Oleander appears in 10 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.
“Nerium oleander, L. Natural order , Apocynaceæ. Common names , Rose-laurel; (G.), Larbeer-rose; (Fr.), Le laurier rose. Preparation , Tincture of the leaves. Authorities. (Nos. 1 to 8 , from Hahnemann, R. A. M. L., 1, 326).”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Rose-laurel (NERIUM ODORUM) Has a marked action on the skin, heart and nervous system, producing and curing paralytic conditions with cramp-like contractions of upper extremities. Hemiplegia. Difficult articulation. Memory weak; slow perception. Melancholy, with obstinate constipation. Vertigo and diplopia, when…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“DIGESTION affected INACTIVE, apathetic, lies down, lethargic (Comp. Reaction, Relaxation) NUMBNESS, insusceptibility, absence of pain, etc.”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Nerium Oleander. Rose Laurel. (South Europe, North Africa, West Asia. Thrives best in moist ground.) N. O. Apocynaceæ. Tincture of the leaves. Brain, affections of / Eczema / Fainting / Headache / Hyperæsthesia / Lienteria / Memory, weakened / Numbness / Nursing women, affections of / Palpitation / Paralysis /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Nerium Oleander ; Rose Laurel. Apocynaceæ. An ornamental shrub to Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia, thrives best in moist ground. The tincture is prepared from the fresh leaves. Introduced by Hahnemann and proved by himself, Franz, Gross, Gutmann Hartmann, Langhammer, etc. --Mat. Med. Pura, vol. 1, p…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Dull pressing in the limbs. Painless stiffness and paralysis of the limbs. Great pressing, as from spasms in many places. Want of sensation in the whole body. Tension through the whole body. Want of animal heat in the limbs. Faintish debility. When standing, trembling of the limbs; when writing, trembling of the hands.”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Absence of mind, want of attention. Slowness of perception. Indolence, aversion to do any thing. Vertigo when rising from bed, or if looking fixedly at any object, or when looking down while standing. Heaviness of the head; better when lying down. Biting-itching on the scalp, as from vermin, principally on the back…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: rose laurel. Dull pressing in the limbs (Nux-V.). Great pressing, as from spasms, in many places. Want of sensation in the whole body (Op.). Tension through the whole body. Want of animal heat in the limbs. Faintish debility (Kali-P.). Memory weak; slow perception (Sil.) (Br.). Headache relieved by…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Chronic diarrhœa, stools undigested; passes stool with the least emission of flatus.”
