Exercise and movement exacerbate the symptoms, but they are relieved by rest and lying still. People who benefit from Ceanothus are extremely sensitive to the cold and like to sit as close as possible to a heat source in order to keep warm.

Chelidonium majus

Chelidonium, greater celandine, wartweed, garden celandine
This plant is a native of many countries in Europe and belongs to the same family as the poppy. The plant has a slender branching stem, large leaves that are a yellow-green colour on their upper surface and grey underneath, and yellow flowers. After flowering, long thin pods are produced containing black seeds. The plant produces a yellowish orange poisonous sap that is acrid, caustic and irritant with an unpleasant smell.

The fresh flowering plant is used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy, which is mainly used to treat liver and gall bladder disorders. The types of disorder treated include gallstones, hepatitis, abdominal pain and indigestion. There may be symptoms of nausea, jaundice, vomiting and digestive upset with an aching pain located under the right shoulder blade. All symptoms are more common on the right side and are made worse by a change in the weather, for heat, in the afternoon around 4 p.m. and in the early morning around 4 a.m.

They improve on eating and if firm pressure is applied to the painful area. Also for drinking hot beverages or milk and for passing stools. People suitable for Chelidonium are often fair-haired and thin with yellowish or sallow skin. They tend to be gloomy and seldom look on the bright side of life and dislike intellectual effort. They are prone to headaches that make them feel heavy and lethargic. Chelidonium types enjoy hot drinks and cheese and may have one hot and one cold foot.

The Chelidonium remedy is also applied externally to remove warts, and this property has given the plant one of its common names, wartweed.

Cicuta virosa

Cicuta; water hemlock This plant is a native species of Canada, North America, Siberia and some parts of Europe. It has highly poisonous roots that, if eaten, cause convulsions, overproduction of saliva, hyperventilation and profuse perspiration, often with a fatal outcome. The fresh root is used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy, which is used as a treatment for injuries and disorders of the central nervous system.

Hence it is used to treat spasms, twitchings and muscular jerking, especially when the head and neck are thrown backwards, as may occur in epilepsy, following a head injury, meningitis and eclampsia of pregnancy. The patient may be confused, delirious, agitated and moaning unconsciously. The pupils of the eyes may be dilated. Symptoms are worse for sudden movement, cold and with touch. They improve with warmth and the elimination of abdominal wind. A person who benefits from this remedy may crave unsuitable substances as food.

Cinnamomum

Cinnamon; Cinnamomum zeyianicum There are several varieties of cinnamon but the Cinnamomum zeyianicum tree is a native species of Sri Lanka and is also grown in several other eastern countries and the West Indies. The tree grows to about 30 feet in height, producing white flowers and, later, blue-coloured berries. The part used is the bark of the shoots, which is dried and rolled into thin brown quills. There is a characteristic pleasant, aromatic smell, and powdered cinnamon is widely used as a spice in food. In homoeopathy, the remedy is used to treat bleeding such as nosebleeds and also vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. Some of the symptoms may be caused by stress or hysteria.

Clematis erecta

Upright virgin's bower This poisonous perennial plant is a native of many European countries, growing to about three feet in height and having reddish-green leaves and white flowers. The leaves and flowers are acrid and irritant when crushed, producing inflammation and blistering. In homoeopathy, the remedy is used mainly in the treatment of gonorrhoea, including blockage of the urethra and a slow flow of urine because of inflammation or scarring. It may be used to treat other inflammations of the genital and urinary tract, eye disorders and neuralgia.

Cocculus

Indian cockle This remedy, prepared from the body of the whole animal, is used to treat symptoms of nausea, sickness, giddiness and vertigo. Often there is accompanying depression, and, in women, symptoms are worse at the time of the period, which tends to be painful and may be early. A person suitable for this remedy is frequently talkative and hates wearing constricting clothing.

Coffea arabica

Coffea; coffee The coffee tree is a native of Arabia but has been cultivated for many years in other tropical countries. In addition to having been widely used for many centuries as a drink, coffee has been valued medically for its stimulant, analgesic and diuretic properties. The plant has dark green, shiny, evergreen leaves and produces attractive white flowers.

Later, berries are formed, which are bright orange-red when ripe, containing the seeds or coffee beans. The beans are roasted for use as a drink, but the unroasted beans are used to prepare the Coffea remedy. Coffea is used to treat insomnia when the brain is over-active and the person cannot relax enough to fall asleep. It is a useful remedy for any form of over excitability and also severe pain such as toothache and painful labour.

The person is very sensitive to noise, touch, disturbance or odours of any kind, and symptoms are made worse by cold winds. They improve with warmth and resting in quiet, calm, peaceful surroundings.

Colchicum autumnale

Colchicum; naked ladies, meadow saffron This attractive flower grows from a bulbous structure called a corm, which is an underground swollen stem. The pretty light purple flowers appear in September and October (hence 'autumnale') and it grows on limestone soils throughout Europe, parts of Asia, North America and Canada.

The plant has been well known since ancient times for its medicinal properties, being especially valued by Greek physicians for the treatment of painful rheumatic and gouty joints. It was known as the 'soul of joints'. It is poisonous, irritant and emetic in larger doses, having an effect on the digestive organs and kidneys. The fresh bulb is used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy, which is used to treat severe painful gout, especially of the big toe, and digestive upset including nausea, sickness, diarrhoea and abdominal pains that are relieved if the body is bent forwards. Symptoms are made worse by cold, damp weather, especially in the autumn, and by exercise or being touched. They improve with warmth, and resting in quiet surroundings.

Conium maculatum

Conium; hemlock, spotted hemlock, poison hemlock, poison parsley, beaver poison, spotted corobane, musquash root This highly poisonous plant grows widely throughout Europe, parts of Asia, Canada, the United States of America and South America. It has been well known and used for centuries and is described in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans, including Pliny and Dioscorides.

It was used as a means of execution of criminals, and Socrates was forced to drink the fatal poison of hemlock. Roman physicians used hemlock to treat a number of different disorders, including tumours and swellings of the joints and skin, cancer of the breast, liver diseases and as a sedative for spasms and dysfunction of nerves and muscles. Since it induces paralysis, it was used to combat pain and also to control inappropriate sexual feelings.

Hemlock is a tall plant that may reach a height of four feet, producing large, indented green leaves and heads of white flowers. The stalks are streaked with purply-red, which, one old legend suggests, is a reminder of the mark on the forehead of Cain, the first murderer. Juice obtained from the leaves and stems of hemlock is used to prepare the homoeopathic remedy, which is used for enlarged and hardened glands, including the prostate gland, cancerous tumours and nodules, particularly of the breast, painful breasts before and during periods or because of pregnancy.

The remedy is also used for nerve and muscle paralysis, especially that which gradually creeps up the legs and in which there may additionally be a dislike of strong light. It is used to treat premature ejaculation and dizziness that increases when the person lies down or moves the head. In general, the symptoms are made worse by suppression of sexual needs or an excess of sexual activity. Watching a moving object and drinking alcohol also make the symptoms worse.

They improve with continued pressure applied to the painful part, sustained gentle exercise and if there is abdominal flatulence. People who benefit from Conium tend to have rather fixed and narrow ideas and a lack of interest in the wider world, which causes depression and a feeling of boredom and apathy. These feelings may be caused either by an overindulgence in, or too little, sexual activity. Conium people do not cope well if forced to be celibate.

Crocus sativus

Crocus, saffron crocus, saffron Crocus sativus is a native of the western parts of Asia but has long been cultivated throughout Europe, especially in Spain. The three long, deep orange-red stigmas within the crocus flower are the source of saffron, which has been used medicinally since ancient times. Saffron is mentioned in the Old Testament Song of Solomon (4 :14) and was described by Hippocrates as having aphrodisiac and purgative qualities.

It was used to treat uterine bleeding disorders and prolonged and painful childbirth as well as diseases of the liver. Throughout history it has been used to treat a wide variety of physical and mental disorders. In homoeopathy the remedy is used to treat disorders of menstruation and nosebleeds and also emotional symptoms of weepiness, depression and mood swings. The symptoms are made worse by warm, stuffy surroundings and listening to music. They improve out in the fresh open air and after eating breakfast.

Crotalus homolus

Crotalus hor.; venom of the rattlesnake The rattlesnake is familiar to people throughout the world, far beyond its normal habitat in the dry, semi-desert regions of the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. Its most noteworthy characteristic is the rattling tail, which the snake uses as a warning when it is agitated or about to strike, and the animal has been widely described and depicted in books, films and nature programmes.

The snake produces a potent venom that it uses to paralyse its prey, and this was investigated and proved in 1837 by Dr Constantine Hering, an outstanding American homoeopathic doctor. In modern homoeopathy the remedy is used to treat serious illnesses such as strokes affecting the right side of the body, symptoms of liver failure including jaundice and oedema, cancer and heart disease.

The remedy helps to arrest bleeding from a natural orifice of the body and is used to treat septicaemia, shock and collapse. The symptoms are worse for lying on the left side and for wearing constricting, tight clothing. Humid, warm, moist weather aggravates the symptoms but they are better out in the fresh, clean, dry air.

Croton tiglium

Croton oil seeds This small, shrubby bush is a native species of the coastal regions of India and Asia, and produces fruits that each contain a single seed rich in oil. Croton oil is obtained by compressing the ripe seeds, and in its neat form is highly purgative if taken internally, producing colicky abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. It may prove fatal if more than one small dose is taken.

Applied externally, it produces irritation and blistering of the skin. In herbal medicine it is used to treat severe constipation, often combined with castor oil, and also as a coun-terirritant in some rheumatic, bronchitic and other disorders. In homoeopathy, the remedy is used to treat severe digestive symptoms of colic-type abdominal pains, copious watery diarrhoea and vomiting. Also, it is used for severe skin inflammations in which there is redness, heat and blistering.

Cyclamen europaeum

Cyclamen; sowbread There are several species of cyclamen, many of which are native to the warmer countries of southern Europe and northern Africa. The plant has a large, swollen, brown root and derives its common name from the fact that these tubers were a source of food for wild pigs. Cyclamen was used by the physicians of ancient Greece and Rome and also Arabia. It was used to treat disorders of the liver and spleen, including jaundice and hepatitis, and to regulate periods in women.

The plant produces very pretty pink flowers, each borne on a single firm, fleshy stalk, and varieties of cyclamen are very popular as house plants. The fresh root is extremely acrid and acts as a purgative, and is used for this purpose in herbal medicine. In homoeopathy the sap from the fresh root is used to prepare the remedy, which is used for an irregular menstrual cycle in women. It is also helpful in the treatment of searing, hot pains in the muscles or skin and severe migraine-like headaches with disturbance of vision.

People who benefit from this remedy may crave bizarre and inappropriate things to eat. They tend to have a melancholy disposition, often feeling sad and depressed or beset by guilt or remorse. Symptoms are made better by exercise and moving around and with crying. They improve in the fresh open air.