Aethusa cynapium

Prepared from the fresh flowering plant by tincturing the expressed juice, then potentised by serial dilution with succussion. Toxicology (parsley-like umbellifer with coniine-group neurotoxicity) echoes the Materia Medica picture: violent gastric–intestinal irritability, marked intolerance of milk, and neuro-cerebral collapse with spasms in infants and children—especially during summer diarrhoea and dentition [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

Provings and clinical confirmations stress three pillars:

1. Inability to digest milk (even mother’s milk): immediate regurgitation or later vomiting of large curds.
2. Violent gastro-enteritis with green, watery, sometimes frothy stools, rapid prostration, cold sweat on forehead, and sleep or stupor after vomiting/stool.
3. Cerebral irritation/collapse: dilated pupils, staring, twitching, opisthotonos, thumbs drawn into palms, alternating restlessness and stupor—the classic “hydrocephaloid” look in infants [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

Essence: Milk strikes the brain through the gut. Choose Aethusa cynapium when an infant/child cannot digest milk—vomits it in big curds, has green watery stools, then drops into heavy sleep or stupor, with cold sweat, pinched face, dilated staring pupils, and possibly spasms (opisthotonos, thumbs in palm)—especially in summer heat or teething. The sequence is telling: greedy feed → curd-vomit → collapse → sleep (temporary relief) until the next feed reignites the storm. Remove milk, keep cool, quiet, give small sips, and the case often turns rapidly when the remedy matches [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

• Infants and children (teething / summer complaints). Milk intolerance; milk vomited in large curds; cholera infantum; collapse with drowsiness after discharges [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Stomach and bowels. Ravenous hunger → vomits milk/food; retching, sour/curdled vomit; green watery stools, sometimes chopped-vegetable look; tenesmus minimal; great exhaustion [Allen], [Boericke].
• Cerebro-spinal system. Spasms, twitching, opisthotonos, staring/dilated pupils, rolling of head, thumbs clenched; soporous sleep post-attack [Hering], [Clarke], [Boger].
• Face and expression. Drawn, pinched, pale with blue rings under eyes; alternating redness and pallor; cold sweat on forehead [Hering], [Clarke].
• Lactation/diet axis. Cannot tolerate milk in any form; even a spoonful returns as curds; sour odour exhaled from child [Boericke], [Clarke].

Anxious, fretful child during prodrome; moans; cries out suddenly, then sinks into stupor. Dreads light/noise when head irritated. Delirious visions of cats and dogs are classically noted in severe fevers/enteritis [Clarke], [Boericke], [Tyler]. Alternation of restless tossing and heavy sleep marks the cerebral–enteric axis.

Sopor after vomiting or stool is characteristic—child falls into deep sleep, difficult to rouse; rolls head, starts, then sleeps again. Night wakings to cry, vomit, stool, then sinks back; sleep relieves for a while till next feed [Hering], [Nash], [Clarke].

Of animals (dogs/cats) in febrile states; frightful cries, clutching during semi-sleep; wakes with staring look [Clarke], [Tyler].

Axis: Milk → gastric storm → neuro-cerebral collapse → sleep. The child is thin, pale, hollow-eyed, hot head/cold limbs, sour smell, with milk-precipitated vomiting of curds and green watery stools, followed by profound drowsiness or stupor; spasms may supervene (thumbs clenched, opisthotonos). Worse: milk, summer heat, dentition, overfeeding. Better: sleep after discharges, cool air, withholding milk. Differentiate carefully from Magnesia carbonica (green sour stools after milk, less cerebral picture), Natrum phosphoricum (sour curds; less collapse), Calcarea carbonica (milk disagrees, but child is fat, sweaty, chilly, with slow dentition), Silicea (vomits milk in babies, sweat feet, nervous, but not the sopor after stool keynote), Ipecacuanha (constant nausea, clean tongue, little relief after vomiting; lacks the milk-curd specificity and sleep after), Arsenicum (prostration with burning, restlessness, thirst in sips, midnight worst), and Veratrum album (copious rice-water stools with cold sweat, cramps, but not the milk-curd axis or post-discharge sleep) [Farrington], [Boger], [Boericke], [Clarke], [Nash], [Tyler].

Acute enteric fever pattern in summer: hot head, cold limbs, sweat on forehead, low-grade heat with exhaustion; not a long septic course [Boericke], [Clarke].

Chill: after vomiting/stool; Heat: head/face; Sweat: cold, clammy, especially forehead/upper lip, in and after attacks; sweat does not relieve faintness at peak but sleep does [Hering], [Clarke].

Head hot, body cool contrast; rolling of head on pillow; fontanelles may appear sunken in collapse; brow cold sweat. Occipital retraction, opisthotonos in convulsive crises. Dilated, fixed pupils with staring during gastric storm [Hering], [Clarke], [Boger].

Staring, dilated pupils, glassy look; eyes half closed in stupor; blue circles; photophobia when head is hot [Hering], [Clarke].

Listless to sounds during stupor; sudden start at noise may precipitate spasm (hyperexcitable brain) [Clarke].

Cold tip, pale wings; flaring with short breath in collapse; milk odour about mouth/nose [Clarke], [Boericke].

Pinched, as if old; pale or livid, changing to flush then back to pallor; cold perspiration on forehead, upper lip moist; drawn mouth, drooping lids [Hering], [Clarke].

Tongue pale, sometimes red tip; aphthoid patches at times; salivation variable; thirst for small sips after vomiting; breath sour [Allen], [Clarke]. Cannot bear milk taste—pushes breast/bottle away after initial greed.

Grinding during sleep or in fever; teething aggravates gastric–neural storm [Clarke], [Boericke].

Sore raw fauces after acid vomit; gagging on attempts to give milk again; difficult swallowing during spasm [Allen], [Clarke].

Short breath, sighing in faint spells; laryngeal rattling if mucus accumulates during stupor; voice weak [Clarke].

Pulse small, rapid, easily failing; cold perspiration; collapse with pallor/livid lips; revives after sleep or cool air [Boericke], [Clarke].

Shallow, irregular during sopor; panting after vomiting; nose-wings flare in attacks [Clarke].

Cardinal sphere. Ravenous or hasty feeding → immediate regurgitation or later vomiting of large curds of milk, sometimes projectile; retching till cold sweat breaks out; intolerance of milk is absolute. Nausea with deathly faintness; sour, greenish, or curdled vomit; thirst for cold water in sips; long sleep follows the storm [Hering], [Allen], [Boericke], [Clarke].

Tympanitic, sensitive epigastrium; cutting colic before stool; umbilical retraction at times; gurgling; hot belly–cold limbs polarity [Clarke], [Boger].

Tympanitic, sensitive epigastrium; cutting colic before stool; umbilical retraction at times; gurgling; hot belly–cold limbs polarity [Clarke], [Boger].

Scanty, high-coloured urine during collapse; involuntary during sopor in severe cases [Clarke].

Absolute intolerance of milk (mother’s, cow’s, diluted, cooked). Desires nothing during storm; later small cold sips tolerated. Warm milk, farinaceous slops → worse. Some tolerate whey-free, non-dairy alternatives between attacks (clinical diet note) [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].

Not central; infant boys show same gastro–neural picture; occasional preputial spasm with crying (reflex) [Clarke] (rare).

Lactation context: infant rejects breast repeatedly; milk intolerance despite mother’s diet. Teething girls/boys alike suffer in hot weather [Clarke], [Tyler].

Opisthotonos in grave cases; cervical retraction; spinal hyperaesthesia (touch excites twitch) [Hering], [Boger].

Thumbs drawn into palms, fingers flexed; twitching, jerks, cramps; cold hands and feet; limpness after discharge, then sleep [Hering], [Clarke].

Cool, clammy, pale or livid; marbling in collapse; sour odour; diaper rash from acidity [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Milk intolerance in infants
  • Magnesia carbonica — Green, sour stools after milk; less cerebral collapse; child often chilly, peevish.
  • Natrum phosphoricum — Sour curds in stool; thrush, acidity; no marked stupor after discharges.
  • Calcarea carbonica — Milk disagrees but plump, sweaty-headed, slow teething; stools less green-watery.
  • Silicea — Vomits milk; sweaty feet, delicate, chilly; lacks sopor–spasm keynote.
• Acute gastro-enteritis / summer diarrhoea
  • Ipecacuanha — Persistent nausea; clean or lightly coated tongue; vomiting does not relieve; brain signs milder.
  • Arsenicum album — Burning, anxious restlessness, thirst in sips, midnight aggravation; discharges offensive rather than simply green/watery.
  • Veratrum album — Rice-water stools, cold sweat, collapse, violent cramps; not specifically milk-curd vomiting nor sleep after.
• Spasm with gastrointestinal storm
  • Cina — Wormy child, boring nose, grinding, spasms; stools mucous rather than green-watery; milk not the key trigger.
  • Belladonna — Hot head, dilated pupils, cerebral excitement, but dry heat, throbbing carotids, less gastric focus.

• Complementary: Calcarea carbonica (constitutional layer with chronic milk difficulty), Natrum phosphoricum (acid–sour curd layer), Silicea (delicate infant constitutions), Arsenicum (when collapse retains burning/restless colour) [Clarke], [Boger].
• Follows well: Ipecacuanha (when constant nausea shifts to milk-curd vomiting with sleep after), Veratrum album (after violent purge when milk trigger persists) [Farrington].
• Precedes well: Natrum phosphoricum (residual acidity), Calcarea carb. (chronic milk intolerance/dentition), Silicea (neural fatigue) [Clarke], [Boger].
• Antidotes/Notes: Withhold milk during acute phase; use clear fluids in small sips; cool air, quiet, avoid overheating; reintroduce nutrition cautiously (clinical hygiene) [Boericke], [Tyler].
• Inimical: None specific; avoid alternation without picture shift [Boger].

• Infantile diarrhoea — sudden, violent vomiting and diarrhoea of green, watery, or curdled milk, with great exhaustion. A leading remedy in gastro-enteritis of children in summer [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Intolerance of milk — vomiting immediately after nursing or drinking milk; child becomes pale, collapsed, drowsy, or convulsed [Allen].
• Collapse states in children — sunken eyes with dark rings, drawn features, cold sweat, and drowsiness with half-closed eyes [Hering].
• Convulsions — especially in children during dentition, after vomiting, or when milk disagrees [Boericke].
• Brain symptoms — stupor, half-closed eyes, staring look, or violent delirium with gastric complaints [Hering].
• Restlessness and anguish — child cries pitifully, rejects breast, then falls into heavy sleep; waking with renewed vomiting [Kent].
• Modalities — worse in hot weather, after milk, during dentition, at night; better from rest, cool air [Clarke].
• Potency guidance — low potencies (3X–6X) in gastro-intestinal crises; medium (30C) in convulsive or cerebral states [Boericke].
• Case Pearls

• Summer diarrhoea in infant — A baby developed profuse green stools, vomiting of curdled milk, sunken eyes, and collapse. Aethusa 6X brought rapid recovery [Clarke].
• Intolerance of breast milk — A nursing child vomited immediately after suckling, became pale, drowsy, and limp. Aethusa 30C restored tolerance and vitality [Allen].
• Dentition convulsions — An infant, teething with diarrhoea and vomiting of milk, was seized with convulsions. Aethusa 200C prevented recurrence [Hering].
• Collapse after vomiting — A child with choleraic diarrhoea lay with half-closed eyes, dark rings, and cold sweat. Aethusa 6C, hourly, revived circulation and appetite [Boericke].

Delirium with gastro-enteritis — A boy during gastric fever had staring eyes, muttering, and incessant vomiting of milk. Aethusa 30C quickly restored clarity and digestion [Kent].

Mind

• Anxiety, moaning; alternates restlessness and stupor (children).
• Delirium with visions of animals (cats, dogs).

Head/Eyes

• Head hot, body cold; cold sweat on forehead.
• Pupils dilated; staring look; head rolling on pillow.

Stomach

• Milk, intolerance of; vomits milk in large curds (even mother’s milk).
• Vomiting with cold sweat and collapse; sleep after vomiting.
• Ravenous hunger followed by vomiting.

Abdomen/Rectum

• Stools green, watery (sometimes frothy), exhausting; sleep after stool.
• Umbilical colic before stool; tympanitic abdomen.

Nerves/Spasm

• Opisthotonos; thumbs drawn into palm; twitchings (children).
• Convulsions with gastro-enteric irritation (dentition).

Generalities / Modalities

• Worse: milk, summer heat, overheating, dentition, overfeeding.
• Better: sleep after discharges, cool air, withholding milk.
• Collapse with cold sweat on forehead.

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): milk-curd vomiting, green stools, collapse with sopor; spasmodic signs (opisthotonos, thumbs in palm).
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving/toxicology—absolute milk intolerance; gastro-neural axis; post-discharge sleep.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): cholera infantum, dentition, visions of animals, modalities (summer heat, milk).
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—vomits milk in curds; green watery stools; sopor after vomiting/stool; cold sweat on forehead.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): relationships; summer diarrhoea; head hot/body cold; cerebral signs.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): “sleep after” hallmark; dentition/summer cases.
Tyler, M. L. — Homeopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): bedside portrait—greedy feeding then curd-vomit; pinched face; blue rings.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differentiations (Mag-c., Nat-p., Calc-c., Sil., Ipec., Ars., Verat.).
Hughes, R. — A Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1895): toxicologic context—neuro-gastro-enteric effects in umbellifer poisoning.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic colour; child-centrism of the remedy.