CANTHARIDES

 

Homoeopathic remedy Cantharides is prepared from Spanish fly. First it reducing into coarse powder and then it mixed with alcohol to prepare mother tincture. It was introduced in Homoeopathy by our master Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann MD.

          The key symptom of Cantharides is severe burning pain anywhere in the body associated with any disease. Burning cannot relief by anything, even application of cold or water aggravates complaints. All the symptoms of Cantharides are developed rapidly (as like as Belladonna, Aconite). Intensity of disease is so severe that patient cannot tolerate it, crying or screaming to get relief from burden.

          Cantharides mostly useable for the treatment of any type of urinary disorder when there is the prominent symptom burning is present. It also acts upon other system of the body which I describe after describing urinary symptoms.

·       Urinary disorder: Cantharides is used for urinary tract infection, painful urination, urinary incontinence, haematuria, renal colic, proteinuria, anuria. Most prominent symptoms of Cantharides is burning before, during and after urination. Burning is so severe that patient may crying for pain. Violent urging with scanty micturition. Drop by drop urination which irritate and burns the urethra. Every drop of urine is coming after great pressure with burning like, fire of coal passing.

In case of renal colic, patient feel violent cutting and lancinating pain in bladder area may radiate to the back. Urine mixed with blood. Retention of urine with violent irritation in urethra.

Patient feel thirsty and desire to drink but taking a sip of water increase his complaints. Urinary complaints are relief by rubbing or applying warm.

·       Mind symptoms: Cantharides patients are oversensitive. During disease state they doing irrelevant behaviour. Patient mental state is not as in a state of conscious. He screams, cry, through objects, saying irrelevant words etc. due to excessive intensity of sufferings become unbearable to him so he does this for reducing his complaints.  

·       Skin condition: Cantharides is used for treating rapid spread erysipelas with development of blister & discoloration of skin. It also useful for external burns where the skin is unbroken and blisters not form. In case of minor burn few drops of Cantharides mother tincture mixed with water and then apply on external skin that immediately relieve the burning pain.  

·       Cantharides sometime used for the treatment of hydrophobia because it has great fear of drinking water. The person desire to drink but when offer he though it.

·       Female complaints: Cantharides acts as ecbolic. It is used for removing retained placenta, uterine moles. It is useful if the symptoms of severe burning and itching in vagina with scanty micturition is present. Secale is another homoeopathic medicine useful for removing uterine content but it is not showing the symptoms of burning so severe as cantharides. Secale patients are scrawny, debilitated and old looking. Having menstrual irregularities, menstrual blood is dark looking and only oozing out.

·       Intestinal complaints: Cantharides useful for dysentery. Violent colicky pain with urging for stool. Burning during and after defecation. Bloody stool with passing of intestinal scrapings of mucous. Tenesmus after stool passing. Dysentery also associated with dysuria.

·       Cantharides also have great tendency of bleeding. Bleeding from nose, eyes, urine, uterus, intestine. In female, menses appears too early with violent burning in vagina with dysuria. Menstrual blood is dark red in color with backache.

·       Modalities: Generally, Cantharides symptoms are aggravated in drinking water, touch, after urinating in urinary problem. Symptoms are ameliorated by warm application and rubbing.

 

 

___Amatul Zami Aditi

  Student (final year B.H.M.S.)

Govt. Homoeopathic Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh.