Graphites

GRAPHITES

Source:- Black lead-Plumbago

Graphites is a leading anti-psoric and very deep acting remedy which is indicated in the following ailments in our day to day practice. -

SKIN DISORDERS- NAIL DISORDERS-LEUCORRHOEA-CONSTIPATION

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Constitutional taint:- Psoric.

Typical subjects:- Women  inclined to be fat, and who suffer from constant chilliness, and herpetic eruptions, which crack and ooze a glutnuous fluid.

Tersely; fat, flabby, chilly constipated."What Pulsatilla is  at puberty, Graphites is at climacteric."

Notes and features:

Cracks. Fissures. Drynesss. Skin dry, inclined to crack. Cracks or fissures in the ends of fingers, nipples, labial commissures; of anus; between toes. Cracks behind ears.  Dry humor in eyelids and eye lashes. Fissures of anus bleed and ulcerate. Obstinate dryness of skin and absence of sweat.

Excoriation. In folds of skin, bends of limbs, neck groins. "Moist, itching excoriation around anus and fissures." Excoriation between thighs.

Flatulence: Everything  eaten seems to ferment and turn to gas; rumbling. Abdomen distended with dropsy.

Induration. Hardness. Nails thick, crippled; brittle., deformed (Ant.c). Toe nails crippled. Induration of ovaries, uterus and mammae. Mammae swollen, hard. Induration and convestion of the neck of uterus (cancer)

Crusty. Eyelids red and margins covered with scabs and crusty. Crusty and scabby ulcers. "Moist, crusty eruptions.

Lumpy. Lumpy stool coated with kmucus, or conjoined with threads of mucus. Sensation of a lump in stomach. Discharge of black, lumpy blood of fetid odour (cancer of uterus).

Offensiveness. Eruptions, discharges, menstrual flow, sweat, ulcers, even breath emit foul smell. Stool brownish, liquid, undigeted, intolerably offensive.

Mind:- Mental Depression.Fear of being assassinated.  The mental depression is extreme and it is made worse by music; her sadness is so gret that she thinks only of death and salavatin. Grief and vexation cause a recurrence of all her distressing mental sufferings. Her moods are constantly changing while she may recall all the events of youth, recent events are forgotten; slow of thought and weakness of mind worse in the morning; often excited, hurried and exhilarated in the evening; extremely fretful and impatient; irritable about trifles and very critical. Extreme activity of mind in the evening and first half of the night, which prevents sleep until midnight; apprehensive and distressed in the morning and excited in the evening; extreme anxiety even to desperation. Extrreme hesitation; unable to make up her mind about anything. Tendency to be frightened. Memory imparied (Anacardium,Baryta Carb)

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Head: Vertigo in the morning on waking ; in the evening; on looking upwards, on risijng from stooping; compelled to lie down, with inclination to fall forward. Rush of blood to head with flushed face also with nose bleed and distension and flatulence. Headache in morning on waking, mostly on one side, with inclination to vomit.The headaches are bought on from becoming cold and from looking into a bright light; are also worse in a warm room, and like Puls. Better in open air. There is marked soreness in the scalp; itching of the scalp with out without eruptions; eczema of the scalp oozing a glutinous fluid; eczema behind the ers; fissures that bleed behind the ears; scaly eruptions on scalp; falling out of the hair; bald; shiny patches on th scalp.  Sensation of cobweb on forehead. Feels numb and pithy. Rheumatic pains on one side of head, extending to teeth and neck. Burning on vertex. . Humid, itching eruption on hairy scalp, emitting a fetid odor. Cataleptic condition.

Eyes:- Ophthalmia, with intolerance of artificial light. Eyelids red and swollen. Blepharitis. Dryness of the lids.Eczema of the lids; fissured;

Ears:-Dryness of inner ear.Cracking in ears when eating.Moisture and eruptions behind the ears. Hears better in noise. . Hardness of hearing. Hissing in the ears. Detonation in ear like report of a gun. Thin, white, scaly membrane covering membrane tympani, like exfoliated epithelium. Fissures in and behind the ear

Nose:-Sore on blowing it; is painful internally. Smell abnormally acute; cannot tolerate flowers. Scabs and fissures in nostrils.

Face:-Feels as if cobwebs were on it. Eczema of nose. Itching pimples. Moist eczema around mouth and chin. Erysipelas, burning and stinging.

Mouth:-Rotten odor from mouth. Breath smells like urine. Burning blisters on tongue, salivation. Sour eructations.

Stomach:- Aversion to meat. Sweets nauseate.Hot drinks disagree.. Nausea and vomiting after each meal. Morning sickness during menstruation. Pressure in stomach. Burning in stomach, causing hungerr. Eructation difficult.Constrictive pain in stomach Recurrent gastralgia. Flatulence. Stomach pain is temporarily relieved by eating, hot drinks especially milk and lying down.

Abdomen:- Nauseous feeling in abdomen. Fullness and hardness in abdomen, as from incarcerated flatulence; must loosen clothing;presses painfully at abdominal ring. Croaking in abdomen. Inguinal region sensitive, swollen. Pain of gas opposite the side on which he lies. Chronic diarrhoa, stools brownish, liquid, undigested,offensive. Very fetid gas preceded by colic

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Stool:-Constipation; large, difficult, knotty stools united by mucus threads. Burning hæmorrhoids. Prolapse, diarrhoa; stools of brown fluid, mixed with undigested substance,very fetid;  sour odor. Smarting, sore anus, itching. Lump stool, conjoined with threads of mucus. Varices of the rectum. Fissure of anus (Ratanhia; Paeonia).

Urine: Turbid, with sediment. Sour smelling.

Female:- Menses too late. with constipation; pale and scanty, with tearing pain in epigastrium, and itching before. Hoarseness, coryza, cough, sweats and morning sickness during menstruation. Leucorrhoa, pale thin, profuse, white excoriating. with great

weakness in back. Mammæ swollen and hard. Induration of ovaries and uterus and mammæ. Nipples sore, cracked, and blistered. Decided aversion to coitus.

Male:-Sexual debility, with increased desire; aversion to coition; too early or no ejaculation; herpetic eruption on organs.

Respiratory:- Constriction of chest; spasmodic asthma, suffocative attacks wakes from sleep; must eat something. Pain in middle of chest, with cough, scraping and soreness. Chronic hoarseness with skin affections. Inability to control the vocal chords; hoarseness on beginning to sing and for breaking voice.

Extremities:- Pain in nape of neck, shoulders and back and limbs. Spinal pains. Pain in small of back with great weakness. Excoriation between thighs. Left hand numb; arms feel asleep; finger-nails thick,  black, and rough, matrix inflamed (Psor;Fluor.ac). Odema of lower limbs. Toe-nails crippled. Stiffness and contraction of toes. Nails brittle and crumbling. Nails deformed, painful, sore, thick, and crippled. Cracks or fissures in ends of fingers. Offensive perspiration of feet.

Skin:- Rough, hard, persistent dryness of portions of skin unaffected by eczema. Early stage of keloid and fibroma. Pimples and acne.Eruptions, oozing out a sticky exudation.. Rawness in bends of limbs, groins, neck, behind ears.Unhealthy skin; every little injry supprates.. Ulcers discharging a glutinous fluid, thin and sticky. Swelling and induration of glands. Gouty nodosities. Cracks in nipples, mouth, between toes, anus. Phlegmonous erysipelas of face; burning and stinging pain. Swelling of feet. Wens. Chronic Poison Oak

Modalities:- Worse:warmth, at night, during and after menstruation.

Better:- in the dark, from wrapping up.

Relationship:- Complementary:Argent.nit (follows well in gastric derangements); Caustic; Hep; Lycop; Ars; Tuber.

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Compare: Petrol. Sep. Sulph; Sulph; Fluor ac. . The associated constipation with mucus-covered stools and gastric flatulency should be taken into consideration and differentiate it from such remedies as Petrol. and Lycop. (Raue).

Antidote:Nux.Acon; Ars.;

Dose:- Sixth to thirtieth potency. Locally as a cerate, in sore nipples.

Notes:- Dr. Bhanja says that ,"In my experience I find that Graph. is a;pt to cause very great aggravation, even if correctly indicated.  I ascribe such aggravation to its administration in drop dose. One or two medicated globules (medicated simply by the touch of cord) in half or three-fourth ounce of distilled water, to which just a few drops of rectified spirit has been added and the whole content of the phial has been successed ten times is or are deemed quite sufficient and admirable for a dose."