Spongia Tosta (HMT)

📖 Spongia Tosta (HMT) Introduction

This is a soft and porous sponge type of marine life. It usually clings to the rocks and stones in the sea. Once detached or severed, it settles to a new stony surface and starts gr owing rapidly. Thus a new sponge colony forms. When dead, it floats on the surface of the sea. Some people pick it up from there and sell it to make their living. On squeezing a sponge loses its water, which it reabsorbs on the release of pressure. This quality of sponge is permanent. Even if left as such for hundred years, it keeps its quality. The Sponge is of great domestic use, and besides this, it ha s been used in many remedies in a roasted form. The homoeopathic remedy prepared from roasted sponge is useful in many diseases. Its use is mostly related to asthmatic bronchitis and heart problems. Cardiac asthma / cough is a condition in which the muscles of the heart become weak, swollen and flabby. The resultant failure of the heart muscles ca uses water logging in the lungs (pulmonary congestion), leading to shortness of breath. Spongia is the best remedy for this condition. In this type of cough, the breathing sounds like the sound of a saw. Spo ngia definitely benefits the cough arising from failure of the heart. No other remedy will be of avail in this kind of cough. Cardiac cough , associated with the fee ling of fear, rapid shallow breathing and the feeling of a fai ling heart, resistant to common remedies for asthma, will be benefited by Spongia significantly. Spongia, by way of the associated fear, also resembles Aconite. In fact, fear is a very salient feature of cardiac asthma. On waking up at night, the patient feels disorientated as to where he is and where the door/window is. This can happen in th e patient’s own house, supporting further the diagnosis of Spongia. This kind of mental confusion is very pronounced in Spongia, though it can happen in other homoeopathic remedies too. A sudden frightful wake-up at night with anxiety is a very salient f eature of Grandiola and Arsenic, but disorientation as to where the patient is, besides Spongia, also present in Phosphor us, Lachesis, Carbo Veg, Glonoine, Lycopodium and Aesculus. Whenev er startled at night, a Spongia patient, will be disorientated. Spongia is also very useful in the treatment of ch ronic failure and enlargement of the heart . Usually, the heart once enlarged does not return to its normal size. S pongia is one out of many possible homoeopathic remedies for this condition. Rhus Tox should be specially studied in this connec tion. Besides Spongia, Crataegus Q should also be used to strengthen the heart. Spongia is by nature a hot remedy. The patient feels very hot and likes the open air. The symptoms become worse in a heated room and with touch and pressure. It also aggravates on movement, walking and bending over. A patient feels better in cold weather, except the cough, which becomes more severe. Spongia is also useful in the treatment of thyroid goitre . The thyroid gland becomes enlarged but it is not hard. It is soft and resilient like a sponge. In Spongia, the glands inside the uterus also become swollen like a sponge. Children whose glands are swollen and their body is flabby will benefit from Spongia. Some people have a double chin with soft skin hanging down. Spongia is said to benefit them. There is an interesting sign in Spongia i.e., the throat becomes sore on eating sweets and candy . Spongia 30 will he lp relieve this condition. Sweets must be aba ndoned during the course of the treatment but may be tried again afte r a few days. If the sore throat returns, then Spongia 200 should be tried. A Spongia patient is very restless at night and unable to sl eep soundly. He gets frequently startled during sleep . His symptoms aggravate at night. Moreover, he cannot sleep well during the day either. Spongia is very useful in the treatment of pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) as well as the infection of the heart (endocarditis). A Spongia patient becomes fatigued easily. There is severe headache due to increased blood flow to the head. The discharge from the eyes is very sticky. The nose feels blocked, though dry. Blisters form inside the mouth. The throat feels stuck with a needle, is dry and very painful. A hissing type of cough arises from the throat. In Spongia, the patient feels extremely hungry a nd thirsty. The taste in the mouth is bitter. Menstrua l bleeding decreases; preceded by severe backache, increased appetite and palpitation of the heart . The patient, during her periods, frequently wakes up at night. The cough can become relentless and turns into asthma. The symptoms of Spongia aggravate on climbing the stairs and at about midnight. The patient feels better on coming down the stairs. Potency: 30