PULSATILLA

PULSATILLA

Ø Common Name: Anemone, Wind Flower

Ø Prover: Dr. Hahnemann in 1805

Ø Source: Vegetable Kingdom

Ø Family: Ranunculaceae

Ø Pats Used: Whole plant when it is flowering

Ø Duration of action: 40days

Introduction and History

It is pre-eminently a woman’s remedy, usually teen-aged girls with characteristic mental and uterine symptoms. This does not necessarily mean that it is not useful to men. There is no doubt that if the symptoms agree, it will be of immense value for ailments of men as well.

Pulsatila is always found in groups, as if seek in company, never, or rarely, as a single specimen. The plant grows on dry sandy soil, having small need for water. The flower on its gently curving stem hangs downward: it yields to the slightest breath of ail, moving about, constantly changing its position, as the wind changes its direction.

The name, Anemone Pulsatilla, from the Greek word ‘anemos’, meaning “wind” and from the Latin pulsare “pulsating with the wind”, as well as the name wind flower express this characteristic. A popular English name for the plant is “shamefaced maiden”.

The name Pulsatilla is also derived from the Latin word ‘pulsate’ meaning ‘to beat or to strike’. The flowers pulsates from the growing winds, so the name pulsatilla. Nigricans is derived from the word ‘niger’ meaning ‘dark colour’, and the flowers of this plants are usually dark colour. It was first employed by Arabian physicians as an external application for ulcers, in the inflammation of eyes, toothache and headache. It was introduced in to Homeopathy in 1805.

Source

The medicine Pulsatilla prepared from the plant PULSATILLA NIGRICANS from Ranunculaceae family. It is found in Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, some parts of France, Russia, Turkey and Asia. It was first cultivated in England in 1731.

It is a perennial plant. Stem is simple erect and rounded. Leaves are feather like. Flowers are numerous, bell-shaped colour varying from dark violet to light blue appearing from March to May.

Root is thick and short and sends of several strong fibres. The whole plant is covered with silky hairs. When the plant is rubbed, it exudes acrid vapours. It has an acrid and burning taste.

Preparation

Mother tincture is prepared from the whole plant when it is flowering.

Spheres of Action

The main seats of action of Pulsatilla are veins, mucous membrane of tongue, stomach, bowels, female genital organs such as ovary, uterus, vagina, eyes and ears.

Pathogenesis

It acts on the skin producing tingling and burning, vesicular or pustular dermatitis. It is an active irritant.

Ø Its action on genito-urinary system especially females is very marked, producing contractive pain in the uterus, leucorrhoea of various kinds; scanty delayed and often painful menses.

Ø In the males it acts on testes producing swelling of testes and pain in the spermatic chords.

Ø It acts on joints, chiefly knees, ankles and small joints of the hands and feet, producing arthritic or rheumatic inflammation.

Ø It has diuretic action on the urinary system.

Ø It acts on the tongue producing tingling and burning of the tongue which is soon followed by numbness.

Ø It acts on the digestive system and produces nausea and vomiting with slimy diarrhoea.

Ø It acts on the kidney and bladder and there by produces copious discharge of mucous in the urine.

Ø It acts on ears were it causes catarrhal inflammation deafness and otalgia.

Ø It is diuretic, diaphoretic and emmenagogue; a cardiac and vascular sedative, lowering arterial pressure and body temperature.

Ø It produces spinal irritation at first and later motor and sensory paralysis with stupor and coma.

Ø After fatal doses it causes slow and feeble pulse, low blood pressure, slow breathing, lowered temperature, diarrhoea, paralysis of extremities, dyspnoea, dilatation pupils, stupor and death.

Ø It produces irritation and catarrhal inflammation of mucous membrane, having thick bland yellowish green discharge.

Constitution

Physical make-up: Usually ladies who are fair and beautiful-looking but inclined to be fleshy with fine hair and blue eyes, soft and lax muscles, anaemic and chlorotic with pale face at puberty. Pulsatilla patient can be compared to the race of sheep as Anti crud to swine and Arsenic to race of Horse.

Temperament: Full of tears, slow, phlegmatic and indecisive.

Thermal relationship: It is controversial point whether Pulsatilla is hot or chilly drug. Dr. Kent says that there is a pendulum like action between cold relations amongst complementary remedies. Tyler, Boericke and Allen say that it is a chilly drug. Kent says that it is a hot blooded patient but after using the remedy for sometime, it will be noticed that the patient goes to the other extreme and become chilly or hot as the case may be.

Miasm: Psoric and Sycotic miasms are in the background.

Thermal reaction: It is controversial point whether pulsatilla is a hot or chilly drug. Dr.Kent says that there is a pendulum like action between heat and cold relation amongst complementary remedies.

Tyler, Boericke and Allen say that it is a chilly drug. Kent says that it is a hot blooded patient. But after using the remedy for sometime it will be noticed that the patient goes to the other extreme and become chilly or hot as the case may be.

Doctrine of signature:

Pulsatilla is prepared from wind flower and the doctrine of signature of it is as follows.

Ø As the plant grows in deserts, patient has a dry mouth.

Ø As the plant needs less water to grow, patient is thirstless.

Ø As the flowers of the plant are drooping downwards, patient is very shy.

Ø As the flowers are so delicate that they change their direction by a draft of wind, changeability of signs and symptoms is marked.

Ø As the flowers are always present in groups patient lies to be in a group (likes company) does not want to be alone.

Ø As the stem of the plant is delicate and is covered by small hair like structures to protect it from the wind, in the chilly phase the patient likes to go in to the open air by covering himself.

Active principles (Chemical constituents)

The chief constituents of this drug are potassium sulphate, anemonic acid, oil of anemone, anemone camphor, iso anemonic acid, saponin, anemonin.

Ailments from

Eating fatty and starchy food, ice cream, chill, getting feet wet, abuse of mercury, abuse of quinine, abuse of sulphur, tea and coffee, abortion, ovarian and uterine troubles, worm affections, indigestion, irregular menses.

Guiding symptoms

Changeability of symptoms: Such as the pain shifts from one joint to another, no two stools are alike, no two chills are similar. The whole case will appear as mixed having no head or tail, when the patient relates her complaint. Mental condition changes rapidly. In short it has ever changing character of symptoms.

Weeping disposition: The patient weeps easily. It is almost impossible to detail her ailments without weeping.

Chilliness: The patient has constant chilliness, but aversion to cover. The patient likes open air. Feels uncomfortable and suffocated in a closed, stuffy and heated room.

Dr Clarke said that “the pulsatilla patient is chilly, but at the same time there is extreme aversion to heat. Three characters- ‘chilly; aggravated by warmth; thirstless;’ serve to define the fever of pulsatilla in whatever form it may be met- measles, mumps, typhoid, bilious, catarrhal, intermittent, rheumatic, etc,. The chilliness may be one sided, and associated with numbness, it may be flitting, in spots now here, now there.”

Pain: The pains are changeable and erratic. Character of the pain is drawing and tearing. They come and go and keep on changing their locations. Pain rapidly shifted from one part to another. As master Herring said, “wandering pain shifts rapidly from one part to another, also with swelling and redness of joint”. According to Dr. Clarke “the wandering pains of Pulsatilla are generally distensive again suggesting congested vessels; and headaches are congestive; < on stooping forward; > by tightly bandaging.

Master Kent says “Pulsatilla has wandering pains; rheumatism goes from joint to joint, jumps around here and there; neuralgic pains fly from place to place”.

Thus let us sum up:

ü Onset: Pain appears suddenly leaves gradually or vis-à-vis

ü Character: Pain rapidly shifting from one part to another.

ü Modality: Pain is relieved by pressure and lying on affected side.

ü Concomitant: Pain is accompanied by chilliness, greater the pain greater the chilliness.

Thirstlessness: Thirstlessness is one of the index of Pulsatilla, it persists nearly all complaints. As Master Kent says, “A striking feature of the Pulsatilla patient is that, he never wants water. But exception in high fevers- there may be some thirst”.

There is Thirstlessness with nearly all complaints with dry white coated tongue. Herings says that thirst is rare, but when thirsty drinks often and little at a time which provokes vomiting. Bad taste in the mouth especially in the morning.

Discharges: The discharges from all the mucous membranes are thick, bland, greenish yellow. But Dr. Kent says, “Leucorrhoea may be sometimes acrid and excoriating causing rawness of the part.

Harvey Farrington said that “the discharges are also non-irritating; seldom are they thin and watery, sometimes leucorrhoea become acrid, causing rawness and biting of the vagina”.

Dr. Kent says that “discharges are often offensive, sometimes bloody, watery, but even then mingled with yellow green purulent fluid.

Derangements: Derangement at puberty, all the complaints are caused by derangement at pubertal age. Has never been well since that time. First serious derangement of health is referred to the age of puberty, “never been well since”- Anaemia, bronchitis, phthisis.

Desires and Aversion: “Desire for sour, refreshing things,” often desires things he can not digest; lemonade, cheese, pungent things, highly-seasoned things, juicy things. Craves ice-creams, craves pastries, yet they will not digest, and makes him worse; craves things which makes him sick. Craves highly spiced sausage, yet averse to pork alone. Desires open air. Aversion to meat, butter, fatty food, pork, bread, milk, smoking.

Menses: Too late and scanty or suppressed particularly by getting feet wet.

Sensation: All gone sensation in stomach, especially in tea drinkers.

Sleep: Sleepless in the first of night; from ideas clouding in mind and sleeps late in the morning. Sees frightful dreams.

Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea only or usually at night, watery, greenish yellow, very changeable; soon as they eat; from fruit cold food or drinks, ice creams; diarrhoea, changeable, stools preceded by rumbling and cutting in the abdomen; worse at night; from fruit or ice cream. No two stools are alike. Diarrhoea during menses, particularly if it comes at night.

Modalities: There is aggravation from warm in general and amelioration from cold in general and from open air.

Mind

We will study our delightful pulsatilla, through the name of the medicine.

· P- Phlegmatic temperament

· U-Unnatural brooding

· L- Lachrymal (least affair throws her off the balance).

· S-Silent peevishness

· A-Amelioration from consolation

· T-Timid, Taciturn.

· I-Indecisive

· L-Like April day changeable mood.

· L-Low spirited-fears.

· A-Amiable.

Mental causation

1. Abuse of chamomilla

2. Abuse of Quinine

3. Abuse of Mercury

4. Bad effects of tea drinking

5. Abuse of sulphur

6. By eating Pork

7. After grief, mortification, sorrow

8. Since Puberty

9. Joy

Character

Phlegmatic temperament: Dr Hahnemann gives in Masterly fashion the picture of the Pulsatilla disposition and temperament; a timid; lachrymose disposition with a tendency to inward grief and silent peevishness, or at all events a mild and yielding disposition especially when the patient in his normal health was good tempered and mild. It is therefore especially adapted to slow, phlegmatic temperament.

Phlegmatic temperament means slow respiration, and sluggish in reaction.

On the other hand, it is but little suitable for person who from their resolutions with rapidity and are quick in their movements, even though they may appear to be good tempered. (Ref. Clarke’s Dictionary of Materia Medica)

Promptitude, dogmatism, vehemence are traits unknown to her. This is one main reason why she is so much loved by everybody that knows her. She is unexcitable; thus never quarrels with her husband.

Unnatural brooding: Pulsatilla patient is so gentle that she can hardly say a cruel word to anybody. A Pulsatilla wife never quarrels with her husband. She is very different from those hasty, irritable housewives that return ten fold of what they get. She is little indecisive in her character. She keeps on brooding for hours as to what course to follow.

Lachrymal mood: Choleric disposition, cries and weeping, the only fault in her character is her weeping mood. She can’t narrate her symptoms without weeping. The least things throw her off her balance. In fact, she cries even when nothing has happened, or at least it is very difficult to account for the reason of her crying at all. Thus for example, when she comes to her doctor for a trivial ailment, which a patient of a more cheerful disposition would overlook, she will almost break her heart crying while telling him about it.

Silent peevishness: Dr Farrington reports that patients are never irascible, although at times peevish. Dr. Tyler has a given a case of Pulsatilla “Irritable, changeable, laughs and cries easily, fear of the dark; of death; suspicious, loathes fat and dreams of cats. Pulsatilla has all these symptoms in the highest type.

It is interesting to note that Kent has kept Pulsatilla in first grade amongst irritable remedies. Our Master Kent said, Pulsatilla women are remarkably irritable, not in the sense of pugnacity, but easily irritated extremely touchy.

Amelioration from consolation: The pulsatilla women is rather mild, tearful and easily discouraged. It acts best when there is disposition to chilliness and adipsia. Sometimes she is full of anxiety, with forebodings of some impending disaster. This anxiety comes from the epigastrium and is very likely to be associated with indigestion. It is often accompanied by chattering of teeth, palpitation of the heart and flushes of heat.

The peculiarity of the mental symptoms of pulsatilla is all mental condition ameliorated by consolation that is the patient seeks consolation.

Dr. Farrington also reports that Ignatia patient hides her grief but pulsatilla shows it through weeping.

Dr Boericke said that the patient likes sympathy.

Timid, taciturn- madness: Dr. Kent said pulsatilla is sensible every social influences. Fixed ideas concerning the scripture, the patient misuses and misapplies the scriptures to her own detriment, dwells on sanctification until she becomes fanatical and insane; thinks the patient is in a wonderfully sanctimonious state of mind, or that she has sinned away her day of grace. This goes on until the patient became on other subject, and then the tendency is to sit day after day in a taciturn way.

Puerperal insanity in a woman who was mild, gentle and tearful, and later sad and taciturn and then she sits in her chair all day answering nothing or merely modding her head for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Indecisive: The patient is an indecisive in her character.

Like April day- Changeable mood: Dr. Nash said that changeability of symptoms like April day.

One of the characteristic symptom is changeableness of symptoms is also found in the disposition. The patient is now irritable, then tearful again, or mild and pleasant but, even with irritableness is easily made to cry.

Dr. Nash also says we sometimes have patients come in to the clinic, and find in trying to take their case no “head or tail” to it. It is mixed. Pulsatilla will often clear up and cures the case.

Dr. Farrington has described the changeableness of mental symptoms. He said that in the mental symptoms, too, are of the same fickle nature, the patient now being irritable, then tearful and again mild and pleasant.

Low spirit-Fear: Dr. Clarke reports that pulsatilla has great fear. Firs of anxiety, fear of death, or of an apoplectic attack, with buzzing in ears, shivering, and convulsive movements of fingers, apprehension, anthropophobia, fear of ghost at night or in evening, with and impulse to hide or to run away, mistrust and suspicion.

Amiable: Dr. Hering give these additional touches to the pulsatilla type: sandy hair, blue eyes, pale face, easily moved to laughter or tears, affectionate, mild, timid, gentle, yielding disposition, inclines to be fleshy.

Additional Notes:

1. Besides this, Dr. Kent says that it has melancholia, sadness, weeping, despair, religious despair, fanatical, full of notions and whims, imaginative, extremely excitable. She imagines the company of the opposite sex a dangerous thing to cultivate. They imagine that certain articles of diet are not good for the human race. Aversion to marriage is a strong symptom. A man takes it in to his head that it is an evil think to have sexual intercourse with his wife and abstains from it; religious freaks.

2. Mental calmness indicate pulsatilla (contra indicate- Aconite, Chamomilla)

3. It is especially applicable to those states of hypochondriacal depression preceded or accompanied by profuse catarrhal discharges, and by inflammatory condition of the genital organs in both sexes.

4. Dr Hering has described pulsatilla patient is fatigued by mental labour; after slight emotions difficult breathing.

Mental modalities:

Aggravation:

v Evening and night

v Twilight

v Alternate evenings

v Change of weather

Particulars

Head

Wandering stitches about head; pains extend to face and teeth; vertigo; better in open air. Frontal and supra-orbital pains. Neuralgic pains, commencing in right temporal region, with scalding lachrymation of affected side. Headache from overwork. Pressure on vertex.

Headache:-

· Causation:- Headache is from overloading the stomach, fatty diet and stooping.

· Location:- One sided headache especially in the forehead and temples.

· Sensation:- Wandering stiches about head.

· Character:- Bruised pain, stupefying headache. There is great heaviness on stooping. Dullness of head; headache with aching pain in the eyes. Throbbing, pressive headache, pressive and constrictive headache in temples; violent pain on one side as if a nail was driven in. Beating, jerking and lacerating headache.

· Modalities: Aggravation by stooping, lying down or exposure to cold. Relief by sitting, in the morning and by pressure.

Eyes

Thick, profuse, yellow, bland discharges. Itching and burning in eyes. Profuse lachrymation and secretion of mucus. Lids inflamed, agglutinated. Styes. Veins of fundus oculi greatly enlarged. Dryness of eyes and lids. Ophthalmia neonatorum. Subacute conjunctivitis, with dyspepsia; worse, in warm room.

Gastro-intestinal tract

Mouth- Greasy taste. Dry mouth, without thirst; wants it washed frequently. Frequently licks the dry lips. Crack in middle of lower lip. Yellow or white tongue, covered with tenacious mucus. Toothache; relieved by holding cold water in mouth. [Coff.] Offensive odour from mouth. [Merc.; Aur.] Food, especially bread, tastes bitter. Much sweet saliva. Alternations of taste, bitter, bilious, greasy, salty, foul. Loss of taste. Desire for tonics.

Stomach-Averse to fat food, warm food, and drink. Eructations; taste of food remains a long time; after ices, fruits, pasty. Bitter taste, diminished taste of all food. Pain as from subcutaneous ulceration. Flatulence. Dislikes butter. [Sang.] Heartburn. Dyspepsia, with great tightness after a meal; must loosen clothing. Thirstlessness, with nearly all complaints. Vomiting of food eaten long before. Pain in stomach an hour after eating. [Nux.] Weight as from a stone, especially in morning on awakening. Gnawing, hungry feeling. [Abies c.] Perceptible pulsation in pit of stomach. [Asaf.] All-gone sensation, especially in tea drinkers. Waterbrash, with foul taste in the morning.

Abdomen-Painful, distended; loud rumbling. Pressure as from a stone. Colic, with chilliness in evening.

Colic: Flatulent colic after supper or night. Oppressive flatulence in upper abdomen and hypochondria. Colic and pain obliges the patient bend forward. Abdomen is painful and sensitive to touch.

Stool-Rumbling, watery; worse, night No two stools alike. After fruit. [Ars.; Chin.] Blind haemorrhoids, with itching and sticking pains. Dysentery; mucus and blood, with chilliness. [Merc.; Rheum.] Two or three normal stools daily.

Diarrhoea:

· Causation: Fatty food, fruits, cold drinks, ice creams, etc.,

· Time: Only or usually at night.

· Character of stool: Watery stool, sometimes unconsciously evacuated. Greenish yellow and slimy. NO TWO STOOLS ARE ALIKE , very much changeable.

· Concomitant: Dry tongue with no thirst.

· Modality: Aggravation at night, by fatty food, ice cream, tea, etc.

Respiratory system

Capricious hoarseness; comes and goes. Dry cough in evening and at night; must sit up in bed to get relief; and loose cough in the morning, with copious mucous expectoration. Pressure upon the chest and soreness. Great soreness of epigastrium. Urine emitted with cough. [Caust.] Pain as from ulcer in middle of chest. Expectoration bland, thick, bitter, greenish. Short breath, anxiety, and palpitation when lying on left side. [Phos.] Smothering sensation on lying down.

Nose- Coryza; stoppage of right nostril, pressing pain at root of nose. Loss of smell. Large green fetid scales in nose. Stoppage in evening. Yellow mucus; abundant in morning. Bad smells, as of old catarrh. Nasal bones sore.

Cough:

· Causation: Usually caused by irritation in pit of stomach, by taking ice cold things, fatty and starchy food, ice cream, or due to suppressed menses.

· Sensation: Pressure and soreness upon the chest.

· Character of Cough: Cough is shaking and spasmodic; in paroxysms of two coughs. The patient feels as if vapour of sulphur is in trachea and chest. Cough is dry, in the evening and at night.

· Character of sputa: Expectoration of COPIOUS AND GREENISH YELLOW MUCOUS. Bitter or purulent or there may be dark coagulated blood.

· Modality: Aggravation by warmth of bed, at night, evening, after every sleep and after lying down.

· Concomitant: Involuntary urination while coughing.

Female

Amenorrhoea. [Cimicif.; Senec.; Polygon.] Suppressed menses from wet feet, nervous debility, or chlorosis. Tardy menses. Too late, scanty, thick, dark, clotted, changeable, intermittent. Chilliness, nausea, downward pressure, painful, flow intermits. Leucorrhoea acrid, burning, creamy. Pain in back; tired feeling. Diarrhoea during or after menses.

Dysmenorrhoea-

· Causation: After getting feet wet.

· Time: Delayed menses comes too late.

· Duration: Short duration of menses is very well marked.

· Quantity: Scanty menses.

· Character of blood: Flow is thick and changeable in character. Blood flows, stops and flows again. Sometimes intermittent, mixed with clots or water, coagulable in character. Flow is more during day and while walking.

· Concomitants:

Ø With menses there is vomiting and purging.

Ø There is dry tongue with complete absence of thirst.

Ø With menses there is severe pain across the abdomen which is shifting in nature.

Leucorrhoea: Milky white, with swollen vulva. Acrid, burning and painless or with cutting pain in abdomen. While all the discharges are bland, Leucorrhoea is acrid, excoriating and corrodes the vulva.

Labour Pain: Difficult and irregular, sluggish labour pain. During labour pain the patient wants doors and windows open. Cannot bear warm room, feels suffocated. Dr. Hughes praises pulsatilla for its spontaneous version in case of abnormal presentation; useful in retained placenta, postpartum haemorrhage, etc.

Abortion: Threatened abortion, the flow ceases and starts again with double force and ceases again. Pulsatilla promote expulsion of moles, says Herring.

Male

Orchitis; pain from abdomen to testicles. Thick, yellow discharge from urethra; late stage of gonorrhoea. Stricture; urine passed only in drops, and stream interrupted. [Clemat.] Acute prostatitis. Pain and tenesmus in urinating, worse lying on back.

General Modality

Aggravation: Warm air, warm room, warmth of bed, heat in the evening, lying on the left or on the painless side, rest, rich and fatty food, puberty, pregnancy when allowing feet to hang down.

Amelioration: Cold, air, erect position, motion, open air after a good cry, lying on painful side, cold application, cold food and drinks.