Veratrum Album: Alkaloids and Therapeutic Properties

VERATRUMALB Dr Shilpa S Patil Department of Materia Medica KLEUHMC

VERATRUM ALB

INTRODUCTION Source - Vegetable kingdom. Common name - White Hellebore. White flower. Family - Melanthaceae Proved by - Dr Hahnemann. Part used - dry root.

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES It contains an amorphous alkaloid, Veratramine (C26H43NO5), germerine, with poisonous properties of white Hellebore is believed to be due to three crystallizable alkaloids Jeruine (C26H37NO3). Jeruine is feebly toxic, and most abundant of Veratrum alkaloids. Pseudo-Jervine (C29H43NO7) Rubijervive (C26H43NO3) Chelidonic acid.

Veratrum albums alkaloids act as a very violent and irritant poison, when sniffed up into nostrils, severe coryza. When swallowed, it causes sore mouth, swelling of tongue, gastric heat, and burning, severe vomiting, and often profuse diarrhoea. Vertigo, weakness, and tremors of extremities, feeble pulse, loss of voice, dilatation of pupils, spasms of ocular muscles, blindness, cold sweating, and mental disturbances.

CONSTITUTION Acute remedy, constitution of no importance. Suited to extremes of life too young and too old people lean, choleric, or melancholy persons. People who are habitually cold and deficient in vital reaction, anaemic persons.

Miasmatic background - Psora. Temperament - Young people and women of a sanguine or nervo - sanguine temperament. Thermals - Chilly.

AILMENTS FROM Bad effects of Opium, tobacco chewing, alcohol. Fruits. Fright. Disappointed love. Injured pride or honour. Suppressed exanthema. Shock, injury.

SPHERE OF ACTION Through cerebro-spinal nervous system, Veratrum has five special centers of action: I. Mucous M (Gastro-Intestinal) - Congestion, Inflam. II. Pneumogastric N. Violent Choleraic Torn,- Watery Diarrhoea. III. Heart. Blood-Pressure Lessened, Collapse Death. IV. Temperature. Greatly Lessened. V. CSS (Motor Tract) spasms, paralysis.

Gastro-Intestinal Canal The picture Veratrum album presents is decidedly choleraic. "There is general coldness, with prostration going on to collapse, embarrassed circulation, copious watery vomiting and purging, cramps in extremities, and severe spasmodic colic.

Heart and Circulation In cases of human poisoning with Veratrum album, in addition to excessive vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and diarrhea, there is "very pronounced reduction of temperature and pulse, latter being sometimes rapid and almost imperceptible in advanced stages, and finally becoming extinct, with sunken eyes, contracted, anxious countenance ; a cold, clammy skin, with profuse perspiration, and other evidences of collapse , mind remaining clear until last."

MENTAL GENERALS PERSONALITY Veratrum is a very rigid type psychologically, and this is reflected in his voice, speaks loudly,in a tense staccato fashion, as if he were a robot. Pushy, overconfident manner in which patient speaks.

RIGIDITY One of characteristics of VeratrumAlbum is rigidity . The Veratrum personality is quite stiff in thinking, and cannot tolerate contradiction at all. (The rigidity even reflects in his voice very loud or a tense staccato, almost like a robot voice in relatively healthy persons, because in disease, voice of Veratrum album is often weak and feeble.)

DOGMATIC /DICTATORIAL Veratrum s mind seems to be single-tracked, Dogmatic dictatorial haughty. He is unable to consider a second point of view. It might be far too much mental work for him and he becomes irritable, angry and reacts rude or impolite. DREAM LIKE STATE Veratrum does feel like in a dream, functioning as if he isn t awakened.

FEAR That revolve around loss of position, wealth and status, as well as fears that might be poisoned. HYPERACTIVITY / MANIA / DELIRIUM of position, wealth and status, as well as fears that you might expect from a poison. The restlessness can be a foreboding of a true maniac state, which Veratrum patient goes through. The Delirium, for which Veratrum album is a great remedy, may develop great intensity and violence.

Violence / Aggression/Social position/status/property. Erotic mania Religious fanatism exalted state of religious frenzy, preaching, exhorts to repent. She is inconsolable over a fancied misfortune, runs around room howling and screaming or sits brooding, wailing and weeping. Alternate states of brooding, screaming and screeching.

DEPRESSION On all planes, depressive phases outweigh maniac ones. Veratrum is desperate of his recovery, sad and depressed. Discouraged. Despair , Dullness. Brooding < evening. Taciturn. Indifferent.

PHYSICAL GENERALS

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Veratrum tends to have a very angular face, in keeping with his rigid mentality. The nose is usually strong and straight, a reflection of determination, and the eyes tend to look intense or manic. The body is usually taut and wiry. Rapid sinking of vital forces /collapse remarkable prostration attends the various groups of symptoms, complete relaxation and exhaustion. Lies in bed, relaxed prostrated, cold to the finger-tips, with corresponding blueness, fairly purple, lips cold and blue, countenance pinched and shrunken.

COLDNESS Hardly any symptoms will arise without this accompanying coldness. Coldness of discharges, coldness of body. ICY COLDNESS Great sensation of coldness as if blood were ice- water, scalp cold, forehead covered with cold sweat, headache and exhaustion, coldness in spots over body, extremities cold as death.

Full of cramps, looks as if he would die. This state comes out during menses, during colic with nausea, with mania and violent delirium, with headache, with violent inflammations.

DISCHARGES Profuse sweat, vomiting and diarrhea. Profuse watery discharges. These conditions occur without apparent provocation. Cold perspiration on forehead.

In chronic mental troubles, skin is dusky and dry with exception of that on forehead. But in acute complaints where physical symptoms predominate, as in dysmenorrhoea, acute insanity, etc, there is profuse sweat.

THIRST Violent thirst for cold water and for ice. Violent hunger , craves fruit, juicy, acid things (Ant tart, Cinch, Phos ac, Ptel), or cold or salt food. Excessive thirst, especially for cold water. (Acon, Ars, Bry, Phos) Aversion to warm things. "All fruits cause painful distension of stomach." < SALT, DRINKING

CRAMPS Full of cramps, looks as if she would die. This state comes out during menses, during colic with nausea, with mania and violent delirium, with headache, with violent inflammations. Jaws cramp on chewing. Cramps in calves. The convulsions of may be tetanic, with lockjaw, or epileptic.

7 Cs Collapse Cold sweat on forehead Copious discharge Coldness Cramps Cold desire Cholera remedy

Acute manias, insanities. Hahnemann says of Ver. that it has power "to promote a cure of almost one- third of insane in lunatic asylums. Mania with desire to cut and tear everything, especially clothes (Taran.), with lewd, lascivious talk, amorous or religious (Hyos, Stram).

Trembling of whole body. (Colch) Paralysis after cholera, from debilitating losses. Sudden sinking of strength. (Ars, Camph, Sec) Extreme weakness and prostration. (Ars, Ferr, Phos) Excessive chronic weakness. Spasms, with convulsive motion of limbs. Attacks of pain, with delirium, or driving to madness. Pressure and bruised sensation in muscular parts of body.

Rheumatic pains during wet weather (Rhus tox), getting worse in warmth of bed (Merc) Better walking up and down. Bad effects of opium eating & tobacco chewing, excessive use of alcohol.

Menses too early and too profuse. (Calc c, Nux v) Suppressed menses, with despair of salvation. Dysmenorrhea, with vomiting and purging, or exhausting diarrhea and cold sweat. Nymphomania of lying - in women. (Cinch, Plat)

diseases with rapid sinking of the vital forces; complete prostration; collapse. Attacks of fainting from least exertion (Carbo v., Sulph), from retching, from stool. Slight wounds = fainting. Sinking feeling during haemorrhage (Trill.). Post operative shock-----Surgical shock

Cold perspiration on forehead (over entire body, Tab), with nearly all complaints. Weather it is cholera, cholera infantum, pneumonia, asthma, typhoid fever or constipation. GRAND KEYNOTE HEAD - PERSPIRATION of scalp - Forehead cold.

PARTICULARS

GIT Trio of cholera. Violent vomiting with profuse diarrhea. Vomiting excessive with nausea and great prostration, < by drinking (Ars - more anxious, restless), by least motion (Tab - cold sweat whole body), great weakness after. Colic is most important feature of cholera. Craves acid and refreshing juicy things

Vomiting and retching after stomach is empty. Empty, all-gone feeling in abdomen after stool. Nausea with weakness, is obliged to lie down. Hysterical cramps in stomach, cramps in muscles of abdomen like colic. Gnawing hunger in spite of nausea and vomiting.

Stool, profuse, watery, gushing, prostrating, rice water stool after fright (Acon). Advanced stage of cholera, with cold feeling and cutting pain in abdomen as from knives.

CONSTIPATION Dry, hard stools as round, black balls (Chel, Op, Plb), from inactive rectum. Frequent desire felt in epigastrium. Forehead covered with a cold sweat while straining for passage. Constipation of babies, and when produced by very cold weather.

FEMALE COMPLAINTS Dysmenorrhoea : with vomiting and purging, or exhausting diarrhoea with cold sweat. Is so weak can scarcely stand for two days at each menstrual nisus (Alum, Carbo an, Coc). Menses, too early, too profuse, suppressed. During menses they become cold as death, lips blue, extremities cold and blue, dreadful pains, sensation of sinking, mania to kiss everybody. Hysteria with coldness at menstrual period, copious sweat, vomiting, and diarrhea, etc. Despairs of her salvation, with suppressed catamenia.

EXTRIMITES Pains in limbs during wet weather < warmth of bed (merc) Full of rheumatic and neuralgic pains in extremities,drive him out of bed at night into cold room and he must walk floor for relief.

RESPIRATORY COMPLAINTS WHOOPING COUGH. Neglected pertussis, with complications. One of chief remedies in convulsive stage. The child coughs itself into a regular collapse, falls over exhausted with cold sweat, especially on forehead. Continuous, violent cough, with retching < cold drinks. Cough comes on from drinking, especially cold water Cough on entering warm room from cold air.

FEVER All varieties of pernicious fevers accompanied by general exhaustion, rapid sinking of strength and profuse diarrhea. It is useful in quotidian, tertian and quatrain fevers. The time of paroxysm is generally 6 a.m. (arn, bov, ferr) The stage of chill is very prominent, it starts with great severity, with icy coldness of entire body. Inspite of great chilliness patient craves for cold and refreshing drink. Congestive chill not > ext warmth

GENERAL MODALITIES Worse - Menses (before, during & after) Slightest exertion Drinking cold water Cold, wet weather Morning

Better - Lying Rest Warm weather Warmth

RELATIONSHIP Antidoted by: (Poisonous doses) Strong Coffee, Camph, Acon, Chi, Staph. Antidote to: Ars, Chi, Cup (colic), Op, Tab, removes bad effects of Opium and Tobacco. Follows well: Ars, Arn, Chi, Cup, Ip, Camph. (Cholera), Am c, Carb v, Bov. (in dysmenorrhea with vomiting and purging). Lyc and Nux in painful constipation of infants. Followed well by: Puls, Aco, Bell, Cham, Rhus, Sep, Sul.

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