Caulophyllum thalictroides. Michaux.

Nat. order , Berberidaceæ.

Common name , Blue Cohosh.

Preparation , Trituration and tincture of the root.

Authority.

Dr. Burt (Hale's New Remedies, 2d ed., p. 171), proving with, first day, 10 grains of the "pure resinoid;" second day, 15 grains and 30 grains; third day, 50 grains and 75 grains.

HEAD

Dulness of the head (third day).
Frequent spells of vertigo (third day).
Dull headache (second day).
Slight frontal headache (second and third days).
Severe frontal headache (after five hours).
Dull frontal headache (second day).
Dull frontal headache, with a contracted feeling of the skin of the forehead (after two hours).
Very hard dull frontal headache (after two hours).
Very hard pains in the forehead, with a sensation as of needles being stuck into the forehead (after one-and-forty hours). [10.]
By spells there is a very severe pain in the temples that produces a feeling as if both temples would be crushed together (second day).

EYE

Severe drawing pains over the left eye (second day).
Eyes aching, with a feeling of something under the lids (third day).
Profuse secretion of tears (third day).
Profuse flow of tears (second day).

NOSE

Drawing pains in the nose (second day).

MOUTH

Teeth all feeling sore and elongated (third day).
Tongue coated white (fourth day).

THROAT

Distress in the fauces, that causes frequent inclination to swallow (after two hours).

STOMACH

Canine hunger (fourth day).
Wants to drink a great deal of water (fourth day). [20.]
Empty eructations (third day).
Frequent gulping up of very sour, bitter fluid (third day).
Distress in the stomach and bowels, with drawing pains in the right hypochondrium (second day).
Slight distress in the stomach (third day).
Good deal of distress in the stomach and small intestines (second day).
Good deal of pain and distress in the stomach and umbilicus (second day).
Slight burning distress in the stomach (third day).
Frequent slight colicky pain in the stomach and umbilicus (second day).

ABDOMEN

Drawing pains in the right side over the liver (second day).
Frequent slight pain in the umbilicus (fourth day). [30.]
Slight dull pain in the umbilicus when moving, relieved by emissions of flatus (third day).
Frequent colicky pains in the umbilicus, relieved by emissions of flatus (second day).
Severe colicky pains every few minutes in the umbilicus (after five hours).
Slept well until 1 A.M., then awoke with a great rumbling in the bowels, and a very urgent desire for stool (third night).

STOOL

Natural but hard stool (third day).
Natural but dark stool (second day).
Soft stool, very white (fifth day, 7 A.M.).
Another rather soft stool, followed by slight pain in the umbilicus (third day).
Stool mostly of water, that ran a perfect stream from my bowels; passed a great quantity.
There was no pain (third night, 1 A.M.).

SEXUAL ORGANS

Every few minutes, sharp, stinging pain in the glans penis (after two hours).

NECK AND BACK. [40.]

Very severe drawing pain in the sterno-cleido-mastoid muscle, that draws the head to the left side (after five hours).
Slight backache (fourth day).
Dull backache (after five hours).
Slight dull backache (second day).
Dull pains in the lumbar region (second day).
Dull backache in the lumbar region (after two hours).

EXTREMITIES IN GENERAL

Constant flying pains in the arms and legs, first in one part and then in another, remaining only two or three minutes at a time in a place (after two hours).*
Restless night; fingers, ankles, feet, and toes pained so much (fourth night).*
Drawing pains in the fingers, legs, and feet (second day).
Drawing pains in the elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, feet, and toes (fourth day). [50.]
Drawing pains in the fingers, ankles, feet, and toes, but more especially in the toes (third day).*
Slight drawing pains in the wrists and fingers, ankles, feet, and toes (third day).
Severe drawing pains in the joints of the arms and legs (after five hours).
Severe drawing pains in hips, knees, ankles and feet, wrists and fingers (second day).
Constant and severe drawing pains in the wrists and fingers , ankles, feet , and toes (second day).

SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES

Elbows and wrists ache (after two hours).
Severe pain in the wrists and joints of fingers (second day).*
Fingers are quite stiff (fourth day).*
Fingers are very stiff (fourth night).
Drawing pains in the fingers (second day). [60.]
Much pain in the joints of the fingers; they look red and are very stiff; closing the hand is very painful (third day).
Shutting the hand produced severe cutting pains in the second joints of all the fingers; they were very stiff (second day).

INFERIOR EXTREMITIES

All the joints crack frequently when walking or turning (fourth day).
Drawing pains in the thighs, knees, legs, and ankles (after two hours).
Severe drawing pains in the inside of the left thigh (after two hours).
Feeling quite well, excepting the knees are quite weak when walking (third day).
Very sharp pains in the left knee-joint, inside (after two hours).
Knees feeling very weak when walking (third day).
Drawing pains in the knees and toes, very sharp by spells (third day).
Drawing pains in the knees, ankles, feet and toes (third day).* [70.]
Severe drawing pains in the legs and feet, but more especially in the feet (second day).
The left ankle pains very severely (second day).
The ankle and toes of the left foot are very painful (after five hours).
Severe drawing pains in the ankles and feet (second day).
The pains are very severe in the feet (second day).
Walking produces severe pain in the metatarsal bones (third day).
Drawing pains in the toes (fourth day).*

GENERAL SYMPTOMS

Feeling weak and nervous (third day).

SLEEP AND DREAMS

Had a restless night (second night).
Slept well until 3 A.M., after which he was restless (first night).

FEVER. [80.]

Skin was hot and dry (second day).

CONDITIONS

Aggravation.
( After 3 A.M .), Restless.
( Evening ), The symptoms.
( Open air ), The symptoms.
( Coffee ), Seems to aggravate.
( Walking ), Pains in metacarpal bones.
Amelioration.
( Emission of flatus ), Pains in umbilicus.
( In room ), Troubles which arise in the open air disappear, except pressure in forehead.

Caulophyllum across the other classic books

Caulophyllum appears in 9 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.

Allen HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.

“Blue Cohosh (Berberidaceae) Especially suited to women; ailments during pregnancy, parturition, lactation. Rheumatism of women, especially of small joints (Act. s.); errative pains changing place every few minutes (Puls.); painful stiffness of affected joints. Pains are intermittent, paroxysmal, spasmodic. Chorea…”

Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.

“Blue Cohosh (CAULOPHYLLUM) This is a woman's remedy. Want of tonicity of the womb. During labor, when the pains are deficient and the patient is exhausted and fretful. Besides, it has a special affinity for the smaller joints. Thrush , locally and internally. Cardialgia, spasms of stomach . Dyspepsia with spasmodic…”

Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.

“PREGNANCY WANDERING, changeful, shifting pains (Comp. Here and There.)”

Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.

“FEMALE ORGANS. NERVES. Muscles. Neck. Lower limbs. Small joints. Pregnancy. Suppressed menses. Open air. P.M. Exhaustion . PAINS, ERRATIC, drawing, cramping, shooting, rheumatic; ending in neck, which gets stiff. Uterine reflexes. Internal tremor. .................... Fretful and fearsome. Nervous; excitable. Chorea…”

Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.

“thalictroides. Blue Cohosh. Squaw Root. N. O. Berberidaceæ. Tincture or trituration of root. Abortion, threatened / After-pains / Amenorrhœa / Barrenness / Bearing-down pains / Chloasma / Cholera morbus / Dysmenorrhœa / False conception / Feet, affections of / Gonorrhœa / Hands, affections of / Inframammary pain /…”

Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.

“Blue Cohosh. Berberidaceæ. Grows in the woods from Canada to Carolina and Kentucky. Trituration and tincture are prepared from the brown, knotty, hard root, which is yellow insides. Called "squaw or papoose-root" by the Indians, by whom it is used in female complaints. First introduced into medicine by botanic…”

Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.

“Common name: blue cohosh. Especially suited to women, for their ailments during pregnancy, parturition and lactation (A.). Is fretful and easily displeased (Bell., Cham., Nux-V., Sulph.). Leucorrhœa: acrid, exhausting; preventing pregnancy (Alum., Calc-C., Carb-A., Nat-C., Nit-Ac.) (A.). LEUCORRHŒA IN LITTLE GIRLS…”

Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.

“Is another very valuable “woman remedy,” because of its specific action upon the uterus. It deserves a thorough reproving. I cannot better show its virtues than by reporting a case or two. A married lady, aged 40, with wry neck of long standing, was seven months’ pregnant. She was attacked with severe pains and…”

Caulophyllum in Kent's Repertory

Kent's Repertory lists Caulophyllum in 239 rubrics. These are the ones where it carries the highest grade — the symptoms Kent treated as most characteristic. Most of them sit in FEMALE GENITALIA (59), EXTREMITIES (58), STOMACH (19), ABDOMEN (12), BACK (11).

FEMALE GENITALIA - CONTRACTIONS - os spasmodic,during labor

FEMALE GENITALIA - RIGIDITY of os during labor

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Fingers - joints - rheumatic

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - labor pains - false

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - Uterus - menses - before

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Hand - rheumatic

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - labor pains - spasmodic

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - cramping - Uterus

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Fingers - joints

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Fingers

STOMACH - VOMITING - bitter - menses - before

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - labor pains - short

HEAD - PAIN, - noon - until - midnight

MOUTH - TASTE - bitter - menses,at beginning of

FACE - DISCOLORATION - brown - forehead - spots

FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - labor pains - interrupted

BLADDER - PAIN - paroxysmal

FEMALE GENITALIA - IRRITATION - Uterus

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Lower Limbs - menses - before

EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Fingers - rheumatic

Search all 7 classical repertories

Caulophyllum across the other classic books

Caulophyllum appears in 9 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.