By Valerie Sadovsky, RSHom(NA), CCH
Remedy chart
In natural form copper acts as an irritant throughout the whole length of the intestinal tract, causing severe nausea, burning, vomiting and purging. Affinity with the nervous system produces first spasms and convulsions, and later paralysis. Copper dust if inhaled involves the lining of the air passages, resulting laryngitis, bronchitis and, possibly, asthma.
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ESSENCE Vithoulkas described the Cuprum patient as having intense emotions or impulses which are strongly suppressed. To maintain control over strong inner emotions, the patient rigidly closes down every expression. This makes the patient appear absolutely closed. The convulsion and spasms occur from the release of this rigid tension. Eventually, the patient closes so much that he becomes dull and slow, even to the point of senility. Tinus Smits derived the following essence of Cuprum: "…want of self-confidence with very strong desire to prove that he is not worthless by holding everything under his control. He tries to control his life at every price and prove that he can make it. This makes him inflexible, very respectful of rules, cautious, fastidious, fanatic, ambitious, persevering, dictatorial, hard worker, planning everything, good organizer and successful." MENTAL SYMPTOMS - Extremely closed, proper and rigid patients … strong emotions held tightly under control … very serious and very cautious ("Rain Man") - Feel the most comfortable in structured, predictable environments (military) … follow the rules almost blindly (it’s too much stress to make their own decisions) and expect everyone to do the same - High-strung, unable to relax … ready to strike out at least provocation - Fear of losing control; underneath it is a fear of dying … fear of strangers … fear and aversion to being touched … fear of fire (= completely out of control) - Have a feeling that if something goes wrong they will "spaz out" - Unnatural, spasmodic, inappropriate laughter in stressful situations
GENERAL SYMPTOMS - SPASMS and CONVULSIONS in virtually every system (in limbs, muscles, soles, etc.); begin in extremities and spread over the whole body … convulsions of every degree of violence - from little twitchings to convulsions of all the muscles of the body; starting with clenching of thumbs … spasms followed by the appearance as if the patient were dead … cold water relieves the spasms - Violence of attacks (convulsions; contraction of muscles) - Icy coldness and blueness of body (lips, nails) with cold sweat and SINKING OF STRENGTH; cold breath; COLLAPSE.
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS Neurological: SPASMS, CONVULSIONS, EPILEPSY, SEIZURES (< in situations of change: on going to sleep, before menses, pregnancy, menopause, emotional reaction, e.g. anger) … emotions come out during seizures … aura felt in solar plexus or extremities, esp. knees … vaccinations, suppressed eruptions, esp. in babies and children à seizures Head: grimaces, ticks and twitches … face easily turns blue (before asthma attack, emotions) … HAs, migraines … loss of vision before a convulsion … mouth firmly closed or open with tongue darting in and out like a snake in convulsions Respiratory: spasmodic cough, < 3 a.m. (unlike Kali-c, not > bending forward), > cold drinks (Caust), leading to cyanosis … sudden attacks of suffocation GI: intense cramping, spasms, spasmodic vomiting … involuntary defecation and loss of urine during seizures … vomiting before convulsions … abdominal cramps < motion, > pressure … "intense cutting pains in umbilical region as from a knife, associated with tenesmus or contraction of abdominal muscles should call for the remedy." Extremities: during seizures (and sometimes stressful situations) fingers and/or toes curl in (with fingers covering the thumbs) … cramps, twitches and spasms anywhere, esp. on falling to sleep and waking up … convulsions begin in the hands and spread to body … chorea Male: cramps in calves prevents sex |
ETIOLOGIES SUPPRESSION (inflammations, discharges, perspiration, ERUPTIONS, menses, foot sweat) EMOTIONS … CHANGE … anger … fright … physical/mental exertion … loss of sleep AFFINITIES NERVES … GI tract … epigastrium … abdomen … muscles … blood MODALITIES <: motion … hot weather ... touch (renews spasm) ... night, in bed … cold air, cold wind … during pregnancy … new moon … before menses … getting wet >: during perspiration … DRINKING COLD WATER (spasms, cough, nausea, vomiting) … pressure DISCHARGES Foaming at the mouth in seizures CHILDREN Very tense … babies want to be held by just one or a few selected persons … may scream and kick at strangers … easily bite and spit at other people ("1st bite then ask questions") … older kids are very interested in military/war … alternately yielding and headstrong … neurological problems may start at puberty when they try to suppress sexual urges NOTES - The big four "C"s of Cuprum: Cramps, Convulsions, Coldness and Collapse - Morrison’s combined symptoms: asthma and seizure disorder; diarrhea and cramps in the extremities - Emotions of a well compensated Cuprum will be expressed in tremors, spasms and ticks. - Striving to make a "general", but unable to get there. Typical position is middle ranks. DIFFERENTIALS - Androctonos: Scorpion has a lot of self-confidence and will attack w/out provocation. Cupr has very low self-confidence and will attack only when he perceives an attack coming - Stram: Stram doesn’t have the amount of tension Cupr has. In nightmares, when a child comes to, Stram will be easily consoled and put back to sleep, Cupr will keep kicking - Kalis: Cupr perceives any change as an attack. Kalis are OK with changes if they come in an orderly manner. Kalis have an inner sense what is right and what is wrong, Cupr’s sense of what’s right and what’s wrong is based on what the rules are. Cholera: Cupr - most intense CRAMPS and convulsion. Camph - extreme COLDNESS and collapse, and more or less dryness. Ver-a - copious SWEAT, vomiting and purging. Podo - has profuse stools (with cramps), but they are frightfully offensive. PRIME INDICATIONS 1. Emotionally and physically cramped persons. 2. Behavioral problems in children: striking, spitting, tricky, play antics, imitate everybody. Alternately yielding and headstrong. 3. Cramps, spasms, twitching, jerking. Convulsions start in fingers and toes. 4. Better drink of cold water; worse touch. 5. Ailments and blueness and coldness of surface. Apparent death. 6. Better Perspiration. SOURCES Choudhuri, Gibson, Studies of Remedies Gunavante, Genius Morrison, Desktop Guide Murphy, Homeopathic Remedy Guide Vermeulen, Synoptic |
Roger notes
Cuprum Metallicum
I don't have a whole lot that I need to tell you about it. It is mostly the trigger word for Cuprum? Convulsions. Also, obviously cramps, spasms, twitching and all that kind of stuff. Now, when they come in mostly they are very serious, sort of very severe looking people; people like Aurum. It's the kind of person whose face is the type that you think, "Oh my I'm not going to be able to cure this. It's going to be really deep." George says that mostly these states come on starting in adolescence, from a great fear about their sexual thoughts, but it is not something that they will mention frequently. They won't bring it up to you. You will have to dig that out of them. They get very guilty. They feel that their fantasies and thoughts are abnormal. So they try to suppress themselves. They get very cramped. That's when these urges, these supressions get very, very cramped inside of a person and then the convulsions or the spasms start coming on, then you think of Cuprum. They are very, very closed. Maybe the most closed remedy but in the deepest sort of way. The mind gets slow and they have to work through everything in a very painfully slow way. They get their ideas slowly because they are cramped mentally. Now, then things break through, that's when you see the spasm. They have a thought or something like that, something comes into their mind and they spasm from the thought. So when you see them in the office, almost always, you will see some element of spasm or sudden jerks and that sort of thing, or else they will describe to you a long history of spasms and jerks. The convulsions usually begin in the hands and especially there is a keynote convulsions that start in the thumbs with the hands, and then they spread inward, as opposed to Cicuta which we said starts in the stomach and then spreads outward. The convulsions, the spasms aren't always, as we said, total body and they can be internal as well as external. That means spasms of the stomach that cause a spasmodic kind of vomiting. There can be cramping and spasms in the solar plexus. Cramping especially in the calves. In the muscles and especially during coition. If you hear that, cramps during coition, think Cuprum. Like we said, a spasmodic asthma, especially around 3:00 A.M. It is a psychogenic kind of asthma that comes on from a stress usually asthma with sudden onset.
© 2003-2004 Valerie Sadovsky, http://www.homeopathyplanet.com/AudeSapere
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