Kent's - Classical Homeopathy Online

Towards the last, cardiac affections, along with kidney affections, with emaciation, and thenswelling of the hands and feet. That is the very nature of Cactus, and you will not find any medicine inthe whole Materia Medica that reads like it.There is nothing to compare with it in the intensity of these symptoms. All these things that Ihave described seem to turn upon these words, congestion, constriction and contraction.The pains in Cactus are violent, no matter where they occur.They compel the patient to cry out, and the pains are clutching pains, constricting pains; theyoften feel like tearing pains; but there is always that idea of clutching. Suppose you should tie a taperound a violently congested organ, and tie it tighter and tighter. It seems to me that is about the kind ofsuffering the patient has with that constriction of a congested organ.Pains in congested parts; pains in sore parts. Tearing; constricting; cramping, when pains occurin the intestines they are constricting, but when the pains are in the long muscles they are not theconstricting pains, for it is not the circular fibers then but the long fibers that contract, and we call themcramps.Cactus produces some spasmodic conditions in long muscles, but not to any great extent. InBell. especially, and also in many of those medicines that have this nature of cramping, andconstricting and contracting of circular fibers, there is convulsive tendency. The violent congestion ofthe brain in Bell.will commonly be attended with cramps in the extremities and convulsions of the muscles allover, or in parts. Not so with Cactus. Violent congestion, and he grows stupid under it.Congestion of the brain, first with very red face, then darker from the venous stasis, and thenstupor. He grows sluggish under the cerebral congestion.The mental state is that of fear and distress, because of the intensity of the suffering. The patienthas never felt such suffering, and he does not see what it can all mean. So much suffering, such violentsuffering, such sudden suffering, such cramps, such tearing, such constriction. When this constrictioncomes in the heart, and about the chest it makes the patient think he is going to die, and he is at oncestruck with fear, and it is depicted upon the face. He fears death, and it seems he is going to die, hispain is so intense. But with this intense pain he has nothing of the anxiety we find in Aconite, whichhas a similar constriction of the chest and constriction of the neck.The violent choking in Aconite makes him fear he is going to choke to death, and the anxiety isawful. It is not so intense in Cactus. Screaming with pains is a common thing in Cactus."Taciturn, unwilling to speak a word or to answer". That often accompanies the Cactus state,which is the opposite of most of the medicines that have such violent pains. "Sadness, taciturnity, andirresistible inclination to weep. Fear of death"; that is, he thinks he is going to die from the severity ofthe pain. "He believes his disease is incurable"; it seems to him that such suffering must end in death.That violent, irregular action of the heart is followed out through all the blood vessels, because thecirculation is so irregular, is so spasmodic. He is hot here, and cold there. Dreams full of excitement.These features run through Cactus, especially with the cardiac symptoms."Vertigo from congestion; face red, bloated; pulsation in brain. feels as if he would go mad.Vertigo, worse from physical exertion". With most of the cardiac remedies, or remedies where thecirculation and heart are much involved, we have marked vertigo. "Vertigo; worse from physicalexertion, turning in bed, stooping, rising from a recumbent position, and deep inspiration". Many of thecomplaints of Cactus are disturbed by irregularities of breathing. Here we see vertigo coming on fromdeep breathing. If he holds his breath, it seems as if his heart would fly to places, it would go so fast.Increased pulsation all over the body when holding the breath.The headaches are constricting, pressing. They are all violent, with intense heat of the head, forthey are congestive.A pressing in the top of the head as if the top of the head would be forced in; but this isameliorated by pressing hard upon the pain. "Heavy pain like a weight on vertex, better by pressure".Oftentimes the patient may be wrong in the idea of pressure that is felt in the head. They oftendescribe it in the most marked congestions as if the head would be crushed in, when the congestion inthe brain can be seen to be most violent causing pressure from within out, and we would think theywould be better from some sort of support externally, and yet they feel great soreness and feel as if thehead is being crushed in. Others with headaches feel as if the head is being pressed out. "Heavy painlike a weight on vertex; better by pressure, but worse from sounds, hearing, talking, or strong light".This runs through the headaches. Greatly aggravated from hearing voices. The sound goes through thehead. The brain seems to be sensitive, as if the sound were a material substance hurled at the brain.Right-sided headaches. Pulsating headaches. Heavy, pulsating pain in the head. Tensive pain in thehead, tensive pain in the vertex. A tightness across the vertex, as if the scalp was being drawn tighter