Head | Brain | Sleep | Nervous System Disorders

Headache

Headache is one of the most commonplace of human ailments. It is symptomatic of many disease conditions, some slight and others more serious, and it can arise from a variety of causes.

The brain itself is insensitive to pain. It is probable that the pain of headache is due to dilatation, a response to nervous stimuli, or may arise from the neck muscles or scalp, or from other nearby organs.

One of the most frequent causes of headache is anxiety and high blood pressure. Defective eyesight is another common cause. The pain occurs in the region of the brow and tends to come on in the evening particularly if a lot of reading or fine work has been done during the day.

Sinus infection is a less common cause and in such cases there is usually a history of colds in the head. Septic teeth can also be responsible for headaches. Constipation is a common cause, especially in children. Headaches are also a characteristic feature of fevers.

These are some of the factors responsible for headaches and in treating the trouble it is necessary to search out and remove the cause. Although the painkilling drugs have their place, their continued use to suppress symptoms is not advisable and some could result in harmful side effects, e.g., stomach haemorrhage.

Ferr. Phos. Headache of an inflammatory nature with bursting pressing, stitching congestive pains; red face or bloodshot eyes. throbbing headache in the temples or over the eyes blinding sick headaches with vomiting of undigested food. Scalp sore to touch; congestive headache at the menstrual period. All pains worse from motion and noise.
Calc. Phos. Headache, with cold feeling in the head or with creeping coldness and numbness on the head. Pains are worse from heat or cold. Neuralgic headache, should be given in alternation with Mag. Phos. Headache of schoolgirls.
Calc. Sulph. Headache with vertigo and nausea, pain around the whole head.
Kali phos. Headaches of purely nervous character, resulting from overstrain, worry, sleeplessness. etc. Headache of nervous, sensitive, pale, irritable or excitable persons. Student’s headache with offensive breath.
Nat. Mur. Dull, heavy headache, with profuse tears, and watery discharge from nose, or excessive salivation: often associated with constipation. Headache with sleepiness, un-refreshing sleep. Vomiting of watery fluids. Headache of young girls with irregular menses, with lachrymation. Pains worse in the morning and disappear in the evening.
Mag. Phos. Neuralgic headaches, pains are excruciating. stinging. shooting, darting, paroxysmal in nature All pains relieved by warmth, and worse from cold draughts of air.
Nat. Sulph. Bilious headache, vomiting of bile, bitter taste. greenish coated tongue, colic pains with bilious diarrhoea. Sick headache, with giddiness, vertigo, and dullness. Violent pains at the base of the brain or on the top of head: cannot tolerate noise.
Nat. Phos. Headaches on the crown of the head with acid conditions, on awakening in the morning; with sour rising, vomiting of sour or acid fluids. The tongue is coated creamy or moist yellow.

Migraine

It is a severe headache usually affecting one side of the head and typically preceded by an aura. It may run in families and is likely to begin after puberty and to disappear after 50. Like epilepsy the cause of migraine is unknown. Factors like allergy, stress and anxiety seem responsible sometime. Headache is often associated with nausea, vomiting and sick feeling. Sensitivity to light and noise and disorientation are other symptoms.

Kali Phos. Great nervousness, headache due to emotional disturbances.
Mag. Phos. & Nat. Phos. 6x alternately every half hour during the attack. If pain is violent with much sour vomiting.

Vertigo

A sensation of whirling around in space, often called giddiness or dizziness, caused by a disturbance of the semicircular canals in the internal ear and often experienced as motion sickness. It is commonly felt by sensitive persons who travel by sea, air, train or bus. Many Aging causes changes in internal car.

Ferrum Phos. Giddiness from rush of blood to the head. Flushing, throbbing or pressing pain.
Kali Phos. Giddiness, from nervous causes.
Nat. Sulph. Giddiness with bitter taste in the mouth, gastric derangement with inclination to fall on the right side.
Mag. Phos. Vertigo from optical defects.
Nat. Phos. Giddiness with gastric derangements, acidity, loss of appetite; with creamy for golden coating of tongue.

Sea and Air Sickness

Vertigo due to violent commotion of the three semicircular canals in each internal ear which controls equilibrium. Dizziness, nausea and vomiting are the common symptoms.

Kali Phos. & Nat. Mur. 6x in hot water taken just before departure.
Nat. Phos. 6x may also be taken at intervals during the journey.

Disturbances of Sleep

Sleeplessness may be due to various causes. People of a highly sensitive disposition find it more difficult to relax. Nervous tension, aggravated by worry, anxiety, overwork, etc., is one of the more common factors. Indigestion is responsible in many cases and the eating of a heavy meal and stimulants too soon before retiring should be avoided. The brain sometimes becomes overactive as a result of late night work so that it is difficult to settle down to sleep.

Kali Phos, is helpful as a constitutional remedy when the nervous system is weak. Elderly people usually need less sleep and sleeplessness at night can sometimes be made good by a “nap” after lunch.
Calc. Fluor Dreams unpleasant with sense of impending danger, death, etc.
Calc. Phos. Drowsiness in old people. Hard to awake in morning.
Kali Phos. Sleeplessness following excitement, mental overwork, business troubles, and from nervous causes generally.
Ferr. Phos. Sleeplessness, from feverish congestions. Drowsy in the afternoon but unable to sleep at night (give in 30x: should not be given low).
Nat. Mur. Excessive or constant desire to sleep, usually amount of sleep is unrefreshing: frequent starting during sleep which is restless.
Nat. Phos. Sleeplessness due to digestive disturbances and when there are symptoms of acidity.
Nat. Sulph. Drowsiness or sleepiness when the tongue has a greyish or brownshi green coating, bitter taste in the mouth, and when associated with bilious symptoms. Much dreaming soon after fling asleep
Mag. Phos. Sleeplessness, when the brain feels as if it is contracted, arising from nervous causes; spells of yawning.

Mental Disorders and Nervous Debility

Mind is influenced by various factors from simple anxiety to organic disorders which are exhibited in different ways. The treatment is difficult but much can be helped with these tissue salts.

Nervous Debility is a state where nerve force is being used up more quickly than it can be generated, and when we recognise this simple fact we realise that to stimulate the nerves with so-called “tonics” is one way of aggravating the trouble. The nutritional aspect of this condition must be borne in mind and those tissue salts which play a part in elaborating the nerve fluids should be taken steadily over a reasonable period.

Grief, worry, undue mental exertion, irregular habits, emotional extravagance, these are the parasitical influences which rob the nerves of their vitality. Treatment should aim to increase the supply of nervous energy and to bring the nerves back to a state of normal tranquillity. When it has been achieved a remarkable change for the better will be experienced.

Calc. Flour. Great depression, with groundless fear of financial ruin. Indecision.
Ferrum Phos. Indifference to ordinary matters; loss of courage and hope; trifles annoy. Consequences of anger.
Kali Phos. Brain-fag from overwork, with loss of appetite; stupor, depressed spirits, irritability, impotence, loss of memory, sleeplessness. Fear and fretfulness in children. Indisposition to mix with people. Dread of noise. Hallucinations, homesickness. Hypo-chondriasis (mental depression due to unfounded anxiety about own health), melancholy: ill-humoured from nervous exhaustion. Mental illusions. Mania in its various stages and degrees. Loss of memory. Night terrors in children, they awake screaming in fright. Emotional sensitiveness. After-effects of grief. It is an invaluable remedy in the convalescing stage of all forms of mental upsets. Mental effects of masturbation.
Mag. Phos. Illusions of senses. Very forgetful. Dullness and inability to concentrate.
Nat. Sulph. Suicidal tendency, must exercise great restraint. Mental troubles arising from injuries to head. Music makes him sad. Old history of head injury (30x once a fortnight).
Nat. Mur. Great sadness, apprehension for the future, likes to dwell on unpleasant occurrences, consolation aggravates. Hypochondria is accompanied with dryness and irritable condition of mucous membranes and constipation with hard stool. Sadness with palpitation, does not like company. Unusual affairs of affection.
Nat. Phos. Nervous, irritable, anxious and apprehensive. Imagines on awaking during night that objects of furniture are persons, that he hears footsteps in the next room.
Silicea. Imagines he is in two places at the same time. Monomania, especially about pins. Home-sickness. Prostration and nervous weakness, restlessness and dreams accompany symptoms; aggravated during full moon or new moon, in change of weather and during a storm.

Brain Fag

Mental weakness or neurasthenia may result from various mental and physical diseases, nutritional deficiency, etc. Patient feels confused, loses interest in work; sleeplessness and exhaustion are other accompaniments.

Kali. Phos, 6x in morning and Silicea at night used persistently, will be effective remedies, restoring sleep, appetite confidence and strength.
Nat. Mur. Sleeplessness, exhaustion after talking etc
Calc. Phos. 6x. May be required if the nervous prostrations with depression remain, with profuse night sweats.

Dizziness

A sensation of giddiness or swimming in the head which may cause confusion, unsteadiness or general faintness. Dizziness may follow a long illness or an operation. May be a reaction to medicines, too much tea, coffee or cola drinks. Smoke smell, chemical smell, head injury, sudden drop in blood pressure, motion sickness and vision disturbance can also make one dizzy.

Calc. Phos. 1x is the most effective remedy.

Delirium

An acute mental disturbance, usually sudden in onset and of short duration, charac-terized by incoherence, delusions, hallucinations and restlessness. May occur during fever; after overdose of bromides, barbiturates or other toxic substances. Menigits, encephalitis and delirium tremens due to alcoholism are other causes for it.

Ferr. Phos. High fever. Febrile convulsions.
Kali Phos. Delirium tremens of chronic alcoholics. Fear, sleeplessness, restlessness and suspiciousness. Give alternately with Nat. Mur.
Nat. Mur. Wandering, muttering delerium. Delirium tremens, frothy saliva on tongue.

Hysteria

Psychoneurotic disorder in which the person unconsciously initiates an illness for an ulterior purpose. They are generally characterized by emotional instability, egocentricity, flamboyant dreams, a craving for attention and sympathy and a flair for dramatic conduct. It is associated with deep emotional stress, e.g. disappointment in love, death of dear one.

Calc. Phos. As a constitutional tonic, may be given with indicated remedy.
Kali Phos. Hysteria in females, nervous attacks from sudden or intense emotions, or from smothering passions in the highly nervous and excitable women; also a feeling of ball rising in throat. Fits of laughter and crying. Hysterical yawning, spasms, with unconsciousness and low muttering delirium.
Nat. Mur. Delayed or scanty menses, great depression, somnambulism, fears. All symptoms are relieved as soon as she gets into a perspiration. Hysterical spasms and debility.

Neuralgia

Neuralgia is pain felt along a nerve. There are very many different causes of neuralgia as well as many different positions where the pain may be felt, but the character of the pain is nearly always the same. The pain of neuralgia is of a severe shooting or throbbing nature and the skin along which tiny branches of the nerves run is often very tender to touch.

Another curious feature of the pain of neuralgia is that it is not continuous but occurs in little bouts, which are made worse by exposing the skin to cold. Neuralgia may be the result of changes in the nerves, when the pain is said to be due to neuritis: or nerves themselves may be perfectly healthy, the pain being caused by pressure on the nerves by other structures; or the nerves may be irritated by some disease of structures with which they are in contact.

Calc. Phos. Pain associated with numbness and coldness, always worse at night and every change of weather; deep seated in bones; electric shock-like pains.
Ferrum Phos. Neuralgic pains due to inflammatory conditions from chill, cold; severe throbbing pains, like a nail being driven in over the eye; blinding pains, fever, and flushed face. One sided headache. Tic. Right sided.
Kali phos. Suits pale, irritable persons and when pains are accompanied with much weakness. Tones up the grey matter. Numbness. Gentle motion soothes. Stitches from upper teeth to ear.
Kali Sulph. Shifting pain, better by cool, open air, worse towards evening.
Mag. Phos. Pains that come and go very suddenly and are always made better by warmth. Drawing, constrictive pain. Sensations too acute. Exposure to strong north winds. Right side.
Nat. Mur. Pains that return at a certain time each day or are attended with flow of tears accompanied by darting or shooting along the nerve. Constipation is a frequent symptom with Nat. Mur. Aggravation from reading, writing and talking in girl students.
Nat. Sulph. Neuralgia from being in damp dwelling cellars, etc.
Nat. Phos. Facial neuralgia: shooting, stitching pains, soreness of right lower jaw.
Silicea. Pain mostly in teeth. Lumbo abdominal neuralgia. Better from wrapping up warmly.

Neuritis

Neuritis means inflammation affecting a nerve or nerves which may be localised to one part of the body, as, for instance, in sciatica, facial neuralgia, etc. or which may be general, as “multiple neuritis”.

Ferr. Phos. Early stage, congestive and inflammatory condition, severe pain, fever. Neuritis from exposure to cold.
Kali Phos. Sharp pains, worse at rest and when beginning to move.
Mag. Phos. Severe, acute pains: failing strengths in muscles.

Paralysis

A temporary or permanent loss of motor or sensory function following disease of or injury to the nerves, spinal cord or brain. Facial nerve if involved causes facial paralysis. Poliomyelitis causes another variety of paralysis. Hemiplegia often results from stroke. Hysterical paralysis is another variety of psycholgical disturbance.

Calc. Phos, Coldness, numbness and weakness in lower extremities. Nervous prostration. Bruised feeling in the back after exhausting diseases and from standing in wet.
Kali Phos. Facial paralysis; mouth distorted, drawn over to the unparalysed side with wasting. Locomotor paralysis. Paralysis of the vocal cords. All verities of paralysis, like hemiplegia, paraplegia, ptosis, sudden paralysis, infantile paralysis.
Mag. Phos. Paralysis agitans. Muscular paralysis caused by disturbed or diseased condition of the different nerve fibres. Involuntary shaking and trembling of the hands and or of the head.
Nat. Phos. Weakness of lower limbs, legs give way while walking.
Silicea. Paralysis from tabes dorsalis. Trembling in limbs, debility. Progressive degeneration of the posterior column of spinal cord.

Epilepsy

Is a disturbance of the central nervous system characterized by convulsive seizures (fits). The intelligence of an epileptic is in no way affected by the affliction.

No organic cause for epilepsy has yet been indentified, though it can be precipitated by brain injury and is called symptomatic epilepsy.

Grand mal, petit mal or a brief blackout and focal epilepsy are three common types of epilepsy.

In psychomotor epilepsy the victim experiences a brief clouding of consciousness during which he repeatedly performs some meaningless acts.

Ferr. Phos. Fits with rush of blood to head.
Kali Mur. It is the chief remedy, specially for epilepsy after suppression of eruptions.
Kali Phos. Epilepsy with shrunken countenance, coldness and palpitations after fit.
Mag. Phos. Fits, spasmodic jerking of limbs.
Nat. Sulph. Traumatic epilepsy. Head injuries resulting in spasms.
Silicea. Epileptic fits at night, esp. during fullmoon: feeling of coldness before the attack; spasms spread from solar plexus upwards.

Collapse

A state of extreme prostration with failure of vital functions and a sharp fall in blood pressure as in shock.

Kali Phos., Mag. Phos. and Nat. Mur. 6x, all dissolved in hot water and administered frequently.

Concussion of Brain

A temporary dazed condition or loss of conciousness resulting from a blow or fall on the head (violent shaking of the brain). The blood vessels of brain contract and do not deliver the necessary amount of oxygen needed to maintain vital functions. Victim lies motionless with shallow breathing, rapid pulse, low blood pressure and a cold, clammy skin.

Nat. Sulph. 6x is of special benefit for the chronic effects of falls on the head. After some time give a few weekly doses of 30x. Ferr. Phos. Febrile conditions afterwards.
Calc. Phos. As an intercurrent remedy for numb sensation.