Werkboek Klassieke Homeopathie

By Valerie Sadovsky, RSHom(NA), CCH

Remedy chart

Helleborus (Hell = black) is prepared from a tincture of fresh root of Black Hellebore, which inhabits the sub-alpine woodland regions in the middle and southern parts of Europe, flowering between December and February. It belongs to the Ranunculaceæ family, which also includes Aconite, Cimicifuga, Pulsatilla, and Staphysagria. The prominent feature of chronic poisoning is related to disturbance in the sphere of the body fluids. The tendency is for displacement of fluid to the upper pole of the body as evidenced by hydrocephalus and meningo-encephalitis; such disturbances tend to produce stupor and sluggishness of responses.

ESSENCE:

State of stupefaction. Hahnemann described it is a state "where with sight unimpaired, nothing is seen very clearly; with hearing perfectly sound nothing is heard distinctly." The patient seems cut off from the world and from his own thoughts and perceptions. He answers slowly and with great difficulty. Memory and concentration are almost paralyzed. At times he feels almost no emotion; indifferent to the surroundings. At other times this state may be terrifying and the patient feels as if something indescribable and catastrophic is happening to him. They struggle to come out of that stuporous state. Val’s analogy is the state right after awakening from a long afternoon nap: dull, groggy, like hung over, but oversensitive at the same time (anything can set you off).

MENTAL SYMPTOMS:

- STUPEFACTION AND MENTAL DULLNESS: mind slow, answers slowly and with great effort … memory weak, can hardly remember what was said to him ... mind is completely blank with almost no thoughts passing ... concentration difficult … delirium of the low muttering variety

- Depression … apathy and indifference … despair

- Anguished state; cannot comprehend what is happening; begs for help … wild, whirling sensation in the brain.

- Feeling of HELPLESSNESS: "Please help me".

- Feeling of guilt (get stuck with wrong ideas, e.g. if someone accused them of stealing, they become sure they did steal, even if they didn’t) … fixed and obsessive odd ideas … jealous when other are happy

- Has to CONCENTRATE on EVERYTHING HE DOES, e.g. must think where he puts his foot when walking

GENERAL SYMPTOMS:

- STUPEFACTION in greater or lesser degree is the hall-mark of Hell.

- Onset of the disease is gradual with progressive weakness.

- CHILLINESS and coldness. < COLD AIR.

- Fluid retention: dropsy of brain, chest, face, abdomen; with fever, albuminous (or suppressed) urine (esp. in meningitis).

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:

Most of the physical symptoms apply to unconscious/stuporous states.

Head: HEAD INJURY with mental dullness and confusion … BRAIN AFFECTIONS (coma, concussion, encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, etc.) … occipital HA with mental dullness … wild, whirling, hazy sensation … shakes the heads (to dispel the wild sensation inside) … rolls head from side to side … bores head into the pillow … wrinkled forehead … brows furrowed … vacant or fearful, pleading or questioning look in the eyes

Mouth: chewing motion of the mouth (Bell, Bry, Calc-c, Nat-mur) ... grinding the teeth … greedily swallows cold water … bites on spoon

Chest: involuntary sighing

GI: Chron’s disease … ulcerative colitis … any kind of bowl symptoms after a head injury (diarrhea, constipation, etc.)

Extremities: awkwardness, esp. if he takes his mind from what he is doing, even to speak … automatic, involuntary gestures (e.g. picking lips and/or bedcovers) … muscles do not obey the will (staggers, drops things) … muscular weakness ending in complete paralysis … continual motion of one arm and one leg, the other lying perfectly still as if paralyzed … lies on back with knees drawn up or with legs spread apart

ETIOLOGIES:

CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN from blow on the head (after Arnica has failed) … cerebro-vascular accident and BRAIN AFFECTIONS (encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, etc.) … checked exanthemata … disappointed love

AFFINITIES:

MIND … BRAIN … nerves: motor, sensory … serous and mucous membranes … kidneys … muscles

MODALITIES:

<: 4 to 8 p.m. (Lyc.) … exertion … COLD AIR

>: from being shocked (since it arouses from stuporous state) … arousal (e.g. scary movie) … strong attention

SENSATIONS:

Extreme dullness of all senses

PAINS:

Sharp, shooting in brain affections (causing cri encephalique, Apis) … boring

CLINICAL:

Acute inflammatory conditions of the brain and spinal cord and their membranes. A further indication is in dropsical states of sluggish type.

NOTES:

- Clarke frequently cured with Hell. headache which the patient can only describe as a "stupid headache."

- Indication of curative action: passing of urine (= resolving of dropsy)

- Hell. has been used in typhoid fever with the characteristic mental condition, feeble pulse, coldness of the body and cold sweat. Sankaran puts it in typhoid miasm.

DIFFERENTIALS:

Opium: The cerebral congestion of Op. is more profound. The breathing is loud and stertorous, a symptom not marked in Hell. The face of Op. is dark, brownish-red, or often blue and often covered with hot sweat; of Hell. it is pale, and often cold or at least cooler than natural, and at times livid and covered with a cold sweat. The pulse of Op. is full and slow, and of Hell. small, weak, and almost imperceptible. Pupils of Op. are usually contracted, of Hell. dilated. It’s almost impossible to wake up Op., Hell. can be waken up, but slips into stupor again. Op. doesn’t feel anything and doesn’t care, Hell. is struggling to get out of his state.

Phos-ac: just sit there staring, but will get angry if you try to get them out of this state

Arn: Use Hell. in concussion of brain where after Arn. the stupefaction, dullness or sleepiness remains (from dropsy of brain).

Apis: Apis has more of the cri encephalique and more excitement and irritability then Hell., which has, characteristically, sensorial depression. In Apis we often find spasms of the flexors, so that the big toes are drawn upward. This symptom has not been noticed under Hell.

PRIME INDICATIONS:

1. Stupor; indifference; sluggishness; better strong concentration.

2. Blunted sensory perception; what he sees, hears or tastes makes no impression on the mind.

3. Chilliness and coldness.

4. Worse 4 - 8 PM

5. Brain troubles; after concussion; after brain surgery; during fever; and suppressed urine.

SOURCES:

Farrington, Clinical MM

Murphy, Homeopathic Remedy Guide

Gunavante, Genius (RW)

Gibson, Studies of Remedies

Vermeulen, Prisma

Roger notes

Helleborus Niger

I can’t describe the impression that these people give you, but they give you the impression that there is something way back that is bothering them, but they can’t tell. It’s like it bothers them so much that they are focusing all of their energy to bring it to mind, but the mind is so constipated that they can’t even bring it to mind. So, it has a vague thing, but it is there. So, it is a concerned look of the face, not stupefied — that’s Helleborus and it is this dull sort of, stiff lipped sort of thing. The Bufo people look sort of like they don’t care. They just want what they want basically. It’s that kind of look on the face. So, it has a little bit of a snide quality I would say. Helleborus can be in people that are in comatose situations in deep febrile illnesses with stupefaction, or it can be in chronic states with stupefaction. I don’t want to say that it is always bland, because they can be quite anxious too. So, it’s when the mind becomes confused and almost paralyzed. It can be in deep senility states. It can be in acute states like we said, or it can be during the crises. If you get a case of migraine headaches and the main symptom during the migraine is that the person, that the head is in such condition that the person is like stupefied. If you hear that word "stupefied" or if you can get that feeling from it that it is stupefied, that can be Helleborus too. Especially when the attacks of stupefaction will come on 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. or real dullness that comes on 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. If it is even more than the Lycopodium dullness, that’s Helleborus. So, it can be in any one of those situations that you can get it, and when they have it, they are slow answering, they are slow speaking. It is sort of like Phosphoric Acid, but it is not out of an emotional apathy so much. Phosphoric Acid can be very dull. It can be mentally dull, too. Don’t get me wrong. Phosphoric Acid can be really mentally dull. But Helleborus also when it is mentally dull and that is the main thing and you ask them a question and you say, "Now, what is the matter with you?" "I don’t know." "Well, when did it start?" "I can’t remember." That kind of case. That’s Helleborus. When you get that kind of thing.

If you try and get the history, you say, "Well, what type of person were you before?" "I can’t remember." If it is that kind of state, it’s mostly Helleborus. It doesn’t have to be that bad. If it just goes in that direction it can be Helleborus, and like I say it can be just going in that direction during the acute or during the headache or whatever. If it goes towards stupefaction, that’s Helleborus, where the mind gets empty. He forgets what he just said. He forgets what he was going to say. He forgets what you said to him. But then, he can go into a frightened state from that. Not like the Alumina anxiety, sort of low level, but a real frightened state. With a bewildered look in the eye and I saw a case where there was this sensation in the head that is very discomforting. The way it was described later, it was sort of like Medorrhinum where the thoughts are whirling around, but they can’t really describe that there is some sort of wild sensation in the head. Well, this person what he would do was put his head in his hands. Huh, Huh. There is some sort of sensation in the head. It is an empty-headed feeling, but it is an empty headed feeling that seems maddening. You might put it under "wildness" in the repertory, or maddening sensation, something like that. They are one of the remedies you know that is good for meningitis also with rolling of the head. So there is something with the head a lot of the time, some sort of disturbing sensation in the head.

Memory card

Helleborus Niger

Weakly, scrofulous children prone to brain troubles, especially at dentition.

Melancholia; silent despair; stupidity or unintelligent muttering; < consolation; irritability; mind loses control over body, strong concentration needed before muscles will act.

Acute brain affections; hydrocephalus, during stage of effusion; stupefaction or insensibility; head rolls from side to side, bores into pillow or is beaten with hands; sudden screams; eyes wide open, pupils insensible to light; chewing motions with mouth; grinding of teeth; automatic motion of one arm or leg; urine generally suppressed; may be convulsions. Meningitis.

Sudden dropsical swellings; urine red or black scanty coffee - ground sediment; or urine suppressed; char. stupefaction and mental torpor.

Modalities; < 4-9 p.m. (Lyc.) especially sinking sensation and headache.