Rhux tox Drug Picture

Description of all drug details regarding the study of Homoeopathic Materia Medica along with common name, family, habitat, part used, preparation, constituents, sphere of action, causations, symptomtology, comparative study and applied materia medica,

1. RHUS TOXICODENDRON DR SAROJ R. SAWANT M.D.(HOM.)

2. Rhus toxicodendron COMMON NAME POISON OAK POISON IVY

3. HISTORY AND AUTHORITY Introduced in Homoeopathic practice in 1816 by Hahnemann , under a common name Rhus . Allen’s Encyclop . Mat. Med. Vol. VIII, 330

4. POISON OAK.

5. FAMILY Anacardiaceae . 

6. HABITAT The Poison Ivy grows in thickets and low grounds in North America , flowering in June.

7. PART USED Tincture of fresh leaves gathered at sunset just before flowering time

8. PREPARATION Mother Tincture φ Drug strength 1/10 Rhus Toxicodendron in coarse powder 100 g Purified Water 200 ml & Strong Alcohol 824 ml Mix to make one thousand milliliters of the Mother Tincture. Potencies : 2x to contain one part tincture, three parts Purified Water and six parts Strong Alcohol. 3x and higher with Dispensing Alcohol. Old method : Class III Caution : Poison; handle with care. Not to be prescribed below 3x.

9. ACTIVE PRINCIPLES The tincture contains Rhoitannic acid (C18H28O13) and Toxicodendric acid , a poisonous, volatile principle

10. A peculiarity of the plant is that it is more poisonous during the night , and when bursting into leaf, or at any time in June or July when the sun is not shining upon it. Absence of sunlight , together with dampness, seems to favor the exhalation of Toxicodendric acid. "An acrimonious vapour , combined with carbureted hydrogen, exhales from a growing plant of the Poison Oak during the night. It can be collected in a jar, and is capable of inflaming and blistering the skin of persons of excitable constitution who plunge their arms into it"

11. SPHERE OF ACTION It acts prominently on the mucous membranes, on the lymphatic glands, on the organs of animal life, and on the skin and the tissues which compose the joints. Upon the system of nutrition it acts as a depressant, retarding all the functions. Emaciation is produced. The secretion of the mucous membranes is altered and increased, The lymphatic glands, are affected throughout the body, as, for example, the cervical, the inguinal and the mesenteric, which are all enlarged and inflamed. Rhus affects the composition of the blood.

12. The action of Rhus may be summed up as follows : It produces a kind of rheumatic affection of the muscles and ligaments, alleviated by motion; Paralysis aggravated by motion; Apparent passive congestion of head, relieved by repose; Debility of the organs of nutrition, marked by deficient and depraved appetite and by tympanitis ; Serous infiltration of the cellular tissue in various parts, as face, fauces , genital organs, feet; Vesicular eruption generally; Acrid state of the secretions generally, as tears, nasal mucus, gastric mucus, intestinal mucus, urine, menstrual flow, contents of cutaneous vesicles; General depression of sensorium .

13. CAUSATIONS Adapted to persons of a rheumatic diathesis ; Bad effects of getting wet , ( Calc) especially after being overheated.       Ailments: from spraining or straining a single part, muscle or tendon (Cal., Nux ); overlifting , overexertion particularly from stretching high up to reach things ; ( Phos .) lying on damp ground ; Too much summer bathing in lake or river. Beer

14. SYMPTOMOLOGY MENTAL GENERALS PHYSICAL GENERALS PARTICULARS

15. The great characteristic or Rhus is that with few exceptions the pains occur and are < during repose and are > by motion .

16. GENERALS Affects the fibrous tissue, Especially ( Rhod . - serous, Bry .); the right side more than the left.

17. PAINS as if sprained; as if a muscle or tendon was torn from its attachment; as if bones were scrapped with a knife ; worse after midnight and in wet, rainy weather;

18. SORENESS Affected parts sore to touch. Lameness, stiffness and pain on first moving after rest, or on getting up in the morning, > by walking or continued motion .

19. RESTLESSNESS Great restlessness, anxiety, apprehension ( Acon ., Ars .); cannot remain in bed; must change position often to obtain relief from pain (from mental anxiety, Ars .). Restless, cannot stay long in o ne position.

20. BACK SPRAINS Back: pain between the shoulders on swallowing; pain and stiffness in small of back < sitting or lying, > by motion or lying on something hard.

21. SENSITIVENESS Great sensitiveness to open air; putting the hand from under the bed-cover brings on cough (Bar., Hep .).

22. Muscular rheumatism, sciatica, left side (Col.); aching in left arm, with heart disease .  

23. FEAR Great apprehension at night; fears he will die of being poisoned; cannot remain in bed .

24. VERTIGO Vertigo, when standing or walking; worse when lying down (better when lying down, Apis ); < rising from lying, or stooping ( Bry .).

25. DREAMS Dreams of great exertion ; rowing, swimming, working hard at his daily occupation ( Bry .).

26. HEAD SENSATION Headache: brain feels loose when stepping or shaking the head; sensation of swashing in brain; stupefying; as if torn; from beer; returns from least chagrin; < from sitting, lying, in cold, > warmth and motion.

27. MOUTH Corners of mouth ulcerated, fever blisters around mouth and on chin (Nat. m.).

28. TONGUE Tongue: dry; sore, red, cracked; triangular red tip ; takes imprint of teeth ( Chel ., Pod.).

29. DRY MOUTH Great thirst, with dry tongue, mouth and throat. 

30. MALE External genitals inflamed, erisiplatous , oedematous .  

31. COUGH A dry, teasing cough, before and during chill, in intermittent fever; cough, with taste of blood.

32. INDICATION When acute diseases assume a typhoid form. Diarrhoea : with beginning typhoid; involuntary, with great exhaustion; tearing pain down the posterior part of limbs during stool.

33. INDICATION Paralysis: with numbness of affected parts; from getting wet on lying on damp ground; after exertion, parturition, sexual excesses, ague or typhoid; paresis of limbs; ptosis .  

34. INDICATION Erysipelas, from left to right; vesicular, yellow vesicles; much swelling, inflammation; burning, itching, stinging .

35. MODALITY AGGRAVATION- Before a storm; cold, wet rainy weather; at night, especially after midnight; from getting wet while perspiring; during rest.

36. MODALITY Warm, dry weather, Wrapping up; Warm or hot things; Motion; Change of position; Moving affected parts

37. PARTICULARS WITH COMPARISON

38. MIND SUMMARY Listless, sad. Thoughts of suicide. Extreme restlessness, with continued change of position. Delirium , with fear of being poisoned ( Hyos ). Sensorium becomes cloudy. Great apprehension at night, cannot remain in bed.

39. Fear of being poisoned, Glo ., Kali-bro., Hyo ., Bap Flesh feels beaten off the bones, Thuj Averse to be uncovered, Ars ., Hep . Aversion to darkness, Am-m., Bar. c., Calc., Carb -a., Stro ., Val., Stram . Averse to be washed, Ant. c., Clem., Hep ., Sep., Spi ., Sul .

40. HEAD   Feels as if a board were strapped on the forehead. Vertigo when rising. Heavy head. Brain feels loose and as if struck against skull on walking or rising. Scalp sensitive; worse on side lain on. Headache in occiput ( Rhus rad ); painful to touch. Pain in forehead and proceeds thence backward. Humid eruptions on scalp; itching greatly.

41. Vertigo- worse lying down ( Apis ameliorates), worse rising from lying or stooping , Bry .

42. EYE Swollen, red, œdematous ; orbital cellulitis . Pustular inflammations. Photophobia; profuse flow of yellow pus. Œdema of lids, suppurative iritis . Lids inflamed, agglutinated swollen. Old injured eyes . Circumscribed corneal injection. Intensive ulceration of the cornea. Iritis , after exposure to cold and dampness, and of rheumatic origin. Eye painful on turning it or pressing, can hardly move it, as in acute retro bulbar neuritis. Profuse gush of hot, scalding tears upon opening lids .

43. Granular ophthalmia , Arg -n. ( Rhus has more spasm, if lids are forced open scalding tears gush out and cause pimples round the eye   ). Profuse gushing tears excoriating cheek, Euphr . ( Rhus worse right eye, pus thinner).

44. Ptosis or any ocular paralysis, Gels. ( Rhus rheumatic patient, from wetting, Gels. with sluggish thought and suffused face).       Conjunctivitis from getting wet, Calc. Glaucoma, Caust . Eye symptoms, better by motion, Comoc . ( Rhus better by warmth, Comoc . worse).

45. EARS   Pain in ears, with sensation as if something were in them. Lobules swollen. Discharge of bloody pus.

46. NOSE   Sneezing; coryza from getting wet. Tip of nose red, sore, ulcerated. Swelling of nose. Nosebleed on stooping

47. Nose-bleed at beginning of typhoid, Ph-ac. (with Rhus it better, not with Ph-ac .). Epistaxis at night, ( Bry . morning).

48. FACE  Jaws crack when chewing. Easy dislocation of jaw ( Ign ; Petrol). Swollen face, erysipelas. Cheek bones sensitive to touch. Parotitis . Facial neuralgia, with chilliness; worse, evening. Crusta lactea (Calc; Viol tric ).

49. MOUTH Teeth feel loose and long; gums sore. Tongue red and cracked ; coated, except red triangular space at the tip; dry and red at edges. Corners of mouth ulcerated ; fever-blisters around mouth and chin (Nat mur ). Pain in maxillary joint.

50. THROAT   Sore, with swollen glands Sticking pain on swallowing Parotitis ; left side. Am. c., Aur ., Merc ., ( Rhus left, Am. c. right).

51. STOMACH Want of appetite for any kind of food, Great thirst, with dry mouth and throat, unquenchable thirst. Bitter taste ( Cupr ). Nausea, vertigo, and bloated abdomen after eating. Desire for milk. Pressure as from a stone. ( Bry ; Ars ) Drowsy after eating.

52. Hunger in early morning, Agar., Ant. c., Asar ., Calc., Carb -a., Lyc ., Ran. b., Saba., Zn. Semilateral coat of tongue, Daph ., Lob. ( Rhus white).       Hot breath, Calc., Carb -s., Sul . Difficult swallowing of solids, Atrop ., Bell., Bar. c., Calc., Chi., Dros ., Lyc ., Plb ., Sil . Desires cold drink and vomits it immediately, Ars .. Chokes easily when swallowing, Kali. carb . Better Warm food, Lyc . Nocturnal salivation, Cham., Nux , Pho.

53. ABDOMEN   Violent pains, relieved by lying on abdomen. Swelling of inguinal glands. Pain in region of ascending colon. Colic, compelling to walk bent. Excessive distention after eating. Rumbling of flatus on first rising, but disappears with continued motion.

54. Enteritis, peritonitis , typhlitis , Lach . Colic better bending double, Coloc . ( Rhus also better moving about).

55. RECTUM   Diarrhœa of blood, slime, and reddish mucus. Jelly-like stools, ( Colch ., Kali-bi) Dysentery, with tearing pains down thighs. Stools of cadaverous odor. Frothy, painless stools. Will often abort a beginning suppurative process near the rectum.

56. URINARY SYSTEM Dark, turbid, high colored , scanty urine, with white sediment. Dysuria , with loss of blood. Bloody urine discharged in drops, ( Pul ) .

57. MALE Swelling of glands and Prepuce dark- red erysipelatous ; scrotum thick, swollen , œdematous . Itching intense . Phimosis , Can., Merc ., Sul ., Nit-ac., Sep., Thuj ., Sabi . Metastasis to testes, Rhus , Pul ., Bell., Kali-ca.

58. FEMALE   Swelling, with intense itching of vulva. Pelvic articulations stiff when beginning to move. Menses early, profuse, and prolonged, acrid. Lochia thin, protracted,offensive diminished ( Puls ; Secale ), with shooting upwards in vagina (Sep).

59. Empyema and induration of axillary glands, Bell. (Bell. at climaxis , Rhus after labor). Bearing down in hypogastrium , Puls

60. RESPIRATORY SYSTEM Tickling behind upper sternum. Dry, teasing cough from midnight until morning, during a chill, or when putting hands out of bed. Hæmoptysis from overexertion; blood bright red. Influenza, with aching in all bones ( Eup perf ). Hoarseness from overtraining voice ( Arn ). Oppression of the chest, cannot get breath with sticking pains. Bronchial coughs in old people, worse on awaking and with expectoration of small plugs of mucus.

61. Cough excited by cold drink, sil .       (better by Caust .). Cough worse from evening to midnight, Mez . ( Rhus also from uncovering).      

62. HEART   Hypertrophy from overexertion . Pulse quick, weak, irregular, intermittent, with numbness of left arm. Trembling and palpitation when sitting still .

63. Hypertrophy of heart from over-exertion, Brom ., Arn ., Aco . Heart affections with numbness of left arm, Aco . (tingling in fingers), Kalm ., Puls . (numbness especially about elbow), Act. right ( as though arm tightly bound to body), Phyt . (right arm).

64. BACK   Pain between shoulders on swallowing. Pain and stiffness in small of back; better, motion, or lying on something hard; worse, while sitting. Stiffness of the nape of the neck . Backache better lying on hard floor, Nat. m. Hydroa , Nat. m.

65. EXTREMITIES   Hot, painful swelling of joints. Tenderness about knee-joint. Pains tearing in tendons, ligaments, and fasciæ . Rheumatic pains spread over a large surface at nape of neck, loins, and extremities; better motion ( Agaric ). Soreness of condyles of bones. Limbs stiff paralyzed. The cold fresh air is not tolerated; it makes the skin painful. Pain along ulnar nerve. Tearing down thighs. Sciatica; worse, cold, damp weather, at night. Numbness and formication , after overwork and exposure. Paralysis; trembling after exertion. Loss of power in forearm and fingers; crawling sensation in the tips of fingers. Tingling in feet .

66. Rheumatic paralysis from exposure to damp and cold, Caust . ( Rhus restless, better by motion day and night, Caust . restless only at night). Ulcers on legs in dropsy, Ars ., Lyc . ( Lyc . in dropsy from liver disease). Enables persons to with stand muscular fatigue, Fl-ac., Ars ., Coca. Paralysis from rheumatic meningitis (from rheumatic myelitis ,). Dulc .       Acute spinal paralysis of infants, Sul . (complementary).

67. FEVER   Adynamic ; restless, trembling. Typhoid; tongue dry and brown; sordes ; bowels loose; great restlessness. Intermittent; chill, with dry cough and restlessness . During heat, urticaria . Chilly , as if cold water were poured over him, followed by heat and inclination to stretch the limbs .

68. Typhoid, Pho. (follows Rhus well, pneumonia, stools yellow and blood-streaked, at times like "flesh water"), Ars . (irritable and anxious in spite of prostration), Bapt. (face dark red, besotted, stool dark, fluid, very offensive, drowsy, stupor, tossing about with delusion that limbs are scattered about, bed feels hard), Arn . (complete apathy, involuntary stool and urine, bloody sputa if lungs affected). Sweat of body head dry ( Sil . sweat of head, body dry).

69. SKIN   Red, swollen; itching intense. Vesicles, herpes ; urticaria ; pemphigus ; erysipelas; vesicular suppurative forms. Glands swollen. Cellulitis . Burning eczematous eruptions with tendency to scale formation.

70. Scarlatina , erysipelas with drowsiness and oedema , Apis ( Rhus dusky red, bodily restlessness, Ap. rosy red, fidgetiness Rhus itching preponderates, Ap. less tendency to form pus ). Acne from getting wet, or ice-cold drinks, when heated, Bellis . Punctured wounds as if stepping on nails, Hyper., Led. Eczema, Sepia, often quickly > itching and burning of Rhus , the vesciles drying up in a few days Mez .,

71. SLEEP Dreams of great exertion. Heavy sleep, as from stupor. Sleepless before midnight . Dreams of business of day, Bry . ( Rhus and Bry . have opposite Conditions, and Rhus menta . state is hopeless and despondent, Bry . fretful, peevish, irritable.)

72. APPLIED MATERIA MEDICA

73. Rhus Toxicodendron , is the No. 1 remedy for sprains and strains, joint stiffness & pain, inflammations, rashes, hives and urticaria . It is also used primarily as a remedy for skin and joint disorders.

74. It can help musculoskeletal problems including rheumatic or arthritic pain, sciatica, restless legs, cramps, sprains and strains. Rhus tox  earned the title “Rusty Gate Remedy” by relieving joint and back pains that hurt on initial movement but improve after limbering up– just like an old gate that squeaks at first but quiets down after a bit. Also like the rusty gate, these joints do not like cold damp weather– they can be great storm predictors

75.    Rhus tox is also beneficial in helping restless worried nerves , headaches and nervous fatigue.

76. It applies best when symptoms improve with heat and worsen at night and in damp cold weather.

77. Thrapeutic application cramps. strains. sprains. restless leg syndrome. flu. viral infections. arthritis. Pain. Rheumatoid arthritis. Menstrual period problems. Swelling. Itchy skin disorders. Other conditions.

78. Rhus Tox is best antidoted by the simillimum ; the potentized remedy given internally. The dermatitis should never be treated by topical medicated applications; they only suppress, never cure.

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