 It doesn’t matter what you call it: Studying. Revising. Cramming. “It” is overloading your brain with information. One may be forgiven for thinking school is out for summer, but that is not the case for everyone. One person reached out the other day, saying they and their friends are sharing some problems:
Let’s look at these problematic symptoms. What is causing the inability to focus? Is it distraction? Is it burnout? (These people did just finish law school. I should think the desire to keep at the books right as summer hits could be pretty difficult!) What is getting in the way of feeling well-rested? Is there insomnia? Is all the legalese swirling through your mind when you’re trying to sleep? Is the candle being burned at both ends? Are nutrition needs being met? What is the stress that is being managed? I’ll go in reverse order this time — are nutrition needs being met? This is so hugely important! Is the stress a direct result of not getting sufficient sleep? Is there a hyper-focus on learning the law, thereby causing a lapse in attention to the rest of the details of your life resulting in new levels of stress? I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s a little bit of everything. Let’s think about this in terms of the repertory. Another way of saying needing to stay focused is being distracted. Dr. Murphy ranks Phosphorus at the top of this list (in terms of remedies which are readily available). I really hate to do this to you when you are already wiped out from studying, but you’ll have to read through these short descriptions to find the best-suited remedy to your specific symptoms! Phosphorus Carroll Dunham’s Lectures on Materia Medica (1878): Phosphorus - Sensorium - Weakness of memory, indisposition (moderate) to exertion; difficulty in collecting and concentrating thoughts; weak feeling in the head, aggravated by thinking and by loud noise, music or hard stepping; these things produce throbbing in the head, a feeling of confusion, dullness and distraction, but especially of weakness in the head. Frans Vermeulen (2015) says it a little more simply: Phosphorus is “easily distracted.” Clarke (1902): “Headache as if too full of blood from intense study.” Douglass (1903): Cannot study nor keep his mind on any particular subject long at a time. Disinclination to study or converse. Gibson (1987): “Is full of fears… of study (owing to mental exhaustion)…” RELEVANT RUBRICS:
Phosphoric acid Douglas Borland says in Digestive Drugs (1940): The mental picture is that of those who are just dead tired. They feel generally indefinite, do not want to talk, cannot concentrate, their thoughts wander away from the subject. Any mental effort is liable to produce an acute headache with a sensation of extreme pressure on the top of the head. On any effort at all these patients are liable to feel giddy. Gibson (1987) adds: The mind is confused, and any effort to concentrate brings on a dizzy feeling. There is great sensitivity, notably to music and also to odours. The subject is easily startled. May complain of various odd sensations such as widespread formication*; may be afflicted with homesickness. Leeser (1935) goes a little further: Poor comprehension and concentration, poor memory, indifference, dullness, inability to perform mental work, lack of ideas, moreover, depression, apathy, dissatisfaction with one’s self, aversion to speaking, in particular homesickness, indicate the psychic state in phosphoric acid. But nervous excitation with sleeplessness and sensitivity to all noises is also observed… a brief sleep may often remove the fatigue and be sufficient to refresh…
Picric acid Blackwood (1906) says: This remedy is indicated in restoring the wasted and worn-out systems of those who are suffering from the effects of close application to study or business and become anaemic and neurasthenic** and asthenic**. Clarke (1902): a patient of mine, previously a good sleeper, to lie awake a long time at nights, exhaustion after the day's studies, fatigue even from a short walk, twitchings of muscles when asleep or awake; hysterical state, loss of will power; constant headache, irregular menses. Any attempt to study = burning along spine; with great weakness of back and legs; soreness of muscles and joints. agg. By study or slightest mental exertion. Inability to keep eyes open when studying. Gibson (1987): The chief characteristic is extreme muscular weakness, accompanied by a compelling desire to lie down and a complete absence of anxiety. Is utterly exhausted; can neither think nor study. Darting pains may be felt in various sites, possibly involving bones.
Then, of course, we have our good old Nux vomica, and, I think this would be my first stop. We know Nux is helpful when things are too much: too much studying; too much not enough sleep; too much snacking while studying. Farrington (1955): "Lesson twenty-five - Nux vomica - General characteristics - Ailments from ANGER; grief; EXCESSIVE MENTAL LABOR; SEDENTARY HABITS; LOSS OF SLEEP; DEBAUCHERY; SEXUAL EXCESSES; ALCOHOL; COFFEE; NARCOTICS; TOBACCO; GETTING CHILLED; suppression of sweat or HAEMORRHOIDS. HYPERSENSITIVENESS; IRRITABILITY; …IMPATIENCE; MALICIOUSNESS; IMPETUOUSNESS; hurry; sadness; …weeping; timidity; dullness; CONFUSION; DIFFICULT CONCENTRATION; weakness of memory; INDOLENCE; IMBECILITY; delirium; INSANITY; MANIA; HYSTERIA; INCREASED SEXUAL DESIRE; debility; trembling." Those are some strong words in there. Suffice it to say, that would be an extreme picture of a Nux vomica state. Gunavante (1998) always sums things up succinctly: “Concentration difficult while studying.” Now, let’s look at a few applicable rubrics for Nux vomica:
SUMMING UP THE REMEDIES (I know your attention span is already shot, so I’ll keep this brief): Phosphorus may be a good place to start if:
Phosphoric acid may be a good place to start if:
Picric acid may be a good place to start if:
Nux vomica may be a good place to start if:
Are these the only remedies? Nope. Far from it. But, I know you’re tired, so I tried to keep it simple. Good luck on your exams! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * Formication: the feeling that bugs are crawling on your skin **Neurasthenia: an ill-defined medical condition characterized by lassitude, fatigue, headache, and irritability, associated chiefly with emotional disturbance (Oxford University Press 2021). **Ashtenia: abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy (Oxford University Press 2021). Reference list
Blackwood, A. L., 1906. A Manual of Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacology. accessed through Radar Opus software. Boericke & Tafel. Borland, D., 1940. Digestive Drugs. accessed through Radar Opus software. Choudhuri, N. M., 1916. A study on materia medica and repertory. accessed through Radar Opus software. New Delhi: B. Jain. Clarke, J. H., 1902. A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica. accessed through Radar Opus software. Douglass, M. E., 1903. Pearls of Homoeopathy. accessed through Radar Opus software. Farrington, H., 1955. Homeopathy and homeopathic prescribing : a study course for graduate physician. accessed through Radar Opus software. New Delhi: B. Jain. Gibson, D. M., 1987. Studies of homoeopathic remedies. accessed through Radar Opus software. Kandern, Germany: Narayana Publishers. Gunavante, S. M., 1998. The ‘genius’ of Homoeopathic Remedies. accessed through Radar Opus software. Leeser, O., 1935. Textbook of homeopathic materia medica : inorganic medicinal substances. accessed through Radar Opus software. New Delhi: Jain. Oxford University Press, 2021. Oxford Dictionary of English. 14.1.1.47 ed. Oxford University Press accessed through mobisystems.com app. Vermeulen, F., 2015. Concordant reference : complete classic materia medica : 1284 remedies. accessed through Radar Opus software. Glasgow: Saltire Books.
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 No matter what you want to call it … (if you’re squeamish, just know we’re talking about diarrhea and skip forward to the next paragraph). If toilet humor is your thing, here we go: Number 3, Chocolate Thunder, Poo Stew, Rectum Rapids, Turd Tea, Emergency Evacuation, The Squirts, Brown Bomb, Liquid Lunch, Poop Soup … I’ll stop now. (If you would like a few more unseemly names, see Travelers’ Diarrhea.) Don’t worry, I won’t continue with the graphic descriptions. What follows is a long list of situations where one might experience diarrhea and the most highly indicated remedies for each. Once again, if you are experiencing diarrhea beyond an acute bout, please seek professional medical advice. Before embarking on my long list of unfortunate bottom-related circumstances, let me share one of my first amazing homeopathic "wowee!" moments. We were traveling and my then young teenage son was very sick in the night with suspected food poisoning. I was hemming and hawing, trying to remember what I had learned about remedies. I went with Veratrum album and within minutes everything stopped. I mean, everything completely stopped. He slept the rest of the night and woke up fine and dandy. “Better out than in” is what we say around here! As a result of this experience, I keep a little vial of Veratrum album in my little travel kit that accompanies me every time I leave the house with my suitcase. Veratrum album is my go-to homeopathic remedy for if things are coming out of both ends. What else may point to the use of this remedy? The diarrhea (or vomiting) may be violent, voluminous and relentless. Collapse following diarrhea (not the only well indicated remedy in this rubric, but a good place to start). The person may be cold: cold limbs, generally chilly, and/or clammy. Diarrhea with perspiration. Diarrhea after eating fruit; diarrhea after eating cucumbers (technically a fruit, after all). Diarrhea during menses. Diarrhea which is made worse by movement/motion (Bryonia is another one to think of for this symptom). And, here’s one more unusual concomitant symptom for Veratrum album: hiccups during diarrhea. Isn’t that just what you need in that situation?! Children & Diarrhea: If you have an infant with diarrhea, administer Podophyllum on the way to see the doctor — dehydration can set in quickly. Diarrhea while cutting teeth: Chamomilla. Chamomilla is such an excellent remedy for children, in general, and it doesn’t let us down in this situation, either (but these symptoms are not confined to children. With everything homeopathy, if the symptoms match, the remedy would be effective for man, woman, child or animal.) Diarrhea with abdominal pain. Diarrhea: following anger; after taking a cold; after eating and, specifically after eating rhubarb. Emotional diarrhea or from excitement. During hot weather. Painless diarrhea. And, here is a rubric unique to Chamomilla (but hopefully you wouldn’t find this in a child!): diarrhea after smoking. The Elderly & Diarrhea: Like children, the elderly, too, have some remedies with great affinity to their age. In this particular situation, I would lean toward China officinalis. China is so good for enfeebled people, as can often be found in the later years. In particular, China is useful for weak digestion; dyspepsia/indigestion; flatulence; chronic belching. Dysentery, in simple terms, involves frequent bowel movements with blood and mucus in the stool, often accompanied by cramps and pain. Give some China while on the way to see a doctor. Please seek medical assistance if you are experiencing these symptoms. If diarrhea and constipation alternate in older individuals, consider Antimonium crud. On to the general list… If experiencing abdominal pain, and it feels like diarrhea is imminent, Aloe would be my first recommendation. There may be accompanying weakness. Diarrhea after eating and in particular, diarrhea following the slightest dietary indiscretion. Walking makes it worse. Lots of toots during the diarrhea. There are a few rubrics where Aloe and Sulphur “tie” when it comes to diarrhea: burning pain in the rectum; being driven out of bed in the morning, needing the toilet desperately (Sulphur has the specific times of 5-6 am); painless diarrhea; standing makes it worse. Where Sulphur “wins out” over Aloe: diarrhea after beer and nighttime diarrhea, especially after midnight. If the diarrhea alternates with another symptom, such as:
Diarrhea and emotions:
Feeling wiped out after all that wiping? China is a good place to start. If the weakness is particularly pronounced, also consider Phosphoric acid. If the act of wiping actually causes pain: Graphites. Diarrhea during pregnancy: Phosphorus Diarrhea during menopause: Lachesis Diarrhea following an injury: Arnica If it’s coming out as from a hydrant: Podophyllum If it has a really noxious smell: Baptisia Diarrhea following the consumption of:
If you find your appetite increases with diarrhea: Petroleum. Cold hands with diarrhea: Phosphorus Cold feet: Lycopodium Cold limbs: Arsenicum album, Camphora and Veratrum album Positionally speaking: If lying down make it worse: Dioscorea If lying down makes it better: Bryonia (though it may be worse lying on your side) Sitting upright makes it worse: Bryonia Time of day: If it starts after you have risen from bed and moving around: Bryonia or Nat sulph After midnight: Arsenicum album or Sulphur If the diarrhea causes sleeplessness: Phosphorus I changed my mind. I will use one more dysphemism: the sharts, also commonly referred to as “gambled and lost” (Flanagan 2010). If you are having diarrhea during rectal flatus, there are a number of well indicated remedies, but I would start with Aloe — the remedy for an insecure rectum (click that link to read the previous article with the same name.) What would cause an “insecure rectum?” Let’s go back to Giulia Enders’ Gut for this explanation. Apparently we have a pair of “sophisticated” sphincters which Enders takes a few pages to explain and I am going to try and shrink it down to the bare essentials using her words, (but the full explanation is certainly worth a read). “The outer muscle is a faithful servant of our consciousness. When our brain deems it an unsuitable time to go to the toilet, the external sphincter obeys and stays closed with all its might. … Our internal sphincter is a no-nonsense little guy. His motto is, ‘If it’s gotta come out, it’s gotta come out!’ … The external sphincter, on the other hand, has to deal with the vagaries of the outside world and its many options.” Suffice it to say, we need these two sphincters to communicate well. A few more remedies for involuntary stool (not necessarily diarrhea):
As you can see, homeopathy can be invaluable when it comes to diarrhea — there is a homeopathic remedy for almost any situation! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits References:
Enders, G., 2015. Gut : the Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ. Greystone Books. Flanagan, D., 2010. Everybody poops 410 pounds a year : an illustrated bathroom companion for grown-ups. Berkeley, Ca: Ulysses Press. Murphy, R., n.d. Homeopathic Remedy Guide. accessed through Radar Opus software.  The Bristol stool scale was developed at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in 1997 and is based on the poops of approximately 2,000 people. Developed by Dr. Ken Heaton, this scale makes it a little easier for people to discuss what comes out the other end. One way of looking at this scale is to think about how much water is in each type of poop. 1 & 2 are very dry and may be seen when one is constipated. 6 & 7 are considered diarrhea — plenty of water in these poops. #4 is Goldilocks (Goldilogs?!) and 3 & 5 are either side of “just right” and considered pretty good. NOTE: if you consistently pass either the hard poops or the mushy poops, OR, if you switch back and forth between the two, then you may want to speak with a physician.  Let’s talk about how these poops come about. For this information, I’m going to rely primarily on Gut: The Inside Story of our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders* (2015). (Sometimes word for word and sometimes paraphrased. Rest assured, all this technical info is coming from here, unless otherwise mentioned.) Poops are 3/4 water. 1/3 of the solids are bacteria. Another 1/3 is indigestible vegetable fiber. (The more fruit and veg you eat, the more feces you excrete per bowel movement.) The last 1/3 is stuff your body wants out: remains of medicines, food coloring or cholesterol. Enders says the type of poop can indicate how long it takes for the indigestible particles to pass through one’s gut. With this in mind, she says Type 1, the rabbit pellets — the hard, little lumps — can take around 100 hours to pass through the system. On the other end, Type 7 — the diarrhea — can whiz through in 10 hours (or less!). Let me add here that Lewis and Heaton (1997) found the Bristol Stool Scale is a useful guide to intestinal transit time. If you are in the envied position of regularly doing 3s and 4s, Enders says to make sure to observe how quickly they sink. If they sink too quickly it may indicate they still contain nutrients that weren’t digested properly. Kate Deering, author of How to Heal Your Metabolism (2015) describes a healthy feces as "firm, about 6-8 inches in length and about an inch in diameter." She continues: "If you are having a hard time eliminating you may be dehydrated and need to add in more minerals (primarily salt), fruit and water-containing foods to your diet." How long should it take to poop? That’s a trickier question than it first appears to be. Soft Matter journal (Yang et al. 2017) says the average mammal — regardless of size — takes just 12 seconds to poop. According to Mayo Clinic (Rajan 2019), it takes about 6-8 hours for food to pass through the stomach and small intestine. Then it moves into the large intestine for further digestion, absorption of water … taking about 36 hours to get all the way through the system. Dr. Sonpal (Migala 2020) says it should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete a poop with “minimal straining.” What’s the best way to get the poop out? Back to Gut again, an Israeli doctor, Dov Sikirov, had 28 test subjects poop in three different positions (normal toilet, half sit/half squat on a low toilet and squatting without a seat) and recorded how long they each took and recorded how much straining each position required: “The results were clear. In a squatting position, the subjects took an average of 50 seconds and reported a feeling of full, satisfaction bowel emptying. The average time when seated was 130 seconds and the resulting feeling was deemed to be not quite so satisfactory.” Japanese researchers wanted a bit more assurance and they actually fed their volunteers “luminous substances” and x-rayed them while pooping in various positions. Again from Gut, “squatting does indeed lead to a nice, straight intestinal tract, allowing for a direct, easy exit.” Long story short here: if you have problems getting the poop out, try a squatting stool* (Do a quick search for “squat” and “toilet” and see the options available.) OK, back to the Bristol Stool Scale… NOTE: If you experience the following symptoms during bowel movements (pain, blood, excessive mucus), especially if they are ongoing, or, if you have recently had a change in bowel habits, be sure to seek professional medical advice. Homeopathy is all about balancing the entire system. The best way to do this is with a full consultation with a professional homeopath who is taking all sorts of everything into consideration. With that in mind, a good stool remedy is a good stool remedy. Bryonia may be my go-to remedy to think about for constipation (a “3” in Murphy’s repertory), but it’s also listed under the opposite: forcible, sudden, gushing, but this time it is a “1”. I am putting out a few remedies to consider for various stool issues, but don’t lock yourself into a hard-line of thinking here — there is flexibility. Don’t get stuck into, “but Bryonia is a dry poop remedy” way of thinking — Bryonia can be a good remedy for stools, in general. Type 1: also known as rabbit droppings. I have known young mothers who didn’t mind when their little ones had these — they could skip the diaper change and literally just pull the little pellets out of the diaper and carry on with the day. Easy? I suppose so. But if your little one is popping out this kind of poop, there might be some dehydration issues going on. Seriously. Don’t take this as normal. Homeopathically, we could look at rubrics such as: Stool, Balls, Stools like; or, like small balls; or, like laurel berries. There are lots of good remedies listed for this, but I would start with Alumina, Bryonia, Nat mur or Plumbum. (Can I just say how much I love the name Plumbum? It’s Latin for lead and I think it’s just perfect — it’s helpful for plumbing the bum and getting the lead out when one is all bunged up 🤣.) Dry stool is an even bigger rubric with a lot of the above-repeating rubrics. However, I would start with Bryonia or Nux vomica. If it’s a dry and crumbling stool, Alumina. If it’s a dry stool which kind of starts and stops and then recedes, start with Silica. Type 2: still dry, but this time the pebbles have been fused together. For this one, all of the above dry stool remedies are worth considering, but I would probably start with Nux vomica. If it’s a lumpy stool covered with mucus**, start with Alumina. A dry and crumbling stool, Alumina or Nat mur. A lovely rubric: Stool, Sheep, dung, like - agglutinated, masses of: Plumbum. Type 3: is a little tougher to distinguish, homeopathically speaking. 3 is moving toward the “Goldilog” so perhaps just a little more fluid in your diet should do the trick? Type 4: smooth sailing — keep up the good work! Type 5: the pediatric Bristol Stool Form Scale describes this as “chicken nuggets” — soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily). Like Type 3, I think we’re hovering around “good to go” — there may not be an issue here that needs to be addressed. Type 6: A mushy stool — not formed. If it looks like corn meal: Bryonia. Other remedies to consider: Rhus tox and Podophyllum. If it’s an involuntary soft stool, start with Aloe. Type 7: entirely liquid — now we’re moving into total diarrhea territory and there are many, many remedies to address this. I will be writing more in-depth about diarrhea shortly, but for today, let’s just start with Arsenicum album, China officinalis or Phosphoric acid. Once again, if your regular stool is not hovering around 3, 4, and 5, please seek a professional medical opinion. Don’t forget to check out the deposits you make into the porcelain bank! Any regular stools on either end of this scale should be evaluated by a medical professional. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * I have no affiliation with this book, I just really like it — very fun and highly readable! ** (Note: A small amount of mucus on the stool is usually not a cause for concern. Mucus lines your intestines to keep your colon running smoothly, among other tasks. However, if there is excessive mucus in or on the stool it may be a sign of an underlying condition such as: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, food poisoning, bowel obstruction or blockage, cancer of the rectum or colon. If you have excessive mucus or even a small amount of mucus which is on-going, seek professional medical advice, especially if it is accompanied by abdominal pain, bloody stools, fever or weight loss (Mayo Clinic). Check out this article for more information.) REFERENCES:
Deering, K., 2015. How to heal your metabolism : stop blaming aging for your slowing metabolism! : learn how the right foods, sleep, the right amount of exercise, and happiness can increase your metabolic rate and help heal your broken metabolism. United States: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. Enders, G., 2015. Gut : the Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ. Greystone Books. Lewis, S. J. and Heaton, K. W. (1997) ‘Stool Form Scale as a Useful Guide to Intestinal Transit Time’, Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 32(9), pp. 920–924. Migala, J., 2020. How Long It Should Take to Have a Healthy Poop, According to Gastroenterologists [online]. Livestrong.com. Yang, P. J., LaMarca, M., Kaminski, C., Chu, D. I. and Hu, D. L., 2017. Hydrodynamics of defecation. Soft Matter, 13 (29), 4960–4970. |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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