Poison Hemlock
Region
NERVES. MUSCLES. GLANDS [MAMMAE; ovaries]. Sexual organs. Respiration. * RIGHT SIDE. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: SEEING MOVING OBJECTS. ALCOHOL. Raising arms. After exertion.
Injury. Night. Sexual excesses; masturbation. Cold; taking. Continence; celibacy. Old age. Lying; head low. Turning in bed. Turning eyes. Light. While eating. Milk. Snow-air;
frosty air. Standing. MOTION.
Better: Letting part hang down. Motion of affected part. PRESSURE. Fasting. Darkness.
Walking. Sitting down. CONTINUED MOTION.
Leading symptoms
* GRADUAL paralysis and weakness with indurations:
- Mental: gradual weakening of memory; lack of sharpness in all senses.
- Emotional: indifference and hardness; materialist with great attachment to the material world. Because of this materialism, Con. subsequently suffers from the loss of a sexual partner.
- Physical: indurations and tumours; cancerous affections.
M - Gradual paralysis with a SLOW onset and for the most part UNNOTICED. "Will only talk about this gradual decline after one or two follow-ups, after they actually experience an uplift in their energy and general state. It is usually only in hindsight, after receiving Conium, that they then see how limited they were and how much more freedom and spontaneity they now have."
M - "Paucity of symptoms on the emotional level and a kind of INTROVERSION.
Patient is not forthcoming... Lack of emotional and mental range leading to a lack of emotional and mental expression. The amount of emotional or mental response from the patient is not in proportion to what you expect from their history. You may see that in the past this person suffered a tremendous amount emotionally. You see in the past
significantly more expressivity of emotion than is now being expressed by the patient in front of you."
M - "Gradual SHUTTING DOWN ultimately results in isolation and even an
AVERSION to COMPANY. Patient gradually becomes more isolated and therefore does not complain about the lack of company."
M - "Gradual shutting down leads to rigidity and even ritualistic and compulsive behaviour, especially rigidity about diet and health They develop rigid concepts about health and diet. They then narrow down their diet and stick to it without much difficulty."
M - "Kind of self-satisfaction with their state. They have and express less anxiety relative to the situation than their background suggests they would. They may even exhibit a complete lack of anxiety when faced with an uncertain future and poor
prognosis regarding their pathology. In the first interview they definitely would not consider themselves sick mentally or emotionally, or even limited on these levels. Most Conium patients are proud of their ability to be calm, even and organized, both internally and externally, when confronted with an emotionally charged situation."
M - "Underneath the present remedy picture are other remedies that are more expressive, such a Phosphorus, but in fact mainly Tuberculinum... Conium is to Tuberculinum as Thuja is to Medorrhinum... Link between cancer and the tubercular disease or miasm.
With Conium you may see in the past a tumultuous life and lifestyle, but a toning down of this aspect as the Conium pathology develops."
M - "Lack of sexual desire... It is common to hear, "sex is not a priority"... Large
percentage of the women who responded curatively to Conium have been lesbian. All of these have had a history of unsuccessful relationships with men at one time, and usually became lesbian after this. All describe that their sexual interaction with men was not enjoyable and use words such as "painful" and "distasteful" when describing it.
Heterosexual women can have these feelings, too."*
M - Great attachment to the material world slowly changing into an indifference
[especially on account of sadness]: "Cares very little for things; makes useless purchases, wastes or ruins them" [Phatak].
M - AVERSION to COMPANY or STRANGERS during MENSES.
M - "GRIEF ends in paralysis or imbecility."
M - Aversion to LIGHT; darkness amel. Likes to wear dark clothes; dressed as if mourning. Prefers dark colors, even only black.
G - agg. At BEGINNING of MOTION [3]. amel. CONTINUED motion [3].
G - amel. PRESSURE [3]. agg. RUBBING [3].
G - agg. While sitting [3]. agg. Lying [3].
G - SUPPRESSION of SEXUAL DESIRE [continence]: anxiety, sadness, erections wanting, mental problems [forgetfulness, superstition], emotional problems [difficult expression of emotions, apathy], physical ailments [cancerous affections].
G - "Suppression of sexual desire leading to Conium: 1. Loss of partner ["widows and widowers with suppression of sexual desires" - Mathur]; 2. Sickness of partner; 3. Fear of AIDS; 4. Religious reasons [priests, nuns, etc. who suppress their sexual instincts out of religious conviction]; 5. Fixed ideas ["sex is sinful"]; 6. Spiritual reasons [persons applying themselves totally to spiritual development and meditation and hence renouncing sex]" [Ghegas].
G - Premature aging.
G - Affections of GLANDS; tendency to malignancy, cancer.
G - agg. WINE, MILK. Desire for COFFEE, SALTY THINGS and SOUR.
G - CLIMACTERIC problems: VERTIGO and flushes of heat and perspiration on falling asleep [when closing the eyes].
G - Weakness morning in bed [2]. Trembling amel. after breakfast [2].
P - Vertigo and numbness or stiffness of neck [external throat].
P - Prostatitis or enlarged prostate and difficult micturition [straining, intermittent flow, headache and perspiration from straining].
P - Heavy, drooping eyelids, agg. outer side.
P - Pain and SWELLING of MAMMAE before menses; agg. walking, agg. jars.
P - Accommodation slow; connected with VERTIGO, agg. turning head.
P - Constant dry cough, in bed; has to sit up.
P - Distention of stomach and abdomen after MILK.
Repertory Mind
Aversion, friends, to, during pregnancy [2/1]. Company, aversion to, during menses [2].
Confusion, siesta, after a [3]. Light, shuns light [3]. Quarrelsome, alternating with silent depression [2/1]. Sadness, continence, from [3]. Superstitious [2]. Weeping, when alone [2].
Vertigo
Closing eyes, on, amel. [2]. Descending, on, stairs [2]. Motion, from, eyes [2]. Turned, as if bed turned about [3]. Turning, in bed, [3], or moving the head quickly [3].
Head
Heaviness, sitting, while, bent over [2/1]. Numbness, sensation of, morning, brain [2].
Pain, sexual desire, repression of, after [2; Puls.].
Eye
Cataract, contusion, from [2]. Photophobia, inflammation, without [3].
Vision
Accommodation, slow [3]. Colors, black spots, eyes are closed, when [2], vertigo, with [2]; red, objects seem [3].
Nose
Pain, root, menses, before [2/1].
Face
Discoloration, pale, anger, after [2/1].
Throat
Swallow, constant disposition to, walking in wind, while [2/1].
Stomach
Distention, milk, after [2/1]. Eructations, sour, night [2]. Heartburn, evening, bed, after going to [2].
Abdomen
Distention, milk, after [2/1].
Rectum
Coldness, in anus, flatus and stool, during [2/1].
Bladder
Urging to urinate, ineffectual, headache, with [3/1].
Prostate
Emission prostatic fluid, emotion, with every [3], fondling women, while [3], lascivious thoughts, during [3].
Female genitalia
Induration, injuries, from [2/1]. Itching, Vagina, during menses [2]. Menses, absent, molimen only [2]. Pain, bearing down, uterus, menses, after [2], stool, urging, with [2].
Cough
Constant, night [2]. Dryness, air passages, from, larynx, dry spot [3].
Pregnancy, during [2], night [2/1]. Sit up, must, as soon as cough commences [3].
Chest
Cancer, mammae, contusion, from [2]. Fullness, mammae, menses, during [2/1]. Milk,
thin, long after weaning [2/1]. Pain, mammae, menses, before [3], step, every [2/1].
Swelling, mammae, menses, during [2].
Sleep
Sleeplessness, perspiration, from [3]. Waking, perspiration, from [3/1].
Perspiration
Daytime, closing the eyes, when [3/1]. Sleep, even when closing the eyes [3; Carb-an.].
Skin
Eruptions, rash, menses, during [2/1].
Generalities
Cold, becoming, feet [2]. Injuries, soft parts [3]. Sleep, long agg. [2]. Trembling, morning, breakfast, before [2], breakfast, after, amel. [2], stool, after [3], wine [2/1].
Weakness, air, in open, amel. [3].
Food
Aversion: Bread [2]; breakfast [1]; drinks, during heat [1/1]; milk [1]; tobacco [1].
Desire: Coffee [2]; salty things [2]; sour [2]; vinegar [2]; bread [1]; charcoal [1].
Worse: Milk [3]; wine [3]; cold food [2].
Better: Hot food [2]; wine [2].
Nucleus
1. Gradual paralysis on all levels. Slowness and rigidity. Materialistic persons.
2. Shuns light; aversion to company.
3. Cancerous affections of glands.
4. Pain and swelling of breasts before menses.
5. Ailments from suppression of sexual desire or from continence.
6. agg. Wine and milk; desires salt, sour and coffee.
* Mental picture derived from Louis Klein - Two cases of cervical dysplasia and one case of craniopharyngioma, in Proceedings of the 1989 Professional Conference, International Foundation for Homeopathy.
Notes