ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE

(Cashew Nut)

PHARMACY - anac-oc. Anacardium occidentale. Cashew nut

N. 0. Anacardiacae. West Indies. Tincture of the black juice between outer and inner shell.

Historical dose: All potencies.

CLINICAL - Allergies. Blisters. Corns. Dysentery. Erysipelas. Hypochondriasis. imbecility. Itching. Melancholy. Ophthalmia. Paralysis. Rhus poisoning. Ringworm. Smallpox. Warts.

HERBAL - The Anac-oc. Nut is kidney-shaped, that of Anac. is heart-shaped. The juice has been used locally as an application for corns, warts, hard excrescences, ringworm and obstinate ulcers.

Anac-oc. has been applied to the face to remove cuticle and produce a fresher and more youthful appearance. If hands are not washed carefully after handling nuts, they cause itching and painful, burning swellings wherever they touch skin.

The effects of the cashew nut are known through instances of poisoning. It acts powerfully on the skin. causing erysipelas blisters and swelling. It has been used as an antidote to Rhus poisoning. One woman received a swollen face from exposure to fumes when roasting nuts.

HOMEOPATHIC - Anac-oc. causes weakness of memory and mind like Anac. Scirrhus swellings. Hard excrescences. Proud flesh. Tearing pain in left side of head. Burning and itching of ears and face. General paralytic state. Paralysis and imbecility. Tongue painfully swollen.

Erysipelas, vesicular facial eruptions, anesthetic variety of leprosy, warts, corns, ulcers, cracking of the skin on soles of feet. Itching almost intolerable, umbilicated vesicles as in smallpox. The erysipelas spreads from left to right and it cures erysipelas spreading from right to left, Paralysis with imbecility.

MIND - Difficulty with thinking. Did not know his surroundings. Weak memory. Melancholy. Hypochondriasis. Apathy. Loss of will, cannot control voluntary muscles. Paralysis with imbecility.

Ears - Swelling of ears with burning and itching.

Eyes - Scrofulous ophthalmia.

Face - Erysipelas over whole face from applying juice to destroy marks. Swelling of face with itching and burning, next night after handling nuts. Face swollen, features not discernible.

Female - When juice is applied during menses, it causes erysipelas of the face. Uterine complaints and dropsy.

Head - Head falls forward, difficult to keep it up. Tearing headache on left side.

Kidneys - Increased urination.

Limbs - Large blisters filled with a yellow fluid are raised on hands, followed by desquamation. Warts. Corns.

Male - Stimulates sexual desire. Testicles swollen when touched with hands after handling nuts.

Mouth - Drinks run out of mouth. Aphthae. Cannot speak, only mutters unintelligible sounds. Painfully swollen tongue from handling nuts.

Skin - Corroding or dry tellers. Red itching spots like nettle rash (Rhus-t.), spreading from left to right. Used as a vesicant, it causes itching and burning, then gradual reddening and swelling, followed by vesicles which become pustular. These are large and flat at first and gradually become confluent and break, the epidermis peels off. but leaves the surface swollen, hyperemic and suppurating for days. Proud flesh.

RELATIONS

Antidoted by: Rhus-t., Iodine locally.

Compare:

(I) Anac. orien.

(2) Similar to Canth., Mez. - as a vesicant.

(3) Crot-t., Rhus-rad., Rhus-tox.

(4) The tincture of Iodine was found useful as a local application to parts affected.

REFERENCES - Boericke. Clarke.

Maliciousness.

Swearing.

Loss of memory.

Crampish pains in the muscles.

Contraction of the joints.

Sensation of a band or hoop around the parts.

Pain in different parts, as if a plug and entered.

Trembling debility and paralytic weakness.

Diminution of the senses (smell, sight and hearing).

Liability to catch cold, and sensitiveness to the draft of air.

Periodicity of the symptoms.

Itching of the skin, worse from scratching.

Many symptoms appear after eating, while more of them appear during dinner.

Aggravation when lying on the side, from rubbing, and from taking hold of anything.