Laurocerasus 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.
“Prunus Laurocerasus, L. Natural order , Rosaceæ. Common names , Cherry Laurel; (Germ.) Kirschlorbeer. Preparation , Tincture of the young leaves (provings by Jorg with Aqua laurocerasi, prepared from 1 pound of fresh leaves, 1 ounce of alcohol, 6 pounds of water; from which 3 pounds were obtained by distillation…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Cherry-laurel Spasmodic tickling cough, especially in cardiac patients, is often magically influenced by this drug. Lack of reaction , especially in chest and heart affections. Drink rolls audibly through œsophagus and intestines . General coldness, not ameliorated by warmth. Violent pain in stomach with loss of…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“BLUISH, purple, livid, etc. COLLAPSE, sudden prostration, etc. GURGLING LOOSE, as if (Comp. Rolling, Swashing.)”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Cerasus laurocerasus. Common Laurel. Prunus laurocerasus. Cherry Laurel. N. O. Rosaceæ. Tincture of young leaves. Dilutions of Aqua Laurocerasi. Apoplexy, threatened / Asphyxia, neonatorum / Asthma / Cholera / Cholera infantum / Chorea / Climacteric sufferings / Convulsions / Cough / Cramps / Cyanosis / Diarrhœa /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Cherry Laurel. Rosaceæ. An evergreen tree native to Persia ; the fresh leaves are aromatic and taste like the bitter almond. The alcoholic is prepared from the leaves. Provings by Jörg, Hartlaub, Nenning, etc. CLINICAL AUTHORITIES. Threatened apoplexy , Elwert, Rück. Kl. Erf., vol. 1, p. 92 ; Attacks of…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“The many strange constitutional symptoms indicate feeble circulation and weak heart. Great general coldness, that is not ameliorated by external warmth. It is like wrapping up a dead man. Yet if he approaches a warm stove nausea comes on. If he is in a warm room the sweat breaks out on the forehead and the forehead is…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Stinging and tearing in the limbs. Want of reaction and vital powers are low. Lack of power, as regards the action of the sphincters. Want of vital heat. Tetanic spasms. Convulsions, with foam before the closed mouth. Painlessness accompanies the symptoms. Aggravation in the evening. At night and in the open air he…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Dulness of the senses; inability to collect one's ideas. Insensibility and complete loss of sensation. Weakness of mind and loss of memory; fear and anxiety about imaginary evils. Loss of consciousness, with loss of speech and motion. Intoxication. Stupefaction, with vertigo. Vertigo, with disposition to sleep…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: cherry laurel. This remedy contains Hydrocyanic Acid; consequently many of the symptoms are similar to those produced by that Acid (Bl.). Stinging and tearing in the limbs. Want of reaction, and vital powers are low. Lack of power, as regards the action of the sphincters. Want of vital heat (Sil.). Want…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Suffocative spells about the heart, lying down; cardiac cough; gasping, twitching and jerks. Lack of re-active power, low vitality, with blueness or cyanoses, especially in heart troubles. Drink rolls audibly down through the œsophagus and intestines; very low pulse. “Want of energy of vital power; want of reaction…”