• Oedematous, puffy, bag-like swelling under the eyes
• Dropsy without thirst, and fever with thirst
• Sensation as though anus was wide open in diarrhoea

Source: Animal kingdom
Synonyms: Honeybee poison, Madhu makhi
Family: Apidae
Prover: Dr Frederick Humphries in 1852. It is also proved by Brauns and introduced by E.E. Marey to homeopathy
Duration of Action: Uncertain
Miasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Nervous and irritable
Diathesis: Scrofulous
Thermal Relationship: Hot patient

Introduction and History: Apis is an invaluable acquisition to our materia medica. The genus Apis is of European origin and is widely distributed all over the world. Female bees are distinguished from the males by their shorter abdomen. Only the female bees have poisonous stings. In males, the mouth parts are well developed. Honey bees are found in India and other parts of the world.

Preparation and Parts Used: Live honey bees are used for preparation of the drug. Bees are put into a bottle and irritated by shaking. Dilute alcohol is poured five times and this is kept closed for a week. The bottle should be shaken two times a day, The tincture is then poured off and from this mother tincture, potentized medicine is prepared.

Constitution and Physiognomy: Scrofulous constitution. It is characterized by oedematous swelling of the face, especially under the lower eyelids. The face is pale and waxy. Women, especially widows are very adaptable to this remedy.

Ailments From: Shock, from bad news, disappointments, jealousy, rage, fright, vexation, suppressed urticaria, suppressed rash, getting wet.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Mind, glands, brain, kidneys, bladder, skin, heart, serous cavities, eyes, ovaries, cellular tissues, etc.

Doctrine of Signature: The queen bee is the most jealous organism in nature. Hence, the Apis patient is also very jealous and suspicious in nature.

Active Principles (Chemical Constituents): Honey bee poison contains toxalbumin and the effects are similar to those of other animal poisons, such as the toxalbumin of snakes, spiders and lizards. The following table includes the active principles and their respective actions.

Physiological Action

(1) The main action of the poison is on the skin and on the nervous system.

(2) Affected part swells up, is hot and red, with a stinging, burning and itching sensation. Intense pain, skin appears like urticarial patches, red and shining; mucous membranes become inflamed and swollen, especially that of the eyes or loose tissues; urinary system gets inflamed with a burning sensation; scanty urine with a feeling as if there is a stricture in the urethra; rheumatic pain in the joints of the wrist, shoulders, etc. Sensorium is depressed; sleepy or drowsiness, sometimes unconsciousness.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts on the nervous system, sensorium is depressed to the point of drowsiness, even to unconsciousness.
2. It acts on the skin, mucous membranes, which get affected – swollen and inflamed; particularly in the eyes and where there is loose tissue; thus it causes oedema and anasarca.
3. Urticarial patches with burning, stinging; redness and a shiny surface of the skin are seen.
4. Also acts on the urinary system producing inflammation; burning and scanty urine with a feeling of stricture in the urethra.
5. Acts on the glands, causing induration and enlargement.
6. It acts on the lungs that is, on the pleura and produces wet pleurisy.
7. Acts on joints like wrists, shoulders, ankles, etc. producing rheumatic pains.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Patient is absentminded with impaired memory.
2. Moaning and whining; weeping disposition, cannot help crying; discouraged and despondent.
3. Patient is very restless, constantly changes his occupation.
4. Patient is very nervous, irritable, fidgety and very hard to please; sad and melancholic.
5. Patient is very awkward, drops things while handling them.
6. Very jealous, especially widows. Apathetic, listless, fault-finding, joyless.
7. Indolent and suspicious.
8. There is a kind of constricted feeling. Stretched, ‘tight feeling’; sensation in abdomen as if something is tight.
9. Dreams full of care and toil, of flying through the air.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Thirstlessness: Patient is totally thirstless except in intermittent chill at 3 to 4 pm.

Right-sidedness: It is a right sided medicine. The right side especially gets affected first and then the left side.

Oedema: It may be local or general. Oedematous swelling is particularly marked in the throat, face and below the lower eyelids. Sometimes general anasarca is found.

Scanty urine: Urine is scanty and high coloured, coming in drops, sometimes suppressed; retention of urine in nursing infants with thirstlessness; alburninuria with tubal casts in urine.

Soreness: Patient is very sensitive to touch and pressure; bruised and sore feeling all over the body, Uterine and ovarian region is very tender and painful to touch and pressure.

Burning stinging pains: It is a great pain remedy with a character of burning, stinging and sore pain. This suddenly migrates from one part to another.

Rapidity and violent: All the symptoms of Apis mellifica come on with great rapidity and violence until unconsciousness is reached.

Tension: Stretched, tight feeling, tension; this sensation of tightness is observed in many symptoms, great aversion to tight bandage like Lachesis.

Diarrhoea: Involuntary diarrhoea of drunkards with the sensation as if the anus remained wide open; stool, greenish, yellowish, slimy, mucoid; worse in the morning with no thirst.

Constipation: During constipation, sensation in the abdomen as if something tight would break if too much effort was made.

Panting respiration: Feels as if every breath would be his last; especially in asthma, feels suffocated in dropsical conditions and in the heat stage of intermittent fever.

Suppression, bad effects from: After suppression of scarlet eruptions there is delirium with sharp sudden shrills; stupor in case of brain diseases.

Constriction: Sensation of constriction and tightness, could not swallow solid food.

Screaming and grasping: Children wake up suddenly screaming and grasping the sides of the cradle without any apparent cause.

Fever: Skin alternately dry and perspiring during fever.

Important Characteristic Features

Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea due to suppression of eruptions, in drunkards, in eruptive diseases. Stool is watery, greenish, yellowish, with slimy mucous; worse in the morning with no thirst. Involuntary diarrhoea, painless, bloody and very offensive, with every motion as though the anus stood wide open. Before passing of stool there is much flatus with a rumbling noise, there is great tenesmus and griping pain with soreness in the anus, nausea, vomiting and painful urination. After stool there is a throbbing pain in the rectum. No thirst and appetite.

Fever: It is a very good medicine for typhoid and malaria.

(i) Typhoid: In typhoid there is stupor with muttering delirium; trembling tongue which gets caught between the teeth when protruding it. Tongue is cracked with blisters. Skin is hot and burning, mostly dry, sometimes perspiration is present. Patient is generally thirstless except during chill; continuous fever, chill running over the back, Patient is very sensitive to touch, wants open air.

(ii) Malaria: It is also an excellent drug for malaria. Chill starts at 3 pm with thirst. Swelling and burning of lips, no thirst during perspiratory stage. Pulse is full and rapid; trembling of tongue. Symptoms worse in a warm room and with external heat.

Urticaria: Apis mellifica is very useful in urticaria. Skin is very sensitive to touch; is waxy, painful and oedematous; stinging, burning, smarting, pricking and itching of the skin in erysipelas; swelling, especially under lower eyelids. All symptoms go from right to left.

Urinary complaints: It is a very well know medicine for urinary complaints. Urine scanty, high coloured, coming in drops with thirstlessness; urine may also be suppressed. Retention of urine in nursing infants. Incontinence of urine with great irritation of the parts. Urine is bloody, albuminous, with casts, very offensive. Great urging, constant and ineffectual. Stinging, burning and smarting pain during urination. Patient is generally thirstless.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Worse from heat, hot bath, by lying down, after sleep, afternoon at 3 pm, in a hot and warm room, from touch, pressure, getting wet.

Amelioration: Cold applications, cold bathing, open air, changing position, uncovering, getting erect, cool open air, expectoration, cold water.

Remedy Relationships

Complementary: Ars, Puls, Nat-m.

Follows well: Puls, Ars.

Antidotes: Dig, Chin, Canth.

Inimical: Rhus-t.

Comparison

Constant desire to urinate without amelioration (scanty, a few drops): Apis, Canth, Equis.

Threatened effusion in brain troubles: Apis, Hell, Tub.

Dropsy from suppressed exathemata: Apis, Hell, Zinc.

Incontinence of urine with urging, cannot get out of bed quickly enough: Apis, Kreos, Petr.

Great dryness of mouth: Apis, Lach, Ant-c.

Diarrhoea with anus wide open: Ant-c, Phos, Apis.

Constant desire to urinate without amelioration: Apis, Canth, Ant-c.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000.

Apis Mellifica Dosage

It gives good results from 6c to 200c.

Repetition: Bears repetition well in low potencies.

Therapeutic Value: Abscessess, Anasarca, Asthma, Boils, Bright’s disease, Cancer. Constipation, Convulsions, Diarrhoea, Diphtheria, Dysuria, Eye troubles, Gangrene. Hydrocoele, Kidney affections, Malarial fever, Meningitis, Menstrual disorders, Retention of urine in nursing infants, Rheumatism, Skin diseases, Tonsillitis, Typhoid fever, Urinary complaints.

Note

• Apis has a very slow action, that is why it should not be changed very soon.
• When there is increased flow of urine, it shows a favourable effect.
• Apis must not be used before or after Rhus toxicodendron.