(Night-Blooming Cereus)
The Cactus plant grows in the desert . Although it is considered as an
unattractive plant, in the desert it exhibits its own unique beauty.
Blooming in full all around, it is pleasing to the ey e. The fruit of the
Cactus is very nice and looks good too, while its juice is also quite
tasty, though it leaves an unpleasant odour. Excessive use of its fruit affects the kidneys adversely. Urination becomes very painful . A
burning sensation is also associated with cramping of the bladder. In
Cantharis also, there is severe burning sensation on passing urine. The urine dribbles with severe sc alding. In Cactus, along with the
burning sensation, there is also cram ping at the bladder. The special
feature of the cactus is that wherev er there is pain, there must be
spasms/cramps also.
Cactus adversely affects the circular muscle fibres and valves. Its
ailments come on suddenly. The heart also gets afflicted suddenly
as if somebody has been caught in a powerful vice. Cactus proves to
be very effective in the treatment of those diseases of the heart in
which there is dilatation of the muscles and the damage to the valves. The spasm of the muscles at the throat can cause the sensation of
tightness. The blood tends to accumulate everywhere. The congestion of the heart, kidneys, in testines and face with accumulation
of blood is also found in Belladonna. Palpitations and cramps are also
present in both. But in Cactus, there is no fever. In Belladonna, the affected part of the body becomes wa rm. Warmth is a special sign of
Belladonna. In Cactus, the affected part gets congested with blood,
but there is no feeling of warmth and there is no fever. Cactus
patients become extremely terrified with sudden attacks of the
disease, and symptoms resembling t hose of Aconite appear. In view
of the sudden onset of the illness and the specific nature of Cactus, it
is only natural to have a fear of death . The severe muscular cramps
of the affected part of the body resembles the feeling of being tied
up in steel wires. There is f eeling of tightness and generalized
suffocation. The patient cannot even tolerate a buttoned-up collar. This symptom, to some extent, is also found in Lachesis and
Glonoine. In Cactus, the affected part becomes badly hurt due to severe muscular contraction. A similar situation develops inside the
Cactus Grandiflorus 156 uterus . Cactus is a very important remedy for the treatment in newly
wed women for severe pa in due to spasm (Vaginismus). The feeling
of tightness and cramps in that pa rt of the body which does not usually
suffer from actual cramps, is a salient feature of Cactus. Violent muscle spasms are well known in rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatism. Blood accumulates locally. In Colchicum and Benzoic Acid, the big toe swells but does not show any cramping. In Cactus such an afflicted part also has cramps. Cactus will be of use for the heart. If the ailment is confined to the
heart and there is the feeling of tightness, the pain over the central
bone of the chest called sternum, is angina . When the heart becomes
enlarged and beats irregularly, there is a piercing pain in the chest,
along with hissing. Such a patient is not only relieved by Cactus but
by the grace of God can be cured permanently. When the diseases of the kidneys become chronic, soft pitting edema
develops in the body, especially at the feet and the legs. If other
symptoms of Cactus are also evident, Cactus can offer cure of the
whole body by God’s grace. Sometimes, even if the salient symptoms
of Cactus are not present, sudden tightness and its extreme severity
may be indicative enough of Cactus . In these kinds of symptoms,
Cactus should be administered without any hesita tion. If the
symptoms of the patient match that of Cactus, the relief will be prompt and if the patient is not of Cactus, no harm will be done. So
Cactus should always be kept in the emergency kit for use.
Rheumatic pains indicative of Cactus do not present signs of
tightness and spasms in the arm and thigh muscles because Cactus is
related only to circular (smooth) muscle fibres . It does not have an
effect on long (skeletal) muscles. Colocynth is an important remedy
which works on the long muscles. Belladonna also is useful whereas
Cactus has no effect on the long musc le fibres. In Belladonna, when
there is an excessive flow of blood towards the brain, there will be a
feeling of severe tightness at the h ead as in Cuprum. But in the case
of Cactus, there is no such feeling at the brain because there are no
circular muscle fibres within the br ain substance. In Cactus, when the
brain is afflicted, the patient becomes unconscious or semi-conscious but exhibits no convulsions. In Be lladonna, the tension in the brain
can show its effect and even reach the big toe which may present severe cramps or spasms. In Cactus, giddiness is very common which
Cactus Grandiflorus 157 gets worse with physical labour and fatigue, and is relieved by rest.
Movement makes it worse. The headache is on the right side , and is
aggravated by noise and bright light. In Cactus, palpitation is also
present. Sometimes, the entire bod y throbs. This also happens in
Belladonna, where the body is warm a nd feverish, but is absent in
Cactus. The tendency of numbness of the left arm along with the feeling of
pull demands the use of Cactus. These symptoms sometimes develop
in the beginning of a heart problem. However, it is not necessary that
the pain in the left arm should always be due to a heart ailment. This can be caused by acidity of the stom ach. In case there is tightness and
sensation of suffocation (as if somebody has strongly squeezed the
chest) or there is palpitation and numbness, the obvious treatment
should be Cactus. In Cactus, if at all there is fever, it starts at 11 o’ cloc k in the morning.
Before noon, the patient feels seve re chill. Al ong with thirst,
headache and the feeling of warmth at the time of contracting fever,
there is difficulty in breathing. Th e feeling of warmth on the head on
mental exertion is a characteristic of Cactus. The head feels as if
caught in a vice. There is a fear of having apoplexy. The eyes are
red. The hearing is affected due to congestion of ears with blood. The feeling of warmth and buzzing in the ear, spasm at the gullet
(oesophagus), dryness of the tongue and difficulty in swallowing food
without water, the feeling of tightness and twitching of the stomach ,
with the sensation of heaviness, blood-mixed vomiting , hard and dark
stools, morning diarrhoea , painful swelling of piles and heaviness at
the anal verge, are all the symptoms of Cactus. In malarial fever, as
well as during heart trouble, th e intestines may also bleed.
In Cactus, there is contracti on of the bladde r neck, causing difficulty
in passing urine . Sometimes, there is bleeding in the bladder and the
blood may clot in the urethra, maki ng the suffering still more grave.
Swollen hands and feet , soft ice-cold hands a nd the feeling of feet
being big, with restlessness in the legs, are all symptoms of Cactus
which aggravate at night and on ly ing on the left si de, along with
noise light heat sun and hard work.
Antidotes: Camphor, Aconite, China
Potency: 30
