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]

Culinary vegetable; traditionally used as carminative, diuretic, and cholagogue; black radish in European folk medicine for biliary sluggishness and catarrh—background that helps explain its abdominal gas signature [Hughes], [Clarke].

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]

• 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]

• Passing flatus (when finally achievable) eases the whole picture—breath, pulse, and pain improve together [Clarke].
• Abdominal rubbing and gentle kneading along the colon path; abdomen supported with binder or pillow [Clinical].
• Warm applications over abdomen; warm drinks in small sips (coax peristalsis) [Boericke].
• Walking slowly or turning on the right side to encourage gas to move (surgical wards note) [Clinical].
• Knee–chest or hips-elevated posture to dislodge wind-locks [Clinical].
• After a soft stool when obstruction has yielded [Allen].
• Loosening tight garments at waist (mechanical relief) [Clarke].
• Light, bland diet; avoiding heavy fats until motility returns [Hughes].

• After abdominal operations (laparotomy, hernia repair); after anaesthesia [Clarke], [Boericke].
• After eating, especially vegetables/fruit/legumes; cold drinks with meals [Allen], [Hughes].
• Lying flat; left side often increases discomfort from splenic tympany [Clarke].
• Tight waistbands or abdominal strapping that impede flatus movement [Clinical].
• Mental worry and exertion during an attack (breath shortens) [Clarke].
• Evening and night when peristalsis flags and tympanites mounts [Allen].
• Suppressed eructations (conscious effort not to belch) aggravates pressure [Allen].
• Opioids and over-sedation post-op (peristaltic inertia) [Clarke].

• 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).

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]

• 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.