Carduus Marianus

  Carduus Marianus is very important for the treatment of liver  Diseases and I have often used it regularly on patients with liver problems. Even on prolonged use, it has not produced any untoward side effect. Its main action is on the liver and the circulatory system. Commonly, it is considered as the remedy for liver problems. It also has many other features like the tendency to nose bleed along with the feeling of cool breeze over the head. The eyes feel great outward pressure and the eyeball protrudes out. This particular sign is also noticed in Belladonna. In Carduus Marianus, the bleeding from the nose is preceded by irritation inside the nose.

In Carduus Marianus, there are symptoms pertaining to the stomach also. This is due to the fact that whenever there is a problem with the liver, the stomach is also affected. The taste inside the mouth is bitter and unpleasant. The tongue shows a dirty coating. There is loss of appetite. There is typical bad odour from the mouth, secondary to the stomach dysfunction. A stomachache, moving from the left to the right, is also a sign of Carduus Marianus. It shows that the liver disorder has disrupted the stomach function also. By this time, the patient vomits dark blood. There is pain on the chest and over the right-sided ribs, which becomes worse on movement. The pain over the chest may radiate to the shoulders, the back and the upper abdomen.

When the patient is lying on the left side, he feels pain on the right side, as if somebody is dragging him downwards. This symptom is noted in other remedies as well. Carduus Marianus has been found to be very useful in the treatment of stones in the gall bladder. The lining over the gall bladder becomes swollen and painful. There is a piercing sensation over the spleen. The skin over the left side of the body becomes hypersensitive and sore. There is severe chronic constipation.

Stools are clay coloured. Bleeding piles develop and urine is deepcoloured. Due to the diseases of the liver, there is a cough affecting the lower part of the right lung. There is pain over the scapula like the patients of Chelidonium and Aesculus. There is pain over the right buttock and the hip joint, which radiates down the leg. Muscular spasms also occur. Carduus Marianus is very useful in the treatment of hip pain which gets worse on movement. In a patient of Carduus Marianus, there is a tendency to develop varicose veins. In all such remedies associated with bleeding of dark coloured blood, there is a tendency to develop spider webs of blue colour. Feet become swollen (oedematous). Cramping of the feet and the calves make walking difficult. Cramps of the legs which develop on walking fast, are best treated by the combination of Bryonia and Arnica. When the disease has reached an advanced stage, the patients of Carduus Marianus may not even walk a few steps. The feet become weak. Carduus Marianus is also useful in the treatment of influenza affecting the liver.