Asa foetida

by C.M. Boger — General Analysis

AMMONIACAL ODOR
BALL.
BONES.
BORING, grinding, etc.
DIRECTION OF SENSATIONS, ASCENDING.
DIRECTION of sensations, Outward
DUST, feathers, etc., as of
FLATULENCE
NERVES, nervous patients, etc.
PLUG, nail, wedge, clavus, etc.
SCRAPING
SENSITIVE, also to noise, light, odors, pain, can't stand it, touch, triffles, etc. (Comp. Jarring.)
SIDE, LEFT
ULCERATION (Comp. Suppuration)
3 P.M.

Asa foetida across the other classic books

Asa foetida appears in 11 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 TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“ASAFŒTIDA. Ferula Asafœtida, Linn. Nat. order , Umbelliferæ. Common name (German), Stinkasand. Preparation , Tincture of the gum. Authorities. Very irritable in disposition , and yet indifferent to everything, 1. Fretful and apprehensive mood, which seems to arise from the abdomen; it is, however, not difficult to fix…”
Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Gum of the Stinkasand (ASAFOETIDA) The flatulence and spasmodic contraction of stomach and œsophagus with reverse peristalsis are the most marked symptoms. In its selection, its relation to the hysterical and hypochondriacal patients, must be borne in mind. Besides these superficial symptoms, it has been found to…”
Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“NERVES. Mind. Gullet. Digestive tract. Periosteum: Ears. Nose. Tibia. Left side. Night. In room. Rest. Eating. Suppression. Mercury. Noise. Sitting. Warm wraps. Motion in open air. Pressure. Full, stout aspect, but intolerably nervous and OVERSENSITIVE. Fits of violent, hard throbbing, pressure, sharp sticking, etc…”
Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Asafœtida. Narthex asafœtida. N. O. Umbelliferæ. Tincture of the gum resin (obtained by incision from the living root). Asthma / Bone, disease of / Chorea / Diarrhœa / Dyspepsia / Flatulence / Headache / Heart, affections of / Hypersensitiveness / Hysteria Iritis / Lactation, disorders of / Mercury, effects of /…”
Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Assafetida. Umbelliferæ. Introduced and proved by Franz, in 1822. See Stapf's Archives, vol. i, No. 3, p. 187 ; 326 symptoms from Hahnemann, Stapf, Gross and Gutmann. In 1829, Jörg's were added by Hartlaub (1833). In 1839 one symptom of Jahn, not of Trinks, who never has proved. In 1868, a full proving of Lembke, with…”
Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“This remedy in olden times was frequently abused for man and beast. Our grandfathers supposed it was a protection against disease and hence they used it in the stables. Lumps of "foetty," as they called it, where put in the corn for the horse, to keep off distempter. What it has accomplished I am unable to say, but it…”
Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Twitching and jerking in the muscles. Pricking, stinging, and darting pain, which is periodic from within outwards, by touch relieved or changed. Sense of rigor. Body heavy and bloated. Pains on the inside of the joints of the limbs. Dark, red, and hot swellings. Hysterical attacks. St. Vitus's dance. Swelling of the…”
Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Hysterical restlessness and anxiety. The pains in the head cease, or change from touch. Sensation of dryness in the eyes. Hardness of hearing, with discharge of pus from the oars. Ozæna, discharge of very offensive matter from the nose. Sensation of numbness in the bones of the face. Sensation of dryness in the mouth…”
Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common names: gum of the stinkasand; devil's dung. Hysterical attacks (Ign., Nux-M., Sep.). Hysteria, where the throat symptoms predominate, with all kinds of spasms and nervous irritability, such as fits of great joy and laughter, or anxious sadness; constant change of position; flushes in the face, etc. (Bt.)…”
Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Asafoetida. Enormous accumulation of flatulence all pressing upward; ball rising in throat. Great suffering, especially hysterical, from suppression of discharges. Discharges fœtid. Great sensitiveness to contact; in ulcers, especially periosteal. “Full of wind; flatulence with eructations all pressing upward, but…”

Asa foetida in Kent's Repertory

Kent's Repertory lists Asa foetida in 1,555 rubrics. These are the ones where it carries the highest grade — the symptoms Kent treated as most characteristic. Most of them sit in EXTREMITIES (284), GENERALITIES (227), HEAD (156), SKIN (88), CHEST (87).

ABDOMEN - HEAT - Spleen
EYE - NUMBNESS around eyes
FACE - PAIN - stitching - outward
TEETH - PAIN, - stitching,stinging - outward
EYE - PAIN - stitching - air,open - amel.
GENERALITIES - FAINTNESS,fainting - emission,after
MIND - HYSTERIA - suppression of discharges,after
CHEST - CONSTRICTION,tension,tightness - convulsive
EYE - PULSATION in eyes - night
STOMACH - ERUCTATIONS - foul - fat or rich food,after
STOMACH - ERUCTATIONS - garlic,like
CHEST - SPASMS of - hysteric
EYE - PAIN - air, - open air - amel.
EXTREMITIES - INFLAMMATION - Leg - periosteum
EYE - PAIN - stitching - extending backward - outward
CHEST - PALPITATION heart - sitting - while
NOSE - CARIES
GENERALITIES - CARIES of bone - periosteum
SKIN - ULCERS - sensitive - margins
FACE - SWELLING - lips - lower

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Asa foetida across the other classic books

Asa foetida appears in 11 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 TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.

“ASAFŒTIDA. Ferula Asafœtida, Linn. Nat. order , Umbelliferæ. Common name (German), Stinkasand. Preparation , Tincture of the gum. Authorities. Very irritable in disposition , and yet indifferent to everything, 1. Fretful and apprehensive mood, which seems to arise from the abdomen; it is, however, not difficult to fix…”

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

“Gum of the Stinkasand (ASAFOETIDA) The flatulence and spasmodic contraction of stomach and œsophagus with reverse peristalsis are the most marked symptoms. In its selection, its relation to the hysterical and hypochondriacal patients, must be borne in mind. Besides these superficial symptoms, it has been found to…”

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

“NERVES. Mind. Gullet. Digestive tract. Periosteum: Ears. Nose. Tibia. Left side. Night. In room. Rest. Eating. Suppression. Mercury. Noise. Sitting. Warm wraps. Motion in open air. Pressure. Full, stout aspect, but intolerably nervous and OVERSENSITIVE. Fits of violent, hard throbbing, pressure, sharp sticking, etc…”

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

“Asafœtida. Narthex asafœtida. N. O. Umbelliferæ. Tincture of the gum resin (obtained by incision from the living root). Asthma / Bone, disease of / Chorea / Diarrhœa / Dyspepsia / Flatulence / Headache / Heart, affections of / Hypersensitiveness / Hysteria Iritis / Lactation, disorders of / Mercury, effects of /…”

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

“Assafetida. Umbelliferæ. Introduced and proved by Franz, in 1822. See Stapf's Archives, vol. i, No. 3, p. 187 ; 326 symptoms from Hahnemann, Stapf, Gross and Gutmann. In 1829, Jörg's were added by Hartlaub (1833). In 1839 one symptom of Jahn, not of Trinks, who never has proved. In 1868, a full proving of Lembke, with…”

Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.

“This remedy in olden times was frequently abused for man and beast. Our grandfathers supposed it was a protection against disease and hence they used it in the stables. Lumps of "foetty," as they called it, where put in the corn for the horse, to keep off distempter. What it has accomplished I am unable to say, but it…”

Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.

“Twitching and jerking in the muscles. Pricking, stinging, and darting pain, which is periodic from within outwards, by touch relieved or changed. Sense of rigor. Body heavy and bloated. Pains on the inside of the joints of the limbs. Dark, red, and hot swellings. Hysterical attacks. St. Vitus's dance. Swelling of the…”

Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.

“Hysterical restlessness and anxiety. The pains in the head cease, or change from touch. Sensation of dryness in the eyes. Hardness of hearing, with discharge of pus from the oars. Ozæna, discharge of very offensive matter from the nose. Sensation of numbness in the bones of the face. Sensation of dryness in the mouth…”

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

“Common names: gum of the stinkasand; devil's dung. Hysterical attacks (Ign., Nux-M., Sep.). Hysteria, where the throat symptoms predominate, with all kinds of spasms and nervous irritability, such as fits of great joy and laughter, or anxious sadness; constant change of position; flushes in the face, etc. (Bt.)…”

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

“Asafoetida. Enormous accumulation of flatulence all pressing upward; ball rising in throat. Great suffering, especially hysterical, from suppression of discharges. Discharges fœtid. Great sensitiveness to contact; in ulcers, especially periosteal. “Full of wind; flatulence with eructations all pressing upward, but…”