Copaiva Officinalis appears in 7 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.
“Copaifera officinalis, L. Natural order , Leguminosæ. Preparation , Tincture of the balsam. Authorities. 1 , Hahnemann, Fragmenta de Vir.; 2 , Teste, provings on self and seven or eight persons of both sexes, with the 6th dil., System. de la Mat. Méd.; 3 , Ansiaux, Clinique Chir., Liège, 1816, from Roth, M. M.; 4 …”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Balsam of Copaiva (COPAIVA) Acts powerfully on mucous membranes, especially that of the urinary tract, the respiratory organs, and the skin, here producing a well-marked nettle-rash. Cold and catarrhs. Excessive sensitiveness; pain in occiput. Dull, frontal headache, passes to occiput and back again, with throbbing…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Copaifera officinalis. N. O. Leguminosæ. Tincture of the balsam. Acne / Anus, itching of / Bladder, irritable / Blenorrhagia / Bronchitis / Catarrh / Cough / Cystitis / Dysentery / Fistula / Gastritis / Gonorrhœa / Hæmorrhoids / Measles / Nose-bleed / Prostatitis / Pruritus / Urethritis / Urticaria / Vulva…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Balsam Copaiva. Leguminosæ. Mentioned by Hahnemann in Fragmenta de Vir . Proved by Teste in the 6th dilution. CLINICAL AUTHORITIES. Epistaxis , Carl Müller, N. A. J. H., vol. 11, p. 454 ; Chronic nasal catarrh , E. M. Hale, Hom. Rev., vol. 4, p. 163 ; Acne of face , Hughes, p. 325 ; Gastric catarrh , E. M. Hale, Hom…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“White, diarrhœic stools, generally in the morning, with chilliness and colic, obliging one to bend double. Involuntary stools. Bloody stools. Stools, with tenesmus. Intolerable burning at the anus. Inflammation of the urinary organs; swelling and dilatation of the orifice of the urethra with pulsative pain through out…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“This remedy acts strongly upon mucous membranes. It has, like many other remedies, been so abused by the old school that it has fallen into disrepute, and the tendency even with our own school under such circumstances is to underrate its virtues or to fail to investigate as they ought to. It is, however, an excellent…”
