Homoeopathy — Page 471
Laurocerasus 471 LAUROCERASUS (Cherry Laurel) This remedy is frequently used in the treatment of heart conditions. When somebody starts to tremble due to sudden fear, terror or intense grief, Laurocerasus will offer immediate relief. Its patient starts trembling when terrified in a dream or on the sudden appearance of a stranger before him. He becomes overwhelmed with fear when excited. The body becomes cold and bluish. Sometimes, such a patient may develop epileptic fits. The vision becomes blurred. Evidently, such a patient is a coward and weak at heart. Laurocerasus happens to be a cardio-tonic for such patients. In particular, it is relatively beneficial in older people. These patients have a weakening of the heart muscle, which results in accumulation of fluid in the lungs (i. e. pulmonary oedema), and causes difficulty in breathing. Generally, doctors give such patients inhaler treatment or strong asthma medicines. These help by relieving the constriction of their air passages and facilitates breathing for some time. However, on prolonged use, these medicines lose their effectiveness even if given repeatedly. The patient may, in fact, die during this attack of cardiac asthma. Laurocerasus helps to eliminate the need for using the inhaler. Laurocerasus is a very effective treatment for combating difficulty in breathing, (dyspnoea), suffocation, and tightness of the chest as well as the sudden feeling of being choked and sinking of the heart. It increases the efficiency of the valves of the heart and is very helpful in the treatment of heart murmurs. It also tones the heart musculature and thus relieves the backlog of blood in the lungs and the oedema of the lungs. It is particularly useful in the treatment of a cough arising from the failing heart which causes congestion of the lungs. Spongia also helps such patients. The face of a Laurocerasus patient turns bluish (cyanotic) due to the relative lack of oxygenation of blood in the lungs. Not all of its patients necessarily become cyanotic. In fact, some have a pale complexion. Such patients will need a different kind of therapy. Laurocerasus is famous for the treatment of cyanotic diseases of the heart. In Laurocerasus, the chest muscles become weak (expiratory muscles). Sometimes, the diaphragm becomes weak and fails to expel air from the lungs i. e. expiration while breathing in (inspiration) faces