• Profuseness of all discharges, leading to prostration and collapse, violent vomiting with profuse diarrhoea.
• Cold perspiration on forehead with all complaints
• Thirst for large quantities of cold water
• Craving for acrid, cold drinks, juices and refreshing things

Sources: Vegetable kingdom

Synonyms: White hellebore, White flower veratrum
Family: Melanthaceae
Prover: Dr Hahnemann in 1805
Duration of Action: 20 to 30 days
Míasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Sanguine and nervous
Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: It was introduced in homeopathy by Dr Hahnemann in 1805. It was known for centuries as one of the great remedies for collapse and pain.

Habit and Habitat: It is found in middle and southern Europe, Russia, China, Japan in mountainous regions like Alps of Switzerland. It is a deciduous and perineal herb. Stem is 5 feet high. It is round, almost covered by the sheaths of the leaves. Stem is downy above. Leaves are pliated, broad, ovate and blunt; leaves are of green colour, flowers are of greenish-white colour. They appear from June to August. They are found in erect position. Root is fleshy, fusiform and blackish, root fibres are strong. Roots are 2 to 3 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. All parts of the plant are extremely acrid and poisonous. Root has an offensive smell and a burning, acrid, bitter taste.

Preparation and Parts Used: Mother tincture is prepared from the roots; stocks are collected in early June before flowering. Higher potencies are prepared from the mother tincture.

Constitution and Physiognomy

1. It is best suited to children and old people who are habitually cold and deficient in vital reaction.
2. For young people and women who are of a nervous, sanguine temperament and are anaemic.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Nervous system, vasomotor nerves, capillaries, heart, respiratory system, digestive system, vertex, etc.

Active Principles (Chemical Constituents): Main constituents are protoveratrine, rubijervine, veratramine, germerine, jeruine, fats, chelidonic acid, veratric acid and large amount of sterine alkaloids.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts on blood which becomes disorganised and is separated into its constituent elements. The circulation becomes embarrassed and as a result general torpor of the vegetative system occurs.
2. Due to the action on the vegetative system it gives rise to a choleric condition, general coldness, prostration, collapse, copious watery vomiting and purging, spasmodic colic, cramps and spasms.
3. It also affects the sensorium causing excitement of cerebral nerves, resulting in delirium and mania.
4. Also produces exhaustion of nerve power, even complete exhaustion. It seems to act prominently on the abdominal organs, probably through the splenic nerve.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Never speaks the truth; does not know herself what she is saying.
2. Kissing everybody before menses. Dislikes talking, except in delirium. Nymphomania and satyriasis.
3. Delirium, heavy sleep, restlessness, thirst, cramps in legs, cold sweat, tingling; irregular pulse.
4. Mania with a desire to cut and tear, especially clothes; with nakedness and lascivious talk.
5. Three types of mania that is, the violent mania of Belladonna, the religious mania of Stramonium and the lascivious mania of Hyoscyamus, and each one tries to suppress the other.
6. Sensation of a lump of ice on the vertex.
7. The patient does not want to be alone, cannot bear to be left alone, yet persistently refuses to talk.
8. Thinks she is pregnant and will soon be delivered.
9. State of brooding, full of despair and hopelessness.
10. Great despair in young girls at the time of puberty along with, or associated with menstrual or uterine troubles.
11. Patient has despair of his recovery and wants to commit suicide.
12. Sinking feeling during haemorrhage.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Sensation: Cold feeling in abdomen. Feels as if a lump of ice was on top of the head. Great sensation of coldness, as if blood were ice water.

Face: Pale, blue, collapsed; face sunken, hippocratic; red while lying, becomes pale on rising up.

Insanity: Insanity with tearing of clothes; violence; busy at work; anxiety about salvation; praying loudly; erotic; exposes the person.

Convulsions: Convulsions of children, from fright, epileptiform, hysterical, puerperal, with tetanic rigidity.

Weakness: Nervous, sudden paralysis; perspiration from weakness; after Stools, diarrhoea.

Thirst: Intense, unquenchable thirst for large quantities of water.

Diarrhoea: Frequent, watery, greenish, gushing, with cutting colic, with cramps.

Vomiting: Excessive vomiting with nausea and great prostration, worse by drinking and least motion.

Dysmenorrhoea: Dysmenorrhoea with vomiting and purging, exhausting diarrhoea, with cold sweats.

Constipation: No desire; stool large, hard, round black balls; due to an inactive rectum; frequent desire felt at epigastrium, painful; of infants and children.

Pains: Pains cutting, pressing, as if scraped, bruised and sore.

Faintness: Faintness, hysterical after a fright, from pain, during menses, during labour, while fasting, with cyanosis.

Icy coldness: Icy coldness of face, tip of nose, body, extremities and abdomen.

Dryness: Dryness in nose, mouth, throat, palate, eyelids, etc. Mouth dry and clammy. Distressing sensation of dryness in nose.

Cyanosis: Blueness with coldness. Bluish colour of face. Nails blue from coldness. General blueness due to circulation of imperfectly oxygenated blood.

Craving: Craving for acids or refreshing things. Fruits, cold food, water and juicy things.

Cholera: Vomiting and purging, stool profuse, watery, gushing, prostrating, after fright.

Aversions: Aversion to warm things.

Profuseness: Profuseness of all discharges is the keynote symptom of this drug.

Perspiration: Cold perspiration all over the body, especially on the forehead, with nearly all complaints.

Important Characteristic Features

Cholera: Useful both in cholera Asiatica and cholera morbus. It is indicated by the following symptoms – vomiting and purging at the same time, colicky pains through the abdomen, with cramps, especially in calves of the legs and profuse watery stools (rice water stools), they are attended with great prostration and cold sweat on the forehead. Coldness and blueness of the surface and symptoms of collapse. All the symptoms are worse at night. Emaciation is rapid and pronounced. Useful also in acute attacks of arsenical poisoning, simulating those of cholera morbus. It is useless to give Veratrum album in cholera affections, unless there is pain.

Diarrhoea: The diarrhoea calling for this remedy has profuse, watery, greenish stools, containing sometimes little flakes that look like spinach. At times, they are bloody and are always associated with sharp cutting pains in the abdomen, and often, too, with cramps in the limbs. It has great Weakness, almost to fainting, with every effort at stool and copious, frothy vomiting. Cold sweat on the forehead is invariably present. It is also indicated in diarrhoea after fright, associated with coldness; cold sweat on the forehead and prostration.

Nausea and vomiting: Cold feeling in the stomach with cutting pain as if from knives. Also sinking feeling in the stomach. Nausea and vomiting just after eating and drinking is frequently found. The patient craves acid and refreshing, juicy things. There is great thirst for huge quantities of icy cold Water.

Constipation: Though this remedy is one of our diarrhoea remedies, it has a marked effect in the treatment of constipation. The symptoms calling for its use are as follows: There is complete atony of the intestines. Faeces accumulate in large masses in the rectum, the patient strains and strains, but finally has to give it up; faeces have to be removed by artificial means. Often breaking out into a sweat. Stools are large, hard and black. With the diarrhoea there may be faintness after the stool.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Least motion, after drinking, before and during menses, during stool, when perspiring, after fright, after stool, change of weather, cloudy weather, wet cold air, foggy weather, from exertion, eating beans, peas, cabbage, from beer, tea, fruits, potatoes.

Amelioration: Warm food, covering, lying, walking about.

Remedy Relationships

Complementary: Arn.

Follows well: Arg-n, Bell, Cham, Carb-v, Puls, Rhus t.

Antidotes: Acon, Camph, Chin.

Antidotal to: Ars, Chin, Ferr, Op, Tab; bad effects of alcohol.

Compare: Hyos, Stram, Sep, Agar, Ars, Tab, Acon.

Comparison

Constipation of children, stool large, hard like black balls: Alum, Plb, Verat.

Cholera-like symptoms at the commencement of menses: Am-c, Bov, Verat.

Vomiting with diarrhoea and cold sweat: Ars, Ant-t, Verat.

Boy complaints after using tobacco: Ars, Arg-n, Verat.

Rapid emaciation with cold sweat and great debility: Ars, Tub, Verat.

Surface cold to touch, likes to be covered: Ars, Cupr, Verat.

Copious watery diarrhoea: Crot-t, Verat.

Cold spot on vertex: Sep, Verat.

Alternate constipation and diarrhoea: Nux-v, Sulph, Verat.

Diarrhoea from eating fruits: Puls, Chin, Verat.

Coldness of vertex with headache: Sep, Verat,

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

Dosage

1. 6 to 30 potency and higher.
2. In diarrhoea, sixth potency and upwards.
3. In mental cases 200 and higher.

Repetition: Bears repetition well.

Therapeutic Value: Angina pectoris, Apoplexy, Asthma, Cholera, Colic, Collapse, Constipation, Cramps, Debility, Diarrhoea, Epilepsy, Gastric and abdominal disorders, Headache, Influenza, Intermittent fever, Labour, Mania, Melancholia, Meningitis, Menstrual disorders, Rheumatism, Vertigo, etc.

Note

1. In diarrhoea or cholera, Veratrum album is seldom indicated in painless cases.
2. Kent says, ‘Veratrum is a remedy that would keep many women out of the insane asylum, especially those with uterine troubles.’