Cuscuta  reflexa      

Cuscuta reflexa in India commonly known as Akasbel. It is pale greenish yellow leafless climber herb. Stems are very long, rather stout, and closely twining. Dodder flowers range in colour from white to pink to yellow to cream. Flowers  are solitary  or  in umbellate  clusters  of  2-4  or  in  short  racemes. In 2002-03 using 6, 30 and 200 centesimal potencieas t Drug Proving Research Unit of Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, Kolkata, India the proving was conducted and published by the council in 2008. Mother tincture is prepared from stem, fruits and seeds of Cuscuta reflexa. A combined material medica of this new proving and existing data is given below:

Vertigo

It is indicated in vertigo accompanied by pain in neck and hands with constant nausea.  Vertigo gets worse on standing. Vertigo is better by eating, rest and worse in empty stomach and walking.

Head

Fever with dull throbbing pain of head in right side. Frontal headache get worse in evening with fever and body ache.  It is indicated in violent cutting pain in occiput with heaviness become worse in cold air and better by drinking hot tea. Severe throbbing pain in temporal regions, worse after sleep in afternoon.  Pain in right side of temple, as if beaten by hammers.  Throbbing pain extends to right parietal region, worse waking up in morning, better eating.

Eyes

Burning pain in eyes with coryza and lachrymation.  Redness and burning pain in both eyes with headache. Stye on lower eyelid with redness and pus.

Nose

Sneezing, running nose, worse in open air, Fanning, rainy cold weather or going outside, better in warm room.  Sneezing without any discharge from nose, with burning sensation in nose and throat.  Hoarseness of voice.

Face

Pain in mandibular joint, worse by chewing.  Eruptions reddish small on face with intense itching.

Mouth

Gums tender bleeds while brushing in morning and teeth of lower jaw sensitive.  Vesicular eruptions of inner surface of lower lip.  Tingling sensation in mouth when drinking cold water, eating sweets, better holding hot water, tea in mouth.

Throat

Pricking pain in throat which aggravate by swallowing liquid and amelioration by drinking warm liquids (tea).  White patches on both the tonsils.  Soreness of throat with mild cough, aggravation by talking, drinking cold things, and relieved in morning with little expectoration.

Stomach

Loss of appetite with thirst for water.  Vomiting tendency, worse night.  Vomiting just after taking food.  Constant nausea with pain in neck and hands.  Thirst increased.  Thirst for large quantity of cold water. It is useful in constipation, flatulence, liver complaints and bilious affections.

Abdomen

Pain in abdomen, worse after taking food.  Severe pressing pain in abdomen, radiating upwards.  Cutting pain in upper part of left side of abdomen.

Rectum

Ineffectual desire for stool; stool small, stony hard, passes with great straining; bleeding after stool.  Much offensive flatus.  Diarrhoea at night; sudden, watery, offensive, yellowish stool.  Stool normal in consistency but blood drop after stool.  Hard stool passed with pain and bleeding from rectum followed by loose watery stool passes forcefully.  Hard black stool with great straining.

Female

Violent Itching in both labial commissures; itching followed by bleeding, burning.

Respiratory

Breathing difficult with nausea and severe abdominal pain.  Dry cough with cold and coryza.  Dry paroxysmal cough with stitching pain in chest.  Paroxysmal dry cough with pain in throat, worse talking, better by drinking cold water. Cough with little expectoration, worse in morning.

Chest

Electric like pain in left side of chest, worse at evening.  Stitching pain in left side of chest, worse walking.  Wheezing in chest with coryza and redness of eyes.

Extremities

Pustular eruptions near right elbow with swelling down to hand with pain, worse by touch, jerk, better by cold application.  Itching of upper and lower extremities with dryness, worse open air, putting off clothes, better by cold water bath and after scratching.  Pain in left shoulder up to left side of neck, radiates to back of hand up to the tips of fingers, worse cold application, movement, jerk, better by hot application. Pain between the shoulders, radiates to both hands up to fingers, worse movement, driving (scooter), lifting weight, better by rest.  Pain in both hands, radiates from nape of neck.  Pain goes up to little finger, worse bending neck forward, better by lying down.  Burning pain behind the left knee, worse morning to afternoon, better by applying cold water. Violent cramping pain in lower extremities, better by pressure.

Fever

Fever with chill, loose stool and vomiting.  Feverish feeling with bodyache and frontal headache, worse evening.  Mild fever with throbbing pain in head.  Mild fever due to pustular eruptions; cold air unbearable.

Skin

Urticarial eruptions on body, hands, lips with severe itching. Burning in skin after scratching.

Generalities

Used as a blood purifier, great weakness, tired feeling with fever.  Malaise and general weakness with occasionally chill, feeling and sometimes hot feeling with headache, bodyache.  Weakness and tiredness in morning.  General weakness with fever, loose stool and vomiting.

References:

1. R Shaw, VA Siddiqui, Rajpal, Vinay Kr. Singh, NR Dey, Cuscuta reflexa: A Double Blind Homoeopathic Pathogenetic Trial Year:2009 |Volume:3|Issue:3| Page:7-13
2. Cuscuta  reflexa, Homoeopathic Drug Proving’s, Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, 61-65, Institutional Area, Opp. ‘D’ Block, Jankpuri, published in, 2005
3. K. Nadkarni, Indian Materia Medica, Edited by A. K. Nandkarni, Volume 1, Bombay Popular Prakashan, Mumbai – 34
4. P. N. Varma, Ramachandran Valavan, Materia Medica of New Drugs, B.Jain Publishers (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 2010.