Belladonna – Homeopathic Medicine: Its Uses, Indications and Dosage

The remedy Belladonna is prepared from a plant called Deadly Nightshade of the natural order Solanaceae. It is prepared from whole plant when it is beginning to flower. This plant is native to Greece, Italy and Britain. Among the various therapeutic uses of this medicine, the most prominent ones are headaches, sore throat, tonsillitis, cough, earache, abdominal colic and fever.  

The ‘Belladonna’ Constitution

This remedy is suitable to plethoric (having excess of blood) individuals disposed to inflammations with red, congested, hot face. It also suits people who are prone to glandular swellings. Next, it best adapts the people who suffer from complaints coming suddenly with violence and leaving as suddenly as they appear.

Drug Action

It has a marked action on the nervous system where it helps to treat active congestion, excitement, mania, delirium, delusions, twitching, convulsions and pain. It also has action on the vascular system where symptoms to use it are hot, red skin, flushed face and throbbing in the carotids.

Scope as a Homeopathic Remedy 

1. Mental Complaints 

This is an excellent medicine to deal with mind complaints among which fears, violent behaviour and mania stands prominent. Individuals needing it have majorly fear of animals, dogs, wolves, rats, fear of death, of ghosts and imaginary things. In such cases person wants to run away and hide due to fear. Next, its use is made in cases of violent behaviour and mania where disposition to bite and strike people around them is shown by the sufferer. Among them fits of laughter with gnashing of teeth and violent screaming is also shown. Their face gets hot, red with injected eyes and protruding, pupils with violent pulsation of carotids during violent attacks. The head also gets hot with wild staring pupils Along with this restlessness and jumping up and down is present.

2. For Meningitis

Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges (the protective membranes that covers the brain and spinal cord). This medicine helps reduce inflammation of meninges, particularly in the very first stage of meningitis. The children needing it have flushed face, hot head with dry heat in body. They also are drowsy with scanty urine and nausea. Peculiar symptom of boring head in pillow is prominent among them with above indications.

3. Headaches and Migraine

This is a leading medicine to treat headaches of various kinds including migraine, sinus headache, tension headache, congestive and blood pressure related headache. People needing this complain of throbbing, pulsating, congestive pain especially in the temporal region (side region) of head. They have intense, violent pain in the head with a sensation as if it would burst. Headache comes on suddenly, lasts indefinitely and ceases suddenly. They also feel fullness and heat in the head with sensation as if whole blood has rushed to head. Along with headache there is heat and redness of face, eyes with throbbing carotids. Occasionally nausea is complained of. Sometimes dizziness may also appear with above symptoms. This medicine is also prescribed for headache cases based on some particular modalities (worsening and relieving factors). The worsening factors of headache that guides its use are light, noise, cold air exposure, least jar, exertion, sun exposure, motion of head and eyes. The relieving factor for headache pointing its use include pressure and tight bandaging.

4. Vertigo

This medicine is highly useful to treat vertigo. People needing Belladonna feel as if everything is turning around in a circle. It seems as if there is rush of blood to head. Along with it they feel pulsations in the head, dimness of vision and nausea along with vertigo. It mainly helps in cases where vertigo gets worse from every movement of body. Other worsening factors for vertigo based on which it may be used are stooping, rising from stooping and turning in bed.

 5. Eye Complaints

This remedy has marked affinity to treat eye related troubles.

Conjunctivitis

This medicine works well in cases of conjunctivitis, especially in the early stages. It works well to reduce the inflammation of conjunctiva. As the inflammation goes down, the redness and lachrymation of eyes also get controlled. Further to it the symptoms of eye itching, lachrymation, burning, smarting in the eyes and intolerance to light are also taken care of.

Pain in Eyes

It is useful for managing pain deep in eyes. In cases where it is indicated, movement of eyes and light exposure worsens the pain, and the pain may be pressive, shooting, stinging in nature. Pain from the eyes tends to spread to the head and heat in the eyes is also felt.

Photophobia

In cases of photophobia, this medicine works when the person needing it cannot tolerate light. This is accompanied with a pressing pain in the eyes and head and the person prefers to be in a dark room.

Diplopia (Double Vision)

This medicine works well when  the objects seems double to the sufferer and also if they seems crooked or seem to revolve. Pain in eyes with double vision may also be expressed, and pain is mainly explained to be as shooting, aching or stinging type. Other symptoms include sensitivity to light, dryness and heat in eyes.

Keratitis

Its use in cases of keratitis with congested eyes, heat and pain is noteworthy. Here pains are sharp, shooting in nature many times with intolerance to light (Photophobia)

Dry Eyes

It is beneficial for treating dry eyes where there is pain in the eyes, itching, redness and sand-like sensation, along with burning.

6. Ear Complaints

It offers major help in treating pain in ears that is sharp, shooting, boring stitching in nature. The pain in ear from various reasons like infections, inflammations, otitis media and otitis interna can be corrected with its use. Individuals in need of it most times have worsening of pain from chewing and from least noise. Along with it they may have roaring, ringing or humming noises in ear. They may be hard of hearing too.

7. For Mumps

In mumps, it is indicated when there is swelling of parotid gland, with  violent pains. The pain may be shooting, tearing or stitching type.

8. Throat Complaints

For Sore Throat and Tonsillitis

This is one of the best medicines to treat sore throat and tonsillitis. Here it offers most help in acute cases and can be considered a first-aid remedy. The persons needing it have marked pain in throat that gets worse on swallowing food and also on empty swallowing. If we look at their throat, it is red, shiny, sore, swollen and the tonsils are also bright red, enlarged, swollen, inflamed. It may be attended with heat and burning sensation in the throat. Other symptoms include a lump in the throat, constricted sensation in throat with dry and scraping sensation. Fever usually appears with above features.

Laryngitis 

In cases of laryngitis, this remedy works well when the symptoms are hoarseness of voice, feeble voice, rough voice, husky voice, dry cough with occasional spells of suffocation. Sometimes complete aphonia is there. Pain in larynx when talking also appears along with dryness in throat.

Cough 

It is highly recommended to treat dry, short, rough, hollow, hacking cough. There is a tickling sensation in the throat along with coughing day and night. With cough the throat gets dry, raw, red, sore and inflamed. Sensation of foreign body inside throat is present, and cough may become worse upon talking. It also works well in case of spasmodic cough with vomiting and cough caused by dust in the air.

9. Abdominal Colic

It is very effective to treat abdominal pain that is shooting, cutting, pressing, gnawing, gripping, pinching, flatulent type. The pain starts from one place in abdomen and spreads over larger portion of it. Tenderness and burning in abdomen attends to it. Pains appears suddenly and there is worsening of pain when walking. It gets better by stooping forward. Children with bellyaches are greatly helped by this remedy when they lie on their belly for colic relief.

10. Urinary problems

When it comes to urinary complaints, its use is suggested in cases of retention of urine, urinary tract infections (UTI) and bedwetting. It works well in cases of urine retention where there is a difficulty in passing urine, passage of urine is in a weak stream or only in drops. It is highly helpful for post-partum retention of urine.

Its next major indications include urine infections, cystitis, UTI with stinging, burning pains along with frequent urine. Urine is scanty, passes in a feeble stream and sometimes is blood stained in addition to being painful.

It also serves as a chief medicine in cases of bed wetting. It works well both for bed wetting in day or night time during sleep. Restlessness during sleep is also marked where it is implied. Sometimes starting during sleep is present. In few cases, profuse sweating attends bed wetting.

11. Skin issues

It can be taken in case of marked redness of the skin with or without eruptions. Heat and dryness of skin presents along with redness. It also works well in cases of boils when used as soon as they appear with extreme redness and swelling.

12. Female Disorders

This is a valuable medicine for females to combat the complaint of dysmenorrhea (painful periods), uterine prolapse, profuse periods. Firstly, it is beneficial for treating menstrual cramps with bright red bleeding. Pain in back and from hip to hip is also there in case of painful periods. Secondly, its use in prolapse of uterus is remarkable. In such cases, bearing down pains as if everything would come out from vulva is a guiding feature. This sensation is most felt on lying down and in the morning, and is relieved by standing and sitting erect. Along with this fullness, and burning in uterus is also felt. Mostly menopausal women with prolapse of uterus are helped by this medicine. Lastly, it works well in cases where there is heavy, gushing, offensive bleeding during periods.

13. Fever

Among the various medicine used to treat fever, Belladonna leads the chart. The classic symptoms to use it in fever are marked heat in the body most marked in head and face plus dry, hot skin. There is prominent pain in head along with it. Thirst for water is completely absent during fever with above symptoms.

Dosage

Belladonna can be used both in low and high potencies. Its frequent repetition is recommended in acute cases of illness. 

Relationship with Other Remedies

Complementary medicine is Calcarea Carb.

Inimical medicine is Acetic Acid.

Antidotes are Camphor, Coffea Cruda and Opium.