In Ignatia, the patient feels the grief of the death of a child or a dear
one
very strongly, resulting in far reaching bad effects on the health of
the person. Ignatia can be very useful to avert this from happening. In my experience, I have found Ignatia to be
very useful in the treatment
of recent grief or bereavement, as well as to prevent its long
lasting ill effects. However, if the ill effects have already been well
established, then Ignatia is of no use. Under these circumstances, Ambra
Grisea, Silicea and Natrum Mur will prove to be more effective.
Sometimes the woman quivers or may shudder when nervous.
This may lead to convulsions followed by unconsciousness like hysteria. This unconsciousness is not a sign of epilepsy but a sign
of their nervous weakness. This unconsciousness, superficially
resembling epilepsy, is merely an indication of her being high-strung
and is a reaction to grief and sorrow. In hot countries, often women
may fall unconscious amidst a thick crowd. A very strange symptom of
Ignatia is that a patient reacts overjoyed when she was expected to
be angry, and behaves angrily when in fact she was expected to be
happy on hearing good news. Similarly surprising is her reaction to
physical ailments. For instance, if her joints have become stiff, red
hot and swollen, she does not feel any discomfort. In short, Ignatia
will be the essential part of the treatment of a woman expressing conflicting forms of response to
mental and physical stresses. In a patient of Ignatia, swallowing
relieves the throat discomfort.
Local pressure relieves the pain. The patient tends to sleep on the painful
side. The headache feels as if a nail has been driven into the head. Pressing
the painful side over the pillow also reduces the pain. In Ignatia, like Cocculus, the patient vomits but there is no
nausea or retching before it. It is amazing about Ignatia that if the patient happens
to feel nauseated, he feels relieved on eating something hard and indigestible.
A light soft diet will however, aggravate the condition. The cough resulting
from the irritation of the throat further aggravates the problem, which in turn
makes the cough linger on for a long time. If during the cough, the patient is
given a dose of Ignatia, it will stop the cough surprisingly fast. It is my
experience that if Ignatia is going to be effective in a given situation, it is
so immediately.
An Ignatia patient may sometimes develop constriction of the throat,
producing a noise like snoring. Ignatia works wonderfully well in this condition.
As soon as a few pellets are placed in the mouth, the spasmodic constriction of
the throat disappears at once. In other words, Ignatia is full of surprises
regarding its action as well as its ailments.
The Ignatia patient is often in despair and depressed. She does not want to see or meet anybody. She loses her memory, develops hysteria and
has a suspicious mind. She firmly believes that something dreadful is going to happen to her. She remains
fearful of the death of her relatives or may even have such visions. If
such a patient is not treated with Ignatia in time, she may become
completely insane. Once, she becomes insane, Ignatia is useless.
Instead, Natrum Mur works better. Like some other homoeopathic remedies i.e. Pulsatilla,
Helleboris, Aurum, Hyoscyamus, Lachesis, etc., the Ignatia patient believes that
she is guilty of having committed grievous sins that are absolutely unforgivable. The body of the Ignatia patient is always cold, yet she
desires to drink cold water. The patient is disinterested in taking regular
food. Rest provides her comfort.
In an Ignatia patient, all sorts of complaints related to
vision may be present. Spots
appear before the eyes. Irregular lines wave in front of the eyes.
The eyesight becomes weak and the eyes begin to hurt. The neuralgic pain over the face is also susceptible to treatment
with Ignatia. The facial muscles twitch. The taste of the mouth becomes sour.
The patient may suddenly become thirsty or lose thirst unexpectedly. One should never argue with an Ignatia patient. The
patient will respond to a positive argument with irrelevant talk, and will keep
on prolonging the conversation unnecessarily. It is best to leave her alone. Ignatia patients do not sleep soundly. As soon as they
retire to sleep, either the muscles
start to violently contract or the grief and worries dispel their
sleep. Such a woman may often stop menstruating altogether or the periods
become tardy, due to grief and mental shock.
The patient feels painful cramps in the abdomen. The hands and feet go
into spasm, while the feet and ankles hurt.
The Ignatia ailments become worse in the morning and in the open, while
they subside on eating, resting or changing sides.