Mezereum 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.
“Daphne Mezereum. (Thymelaceae.) For light-haired, irresolute persons of a phelgmatic temperament. Eczema and itching eruptions after vaccinations . Hypochondriacal and despondent; indifferent to everything and every one; angry at trifles and perfectly harmless things, but is soon sorry for it. Toothache: in carious…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Daphne mezereum, Linn. Natural order , Thymelaceæ. Common names , Mezereon, (G.) Seidel-bast, (Fr.) Le bois gentil. Preparation , tincture of the bark of root and stem. Authorities. (Nos. 1 to 26 , from Hahnemann, Chr. Kn.).”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Spurge Olive Skin symptoms, affections of bones, and neuralgias most important, especially about teeth and face. Bruised, weary feeling in joints, with drawing and stiffness. Pains of various kinds, with chilliness and sensitiveness to cold air . Bone pains. Eruptions after vaccination. Burning, darting sensation in…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“BONES. BORING, grinding, etc. BURNING, stinging. CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE, weather, seasons, oncoming storms, etc. Agg. CRUSTS, scabs DESQUAMATION, hair falls, etc. DIRECTION of sensations, Radiating ERUPTIONS ERUPTIONS, Herpes PHAGEDENA, slough, etc. SHUDDERING, nervous SIDE, Left SPASMODIC OR CONVULSIVE EFFECTS…”
- Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“SKIN. Nerves or bones: Head. Face. Jaws. Mucous membranes: Mouth. Stomach. One side. NIGHT. Suppressions. WARMTH OF BED, fire, etc. Cold air; drafts; damp. Motion. Touch. Mercury. Vaccination. Wrapping up (Nerves, Bones). Eating. Open air. Acrid secretions, pus, leucorrhœa, etc. Violent, irritative burning itching…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Daphne mezereum. Chamælia germanica. Mezereon, Spurge Olive. (Hilly woods over nearly whole of Europe and Russian Asia.) N. O. Thymelaceæ. Tincture of fresh bark gathered just before the plant flowers in February and March. Bones, affections of / Coccygodynia / Constipation / Contraction of tendons / Crusta lactea /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Daphne Mezereum ; Spurge Olive. Thymelaceæ. A hardy shrub, native of Great Britain and Northern countries ; flowers early in Spring, sometimes in the snow. The fresh bark is gathered before the flowers appear, and from it is prepared the alcoholic tincture. Introduced by Stapf and extensively proved by Hahnemann…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“The principal use of this remedy is in eruptions and ulcerations. The most violent and important of its symptoms are those of mucous membranes, skin and periosteum. The outer surfaces of the body are in a constant state of irritation; nervous feelings, biting, tingling, itching, changing place from scratching. Even…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Restlessness when alone and longing for company. Hypochondriac mood, with low spirits and weeping. Indifference about every thing and ever body around him. Aversion to talk, it seems to him to be hard work to utter one word. Disposed to reproach others or to quarrel. Irresolute. Unable to recollect, the mind is easily…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common names: daphne mezerium; spurge olive. Bad effects of Mercury and Alcohol (Podo., Sulph.) (A.). Headache: Violent after slight vexation; painful on the slightest touch, right-sided (A.). Heaviness in the limbs (Plb.). Paralytic tension in the limbs and twitching of the muscles. Burning in internal parts and…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Pains in the long bones, especially tibia. Facial neuralgia or toothache, when the pains are greatly by radiate heat. Noise; vesicular eruptions, with excoriations, formation of thick scabs, < at night; zona. Pains in the long bones, especially the tibia, are sometimes greatly relieved by this remedy. I once cured a…”
