Staphysagria
Delphinium staphisagria · Stavesacre, palmated larkspur, housewort · Plant · Ranunculaceae
Staphysagria is most appropriate for people who bottle up their emotions, especially rage. They tend to be extremely sensitive, particularly to criticism or rudeness. Irritation and anger can bubble away inside them, although they appear mild-natured and yielding on the surface, avoiding confrontation. When their emotions finally erupt, they often overreact and tremble with anger. There may be a history of abuse.
Common physical symptoms include perspiration, gas, and stools that smell of rotten eggs. Cravings for alcohol and sweet foods are typical. Suppressing emotions may cause headaches, depression, or an increased sex drive. Despite shyness, the libido is often high and there is a tendency to masturbate.
Staphysagria is generally most commonly prescribed for cystitis and other urogenital disorders, and for joint pains and neuralgia, skin conditions, insomnia, and toothaches
Key symptoms
- conditions generated as side-effects of surgery, particularly urogenital surgery
- suppressed emotions
- increased sex drive and masturbation
Worse (aggravation)
- Worse from anger, indignation, grief, mortification
- Worse from loss of fluids and sexual excesses
- Worse from onanism and tobacco
- Worse from least touch on affected parts
Better (amelioration)
- Better after breakfast
- Better from warmth
- Better from rest at night
Stavesacre
Nervous affections with marked irritability, diseases of the genito-urinary tract and skin, most frequently give symptoms calling for this drug. Acts on teeth and alveolar periosteum. Ill effects of anger and insults. Sexual sins and excesses. Very sensitive. Lacerated tissues. Pain and nervousness after extraction of teeth. Sphincters lacerated or stretched.
Mind
Impetuous, violent outbursts of passion, hypochondriacal, sad. Very sensitive as to what others say about her. Dwells on sexual matters; prefers solitude. Peevish. Child cries for many things, and refuses them when offered.
Head
Stupefying headache; passes off with yawning. Brain feels squeezed. Sensation of a ball of lead in forehead. Itching eruption above and behind ears (Oleand).
Eyes
Heat in eyeballs, dims spectacles. Recurrent styes. Chalazæ (Platanus). Eyes sunken, with blue rings. Margin of lids itch. Affections of angles of eye, particularly the inner. Lacerated or incised wounds of cornea. Bursting pain in eyeballs of syphilitic iritis.
Throat
Stitches flying to the ear on swallowing, especially left.
Mouth
Toothache during menses. Teeth black and crumbling. Salivation, spongy gums, bleed easily (Merc; Kreos). Submaxillary glands swollen. After eating feels sleepy pyorrhea (Plantago)
Stomach
Flabby and weak. Desire for stimulants. Stomach feels relaxed. Craving for tobacco. Canine hunger, even when stomach is full. Nausea after abdominal operations.
Abdomen
Colic after anger. Hot flatus. Swollen abdomen in children, with much flatus. Colic, with pelvic tenesmus. Severe pain following an abdominal operation. Incarcerated flatus. Diarrhœa after drinking cold water, with tenesmus. Constipation (2 drops tincture night and morning), hæmorrhoids, with enlarged prostate.
Male
Especially after self-abuse; persistent dwelling on sexual subjects. Spermatorrhœa, with sunken features; guilty look; emissions, with backache and weakness and sexual neurasthenia. Dyspnœa after coition.
Female
Parts very sensitive, worse sitting down (Berb; Kreos). Irritable bladder in young married women. Leucorrhœa. Prolapsus, with sinking in the abdomen; aching around the hips.
Urinary
Cystocele (locally and internally). Cystitis in lying-in patients. Ineffectual urging to urinate in newly married women. Pressure upon bladder; feels as if it did not empty. Sensation as if a drop of urine were rolling continuously along the channel. Burning in urethra during micturition. Prostatic troubles; frequent urination, burning in urethra when not urinating (Thuja; Sabal; Ferr pic). Urging and pain after urinating. Pain after lithotomy.
Skin
Eczema of head, ears, face, and body; thick scabs, dry, and itch violently; scratching changes location of itching. Fig-warts pedunculated (Thuja). Arthritic nodes. Inflammation of phalanges. Night-sweats.
Extremities
Muscles, especially of calves, feel bruised. Backache; worse in morning before rising. Extremities feel beaten and painful. Joints stiff. Crural neuralgia. Dull aching of nates extending to hip-joint and small of back.
Modalities
Worse, anger, indignation, grief, mortification, loss of fluids, onanism, sexual excesses, tobacco; least touch on affected parts. Better, after breakfast, warmth, rest at night.
Relationship
Inimical: Ranunc bulb.
Complementary: Caust; Colocy.
Compare: Ferrum pyrophos (tarsal cysts); Colocy; Caust; Ign; Phos ac; Calad.
Antidote: Camph.
Dose
Third to thirtieth potency.
Mind
The mental symptoms are very important, and the impressions made upon the mind and thence upon the body guide to Staphysagria as a remedy.
Excitable, easily aroused to anger, but seldom irascible, that is, easily disturbed and excited, but seldom manifests it.
Suitable in cases where complaints come from pent up wrath, suppressed anger, suppressed feelings. The person becomes speechless from suppressed indignation, anger with indignation. Complaints brought on by these causes; irritable bladder with frequent urging to urinate, lasting many days after suppressed wrath, after insults.
"Great indignation about things done by others or by himself; grieves about consequences."
Delphinium staphisagria. Stavesacre. N. O. Ranunculaceæ. Tincture of the seeds.
Clinical
Adenoids. Anger, fits of. Anus, itching of. Backache. Bashfulness. Blepharitis. Bones, diseases of. Cauliflower excrescences. Chalazion. Condylomata. Cough. Cysts. Dentition. Dysentery. Dysparunia; in newly married women. Eczema. Eyes, tumours on. Fistula dentalis. Gastralgia. Glands, affections of. Hip-joint disease. Hypochondriasis. Impotency. Iritis; syphilitic. Jaw-joint, easy dislocation of. Lumbar abscess. Mania. Masturbation, effects of. Neuralgia. Night-sweats. Nymphomania. Ovaries, affections of. Pediculosis. Perspiration, offensive. Pregnancy, nausea of. Prostate, affections of. Psoas abscess. Ranula. Rheumatism. Sciatica. Scurvy. Sea-sickness. Seborrhœa. Self-abuse. Spermatic cords, affections of. Spermatorrhœa. Steatoma. Stiff-neck. Styes. Swallowing, constant while talking. Teeth, caries of. Testicles, affections of. Tibiæ, pains in. Tobacco, effect of. Toenail, ingrowing. Tonsillitis. Toothache. Tumours; tarsal. Voice, nasal; hoarse. Warts.
Stavesacre. (Ranunculaceae.)
For the mental effects of onanism and sexual excesses. Very sensitive to slight mental impressions; least action or harmless words offend (Ign.). Great indignation about things done by others or by himself; grieves about consequences. Apathetic, indifferent, low-spirited, weak memory from sexual abuses (Anac., Aur., Nat., Phos. ac.). Ailments from pride, envy or chagrin. Ill-humored children cry for things which, after receiving, they petulantly push or throw away (Kreos.) [Cina, Bry.]. Was insulted; being too dignified to fight, subdued his wrath and went home sick, trembling and exhausted (the rev. of Nux). Sensation of a round ball in forehead sitting firmly there even when shaking the head. Mechanical injuries from sharp-cutting instruments; post-surgical operations; stinging, smarting, pains, like the cutting of a knife. For the bad effects of: onanism, sexual excesses, loss of vital fluids; chagrin, mortification, unmerited insults; indignation, with vexation or reserved displeasure …
Mind
When the mind has been dwelling too much on sexual subjects.
Mind
Very sensitive to the least impression, the least word seems wrong, hurts her very much.
Mind
Throws things away indignantly, or pushes them away on the table.
Mind
Great imagination about things done by others, or himself; grieving about the consequence; continually concerned about the future.
Sight and Eyes
Styes, nodosities, chalaze on the eyelids, one after the other, sometimes ulcerating.
Hearing and Ears
Hardness of hearing with swelling of tonsils, especially after abuse of Mercury.
Mouth and Throat
Teeth turn black or show black streaks running over; gums ache.
Mouth and Throat
Throat dry and rough, with soreness when talking and when swallowing.
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Sensation of a round ball in forehead, sitting firmly even when shaking the head.
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Styes, constantly recurring, sometimes ulcerating.
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Hysteria or hypochondriasis from sexual or onanism.
Phatak's chapter on Staphysagria is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
