Ergot, a dreadful poison, has been used since ancient
times in labour, despite the fact that its slightest
overdose can prove extremely dangerous. The general health of the
woman can be seriously affected and she may suffer from some sort of
serious internal problem throughout her life. There is no
known cure for such complications so far. Ergot has a constricting effect on the arteries and other
tissues of the body, resulting in serious life-long
illnesses. A woman overdosed with Ergot suffers from continuous
dark coloured vaginal bleed. The body becomes thin and wasted. The
skin becomes dark and contracted. The limbs can become
paralysed. The patient cannot tolerate heat. He/she likes to be in
the open air and cold. As in Arsenic, the patient feels very
restless and a burning inside. The difference is that the Secale patient
feels hot inside though the body feels cold to touch. The hands and
feet may become ice cold, yet, the patient feels hot and under fire,
putting the feet out of the bed. Whereas,
in Arsenic, the patient feels severe burning inside, and the body may not be
cold. He feels better in the heat and likes to keep himself covered
and still feels cold, although his body may be warm on the outside. He
feels better with hot fomentation i.e. external heat seems to suppress
his feeling of heat inside. Concersely a Secale patient feels
comfortable with cold applications. Even if it is very cold outside, he feels
hot. Sometimes, it may be very difficult to distinguish Arsenic
from Secale due to similarities of symptoms. They are also
complimentary. In other words, they can compliment each other, if used one
after the other. On proving, it was discovered that Secale works better on
patients of
thin and lean build. Obese people are rarely Secale
patients. This is why the remedy is described to be ideal for the patients who
are thin, lean and rather emaciated. Their skin is dry, shrivelled and
very unhealthy. As already mentioned, every Secale patient does
not have to be so. It can also be effective in obese people.
Additionally, Secale patients exhibit violet coloured spots or red spots with
bluish hue. It is the bluish
tinge or the cyanosis, which is important. These spots are indicative of diminished blood supply to that part of the
body, such as the legs, calves, hands and wrists,
especially over the superficial bones. In Secale, there is a tendency
towards the formation of chronic sores and ulcers, which
can turn into gangrene, on further deterioration. For example, a simple
cut on the finger may not heal. Instead,
the wound becomes infected and the process of infection may gradually spread
upwards. It smells terrible. The affected part can become rotten
leading to the need for amputation through the joint, or the infection can
spread beyond the joint, turning the rest of the limb gangrenous as
well. In homoeopathy, by God’s grace, there is treatment
available for gangrene. I myself have treated many such patients
successfully. By God’s grace, none of them needed amputation,
whereas, the doctors had definitely made the diagnosis of gangrene and
advised surgery for them. The first sign of recovery is change in the
colour of the affected part, which starts becoming pinkish instead of
a dark colour. Secale and Arsenic are both very useful in the treatment of gangrene.
Addition of Arnica further adds to their beneficial effect.
In Secale, a feeling of burning sensation everywhere,
affecting the nose, the throat, as well as the
upper respiratory passages. In
Secale, the bleeding,
whether from the uterus, the nose or from any wound or cut, is
of dark colour. This means that the bleeding is of venous origin. In
the treatment of patients rapidly advancing towards death, whose blood
has become thick, dark and cyanotic, Secale must be remembered and
put to use.
Secale in homoeopathic form is very useful in the
treatment of internal diseases of women such as ulceration of the uterus,
causing continuous
dark vaginal bleeding interrupted with short periods of dark coloured and
offensive smelling discharge. The discharge contains dark
blood clots that putrefy. Secale is very important and a very effective
treatment for this condition as well as against the risk of formation of
gangrene inside the uterus. General symptoms of Secale being present, it
will cure the abortive tendency of the patient also. When treated with Secale for a month or two, the
uterus recovers completely and becomes capable of
carrying the foetus to full term.
At the time of childbirth, if the uterus is contracting to
push the baby down, but the mouth of the uterus (cervix) becomes tightly contracted,
the child cannot be born. In this condition, Secale must be used without
delay, otherwise immediate surgery would be required to save
the life of the patient. If left untreated with Secale and without
immediate surgery, the patient would die in agony. Secale can also cure the pain and the excessive dark
coloured bleeding from the uterus after delivery.
Sometimes, the breasts
shrink in size during pregnancy and an
insufficient amount of milk is produced. Secale will restore the normal amount of lactation,
which is enough to feed the baby.
Another symptom of Secale is that the urine is rather black, resembling
the urine of Terebinthina. In Terebinthina, the black colour is due to
the excess of protein in the urine, resulting from damage to the
kidneys. Terebinthina is very effective in this situation. In Secale, the black colour is not due to an excess
of albumin in the urine; instead, it is due to the
mixture of blood from the dark coloured vaginal bleed.
In Secale, a patient of pneumonia
can develop gangrene in the lungs (necrotizing type
of pneumonia), which must be treated with Secale. Timely use of Secale works profoundly and offers
immediate
beneficial effect. Wherever there is a tendency of sores and
ulcers to
become necrosed and gangrenous, be it in the stomach, lungs or anywhere
else on the mucous membranes, Secale must be an essential part of the
treatment in all these conditions.
In Secale, cramps
and tightness are common, and may be localized to the soles of
the feet, calves or a part of the upper extremities. If other symptoms of
Secale are also present, then Secale will provide immediate relief
of the symptoms. It is also very useful in the treatment of
neuralgias (the lightning type of pain along the course of the nerves). These
pains are very troublesome. These pains get better on covering the
affected part of the body.
Insanity
is also common in Secale. The patient becomes delirious and
violent. Being out of his mind, he exerts his utmost even if he is physically
weak. It becomes really difficult to control him in this situation.
In Secale, the stools
are black and smell stinky. The patient is unaware of his
diarrhoea. The body becomes extremely cold and weak, yet he feels
hot inside and does not like to be covered. Secale is also useful in the treatment of Asiatic cholera. As in Camphor,
the body becomes extremely cold, although the patient feels warm and
uncomfortable inside. In Camphor, the body is cold but the patient does not
feel cold inside.
In Secale, the patient may have paralysis of the legs or any one particular part of
the body. The paralysis may also affect one side of the body with
no special predilection. It may affect the right or left side. Without
wasting time on the diagnosis of the paralysis, if the general symptoms
of Secale are present, it should be used without delay. In Secale,
whatever part of the body is affected, it feels numb with a burning
sensation. The cramps and tightness always become worse at night.
The patient feels better in the open air. The symptoms become worse in
heat, with hot fomentation and before the onset of periods. Camphor
and Opium annul the effects of Secale.