NAJA

The use of Naja has extended far beyond its proving. So many of the Ophidian family present symptoms in common with it, that much has been presumed truly so. Many characteristics run through these remedies, each remedy having its own peculiar sphere. Taken together the family presents a wide range of curative action. Mure, of Brazil, thought that the snake family presented curative powers for the healing of the nations.

In the mineral kingdom, man may find his remedy when sick, so in the vegetable and animal kingdom. It is possible that the product of the serpent may be everything needed for the healing of man. Extend this to the whole animal kingdom and it is probably so. There seems to be everything existing in one kingdom that exists in another. The lowest is the mineral, the next the vegetable, and last the animal kingdom. If we had a perfect knowledge of any one kingdom, we could probably cover the entire scope of curative possibilities. But we have only a knowledge of a few remedies in each kingdom.

Another idea has been advanced that in any particular region, the vegetable kingdom provides all that is necessary for curing in that region. If we were acquainted with all the vegetable growths, how much we would know in comparison with what we do know! It is highly probable that there is a throwing off from the sick human race of something that is absorbed by the plants. The evils that are thrown off by man may be absorbed by the vegetable kingdom. Plants will correspond to men in the region in which they grow, if there is anything in this. In two thousand years there might be a necessity for some kind of a check upon the growth of plants. The absorption of these evils may cause them to vary in species, and if they continue to grow and each to absorb the evils from the human race, they will continue to differ. This favors evolution and explains it in a sense.

It is important to compare the symptoms of Naja with those of the other snakes. The patient is disturbed by closeness of the collar, < after sleep. There are exhaustion and trembling, trembling of the muscles. Its direction is somewhat like Lach., from left to right, i. e, the ovarian pains, the diphtheria, the joint affections go from left to right. Naja, like Lach., is < in damp weather. On inflamed stir faces it produces grayish exudations. It does not partake so exten sively of this character as do Lach. and Crotalus. There is only a shadow of the septic in Naja, but it is extensive in Lach. and extremely marked in Crotalus. Naja is not as subject to haemorrhage as either Lach. or CrotaIus.

There is trembling of the muscles, a rheumatic diathesis, and tendency of all complaints to settle about the heart. It is used in valvular troubles of the heart, in young persons who grow up with cardiac valvular diseases. The whole trouble settled about the heart. This suggests Naja, and Naja has often cured. If the valvular trouble is congenital it cannot be cured; but if not, it shows that all the disturbing forces have settled about the heart. All the symptoms have settled about the heart; Naja has this. In school boys and girls who have no symptoms this is the generic remedy for this kind of complaint. Always prescribe Naja unless guided away from it by some specific symptom.

Naja has more nervous, Lack more septic symptoms. Naja, marked agitation without sepsis, Lach., all the nervousness with a tendency to haemorrhage and sepsis; black blood, like charred straw; dark clotted blood.

Naja has surging of the blood upwards, like Lach. a distressing symptom. There is marked dyspnoea, cardiac or otherwise. There is stuffing up of the chest; great rawness of the trachea and larynx, the whole passage is raw as if excoriated.

There is much sneezing, with running of water from the nose; inability to lie down at night; dryness of the air passages of the nose; hay fever. The patient has suffocative attacks in August.

The whole chest is in a state of congestion; emptiness of the left side of the chest; low pulse or intermittent pulse. With all the complaints of the chest there is inability to lie on the left side. Numbness of the left arm. There is dyspnoea; if he goes to sleep, he wakes up suffocating, gasping, choking, or he starts from sleep as if from a dream. In most complaints there is inability to lie on the left side.

There is a dry, hacking cough with sweating in the palms of the hands that is cured by Naja. These cardiac cases are often attended by a dry, hacking cough, a cough with every little exertion. It is not a catarrhal state, nor is it tubercular. The heart beats slowly and will not be urged to work, and a cough comes on from exertion. Cactus also has a cardiac cough.

The extremities are cold and blue and the head hot. The head symptoms are < in a warm room; the head feels warm, fevered, yet the feet and limbs do not become warm. There is copious sweating of the hands and feet, causing the gloves and shoes to rot out; but the sweat is not offensive. There is a sense of fullness and puffiness of the hands and feet, showing a slow circulation in the veins which we might expect.

We might naturally expect that this patient would be intense and excitable, which is the case. There is a suicidal tendency. The headaches are nondescript; of a congestive character all over the head, especially in the occiput. Headaches accompanied by a quick and nervous pulse. Profound sleep is consistent with all the snakes. There is deep, profound sleep with stertorous breathing.

She wakes with a headache every morning. It is natural for the Naja headache to be present in the morning and wear off with exertion. The other complaints are < exertion. The mind symptoms are < exertion of the mind.

These are symptoms in connection with hay fever: The rawness in the throat and larynx; dreadful aching in the throat extending to the larynx, which swallowing does not relieve. The Lach. state is expressed more by a lump in the throat; grasping of the throat with a sense of choking.

The Naja patient is subject to severe attacks of bronchitis. There is rawness between the larynx and trachea, < after coughing. This is a great remedy in asthma, especially cardiac asthma. The breathing is so bad that he cannot lie down. Useful in chronic nervous palpitation; palpitation after exertion of any kind. Chronic nervous palpitation with inability to speak on account of choking.

There is a continued, dull, aching pain through the back between the shoulders, associated with cardiac affections. Sometimes there is little beside this sensation of heat, of aching, to indicate the remedy; he is so tired in that spot that he wants to lie down or lean backwards to rest his back.

The palpitation is < lying on the left side, < walking. This is the most useful of all the remedies we have in a cardiac state with very few symptoms. It is true that this region is particularly singled out by Naja to produce its symptoms.