Asa foetida
asa-foeGum of the Stinkasand The flatulence and spasmodic contraction of stomach and œsophagus with reverse peristalsis are the most marked symptoms. In its selection, its relation to the hysterical and hypochondriacal patients, must be borne in mind. Besides these superficial symptoms, it has been found to affect favorably deep ulcerations, caries of bones, especially in the syphilitic organism; here the extreme sensitiveness and terrible throbbing, nightly pains, guiding to its use.
Asa foetida — Materia Medica
Asa foetida — general · James Tyler Kent
This remedy in olden times was frequently abused for man and beast. Our grandfathers supposed it was a protection against disease and hence they used it in the stables. Lumps of "foetty," as they called it, where put in the corn for the horse, to keep off distempter. What it has accomplished I am unable to say, but it is certain that these farmers looked upon Asa foetida as a great protective against disease. It has been used also by the laity as a medicine for fainting, for hysteria, and all sorts of nervous symptoms and complaints. The use is justified by the proving. These things are scarcely worthy of note, but it shows the general use among the people, as a domestic medicine, in crude form. It has been used more extensively in this form than in professional practice in a legitimate way. Aspect: There is one class of patients you will find who will trouble you. Those cases that come into your office with puffed, venous, purple faces; they have an appearance of plethora; the face looks puffed, bloated and dropsical at times; it is a dark red, dusky face; such a face we shall cure sometimes with Asa foetida. Carbo an., Aurum, Carbo veg. and Pulsatilla are also related to this kind of face, but it is a very troublesome face, it shows more or less cardiac disturbance and venous stasis. The venous side of the heart will often be involved, or be about to be involved, when you have this kind of face. I never like to see them come into my office, for they are hard cases to manage.
Asa foetida — introduction · Margaret Lucy Tyler
whose every ailment is on the left side ; another, on the right. A study of these remedies is often useful in prescribing. The black type drugs that are very especially left sided are Arc. n., Asaf., Asar., Caps., Cina, Clem., Croc., Euphorb., Graph., Kre., Lach., Oleand., Phos., Selen., Sep., Stann. The very especially right-sided remedies in black type, are given as Ars., Aur., Bapt., Bell., Bor., Canth., Lyc., Puls., Ran. b., Sars., Sec., Sul. ac. Then there are others especially right or left sided, as Apis, Arg., Bry., Calc., Chel., Coloc., Ran. s., Sulph. Some, again (but everyone knows these) start right side, and cross to left, like Lyc. : or start left side and cross to right, as Lach. : or go from side to side and then back, as Lac can. One has seen this in throats, in diphtheria, and, in the latter case, in ovarian pain. There are so many interesting and intriguing things in homoeopathy that help in prescribing. The Asafaetida patient (i.e. the patient most affected by, and therefore most amenable to, the curative action of Asafaetida) is described as being of a plethoric appearance, face puffed, bloated, even dropsical—" puffed, venous, purple ”. Kent calls it “ a very troublesome face, suggesting cardiac disturbance and venous stasis ". (These patients have the extreme sensitiveness that make you think of such remedies as Hepar.) “ Fat, flabby, purple : and therewith extremely sensitive to pain, full of hysteria." Such persons may have ulcers, extremely sensitive, and extremely offensive. Periostitis, especially of tibia {Asaf. is one of the drugs that affect the tibia, vying with Agar., Lach., Rhus, etc.—and Drôs.).
Asa foetida — head · James Tyler Kent
All over the head there is stitching pain, but in the frontal eminence, in the temples, there is a sensation as if a nail or plug were driven in, and most of the pains seem to bore, as if they extended from the bone to the surface, and hence are said to be from within out.
Asa foetida — eyes · James Tyler Kent
It is useful in old syphilitics who are subject to eye complaints, ulcers on the eyeball, ulcers on the cornea, ameliorated in the open air, with a sensation of numbness in the eyes; inflammation of the iris, with ragged appearance of the iris; they are subject also to severe, sharp stitching pains that come from within out. The remedy is full of burning, and so the eyeballs burn, better in the open air. Iritis, but the inflammation sometimes involves the choroid, the retina, and mucous membrane, making a general inflammatory condition of syphilitic character. There are tearing pains in various places around the eyes; sticking, stitching pains, worse at night. Ulcers, with stitching pains, worse at night. Burning. stitching in the eyes with dryness, so that the lids stick to the balls of the eyes, pain worse at night. There is a misty appearance before the eyes, dullness as if looking through a fog. It also seems as if the atmosphere were filled with little floating black flies. "Muscae volantes." You have looked into the air and seen little gnats and mosquitoes; well it appears to these patients as if these were there when they are not there. The discharge from the eyes is ichorous, bloody and often offensive. This same syphilitic miasm may attack the car and the bones of the car. These bones may decay and the hearing be lost. "Burning in the ear with discharge of foetid pus." Stitching pains in the ears from within out.
Asa foetida — ears · William Boericke
Offensive otorrhœa, with boring pains in mastoid bone. Mastoid disease with pain in temporal region with pushing out sensation. Offensive, purulent discharge.
Asa foetida — nose · James Tyler Kent
A horribly offensive discharge comes from the nose; ulcers high up in the nose; caries of the bones of the nose; syphilitic ozoena. Putrid old catarrhs. "Feeling as if the nose stopped high up, as if he could not breathe through it, with fullness of the head, when riding in a carriage." (Aurum, Aurum mur.) Numbness is a great feature of this remedy, numbness of the scalp, or deep in the head; numbness here and there; numb, dead feeling associated with the pain; numbness after pain; often numbness after sleep. Other nervous manifestations occur besides those that are hysterical. It has choreic motions. You would expect such a peculiar nervous constitution to have almost everything among its nervous symptoms. "Constantly chewing and working frothy slime out of mouth, with swollen tongue." "Speech unintelligible." "Grinding of teeth; starting at night." Swelling of the lips, and of the whole buccal mucous membrane, especially the lower lip, with burning in the mouth. There are syphilitic symptoms in the throat, attended with the usual burning, darting, stitching in ulcers; pain when swallowing; a sensation of a ball rising in the throat, such as occurs in globus hystericus; choking, must constantly swallow. Hysterical and choreic affections of the oesophagus and trachea. Spasms of the oesophagus. This lump in the throat, or suffocation, is a sort of hysterical spasm of the oesophagus. "Dryness and burning in the oesophagus."
Unlock 14+ more Materia Medica entries for Asa foetida
Read the full multi-book Materia Medica, repertorise Asa foetida, ask the AI tutor about it, and practise it in a live AI case — free account, no card required.
Create your free account