Top Homeopathic Medicines for treating Tremors

Essential tremor is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movement or shaking of a part of body that gets worse while using the affected muscle of that part. Essential tremor mainly affects hands but head and tongue may also be affected in some cases. Homeopathic medicines for essential tremors work very effectively and long term use of these medicines does not only reduce the severity of tremors but also reduces the progression of tremors.  Essential tremors are most of the times inherited. The person suffering from essential tremors of hand feels a shaking of hands when using them while eating, dressing, writing or doing any other work with the hand. In case of essential tremors of head, involuntary motions of head are present like side-to-side motion or forward and backward motion. The essential tremors affecting tongue results in trembling of tongue and shaking of voice when speaking.

Top Homeopathic Medicines for Essential Tremors

The top recommended homeopathic medicines for essential tremors are Zincum Metallicum, Agaricus Muscarius and Lolium Temulentum.

 1. Zincum Metallicum – Top Grade Medicine For Essential Tremors

Zincum Metallicum is a highly recommended medicine for managing cases of essential tremors. It is effective for tremors of hands, feet and head. The patients requiring this medicine in essential tremors of hand may have constant shaking of hands. The complaint of jerking of hands worsens especially while writing with excessive weakness of hands. In case of head tremors, head is in involuntary motion from side to side. When trembling in feet occurs frequent stumbling when walking is present. When complaint of tremors worsens from emotional excitement (like anger, joy, sadness), Zincum Metallicum is a very useful medicine. It can also be used when trembling occurs in all limbs or sometimes the entire body.

2. Agaricus Muscarius – For Tremors Of Hands, Legs, Head, Tongue

Agaricus Muscarius is well indicated to manage essential tremors of hands, legs, head, and tongue. This medicine is mainly prescribed to those patients who complain of excessive trembling of hands on moving them. This medicine also proves very useful when shaking of hands occurs while holding objects, often resulting in dropping of objects from the hands. It is also an important medicine for head tremors that can be constant. It is accompanied by a feeling of excessive coolness in the head. Further, its use is suggested for trembling of tongue resulting in unclear speech. Next it can be used to manage trembling of legs. Trembling may be attended with weakness and anxiety in general. Besides, jerking of eyelids also indicates use of this medicine.

3. Lolium Temulentum – For Shaking Of All The Limbs        

This medicine is of great service in helping cases in which shaking of all limbs is present. Persons needing it have difficulty holding objects like a glass or a cup due to shaky hands. There may be trembling in the hands while writing. Limbs also appear cold to touch, gait becomes unsteady.

4. Gelsemium Sempervirens – For Tremors With Weakness

This natural medicine is used for essential tremors when trembling of the affected part is accompanied by excessive muscle weakness. The patient requiring this medicine always complains of profound dullness and drowsiness. This medicine works well in those cases where the tremors are intensified by emotional excitement or fear. Its use is mainly recommended for essential tremors of limbs and tongue.

5. Silicea – For Hand Tremors When Using Hands

Silicea is yet another remedy used for treating essential tremors of hands when using them. For example, trembling of hands may occur while eating, writing or holding anything. Such patients can also face difficulty in doing fine work due to excessive shaking of hands; for instance threading a needle appears to be a very cumbersome task for them. In general, people needing this medicine are nervous, anxious type.

6. Phosphorus – For Tremors Of Limbs Worse From Exertion

Phosphorus is the next wonderful medicine for essential tremors that worsens from exertion. It is of great help when hand tremors worsen after exertion. The excessive shaking of hands poses great difficulty in holding anything. Numbness or crawling sensation in hands is another complaint along with trembling of hands in such patients.

7. Plumbum Metallicum – For Essential Tremors Of Hand And Tongue

Plumbum Metallicum is a good medicine for treating essential tremors of hand that get worse from hand movement, holding an object, eating or writing. Trembling of tongue occurs when protruding it out or while talking.

8. Lycopodium – For Essential Tremors Of Head

Lycopodium is used where the involuntary, causeless shaking of the head is accompanied by dizziness. The motion of the head in patients requiring Lycopodium can either be from side to side (no – no movement) or backward and forward (yes – yes movement).

9. Lachesis – For Essential Tremors of Tongue and Shaking of Voice

Lachesis works very well in patients with excessive shaking of tongue. The tongue is dry, red and swollen. The shaking of the tongue is worse when protruding out from the mouth and it can be bitten off with teeth.

10. Merc Sol – For Tremors Of Hands, Neck, Legs And Tongue

Merc Sol is suitable for trembling of hands, neck and tongue. In cases needing it, tremors mostly begin in fingers. Due to shaky hands, there is inability to lift or carry anything with hands. There is difficulty in eating with hands and drinking water without spilling. Hand trembling is attended with marked weakness. Its use is also considered for tremors of neck and legs. In cases requiring it, tremors get worse from exertion. Merc Sol also works well where there is excessive trembling of the tongue and voice is shaky accompanied by profuse saliva in the mouth.

Cause Behind Essential Tremors

 The exact cause behind essential tremors is not known. However, following observations are important:

1. Some sort of changes in some part of the brain are found to be present in those who present such symptoms as per recent researches.

2. Essential tremor is believed to run in families, and over 50 per cent people afflicted by it have it in their family. Here it arises from altered gene. This inherited form of essential tremor is known as familial tremor. If even one parent carries altered gene then there are 50 per cent chances that their child will present the symptoms of essential tremors.

3. It can affect people irrespective of age, although the odds of its occurrence go up with advancing age. Essential tremors are usually seen in people aged 40 years or more.

4. Stress, anxiety, smoking, caffeine, fatigue, extreme cold, and hot temperature, thyroid problems, low blood sugar, strong emotions. Taking lithium salts or antidepressants can make the tremors worse.

Signs And Symptoms

 Shaking is the main symptom of essential tremors. Among those who have it, there occur brief and rapid movements constantly. In some people, tremors occur only on certain occasions. The intensity varies from mild to severe. In most of the cases, it is seen in hands mainly while using the hands. It may cause difficulty in eating, drinking from glass, writing and even while one is getting dressed up in severe cases. In majority of the cases, both sides are affected but one side is more prominently affected as compared to the other. Though commonly hands are affected but other body parts like face, head, tongue, voice box and trunk can be affected as well.

These tremors are termed as action or postural tremors depending on whether these occur while one is in motion or at rest

Action tremors: These tremors occur when one is performing a physical action or doing something like drinking from a glass, eating from a plate, or tying a shoelace.

Tremors at rest: When tremors occur when one is at rest.

Postural tremor: When tremors appear on holding a body part in a specific position against gravity like keeping arm outstretched, etc.

1. In case of hand tremors, one may feel shakiness in hands, especially while using them.

2. Head, and neck tremors cause shaking of head. The movement of head here can be up, and down (a motion as when one nods a yes) or side to side (a motion when one nods a no).

3. When tongue or voice box is affected there is shaky voice.

4. Tremors of legs, and feet cause balance and gait issues.

5. When tremors affect the face, twitching occurs in the affected parts of the face such as twitching of the eyelids.

Essential tremors vs Parkinson’s disease – Are these the same?

These are not the same conditions but many a time there could be confusion regarding the two.

The key differences are as follows:

1. Essential tremors mainly occur while using hands while in Parkinson’s disease the tremors occur when hands are at rest.

2. In essential tremors no other problem occurs besides shaking. In Parkinson’s disease movement becomes slow, posture is stooped, gait issues are seen though in essential tremors sometimes there could be difficulty in walking.

Complications

Though tremors are not a critical issue it has a tendency to gradually get worse over the years. Eventually, the tremors may become so severe that accomplishing regular, everyday activities can prove to be difficult for the patient. For example, it may result in difficulty in holding a glass, drinking from a glass of water, eating with a spoon/fork, shaving, combing, cooking, tying shoelaces, and getting dressed. One may witness difficulty in talking and may as well make one’s voice shaky. Writing clearly/neatly may also be affected.

Diagnosis And Investigations

There is no lab test to diagnose the essential tremors and it is diagnosed based on the clinical symptoms. A physician will take note of the symptoms, and medical and family history, and do a physical examination of the sufferer having tremors. Essential tremors are diagnosed by ruling out other medical conditions that could cause similar symptoms. If there is doubt between essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease then dopamine transporter test is advised (this test confirms Parkinson’s disease).