Raphanus sativus

An edible crucifer (Brassicaceae) whose root and seeds contain pungent sulphur compounds (isothiocyanates) historically used as carminatives and cholagogues. The fresh root (and sometimes seed) is triturated/tinctured for the remedy. Toxicologic and dietary observations point to marked gas formation, rumbling, and colicky distension, sometimes with spasmodic cough or dyspnoea from phrenic/diaphragmatic pressure—a pattern later confirmed clinically in post-operative ileus, incarcerated flatus, and obstructive tympanites [Hughes], [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Toxicology]

Symptoms come from provings and clinical collections by Allen, Hering, and the American school, consolidated by Clarke and Boericke. Repeated confirmations: enormous, noisy abdominal distension with “incarcerated flatus”—no gas passes either up or down, post-abdominal-operation tympanites, colic about the umbilicus with ineffectual urging, dyspnoea and palpitation from gastric–abdominal pressure, and left hypochondrial swelling and soreness [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Raphanus is the ward remedy for wind-lock. The language is consistent across provings and clinics: “No wind passes—neither up nor down.” The abdomen is a drum, the umbilicus is the theatre of noise and pain, the left hypochondrium may balloon, and the diaphragm is splinted so that breathing shortens and the heart flutters until a small eructation or fart unlocks the mechanism. This is mechanical tympany with paralytic flavour, not the neuro-neuralgic agony of Coloc., not the venous collapse of Carbo-veg., not the total torpor of Opium. Hence the settings in which it shines: after abdominal operations, after hernia repair, after anaesthesia or opiates, and in diet-provoked tympanites. The organism’s reactivity is simple: worse after meals, at night, lying flat or with tight bands; better from gentle walking, knee-chest or hips-up postures, warm applications, abdominal rubbing, and—above all—after the first escape of flatus. The essence is abdominal gas first; the rest follows: headache, dyspnoea, palpitations, fretfulness—all vanish as wind moves. Select Raph. whenever you can literally write the rubric “flatus incarcerated; cannot pass either way” on the case. [Clarke], [Boericke], [Allen], [Boger]

• Small intestines & colon (peristaltic inertia/ileus): Tympanites with incarcerated flatus, loud gurgling, no eructation and no passage per rectum; classic post-operative indication. Cross-ref. Abdomen, Rectum, Generalities. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Diaphragm & phrenic reflex: Abdominal gas presses upward—short breath, anxiety, and palpitations until flatus moves. Cross-ref. Respiration, Heart. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Umbilical region & left hypochondrium: Umbilical colic with left subcostal swelling/tenderness, spleen-region tympany. Cross-ref. Abdomen. [Clarke], [Boger]
• Hernial rings/post-herniorrhaphy abdomen: Colic and obstruction sensations about the inguinal rings; remedy often breaks the “wind-block” phase after repair. Cross-ref. Abdomen, Generalities. [Boericke], [Clarke]
• Rectum: Constipation from gas-lock—urge ineffectual till obstruction yields; stool small or delayed. Cross-ref. Rectum. [Allen], [Hering]
• Stomach: Pressure at epigastrium with inability to belch, food feels blocked by wind. Cross-ref. Stomach. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Nerves of intestinal motility: Atone–spasm alternation—colic with paralytic feel rather than violent spasm (contrast Coloc.). Cross-ref. Generalities. [Clarke], [Boger]

The mental state mirrors the abdomen: anxious, fretful, and impatient while the wind is imprisoned; the patient cannot fix attention and moves restlessly, yet fears to stir because motion jars the distended bowels [Clarke]. Irritability rises with epigastric pressure that seems to push against the heart; there is despondency if repeated efforts to pass wind fail both above and below, a phrase that characterises the remedy and should be cross-remembered with the Affinities and Generalities [Allen], [Clarke]. Unlike Nux-v., there is less explosive temper and more helplessness; unlike Opium, there is not stupor but a wide-awake distress with tympany and unproductive urging. Relief comes with the first escape of flatus—mood brightens, breath deepens, and palpitation eases—thus the mind gives a direct reading of the abdominal state. [Clinical]

Sleep is disturbed after late meals or post-operative episodes; the patient wakes with a sense of internal ballooning and must sit up or walk until a little gas escapes; sleep then returns. When tympany is relieved, sleep is refreshing—confirming that insomnia here is mechanical [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Anxious, business-like dreams that break into waking with abdominal pressure; no specific imagery has consistent value. [Clinical]

The centre of Raphanus is incarcerated flatus with tympanitic distension, especially after abdominal operations or dietary overload, in which no gas passes either up or down until the obstruction yields [Clarke], [Boericke]. The whole organism is secondarily involved—short breath, palpitations, frontal pressure, restlessness—all easing the instant wind escapes, which is the guiding practical keynote. Differentiate from Carbo-veg. (collapse/air hunger, much eructation), Lyc. (evening flatulence that finds ways out, right-sided hepatic concomitants), China (bloating after loss of fluids with easier upward gas), Opium (post-op ileus with no urging and sopor), Plumbum (obstruction with retracted abdomen and spasmodic colic), and Coloc. (violent neuralgic colic > bending double) [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke], [Allen]. [Clinical]

No inherent pyrexia; slight evening heat follows the strain of colic; cools once wind passes. [Clinical]

Chilliness during the anxious, breath-held phase; small sweats with effort to pass flatus; thermal swings mirror abdominal status, not vice versa. [Clinical]

Fullness and pressive head pain accompany abdominal distension; the scalp feels tight, the temples throb, and the patient begs to loosen neckwear. The headache lifts promptly after a belch or passage of wind, confirming the gas-lock as the driver [Clarke]. Compared with Carbo-veg., there is less collapse and craving for air; the picture is mechanical—pressure from below—rather than venous failure. [Clinical]

Sense of pressure behind eyes with frontal heaviness from the upward thrust of gas; lids feel heavy. No fixed oculo-mucosal pathology, symptoms ebb as abdominal tension resolves [Allen]. [Clinical]

Occasional rushing in ears during dyspnoeic moments when the diaphragm is splinted; clears when flatus moves. This couples Respiration to the abdominal core. [Clinical]

Nasal symptoms negligible; nose may feel cold during a severe tympanitic bout when the patient becomes anxious and shallow-breathing. [Clinical]

Sallow, drawn, and anxious during colic; lips dry; a slightly dusky hue may appear while breath is held shallow, again relieving as gas passes [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Dry mouth with tasteless or bitterish saliva during attacks; desire for warm sips to settle the stomach and coax a belch; frequent futile eructation efforts mark the Raph. state [Allen], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

No standing dental picture; patients may clench from colic. Any tooth sensation subsides with abdominal relief. [Clinical]

Tightness at the supra-sternal notch from upward pressure; swallowing warm fluids may provoke a small eructation and give notable relief—an everyday ward observation that cross-links Stomach and Respiration. [Clinical]

Oppression under the sternum from up-thrust gas; attempts at a deep breath fail until an eructation occurs; intercostal spaces feel pushed outward. Talking increases breathlessness while tympany lasts; immediately after a belch the chest expands, illustrating the gastric–thoracic linkage already emphasised under Affinities [Clarke], [Allen]. [Clinical]

Palpitations are reflex from diaphragmatic restraint and vagal tension; pulse quick, anxious during the height of distension; calm once flatus passes. This practical observation prevents cardiac over-treatment when the cause is mechanical gas [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Breathing is short, upper thoracic; the diaphragm feels splinted by the inflated abdomen. Open a belt, pass a little wind, and breath returns—a bedside hallmark that justifies Raph. in ward practice. The dyspnoea comes with after-eating or post-operative distension, not from bronchial disease, separating it from Ant-t. or Ars. [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

A chief field. The stomach feels blocked with wind; the patient tries to belch, but nothing comes, and pressure mounts under the sternum [Allen], [Clarke]. Nausea may appear from the upward thrust; small warm drinks or gentle rubbing over the cardia sometimes unlocks a belch. Unlike Carbo-veg., there is not a desire to be fanned nor cold extremities; unlike Lyc., there is not the evening ferment with easy upward wind—here there is none up and none down. Eating, especially raw vegetables/fruit, increases the burden; tight clothing makes it worse; loosening the belt helps—details already flagged in Modalities. [Clinical]

This is the signature: enormous, noisy tympanites with incarcerated flatus. There is gurgling and rolling about the umbilicus, but wind does not escape either way; the belly is tense, drum-like, and painful to touch; the left hypochondrium may stand out and be tender as the splenic flexure balloons [Clarke], [Boericke]. Colic centres at the umbilicus, drawing inwards or seeming to press down into the pelvis; bending double does little (contrast Coloc.) and walking slowly or knee-chest postures are tried to dislodge the gas-lock. After abdominal operations or hernia repairs this state may supervene with distressing dyspnoea until the first flatus escapes—this is the clinical realm where Raph. has earned its reputation [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Ineffectual urging with obstinate constipation from flatus-retention; stool is delayed for days not for want of peristaltic desire, but because the gas-plug prevents descent [Allen], [Hering]. When at last a soft stool passes, gas follows in a rush and the whole symptom-complex (breathlessness, palpitation, headache) lightens, completing the cross-reference to Better after stool and Better after passing flatus modalities. [Clinical]

Urging may be frequent from pressure upon the bladder; actual urinary pathology is slight. Occasionally scanty urine during the distended phase is reported, improving as the tympanites yields—again a mechanical picture rather than renal disease [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Worse after heavy or vegetable/fruit meals; cold drinks with food aggravate; better from warm sips and simple, bland fare until peristalsis returns [Allen], [Hughes]. Patients often learn to avoid legumes during recovery phases. [Clinical]

Hernial discomfort with gaseous distension at rings; fear of strangulation though the block is wind, not gut—relieved when flatus moves. Sexual sphere otherwise not marked [Boericke]. [Clinical]

After abdominal or pelvic surgery the same gas-lock pattern appears; abdominal binder feels both necessary and oppressive until flatus passes. No fixed uterine picture beyond this postoperative sphere [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Dorsal fatigue from holding the trunk stiff against the swollen belly; lumbar ache from abdominal weight; these clear when tympany subsides. [Clinical]

Restless feet and a need to move slowly about the room seeking a position that unlocks wind; peripheral coldness is not typical unless anxiety is extreme, again distinguishing from Carbo-veg. [Clinical]

No characteristic eruptions; skin may look stretched and shiny over the abdomen during severe tympany; sweat appears with colic and anxiety. [Clinical]

• Post-operative ileus / tympanites
  • Raph. vs Opium — Both for post-op obstruction; Op. has profound stupor, no urging, and obstinate constipation; Raph. is anxious, wide awake with gas-lock and rumbling, relieved as wind passes [Clarke], [Boericke].
  • Raph. vs Carbo-veg. — Carbo has collapse, desire to be fanned, much eructation; Raph. has no eructation and no flatus until unlocked [Boericke], [Boger].
  • Raph. vs China — China: distension after depletion with easy upward gas; Raph.: pure mechanical imprisonment of wind [Clarke].
• Colic/flatulence patterns
  • Raph. vs Lycopodium — Lyc.: right hypochondrium, evening 4–8 p.m., flatus passes; Raph.: left hypochondrial swelling possible but gas does not pass [Clarke], [Boger].
  • Raph. vs Colocynthis — Coloc.: violent, cutting colic > bending double; Raph. is less neuralgic, more paralytic tympany [Allen], [Farrington].
  • Raph. vs Dioscorea — Dios.: colic > bending backward, much belching; Raph.: no belching till unlocked [Clarke].
  • Raph. vs Plumbum — Plb.: obstinate constipation with abdominal retraction and stringy stools; Raph.: swollen, drum-like abdomen with wind-lock [Boger].
  • Raph. vs Nux-vomica — Nux: spasmodic colic with frequent urging and irritability; Raph. centres on imprisoned flatus and post-op states [Clarke].
• Hernial/inguinal discomfort
  • Raph. vs Lyc., Nux-v. — These cover functional hernial pains; Raph. fits when the suffering is gaseous obstruction at rings that eases as wind moves [Boericke].

• Complementary: Carbo-veg. and China where distension remains after fluids loss or exhaustion once the gas-lock has broken [Clarke].
• Follows well: Opium in post-operative paralytic ileus when stupor is past but wind still cannot move [Boericke].
• Precedes well: Lyc. for chronic flatulence once acute incarceration subsides [Boger].
• Allied/compare: Nux-v., Coloc., Diosc., Plb., Ant-t. (dyspnoea with gastric distension) [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Antidotal relations: Avoid opiate over-use which contradicts the kinetic aim; gentle heat and posture changes act as practical “antidotes” to the wind-lock (clinical).

• Post-operative tympanites / ileus: Raph. 6x–30C every 2–4 hours until the first flatus; combine with gentle abdominal rubbing, warm packs, knee-chest positioning—modalities that echo the remedy [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Dietary wind-lock after vegetables/fruit with no eructation possible: Single 30C and warm carminative sips; walk slowly until a belch or flatus breaks the block [Allen].
• Hernial patients with gaseous pain at rings after repair: Raph. 6x t.i.d. for a day or two; loosen binder intermittently to allow wind to move [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Umbilical colic with splenic-flexure tympany (left subcostal swelling): Raph. 30C; right-side or knee-chest posture often expedites relief [Clarke], [Boger].

Generalities / Abdomen (core)

• GENERALITIES — POST-OPERATIVE — tympanites; for. — Classic surgical indication. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• ABDOMEN — FLATUS — incarcerated — no passage either way. — Central keynote. [Clarke], [Allen]
• ABDOMEN — DISTENSION — tympanitic — after eating; after operations. — Drum-like belly. [Boericke]
• ABDOMEN — COLIC — umbilical — flatus, from — ineffectual efforts to pass. — Theatres of noise and pain. [Allen]
• ABDOMEN — HYPOCHONDRIUM — left — swelling — tympany; with. — Splenic-flexure ballooning. [Clarke]

Stomach / Chest / Respiration

• STOMACH — ERUCTATIONS — absent — desires to but cannot. — Upward lock. [Allen]
• CHEST — OPPRESSION — abdominal distension; from. — Diaphragm splinted by gas. [Clarke]
• RESPIRATION — DIFFICULT — abdominal distension — from — better after eructation/flatus. — Breath returns as wind moves. [Clarke]

Rectum

• RECTUM — CONSTIPATION — flatus — incarcerated; from. — Gas-plug prevents stool. [Hering], [Allen]
• STOOL — AFTER — flatus, with relief of general symptoms. — Whole state lightens after passage. [Clarke]

Modalities

• GENERALITIES — CLOTHING — waist — tight — aggravates. — Loosen belts. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — POSITION — knee-chest — ameliorates. — Helpful posture. [Clinical]
• GENERALITIES — HEAT — external — abdomen — ameliorates. — Warm packs. [Boericke]
• GENERALITIES — WALKING — slow — ameliorates. — Gentle motion unlocks. [Clinical]

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving and clinical notes on tympanites, eructation failure, umbilical colic.
Hering — Guiding Symptoms (1879): confirmations of flatus incarceration, postoperative application, rectal ineffectual urging.
Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): consolidated clinical portrait—“no flatus up or down”, post-herniorrhaphy tympany, splenic-flexure swelling.
Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—post-operative gas, wind-lock, warm applications, slow walking.
Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): carminative/ cholagogue background of radish, dietary gas and diaphragmatic pressure.
Boger — Synoptic Key (1915): regional emphases (umbilicus, left hypochondrium), comparisons (Lyc., Plb., Coloc.).
Farrington — Clinical Materia Medica (late 19th c.): colic differentials (Coloc., Diosc.) and mechanical vs neuralgic pains.
Nash — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): flatulence comparisons and post-operative hints (contextual).
Dewey — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): tympanites and post-op groupings—ward management notes.
Tyler — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside reminders for wind-lock and diet-provoked tympanites.