Homoeopathic medicines for urticaria through Boericke’s repertory

Dr Pooja Tawar

Abstract
Urticaria has been knowns as a disease since antiquity. However in the last decades an increasing understanding of the mechanism involved in its pathogenesis has shown the high heterogeneity of different urticaria subtype. It affect about 15-25% of population at some point of their lifetime making it a relatively common conditions. This article discussing some important medicine for management of urticaria.

KEYWORDS – skin, rash, urticaria, homeopathy,   Boericke  Repertory.

INTRODUCTION :-  Urticaria is defined as Evanescent discrete area of dermal oedema, often centrally white due to masking of local blood supply by fluid; wheal can be papules , patches, and plaque last for less than 24hours. Urticaria present less than 6 week is considered to be acute, and chronic of it continue for more than 6 week.  Patches of rash appear on different types body parts with variable duration from minute to days and typically do not leave and leave long lasting effects on skin.

CLINICAL APPEARANCE :- A wheal consist of the three typical features

1. A central swelling of variable size, almost invariably surrounded by a reflex erythema.
2. Associate itching or sometimes burning.
3. Fleeting nature with duration of usually 1-24hr

CAUSE OF URTICARIA:-

• Autoimmune due toantibodies that cross-link the ig-E receptoron mast cells
• Allergen to foods and inhalants
• Contact allergen; latex , animal saliva
• Medications
• Physical stimuli ; heat, cold, pressure, sun, sweat, water
• Infections; intestinal parasites, hepatitis
• Others; SLE , pregnancy ,thyroid disease
• Idiopathic; chronic spontaneous urticaria and angioedema.

CLASSIFICATION  :- on basis of different cause

• Acute urticaria
• Chronic urticaria
• Dermographic urticaria
• Contact urticaria
• Cold contact urticaria
• Heat contact urticaria
• Solar urticaria
• Cholinergic urticaria
• Adrenergic urticaria
• Delayed pressure urticaria.

DIAGNOSIS :-  history- taking should probe for possible cause including medications. Physical triggers can also be assessed  in challenge testing , such as eliciting Dermographism or pressure testing. Also Enquiry about family history and medication.

SOME LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS;-

• Full blood count
• ESR or plasma viscosity
• Urea and Electrolytes, thyroid and liver function test
• Total ig-E and specific ig-E to possible allergens
• Autoantibodies testing etc.

CONVENTIONAL  TREATMENT OF URTICARIA:-  Removal or treatment of any trigger is essential, although this may not be identified in the majority of cases. Urticaria may be precipitated by aspirin, NSAIDs, codeine and opioids, and it is advisable to suggest alternatives such as paracetamol. In chronic urticaria, non-sedating  antihistamines, such as fexofenadine, loratadine or cetirizine, are usually beneficial.

 SOME RUBRICS OF URTICARIA :-

• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)- CAUSE- gastric derangement ,from
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)- chronic
• SKIN – UTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)- MODALITIES- AGGRAVATION- night at
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hive, nettle rash)- CAUSE – sweat, from
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives , nettle rash) CONCOMITANT – diarrhoea with
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hive, nettle rash) CONCOMITANT – oedema with SKIN
• SKIN– URTICARIA (hives , nettle rash) CONCOMITANT – squali with – suppressed hives from
• SKIN-URTICARIA (hives nettle rash)- MODALITIES -AGGRAVATION- exertions, exercise from
• SKIN-URTICARIA (hives nettle rash)- MODALITIES -AGGRAVATION -warmth ,from
• SKIN-URTICARIA (hives nettle rash)- MODALITIES- AMELIORATION- cold water, from
• SKIN – URTICARIA(hives, nettle rash)- CONCOMITANT- croup, with alternating
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives ,nettle rash)-MODALITIES- AGGRAVATION-cold from
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)-MODALITIES- AGGRAVATION-night at
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)-MODALITIES- AMELIORATION- warmth, from
• SKIN -URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash )- CONCOMITANT – livers disturbance with
• SKIN – URTICARIA ( hives nettle rash)- CAUSE- Exposure, from
• SKIN- URTICARIA(hives, nettle rash)- CAUSE- menstrual conditions, from
• SKIN – URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)- CONCOMITANT- catarrh, with
• SKIN- URTICARIA( hives, nettle rash) -CONCOMITANT- Rheumatic lameness, palpitation, diarrhoea with
• SKIN- URTICARIA (hives, nettle rash)- CAUSE – Menstrual conditions, from
• SKIN- URTICARIA( hives, nettle rash)- CONCOMITANT- Diarrhoea with
• SKIN-URTICARIA( hives, nettle rash)- MODALITIES- Aggravation- fruits, pork, buckwheat from
• SKIN- URTICARIA (hives nettle rash)- CONCOMITANT- erosion with, on toes
• SKIN- URTICARIA( hives , nettle rash)- CONCOMITANT- Rheumatism with Alternating
• SKIN- URTICARIA (hives nettle rash)- MODALITIES- Aggravation- periodically -every year
• SKIN-URTICARIA (hives ,nettle rash) -nodosa.

HOMOEOPATHIC THERAPEUTICS’ –

1] ANTIMONIUM CRUDUM :-  Eczema with gastric derangement .urticaria measles like eruption. Itching when warm in bed . the skin is ulcerated and has a tendency to grow warts, callosities, bad nails, bad hair. The slightest pressure will produce callosity, or a sore place, and in working men you find an unusual tendency to thickening of the skin on the soles pf the feet.

2] APIS MELLIFICA :- skin usually white, almost transparent . hives urticaria like bee- stings or stings from other insect ,with intolerable itching at night. Eruptions like nettle rash all over the body . swelling and dry erysipelatous redness. Body covered with large, elevated white wheals. Skin symptoms and the patient generally aggravated from heat and ameliorated from cold.

3] ARSENIC ALBUM :-  from the time of Hannemann to the present day Arsenic has been one of the most frequently indicated medicine for various type of skin conditions. Desquamation of the skin of the body.  Miliary eruptions red and white , nettle rash. The skin burn with itching, and he scratch until the skin is raw , and then it burns, but the itching ceases, as soon as the smarting let up a trifle the itching commences again. Itching burning, swelling, oedema, eruptions, popular, dry, rough, scaly, worse cold and scratching.

4] ASTACUS FLUVIATILITS (CANCER ASTACUS) :-  nettle rash all over the body. Itching . crusta lactea, with enlarged lymphatic glands.  Erysipelas and liver affections with nettle rash .  itching on various parts.

5] CHININUM SHULPHURICUM :-  skin flaccid or very sensitive to the touch. Red rash over body the severe stinging , followed by desquamation. Itching , erythema , urticaria, icterus, vesication , pustules, purpura, great sensitiveness, shrivelled skin. Urticaria ab ingestis.

6] DULCAMARA :-  it is a wonderfully eruptive medicine, producing vesicles, crusts, dry, brown crust , humid crusts, herpes. pruritus always worse in cold wet weather. Extreme soreness, itching, and the itching is not relieved by scratching , and the scratching goes on until bleeding and rawness that place. Vesicular eruptions . sensitive, bleeding ulcers. Red spots , urticaria brought on the exposure , or sour stomach. Humid eruptions on the face , genitals, hands etc.

7] PULSATILLA NIGRICANS :-  Urticaria , after rich food with diarrhoea, from delayed menses , worse undressing. Measles.  Itching , mostly burning or pricking ( as if caused by stings of ants) , principally in evening and at night in heat of bed, aggravated by scratching. Eruptions from eating pork, itching violently in bed .

8] RHUS TOXICODENDRON :- Red, swollen, itching intense. Vesicles, herpes, urticaria, pemphigus, erysipelas, vesicular suppurating forms. Cellulitis burning eczematous eruptions with tendency to scale formation.  Erythema in general; burning , itching pustulous with swelling blotches like milk- crust moist like nettle – rash; blue with erysipelas scurfy ; tensive or tight feeling in pock shaped black purulent eruptions.

9] Sulphur :-  The greatest general psoric remedy for almost every kind of itch, sore, ulcer and very colicky babies with pimples itch or eruption on skin or roughness of skin. Skin dry rough scaly voluptuous itching-“ feels so good to scratch”  Eccymosis chapping of the skin esp. when it ulcerated chapping of the skin after being wet soreness of the skin in children . pruritis especially from waemth in the evening often recure in springtime ,in damp weather.

10] TRIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM :-  itchings welts (eruptions) . Urticaria from gastric derangement. Vesicular eruptions on forehead , over left eye, on middle of chest, and on right arm. Violent itching eruption on skin. Great itching at night with welts all over surface.

11] URTICA URENS:-  itching blotches. Urticaria , burning heat with formatication violent itching. Consequences of suppressed nettle rash. Rheumatism alternate with nettle rash. Urtica nodosa. Erythema with burning and stinging . burns and scalds. Chicken-pox.

REFERENCE:

1. Zuberbier T. Urticaria. Allergy. 2003 Dec;58(12):1224-34.
2. Hives [Internet]. Wikipedia. 2020. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hives
3. ‌Boericke W. Boericke’s new manual of homoeopathic materia medica with repertory : including Indian drugs, nosodes, uncommon rare remedies, mother tinctures, relationships, sides of the body, drug affinities, & list of abbreviations. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers; 2007.
4. ‌Ralston SH, Penman ID, Strachan MWJ, Hobson RP. Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine. 24th ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2023.
5. ‌ John Henry Clarke. A dictionary of practical materia medica. Sittingbourne: Homæopathic Book Service; 2000.
6. ‌Kent JT. Lectures on homoeopathic materia medica : together with Kent’s “new remedies” incorporated & arranged in one alphabetical order. New Delhi: B. Jain; 2015.

Dr Pooja Tawar
PG Scholar Department of Homoeopathic Repertory and case taking
Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital Bhopal
Guided by Dr Sarita Verma  (Professor & H.O.D)
Email. ID :-  poojatawar51@gmail.com