Septicaemia, or blood poisoning, is a systemic infection in which pathogens are present in the bloodstream, having spread from an infection in any part of the body.
Characteristically, septicaemia causes fever, chills, prostration, pain, headache, nausea and diarrhoea.
Once diagnosed, it is customarily and vigorously treated with antibiotics. However, the symptom-picture of septicaemia matches that of several homeopathic remedies and they are often helpful in addressing the state. Arsenicum album, Carbo vegetabilis and Pyrogenium are three useful examples.
The Septicaemia Of Arsenicum
The ‘provings’ of Arsenicum album present violent gastroenteritis with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. There is dryness in the mouth and burning in the stomach. The heart becomes irregular and weak and there is fatty degeneration of the heart muscle. The blood becomes less coagulable. Urine is scanty and bloody and the skin becomes dry and scurfy. The motor and sensory functions of the nervous system are disordered. There is depression of the respiratory centres and tremors. The body temperature is increased, while the extremities become cold.
The patient is restless, weak, pale, anxious, chilly and emaciated. They are fidgety and cannot sit still.
In the Arsenicum septicaemia, the weakness is out of proportion to the ailment. The slightest exertion is followed by a depletion in the vital force.
When ill, the patient is easily offended, irritable, startled easy and extremely sensitive to pain. There is much fear associated with the anxiety and restlessness, especially fear of death. The patient often believes they are about to die, that they will never recover. They want people around all the time and are afraid to be alone. As for compensation for the lack of control, we often see a fastidious patient, who frequently organises everything in an attempt to control what they cannot.
Coldness is a central theme with a feeling as though ice water were running through the blood.
The least draught aggravates.
In septic states, indurations are common and in Arsenicum they appear as hard nodules in the lips, face, breasts, uterus and elsewhere.
The Septisaemia Of Carbo Vegetabilis
Carbo vegetabilis patients have a marked mental and physical sluggishness, coldness, burning pains, excessive flatulence and a desire to be fanned.
There is great debility; the condition lingers and the patient will not heal.
The blood appears to be stagnant in the capillaries, causing coldness, blueness and ecchymosis. The body becomes icy cold and blue. Notwithstanding the coldness, the patient lies lifeless, but with a hot head.
The patient must have air and asks to be fanned. They must have all the windows opened. Whereas with the Arsenicum septic state the patient cannot tolerate fanning, because the least draught aggravates, the Carbo vegetabilis patient must have air.
The patient’s anxiety is prominent, occurring mostly in the evening or night. They may also be irritable, depressed and weepy, mentally dull and indifferent. The mind is sluggish.
As ill as the patient is, they may not fear death; and in some cases even desire it.
The Septicaemia Of Pyrogenium
Pyrogenium is a remedy useful for all types of septic states, more so when the blood is disorganised. The heart becomes weak and the patient is constantly aware of it beating. The muscles are prostrated. The remedy is excellent in septic states with great restlessness and almost a specific for puerperal fevers.
The discharges of Pyrogenium are extremely offensive. The pains are aching, bruised and sore, yet the patient is tremendously restless. The bed feels hard and the patient is full of anxiety.
The pulse is rapid and out of proportion to the temperature.
There is much offensiveness — putrid, cadaverous odours from the body, breath, sweat and discharges.
Pyrogenium can produce violent chills intermingled with heat and sweat. The patient is pale and ashy with cold skin but the cheeks may be red and burning hot.
Mentally, the patient is loquacious and irritable. We can see delirium and confusion of mind with respect to the body and limbs. For example, the patient may have the sensation that they cover the whole bed or that they know that their head is on the pillow, but they do not know where the rest of the body is. If they lie on one side they may feel like one person and, on the other side, another person.
That’s a creepy subtlety that only homeopathic remedies can address and treat.
Important. It’s imperative for Thinkwellness360 readers to recognise the fact that septicaemia is best treated under the supervision and guidance of a professional homeopathic physician.
