Opium (HMT)

📖 Opium (HMT) Introduction

The Poppy plant is abundantly grow n in Eastern countries like Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the Indo-Pak sub-continent. Its flowers can be of various colours. Its peta ls are very soft and tender. They easily fall and disperse with the wi nd and even light rain. The juice squeezed out of the capsule containing the seeds contains two alkaloids and many other chemical s ubstances. Morphine is prepared from the shavings of the plant. In allopathy, Morphine, the most important component of Opium, is used as a hypnotic and as an analgesic for the quick control of severe pain. According to Dr. Hahnemann, it is more difficult to understand the effects of Opium in comparison to other remedies, becau se of its contrasting mode of action. A change in the amount of this drug produces opposing effects. For example, a small dose of Opium allays nausea and vomiting, while a larger amount i nduces nausea and vomiting. An Opium patient is insensitive, but on the contrary can be extremely sensitive too. In allopathy also, the effects of Opium have been divided into the primary and secondary type. It is said that the initial action of Opium is to ameliorate the pain sensation, but after some time, the same patient becomes hypersensitive to pain and in fact experiences more pain than before. Opium exhibits some of the symptoms of Arnica also i.e. a dry nature, the thickening of the blood (hyper-co agulable), and the tendency to clot. The Homoeopathic form of Opium, like Arnica, works as a blood thinner and helps in the dissolution of a clot already formed (anti- coagulant and thrombolytic). In particular, it is a must in the treatment of clotting of blood inside the brain (cerebral thrombosis). In case of sudden rupture of the arteries in the brain (cerebral haemorrhage) causing unconsciousness, prompt administration of Arnica and Opium given together in very high potency, works wonderfully well. In this situation, Arnica alone is not of much use. Arnica and Opium given together give a new lease of life to the blood. The patient starts to gain alertness, the body starts warming up and the coagulability of the blood becomes normalized. As already mentioned, Opium is a strong hypnotic. The patient of Opium remains either asleep or dr owsy. On the other hand, he may sometimes be unable to sleep altoge ther. In Coffea also the patient loses sleep and becomes hypersensitive. When unable to sleep, the Opium patient becomes hypersensitive, restless and conf used. If the patient loses sleep due to Opium, th en Coffea will induce sleep. If the patient loses sleep after drinking coffee, then Nux Vomica as well as Opium will help the patient go to sleep. People suffering from severe constipation with the dried up intestines and who have no feeling for opening the bowels, can be treated with Opium. Sometimes, the Opium patients can suffer from dys entery associated with severe gripes. The stools are very soft. A typical patient of Opium is a complete coward. He is scared of the dark. His thoughts are fearful. He lacks comprehension so much so that he cannot even understand his own disease. He remains drowsy or semi-conscious. On beings startled, he feels dizzy. Opium resembles Sulphur also. Sulphur stimulates the natural percepivity of the patient. Sometim es, even the true homoeopathic remedies fail to work as expected ; a dose or two of Sulphur makes them effective once again. Opium also, reactivates the suppressed and inactive body defences. Moreover, a typical Sulphur patient also happens to be extremely lazy and a philosopher. In Opium, the muscles at the upper end of the throat become weak. They cannot direct the food to the gullet, which may then enter the nose or the windpipe and cause severe choking . The person can even die. Opium plays a significant role in averting this tendency. The Opium addict can be extremely insensitive and unresponsive to his own sickness. His mind remain s preoccupied with all kinds of fears. He has to be subjected to treatment under duress. Similarly, Opium produces dryness in the body. However, during a fever, the patient may sweat profusely, yet the fever does not subside. This is peculiar for Opium. There is frequent hot sweating as during the summer rains. It does not lo wer the body temperature. Rather, it makes the patient feel hotter. An Opium addict loves to eat. He is ever hungry but continues to feel weak. In spite of overeating, he is thin and lean. The patient vomits frequently after injection of morphine. With homoeopathic Opium treatment, the patient feels better. Opium can also be a good remedy for vomiting during the pregnancy untreatable otherwise. In Opium, the patient continues to feel hungry even when nauseated. However, soon after taking the food he throws up. Due to a slow- down of the digestive system , the food stagnates in the stomach, causing nausea and vomiting . Later on, the appeti te is completely lost. The patient cannot eat any more and becomes very weak. In this particular situation, Chamomilla ma y be found as effective as Opium in controlling the vomiting. Seasickness can be effectively treated with Chamomilla or Opium used alone or in combination. In Opium, the patient feels cram ps in his head, hands and feet . The hands are shaky and numb . Tonic convulsions / spasms of the extremities are not uncommon. The limbs may also shake. The pupils of the eyes become dilated and show no reaction to light. In an Opium patient, the headache begins at the nape of the neck , which then spreads downwards to both sides of the neck. The entire head feels numb and heavy. The pa tient becomes intolerant to the slightest movement like the blinking of the eye. Therefore, he remains lying down completely still with his eyes closed. The sudden spasm of muscles , wrenching of the hands and feet and convulsions of all types may be treated with Opium if other symptoms of Opium are also present. Opium plays a very important role in treating meningitis, which usually affects children severly. A ti mely use of Opium can save the child from serious sickness. In this condition, it is difficult to make the correct diagnosis based on the apparent symptoms alone. A good homoeopath should be well conve rsant with these remedies beforehand for their effective use. If, out of fear a patient starts suffering from spasm of the muscles , wrenching of the hands and feet or starts having hysteria or epilepsy- like fits, then Opium should be given in high potency. The severe form of epilepsy arisin g out of fear and tending to be permanent can sometimes be cured with a single dose of Opium in very high potency. It must be remembered that Opium will be effective in the treatment of epilepsy arising only out of fear . The epileptic fits associated with Opiu m usually occur during sleep. They begin with a scream. The patient has nightmares about black objects, devil, fire or massacre. A strange ty pe of fear sets in the mind of the patient. Sometimes, he feels as if someone is taking him away. If besides fear, the mind becomes affected due to sudden joyful news leaving bad aftereffects, then the patient can be treated with Coffea besides Opium. An Opium patient is given to gossi ping and telling lies without any reason. Unfortunately, the patient does not realise this himself but continues in this bad habit. Lead poisoning causes gripe and colic in the abdomen. A single dose of Opium can immediately relieve the colic. However Opium is not of much use in the treatment of ch ronic lead poisoning. It works only in the acute form of lead poisoning. An Opium patient is always dozin g. He has no special wish or demand. His pulse becomes slow. Generally, he is severely constipated. Sometimes, out of fear , he may develop diarrhoea passing dark offensive stools. The bladder becomes weak. The patient may have retention of urin e or passes only scanty amounts. The hearing of the patient becomes unusually sharp. He can perceive noises from a great distance. The patient snores a lot and may even feel choked. The ailments become worse during sleep. His symptoms subside with cold drinks and on walking about. In women, periods may stop out of fear. The labour pains may also stop during childbirth. The woman becomes unconscious and has convulsions. She may suddenly b ecome unconscious or drowsy. Sometimes, she may even abort due to fear. Breathing becomes difficult. There is a sort of burning sensation inside the chest. During a severe bout of coughing, the face may become cyanosed interspersed with red spots. In Opium, the patient is insensitive to pain . The nerve endings become functionally dead and unabl e to convey the true message of pain sensation. Thus, the wounds neither heal properly nor hurt. Homoeopathic Opium will rekindle the inner body response activating the natural defence system of the body. Antidotes: Ipecac, Nux Vomica Potency: 30 to CM