Cyclamen europaeum
Cyclamen purpurascens · Cyclamen, sowbread. · Plant · Primulaceae
Cyclamen is best suited to rather dutiful, conscience-stricken people who tend to find fault with themselves and others. Prone to drowsiness, gloominess, and depression, they may wish to be alone and cry or weep silently, or they may have a sense of joy that alternates with irritability.
The symptom picture for Cyclamen typically focuses on menstrual problems and indigestion. The remedy is used when the menstrual flow is irregular, possibly too frequent, or absent. Blood flow may be profuse and black, or the blood may clot too rapidly, and there may be severe pains resembling those felt during labor. Migraines, a squint, or visual disturbances may accompany these symptoms.
Extreme indigestion that is aggravated by eating fats is another condition suitable for treatment with Cyclamen.
Key symptoms
- Sleepiness, moroseness, and lassitude
- Flickering of various colors
- Sees countless stars
- Salty taste
- hiccough
- Pain about anus and perineum
- profuse, black
- clotted, too early, with labor-like pains
Worse (aggravation)
Better (amelioration)
Sow-bread (CYCLAMEN)
Large doses produce violent purging and vomiting; disturbed digestion with very salty saliva. Anæmic and chlorotic conditions. Affections of uterus. Gastro-intestinal and genito-urinary tracts affected, inducing secondary anæmia and various reflexes. Sleepiness, moroseness, and lassitude. Cough at night while asleep without waking, especially in children (Cham; Nitr ac).
Head
Terrors of conscience. Grieves over duty neglected. Depression, with weeping desire to be alone. Aching in morning, with flickering before eyes; sneezing with itching in ear. Vertigo; things turn in a circle; better in the room; worse, open air. One-sided headache. Frequent sneezing with itching in ears.
Eyes
Dim vision, worse on waking, with spots before eyes. Flickering of various colors. Convergent strabismus. Sees countless stars. Diplopia. Disturbance of vision, associated with gastric disturbances.
Stomach
Salty taste; hiccough-like eructation worse, fat food. Diarrhœa after every cup of coffee; hiccough. Satiety after a few mouthfuls. Disgust for meat, especially pork. Desire for lemonade. No thirst all day.
Rectum
Pain about anus and perineum, as if a spot were suppurating, when walking or sitting.
Female
Menses profuse, black, membranous, clotted, too early, with labor-like pains from back to pubes. Flow less when moving about. Menstrual irregularities with megrim and blindness, or fiery spots before eyes. Hiccough during pregnancy. Post-partum hæmorrhage, with colicky bearing-down pains, with relief after gush of blood. After menses, swelling of breasts, with milky secretion.
Extremities
Pains in parts where bones lie near surface. Burning, sore pain in heels. Cramp-like contraction of right thumb and index finger. Pains in periosteum. Chilblains.
Skin
Acne in young women, pruritus better scratching and appearance of menses.
Modalities
Worse, open air, evenings, sitting, standing, and cold water. Better, during menstrual flow, by moving about, rubbing parts; in warm room, lemonade.
Relationship
Compare: Ambra; Pulsat; Cinchona; Fer cit et Chin.
Dose
Third attenuation.
Sow Bread. (Primulaccae.)
Best suited for leuco-phlegmatic persons with anaemic or chlorotic conditions; easily fatigued, and in consequence not inclined to any kind of labor; feeble or suspended functions of organs or special senses. Pale, chlorotic; deranged menses (Fer., Puls.), accompanied by vertigo, headache, dim vision. Pains; pressive, drawing or tearing of parts where bone lie near the surface. Ailments: from suppressed grief and terrors of conscience; from duty not done or bad act committed. Great sadness and peevishness, irritable, morose, ill-humored; inclined to weep; desire for solitude; aversion to open air (rev. of Puls.). Headache in anaemic patients, with flickering before eyes or dim vision, on rising in morning. Flickering before eyes, fiery sparks, as of various colors, glittering needles, dim vision of fog or smoke. Satiety after a few mouthfuls (Lyc.), food then becomes repugnant, causes nausea in throat and palate. Saliva and all food has a salty taste; pork disagrees. Menses: too early, too …
Phatak's chapter on Cyclamen europaeum is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
