# Veratrum Album (White Hellebore) (HMT)

## Remedy Classification
- **Type:** Remedy
- **Alternative Names:** White Hellebore
- **Miasm:** Psoric Miasm
- **Temperament:** Neutral
- **Aggravation Time:** Neutral/Anytime

## Keynote Indications
Veratrum Album 673
VERATRUM ALBUM

In Veratrum Album, the patient feels extremely cold from head to toe.
It is one of the most effective treatments of cholera.  Dr. Hahnemann
advises its use even before the onset of a cholera epidemic.  In the
effectiveness against cholera, it  is comparable to Camphor and
Cuprum.  In Veratrum Album, th e stools are exuberant, rendering the
patient extremely weak.

A prominent feature of Veratrum is that the patient feels extremely
cold yet is drenched in cold sweats from head to toe.  Similar
symptoms are also found in Camphor, though the stools are scanty.  In
Veratrum Album, the stools are wate ry and exuberant, causing severe
dehydration which may even lead to death.

Cramps in the legs  are an essential featur e of Veratrum Album,
Camphor and Cuprum as well as of cholera.

A rather contradictory symptom of Veratrum Album is dryness of the
gastro-intestinal tract.  It is an extremely effective treatment of
diarrhoea, as well as for severe constipation .  Severe chronic
constipation, associated with a f eeling of weakness and cold sweats
can well be treated with Veratrum Album.  Veratrum Album can still
be useful even if the weakness and cold sweats are absent. In severe
constipation, Veratrum Album 30 should be used two to three times a
day.  It gradually softens the a bdomen by alleviati ng the dryness of
the intestines.  It is recommended however that prior to the treatment
with Veratrum Album, severe constipation may better be relieved with
an enema or glycerin e suppositories.  This will soften the dry
voluminous stools which are otherwis e impossible to pass naturally.
Veratrum Album, like Carbo Veg, may also be tried in the treatment
of cold sweats associated with severe irreversible shock and
impending death.

The Veratrum Album patient happens  to be irritable and is easily
provoked due to the constant feeling of  cold.  If he is kept warm all
the time, he becomes mellow, showing that the irritability is not his
nature.
Veratrum Album 674

Some Veratrum Al bum patients are religious fanatics .  They talk
loudly and rapidly.  At some times, they may be extremely talkative,
and at others absolutely silent.  During the period of silence, they
become extremely depressed and have the tendency to commit
suicide.  A suicidal tendency is found in many other remedies.  In rare
instances, Veratrum Album can also be used to treat the suicidal
tendency.

Premenstrual tension and sadness in young girls may well be cured
with Veratrum Album. If untreated, this  condition is likely to result in
life-long mental illness. There is no smile left on their faces.  The
physician should remember well that the feeling of extreme cold is the
most important indication for the use of Veratrum Album.

There are many inconsistencies in the constitution of Veratrum
Album, such as the fact that the he ad is not cold ev en though the rest
of the body may be ice-cold.  Sometimes, the head feels submerged in
ice especially at the scalp and the nape, quite unlike Sulphur. In
Sulphur, the top of the head feels bu rning hot.  In a Veratrum Album
patient, in spite of feeling extreme cold, the patient likes to drink cold
water.  Fruits produce gas in the stomach.  Despite the feeling of
nausea and vomiting, there is a feeli ng of scraping inside the stomach
and the craving for food.

Potency: 30 to 200

## Symptoms by System