The patient catches a cold when exposed to the cold weather.
His face is flushed and feverish. There is distaste for meat and milk. The patient
likes to eat those things that may enhance the appetite. Such a patient usually
gets sour eructations. Piles develop at the anal margin and the stools are
mixed with thin blood, there may be dysentery. If there is coughing, it causes
stress and incontinence of the urine in women, which will dribble
involuntarily. The phosphorus compounds are useful in patients with a thin,
dilute blood who have the tendency to bleed. For Haemophiliac patients, there
are three useful remedies: Phosphorus, Acid Phos and Ferrum Phos.
Phosphorus in homoeopathic potencies has the capability to
thicken blood (haemoconcentration). If the blood becomes too thick, it can be dangerous
and cause heart attack. It is very important that phosphorus should not be
blindly continued for a long time. Patients who take Phosphorus, Acid Phos and
Ferrum Phos must get their blood tested every two to three months. The normal
coagulability (thickness) of blood prevents spontaneous bleeding. The thickness
is however acceptable only to a limit. Once it becomes too thick, then the Phosphorus
should be stopped to let the blood become thin and flow better. If the blood
becomes too thin, this remedy should be restarted.
In the patients of Ferrum Phos, muscles on the back can
get strained easily and result in permanent discomfort on lifting even
a light tendencies. The anaemic patient has a tendency to get
angry easily. He starts sweating and the whole body trembles. His anger is directed
towards himself. He becomes emotional very easily. Sometimes he is happy and at other times he starts talking
nonsense. This symptom of unstable
temper is due to the combination of phosphorus and iron. The patient of Ferrum
Phos likes to remain alone and does not want to face other people. He cannot
tolerate noise. Sometimes he yells out but this is not his normal temperament. Such patients usually talk less and like to
remain aloof. Cold air relieves the
headache. The headache is more severe while going up the stairs, and sometimes
the patient experiences temporary loss of vision due to the lack of blood
(anaemia). When the patient tries to sit up suddenly or when he is climbing the
stairs, the headache becomes worse due to lack of flow of blood to the brain.
The headache is felt above the eyes. The nape of the neck and the temples ache
as well. There is splitting headache affecting half of the head. The eyesight may be lost temporarily. This
symptom is also found in the remedies associated with excessive blood
accumulation such as Gelsemium. In Gelsemium it is not due to the lack of blood
but due to the localised increase of blood pressure (congestion). Similarly, it
can happen in the case of Belladonna. But in Ferrum Phos, it is due to a deficiency
of blood, and not enough blood reaching the head. This is similar to the
remedies causing vascular congestion leading to the loss of vision.
In Ferrum Phos, there is catarrh
of the Eustachian tubes. (These are the tubes that lead from inside
the throat towards the ears). The catarrhal secretions are mixed with blood,
which is due to the bleeding tendency in the Ferrum Phos patients. The children
usually get nosebleeds. If the patient of Ferrum Phos has bleeding from the
lining of the mouth and the gums, it is red in colour as in Millefolium. The tonsils
swell and there is irritation in the throat due to bleeding, burning and
inflammation, causing difficulty in swallowing. These are the symptoms of
Ferrum Phos. These symptoms are common in many other remedies, so the diagnosis
for Ferrum Phos cannot be based on these findings alone. The patient has to be
observed and studied overall.
Lack of blood or anaemia is a definite symptom. During pregnancy, Ferrum
Phos should be administered to women as
a tonic. For this purpose, the combination of Ferrum Phos, Calcarea
Phos, and Kali Phos is very useful. In the first few months of pregnancy, the tendency
of abortion is stopped and in the last two to three months of pregnancy, it
helps in the development of the baby. These, however, should not be used
continuously but should be resumed after an interval. This regimen does not
cause any harm, rather it is useful. In Ferrum Phos, the appetite sometimes
decreases a lot and at other times increases to the extent that it knows no
bounds. These two extremes are the symptoms of Ferrum Phos. The pregnant women
like to take harmful things, and dislike those that are useful for their body.
There is a dislike for meat. In this situation, Ferrum Phos is useful. After food intake, there is retching or
nausea. The nausea of pregnancy is usually severe and obstinate. Ferrum Phos
alone will help but rarely. There are many other remedies for nausea, particularly
related to pregnancy of which one should have full knowledge. I have tried a
new remedy called Pipli, which is prepared from the leaves and the burnt ashes
of the tree called Pipal. This has proved very effective in the stubborn type
of nausea of pregnancy. In my view, the
nausea and vomiting of
pregnancy is sometimes caused by allergy. Some pregnant women
develop an allergy to the baby developing in their wombs. Their nausea is very
severe and prolonged. In the USA, it has been found during research that 40% of
the women, who abort, do it due to an allergy against their own baby.
In other words, the body’s defences attack the embryo. If it
was not due to the three coverings around the embryo i.e. the
placenta, the uterine wall and the outer covering of the uterus, the
embryos would be aborted. The Holy Quran has mentioned this saying: We have placed the embryo in a
safe and secure place under the three protective coverings (Chapter 39, Sura
Al-Zumar: 7). If the defensive mechanism around the foetus is weaker
than the attacking power, the pregnancy would certainly be lost. In some institutions, the scientists have
discovered ways to balance the internal and the external defence systems. At
present, this treatment is very costly. However, a great majority of women who were
able to receive this treatment delivered their babies successfully.
I have found Pipli to be very useful in controlling nausea during pregnancy.
It may also prevent abortion by combating allergy towards the foetus. However,
this needs further research and experimentation on a wider scale by homoeopaths
all over the world. I would like Pipli
to be tried in different potencies and carefully observed to see what kind of
patients it works on, and on what kinds of patients it does not.