site logo

Narcissus


NAT. ORD., Amaryllidaceae.



COMMON NAME, Daffodil.



PREPARATION.--The young buds, stems and leaves are macerated in two

times their weight of alcohol.



(The following is from the Homoeopathic Recorder for

May, 1899):



"Agricola," one of the Homoeopathic World's oldest contributors,

has the following to say of this very old, yet little known, rem
dy.

After stating how he prepared it, he continues as follows:



"A case of bronchitis (a continuous cough) has from Narcissus 1-3x

obtained such prompt marked relief, where a most varied selection of

the standard remedies had hitherto failed, as to induce me to write

these few lines in hope that as this beautiful flower is about to be

found in most cottage gardens the prevalent bronchitis, whooping and

other coughs may meet with prompt cures. Dr. Charge's work, Maladies

de la Respiration, quotes the great Laennec, M. D., as an authority

in re Narcissus."



There is no proving whatever of this drug, although in the

Encyclopaedia (Allen) a case of poisoning from the bulbs eaten as a

salad is given; but the remedy as prescribed by Agricola was prepared

from the young buds, stems and leaves, so the case in the Encyclopaedia

is not apropos, nor is the old tincture from the bulbs of use.



The name of the plant, Narcissus, is not from that of the fabled youth

who fell in love with his own image reflected in the water, but is from

the Greek Narkao, "to be numb," on account of the narcotic properties

of the drug. The classic Asphodel and the Narcissus are the same, from

which it may be seen that the plant dates back as far as man's records

go. Fernie, in his excellent Herbal Simples, from which we gather the

preceding, also says: "An extract of the bulbs applied to open wounds

has produced staggering numbness of the whole nervous system and

paralysis of the heart. Socrates called this plant the 'Chaplet of the

Infernal Gods,' because of its narcotic effects."



Fernie also says that a decoction of the dried flowers is emetic, and

when sweetened will, as an emetic, serve most usefully for relieving the

congestive bronchial catarrh of children. "Agricola's" experience,

quoted above, however, seems to disprove the notion that the beneficial

action in bronchial catarrh is the result of the emetic properties of

the drug, but demonstrates rather that it is peculiarly homoeopathic

to this malady and long-continued coughs, especially of nervous origin,

as may be inferred from the following, the concluding paragraph in

Fernie's section on the Narcissus:



"The medicinal influence of the Daffodil on the nervous system has led

to giving its flowers and its bulb for hysterical affections, and even

epilepsy, with benefit."



The National Dispensatory says practically the same, i. e., "The

emetic action of Narcissus has been used to break up intermittent

fever and relieve bronchial catarrh with congestion or obstruction of

the air tubes. Like Ipecacuanha, it has also been prescribed in

dysentery, especially of the epidemic form. Its influence upon the

nervous system, is attested by the vogue it has enjoyed in hysteria,

chorea, whooping cough and even epilepsy."



It is still the emetic action that is looked to here, but any good

homoeopath will see beyond that, in Agricola's experience, and

perceive a strong homoeopathic action in the drug to the conditions

named, for if it were the emetic action only that is efficacious then,

certainly, one emetic would do as well as another, but there is

something more, and the curative action can be obtained from

homoeopathic doses without the emetic action. The tincture should not

be prepared from the bulb, as has been the case in the past, but from

the fresh buds and leaves. From such a preparation considerable benefit

in obstinate bronchial coughs should be confidently expected.



More

;