Cicuta Virosa appears in 12 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.
“Water Hemlock (Umbelliferae) Women subject to epileptic and choreic convulsions; spasms of teething children, or from worms. Convulsions: violent, with frightful distortions of limbs and whole body; with loss of consciousness; opisthotonos; renewed from slightest touch, noise or jar. Puerperal convulsions: frequent…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Cicuta virosa, Linn. ("Cicuta aquatica" is Phellandrium aquaticum). Nat. order , Umbelliferæ. Common names , Water Hemlock, Cowbane; (G.) Wasserschierling, Wütherich; (Fr.) La cigue vireuse. Preparation , Tincture of the fresh root, collected when the plant begins to flower (Hahnemann). Authorities.”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Water Hemlock The action on the nervous system, producing spasmodic affections, viz, hiccough, trismus, tetanus, and convulsions, give the pathological picture calling especially for this remedy, whenever this is further characterized, by the more individual symptoms of the drug. Among these, are the bending of the…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“BLOWS, shocks, thrusts, crash, explosions, etc. (Comp. Shattered): COMPANY, crowds, etc. Agg., Craves solitude, etc. DIRECTION of sensations, Downward GURGLING INJURIES, wounds, bruises, shock, etc. (Comp. Sprainded) JARRING, shaking, stepping hard, riding, etc., Agg. (Comp. Sensitive) RETRACTED, depressed, drawn…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Cow-bane. Water Hemlock. N. O. Umbelliferæ. Tincture of fresh root gathered at time of flowering. Bladder, paralysis of / Cancer / Catalepsy / Cerebro-spinal meningitis / Coccygodynia / Concussions / Convulsions / Eczema / Epilepsy / Epithelioma / Eyes, inflammation of / Face, eruption on / Hiccough / Hysteria /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Water Hemlock, Cowbane. Umbelliferæ . "Grows on the borders of ditches and rivulets, swamps, meadows, ponds, lakes, etc., all over Germany, and the north and east of France. It is apt to be mistaken for Conium maculatum. The stem of Cicuta is furrowed, that of Conium is spotted. Cicuta virosa, though called…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“This remedy is of interest because of its convulsive tendency. It puts the whole nervous system in such a state of increased irritability that pressure on a part causes convulsions. The convulsions extend from center to circumference; the head, face and eyes are first affected. Convulsions: An aura in the stomach…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Twitching, especially in the extremities. Convulsions in children from worms. Shocks of the brain, as from electricity through the head, arms and legs. Pains as from contusions or blows on many parts of the body. Burning pains and burning, moist eruptions with yellow crusts. Chilliness and desire for heat. Contortions…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Moaning and howling. Insanity, she does all sorts of absurd and foolish things, with heat of the body and longing for wine. He confounds the present with the past. He thinks himself a young child. Excited and apprehensive about the future. Anxiety, sadly affected by sad tales. Want of confidence in and dread of man…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: water hemlock. Pains as from contusions or blows on many parts of the body. Chilliness and desire for heat (Ign.). When reading, letters seem to turn, go up or down, or disappear (Cocc.) (A.). Shocks of the brain, as from electricity through the head, arms and legs. Eczema: no itching: exudation forms…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Is another remedy which is characterized by its excessively violent convulsions. With this remedy the patient is thrown into all sorts of odd shapes and violent contortions, but one of the most invariable is the bending of the head, neck and spine backwards, opisthotonus. It is on this account that it was tried for…”
