Actea Racemosa

Nervous symptoms, twitchings, spasms, convulsions, neuralgias; chills without shaking < at menstrual period. Muscular rheumatism; stiff neck, drawing head back;

can’t turn the head; rheumatism of the belly of muscles, by preference.

Headaches pressing outward; or upward, as if top of head would fly off, or into eyes (ciliary neuralgia), or down nape into spine.

Gloomy, sad, sleepless; thinks she will go insane.

Menorrhagia; pains run through hips into thighs, passing down.

Climacteric; infra-mammary pains left side, persistent.

Modalities: < menstrual period and during climacteric.

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Actea racemosa is another remedy which exerts a strong influence upon the female organism. The nervous system manifests its action in a multitude of symptoms, many of them being what is known as hysterical in character. There are twitchings, spasms, convulsions, neuralgias and mental symptoms in abundance. She shivers (nervous chill without coldness), faints, talks incessantly, frequently changing subjects; is grieved and troubled, with sighing, or is very gloomy with sleeplessness; thinks she is going insane, etc.

In the head there are severe pains, pressing outward, as if the top of the head would fly off, or running into the eyes, which ache fearfully; or the pains settle in the occiput and shoot down the neck. There are very few, if any, remedies that have worse ciliary neuralgia than Actea racemosa.

In the female sexual organs it cures “pains in the uterine region, darting from side to side.” The menstrual function is performed irregularly. Sometimes the flow is scanty, but more generally profuse, and we have the mental and nervous symptoms above enumerated in abundance, with these irregularities. It is one of our best remedies in menorrhagia, when there is “severe pain in the back, down the thighs and through the hips, with heavy pressing down,” as I have often proven. It is also excellent in infra-mammary pains in the left side during the climacteric, as I have also proven.

Also in backache and spinal irritation sympathetic with uterine troubles. It cures sharp lancinating pains in various parts, either nervous or muscular, if they are connected with uterine disturbances. In rheumatism the affection attacks the belly of the muscle by preference. Actea is a many-sided remedy and adapted to nervous troubles of many forms.