Actaea Racemosa is very useful for joint pains. The tissues
hurt like an abscess. There is a lightning type of pain in the muscles of the neck and back,
spreading in all directions. Rest relieves the discomfort, while movement makes
it worse. Cold and humidity relieve the symptoms. In Actaea Racemosa, there is
also shifting of the disease
from one part of the body to another, like Abrotinum. Generally, the physical illnesses transform
into mental illnesses. If the physical illnesses in children are suppressed by
some kind of treatment, mental symptoms appear and can produce conditions like hysteria. A sensitive girl
of a touchy disposition will become totally silent. If called in a loud voice,
she will simply start crying. She would be indifferent to the rest of the
world, and seem totally lost in herself. In such a case, Actaea Racemosa is the
best possible remedy.
This remedy is deeply related to sadness. Grief and sorrow can result in physical illnesses. Mental shock in
sensitive women can result in irregularity
of the menstruation, joint pains or other physical illnesses. Mental shock will make them
fearful and superstitious. They will
not even like to take any medicine in case it is mixed with poison. If there is
preponderance of suspicion in addition to other symptoms, two doses of Actaea
Racemosa can clear the symptom of suspicion and make the patient well again.
In Actaea Racemosa, there are symptoms of two apparently
opposing remedies. In some aspects, it is like Bryonia, and in another aspect, like
Rhus Tox. In Bryonia, it is movement, and in Rhus Tox, it is rest which
aggravates the discomfort. In Actaea Racemosa, the person will feel discomfort
on whatever side he or she lies. There would be twitching of the muscles. The headache is mostly behind
the eyeballs and the back of the head, which is relieved by pressure, but
movement makes the headache worse. The person feels dizzy and there is heaviness in the head. The
vision becomes dim. Engrossed deep in studies, worry and bladder symptoms cause
headache. Like Abrotinum, in Actaea
Racemosa, constipation and
diarrhoea alternate with each other. There is severe pain in the
stomach, which gets better on bending forward. Due to pressure on the backbone
and over the reproductive organs, there is a tendency towards nausea and vomiting. Young
girls experience severe vomiting during their first pregnancy, which does not
seem to be relieved by any medicine. In such a case, one should study carefully
the temperament of the patient and the symptoms of the ailment before
prescribing any remedy. If the patient is of Actaea Racemosa type, then she
would definitely get better with Actaea Racemosa.
In feeble-minded women, at the time of delivery, the labour
pains, instead of pushing down to facilitate the childbirth, scatter right and left,
causing spasms over the hips. This is the main feature of Actaea Racemosa.
Actaea Racemosa, when given in time, will normalise the direction of labour
pains and facilitate the childbirth. Caulophyllum is another very important
remedy at the time of child delivery. In Caulophyllum, instead of pains bearing
down, they scatter down inside of the thighs and the mouth of the uterus does
not open. Sometimes, physicians and
midwives try to alleviate this problem by using ergot but instead this closes
the mouth of the uterus tightly and makes the woman suffer further.
Unfortunately, some women die in such circumstances. Once, while I was in
Anwarabad, Sindh (Larkana), in a convention, a person came to me and very
humbly submitted that his wife was in the process of labour but the mouth of the
uterus was tightly closed, and there was a danger that his wife might die. I
took Colophylum out of my travel bag and gave it to him to give to his wife.
Within ten to fifteen minutes, a healthy baby boy was born normally.
Homoeopathic medicines should not be taken lightly. Their timely use can save
from potentially serious complications.
Women with weak uterine muscles and associated organs abort repeatedly or conceive after great
difficulty. Colophylum may be very useful in such women. At the time of labour,
Gelsemium should also be kept in mind, like Actaea Racemosa and Colophylum. If
during labour,
the pains remain localized at the back and after bearing down return to the
back, then Gelsemium would be very useful in such a case. In Kali Carb, instead
of bearing down, the labour pains scatter to the outer side of the thighs. In
Pulsatilla, due to nervous disability or fear, the labour pains are very weak
and rare.
In Actaea Racemosa, the periods
are irregular or delayed. There is severe
spasmodic pain at the uterus and in the back. The organs feel heavy. A typical Actaea Racemosa woman
is very lazy, sad and confused. Her mind is clouded. She observes dreadful
dreams, speaks constantly but does not concentrate on anything. She becomes easily
frightened; especially the fear
of death prevails in her mind.
This reminds one of Aconite.
In Actaea Racemosa, there is irritation of the throat, a dry cough is very
bothersome at night and becomes worse on talking. The heartbeat is fast while
the pulse is weak and irregular. There are symptoms of angina, like numbness of
left arm, which is typical of Actaea Racemosa. The muscles and bones of the back hurt a lot. The neck and the upper part of the back are
very stiff. There is sense of discomfort and restlessness of the arms and legs.
The person feels itching, and there is jerking
of the limbs. There is lack of sleep and the mind remains perturbed
and undulating. The person feels as if his head has grown bigger in size. The
ears are very sensitive to noise. The
symptoms of Actaea Racemosa are aggravated in the morning and in cold weather,
except the headache, which gets better in hot weather and by taking food.