Abrotanum Materia Medica – Abrotanum 30 Uses

• Emaciation; ascending, in children
• Ravenous hunger but still does not thrive
• Alternating symptoms
• Rheumatism

Source: Vegetable kingdom

Synonyms: Artemisia abrolanuru, Southernwood, Lady’s love, Lad’s love

Family: Compositae

Prover: Dr Gatchell. Dr. Deventer and Dr. Cushing

Duration of Action: Indefinite

Miasmatic Background: Psora

Temperament: Irritable and inhuman

Diathesis: Tubercular

Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: It is a valuable remedy for marasmic children; marasmus especially of the lower extremities, yet the child has a good appetite. Abrotanum is a magical medicine in homeopathy. Lady’s love is a grayishgreen, shrubby plant, growing just inside the garden gate of country cottages. Its numerous leaves are divided into finebristly segments of a pale green colour. Its charming scent is retained in the fingers of the person who holds them, The name Lad’s love is given because since centuries it has been plucked by lads (boys) for presenting them to maidens of their choice or their lady love, daughtless because of its fragrance and because they can be pressed and sacredly preserved for many years to rekindle throughout life the sweet memories of youth and courtship.

Habit and Habitat: It is found in Europe, particularly southern Europe. It is cultivated for its fragrant foliage.

It is an evergreen undershrub with an erect stem, 1 to 1.5 meters high; leaves are grayish-green, alternate; flowers appear from August to October.

Preparation and Parts Used: Mother tincture is prepared from the fresh leaves and young shoots; higher potencies are prepared from the mother tincture.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is specially suited to emaciated little boys, who look old, have a pale face with wrinkled skin, or skin which is loose and in folds. The baby cannot hold it’s head up due to weakness.

Ailments From: Suppressed secretions, malnutrition, disturbed digestion.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Nutrition and digestive system, mind, serous membrane and fibrous tissues, veins, nerves, etc.

Active Principles (Chemical Constituents): The main chemical constituent is absinthe.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts on fibrous tissues and produces gout, rheumatism.
2. It acts on the digestive system, depressing nutrition; also produces indigestion, distension of abdomen, defective nutrition and assimilation that causes emaciation and marasmus.
3. It acts on serous membranes, produces hydrocoele and pleurisy.
4. It acts on the nervous system, producing hyperaemia (paralysis, neuralgic pains and anaesthesia).

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Child is very irritable, cross and violent,
2. Baby is very peevish and depressed, wants to do something cruel.
3. No capacity for thinking, very despondent, feeble and dull.
4. Patient is very anxious and ill-natured.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

1. Effect of suppressed secretions: Great anxiety, trembling, depression, epistaxis and piles after suppression of diarrhoea and rheumatism.
2. Marasmus: Emaciation of children in marasmus, only of lower extremities; it gradually spreads upwards.
3. Alternation: Alternate diarrhoea and constipation; rheumatism alternating with haemorrhoids; also rheumatism alternating with dysentery,
4. Metastasis: Metastasis of mumps to testes, metastasis of rheumatism from joints to heart, from joints to spine.
5. Hunger: Ravenous hunger and good appetite, eats voraciously but loses flesh while living well.
6. Exudations: Exudations into pleura, joints; oozing of blood and serum from umbilicus in the newborn,
7. Distended abdomen: Abdomen looks distended due to distention of veins: face cold, blue rings around eyes.
8. Angioma: There is angioma of the face.
9. Sensations: Sensation as if stomach were hanging or swimming in water.
10. Weakness: In marasmus, the head is so weak that it cannot be held up.
11. Rheumatism: Rheumatism due to suddenly checked diarrhoea or other secretions, excessive pain before swelling.
12. Gout: Painful and inflamed joints of wrists and ankles; stiffness, swelling with pricking sensation.
13. Soreness: Very lame and score all over the body with great prostration and weakness, Children unable to stand.

Important Characteristic Features

Marasmus: Abrotanum is a very useful medicine for marasmus. It is caused by defective digestion and imperfect assimilation and absorption; impaired nutrition, There is maximum emaciation of lower extremities, Child has an enormous appetite; is constantly crying for food; pain in the stomach and abdomen, bloating and large stools, food passes undigested; skin flabby, hangs loosely, There is great weakness and prostration, and a kind of hectic fever. The baby is chilly, mentally irritable and ill-natured. Alternate obstinate constipation and diarrhoea. Baby cannot hold the head up due to want of power,

General Modalities

Aggravation: Cold air, at night, checked secretions, wet, fogs, cold damp Weather.

Amelioration: Loose stool, motion.

Remedy Relationships

Follows well: Bry, Bar-c, Acon, etc.

Compare: Nux-v, Agar, Calc, Calc-p, etc.

Comparison

Itching chilblains: Abrot, Agar.

In marasmus, head seak, cannot hold it up: Abrol, Aeth and Calc-p.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000.

Dosage: Single dose of higher potencies is enough.

Repetition: Maybe repeated till response is noted. Single dose of high potency.

Therapeutic Value: Chilblains, Gout, Hectic fever, Hydrocoele, Indigestion, Marasmus, Metastasis of mumps to testicles, Pleurisy, Rheumatism, etc.