Dulcamara 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.
“Bitter-sweet. (Solanaceae.) Adapted to persons of phlegmatic scrofulous constitutions; restless, irritable. Catarrhal rheumatism or skin affections, brought on or aggravated by exposure to cold, damp, rainy weather, or sudden changes in hot weather (Bry.). Increased secretions of mucous membranes; perspiration being…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Solanum Dulcamara, Linn. Natural order , Solanaceæ. Common names , Woody Nightshade (not Deadly Nightshade, Belladonna), Bittersweet (not Climbing Bittersweet, Celastrus). German , Bittersuss. French , Douce-amère, Morelle. Preparation , Tincture of plant above woody portion, gathered just before flowering…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Bitter-sweet Hot days and cold nights towards the close of summer are especially favorable to the action of Dulcamara, and is one of the remedies that correspond in their symptoms to the conditions found as effects of damp weather, colds after exposure to wet, especially diarrhœa. It has a specific relation also to…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“ACHING BURNING, stinging. CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE, weather, seasons, oncoming storms, etc. Agg. CHEST, internal CHILLED, cold becoming, while hot, by ices, uncovering a part, as head, hand-hands, etc. in cold water, etc.., Agg. COLD TAKING CRUSTS, SCABS DAMPNESS, getting wet, wet weather, bathing, working in water, damp…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Solanum dulcamara. Woody Nightshade. Bitter-sweet. N. O. Solanaceæ. (Not to be confounded with "Deadly Nightshade," Belladonna, nor with "Climbing Bitter-sweet," Celastrus.) Tincture prepared from fresh green stems and leaves, gathered just before flowering. Adenitis / Angina faucium / Aphonia / Bladder, affections of…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Bittersweet. Solanaceæ. A Climbing shrub, from six to eight feet high, flowering in clusters, berries oval, bright scarlet ; grows in moist places through Europe and North America. The tincture is prepared from the fresh stems and leaves, gathered before flowering. Introduced by Hahnemann, and extensively proved by…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Dulcamara - Bitter Sweet This medicine seems especially to affect the mucous membranes. It appears to have a tendency to establish or ultimate discharges, both acute and chronic. Modalities: The Dulcamara patient is disturbed by every change in the weather, from warm to cold, from dry to moist, and from suddenly…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Great emaciation. Dropsical swellings. Tearing in the limbs and other disorders from catching cold. One-sided spasms with speechlessness. Paralysis of single parts. Aggravation at night and during rest. Amelioration from motion. Swelling and induration of the glands. A rooting-up and digging painfulness. Excessive…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Great restlessness and impatience. Inclination to scold without being angry. Painful stupefaction of the head. Delirium at night with the pain, and during the fever-heat. Vertigo when rising from bed, with darkness before the eyes. Stupefying headache; heaviness; of the head. Congestion of blood to the head, with…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: bitter sweet. TEERING IN THE LIMBS AND OTHER DISORDERS FROM CATCHING COLD. PARALYSIS OF SINGLE PARTS (Caust., Phos., Zinc.) PARALYSIS FROM LYING ON THE DAMP GROUND (D.). Dropsical swellings (Apis, Dig., Rush-T., Sulph.). Anasarca; after ague, rheumatism or scarlet fever (A). Dropsy: after suppressed…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Affections caused by taking cold when the air changes suddenly from dry and warm to wet and cold. Tongue and jaws become lame, if cold air or water chills them; neck stiff, back painful, loins lame, after taking cold. Colic as if diarrhœa would occur, from taking cold. Yellow watery diarrhœa with cutting colic before…”
