Homoeopathy — Page 163
Caladium 163 Caladium (A type of turnip growing in America) Caladium is commonly used for the treatment of tobacco addiction and this is what it is famous for. However, it is not just for this limited use. It has many more prominent features. Its mental manifestations are unique. Caladium poison adversely affects the memory of a person. He forgets as soon as he has done something. Caladium could be used for the treatment of epilepsy. It is also related to the hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) but it is not a specific treatment for arteriosclerosis. After having done a task, a Caladium patient will typically keep wondering whether he did it or not. He cannot recall if he said what he had to, or did not say it, or in fact did write a letter to somebody, or not. In short, he is very unsure in his day-to-day life, but this symptom does not relate to his eating and drinking. For example, he will not forget having taken breakfast. Routine things are forgotten because a person usually remains lost in his own thoughts and cannot remember if he has done what he had to. It is correct to think that a Caladium patient is under great mental pressure. His mind is occupied by two kinds of activities. One is the routine activity and the other is being mentally preoccupied. This is the reason why a Caladium patient is absent-minded, like the philosophers who also tend to forget things. Such patients get mentally fatigued and cannot perform any literary work. Caladium is also the treatment for sexual weakness, secondary to tobacco addiction. In this respect, it is similar to Picric Acid and Selenium. The Caladium patient is in a state of constant fear ; fear of darkness, fear of future, so much so that he becomes even scared of his own shadow. The Caladium patient suffers from vertigo that worsens on closing the eyes. In contrast, the vertigo gets in Conicum worse on opening the eyes. The patient feels dizzy even on lying down and moving the eyes. In this kind of vertigo, Conium alone is not effective, but becomes a powerful treatment when given with Cocculus. In both Caladium and Conium, movement intensifies the symptoms.