Cyclamen Europæum 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.
“Sow Bread. (Primulaccae.) Best suited for leuco-phlegmatic persons with anaemic or chlorotic conditions; easily fatigued, and in consequence not inclined to any kind of labor; feeble or suspended functions of organs or special senses. Pale, chlorotic; deranged menses (Fer., Puls.), accompanied by vertigo, headache…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Cyclamen Europæum, Linn. Natural order , Primulaceæ. Common names , Sow-bread; (Germ.), Erdscheibe. Preparation , Tincture of the root gathered in spring. Authorities.”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Sow-bread (CYCLAMEN) Large doses produce violent purging and vomiting; disturbed digestion with very salty saliva. Anæmic and chlorotic conditions. Affections of uterus. Gastro-intestinal and genito-urinary tracts affected, inducing secondary anæmia and various reflexes. Sleepiness, moroseness, and lassitude . Cough…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“ALIVE, sensations (Comp. Formication) BLACK, dark, etc. BURNT, scalded as if MOTION, Amel. PRESSURE, Agg., lying on painful or affected side, etc., Agg. SITTING, AGG. STANDING, Agg. VISION”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Europæum. Sow-bread. N. O. Primulaceæ. Tincture of the root gathered in spring. Anæmia / Bones, pain in / Chlorosis / Climacteric sufferings / Coryza / Diplopia / Dyspepsia / Enteralgia / Eyes, affections of / Headache / Heel, pain in / Hiccough / Menstruation, disorders of / Mental derangement / Pregnancy, sickness…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Sow-bread. Primulaceæ. A plant indigenous in the south of Europe. The tincture is made from the fresh root gathered in Autumn. "The Cyclamen Europæum, or Sow-bread, was extensively used in medicine by the ancients. Their descriptions of its properties are vague enough, but it is remarkable that they ascribe to it a…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Remarks: Aversion to motion, yet motion ameliorates her pain and uneasiness. Aversion to the open air, yet open air ameliorates some symptoms especially the coryza and cough. The marked dullness of the senses and special senses is a striking part of this picture. Chlorosis; irregular menses; and palpitation. Stitching…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Pressing, drawing and tearing pain, principally in the periosteum. Chilblains of the feet. As long as he walks about he feels well with the exception of languor, but as soon as he sits down, especially in the evening, he suffers various inconveniences. Thirstlessness. Catamenia too profuse. Bad effects from eating…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Taciturn, depressed, out of humor. Inclined to internal, undemonstrative grief. Sudden change of sadness and cheerfulness. Weakness of the memory. Dulness of the mind and indisposition to perform any sort of labor. Vertigo; when leaning against something, he feels as if the brain were in motion. Vertigo; increasing…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: sow bread. It has many things in common with Pulsatilla (Bl.). Best suited for leuco-phlegmatic persons with anæmic or chlorotic conditions (A.). Easily fatigued, and in consequence not inclined to any kind of labour (A.). Pale, chlorotic, with deranged menses, and accompanied by vertigo, headache and dim…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Violent headache, with flickering before the eyes, or spots and various colors, < in the morning and at the menses.”
