Blatta Orientalis

(Indian Cockroach)

PHARMACY

Blatta orientalis. Indian Cockroach. Periplaneta orientalis. N. O. Orthoptera. Trituration of whole insect with milk sugar.

Historical dose: Trituration and all potencies.

CLINICAL

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Colds
• Coughs
• Dyspnea
• Emaciation
• Obesity
• Lockjaw
• Lung disorders
• Lung weakness
• Mucus
• Pneumonia
• Suffocation
• Tuberculosis
• Unconsciousness

HOMEOPATHIC

Blatta orientalis was found accidentally to relieve asthma in a patient who took tea in which a cockroach had been infused. More effective in low potencies for acute attacks, the higher potencies being given in the more chronic stages.

Asthma, especially when associated with bronchitis (after Ars., when it is insufficient). Acts best in stout and corpulent patients. Much pus-like yellow mucus. Threatened suffocation threatened by great accumulation of mucus.

Asthmatic fits at night, coughs during the day with slight expectoration and hurried breathing.

Bronchitis and tuberculosis, with shortness of breath. Cough with dyspnea in bronchitis and tuberculosis. Chronic bronchitis. Colds that bring on bronchitis with fever may develop into asthma. Emaciation.

MIND

Anxiety about health.

Chest

Chronic inflammation of bronchial tubes.

Constitutions

Obesity, suited to corpulent people. Malarial cases and cases worse in rainy weather. Asthmatic constitutions.

Limbs

Weakness in hollow of knee.

Lungs

Severe chronic asthma. Shortness of breath. Difficult breathing, better from expectoration. Suffocation from great accumulation of mucus. Purulent tough, viscid, yellow mucus. Cough with dyspnea. Pneumonia. Bronchitis and tuberculosis. Spasmodic cough at short intervals with slight expectoration.

Modalities

Worse from dust. Worse during the rain. Worse winter.

COMMENTS

Asthma with a lot of mucus and rattling, yellow-brown phlegm (Nat-s.). Bronchitis with yellow mucus, difficulty breathing. Keynote worse dust (Sil.), sensitivity to dust (Poth.), especially in dry climates. Great oppression of the chest. "As if a weight or a heaviness on the chest," with asthma. "Feeble lungs," total inability to expectorate the thick, yellow mucus (Hydr.).

Easier breathing with head bent forward or supporting head with elbows while sitting. Must sit up in bed. Loud, coarse wheezing, like a saw through pinewood. Spasmodic, debilitating coughs. Great fear of suffocation and dying. Lack of ambition to live, great weariness in this remedy.

Clammy, cold sweat. General swelling of the body. Tends to stooped shoulders, barrel chest. Bronchial spasms. Locked jaws. Unconsciousness.

Used in tuberculosis epidemics, especially the last stages. Characteristic lung weakness, the doctor would have to put their ear next to the person's mouth to hear the case (Stann.).

Aggravated at 9:00 p.m. (Cham., Bell.).

Dr. Ray recorded a case, one of the first for this remedy, in which a man had a 25-year history of severe asthma cured with Blatta. He was emaciated, had nightly attacks, troublesome cough, and very frothy mucus. Worse lying down. Stooped shoulders and a stiff neck. Despaired, feeble, could not expectorate, speechless, so weak he could not talk (Stann.).

Anshutz recorded 4 cases concerning the use of Blatta. The first, "A young man, aged thirty-four, had been suffering from asthma for some years. He was invariably worse during the rains and the winter and chronic bronchitis was almost a constant accompaniment. He tried allopathic and lots of patent drugs with only temporary amelioration of the trouble. At last in November 1888, he came to my office.

"On examination of his chest I found there was a chronic bronchitis. He said that slight difficulty of breathing with hacking cough used to trouble him every night, besides a cold would be followed by a severe attack of asthma, so its periodicity of recurrence was irregular. I treated him with Ipecac, Arsenicum alb., etc. The first-named medicine did him the most good, but he never got entirely well.

"In July 1889, I put him under tincture Blatta orientalis 3x, drop doses, three or four times daily. Under its use, he began to improve steadily and had only two or three attacks of asthmatic fits since he used this drug, which were promptly relieved by the same drug in 1x potency.

"Euphrasia off. was prescribed for his cold whenever he had it. He is free from all trouble for the last year and a half. His general condition is so much changed that there is no apprehension of the recurrence of his former illness."

The second case, "A shoemaker, aged forty-two, robust constitution, has been suffering with asthma for three or four years. He came to my office on the 6th of November, 1890. He had been getting asthmatic fits almost every night since October last. During the day a troublesome cough comes with slight expectoration and hurried breathing, made him unable to attend his business. "Tincture Blatta orientalis 1x, one drop doses, six times daily, was given. The very first day he perceived the good effect of the medicine and continued the same for a month, when he got well and discontinued the medicine. He has been keeping well ever since."

Anshutz's third case concerned "A gentleman, the keeper of a common shop, aged forty-four, belonging to a village, had been suffering from asthma for the last eight years and had always been under treatment of native kabiraj (medical men). In June, he came to the city and I was called to see him on the 14th of June to treat him for his asthma. The day previous he had an attack, for which he took no medicine. Each of his attacks usually lasted four or five days.

"I gave him Blatta orientalis 1x trituration, one grain every two hours and left him six such powders to be taken during the day. He took them and felt better the next day. He stayed here two or three days more and when well he wanted to proceed home, which was some couple of hundred miles.

"He took with him two drachm phials of Blatta orientalis, one of 1x and the other of 3x trituration. He continued the 3x, one grain doses, two or three times daily, for a month and discontinued afterward. He had no more asthmatic fits.

"In January last, 1891, I had a letter from him, thanking me for his recovery and asking for some of the same medicine for a friend of his, who had been suffering from asthma. The friend of his who used the same drug, Blatta orientalis, was equally benefited."

The fourth case, "Mrs. Datta, a thin lady, aged thirty-eight, mother of several children, had been exposed to cold, which brought on an attack of bronchitis with fever. This in the course of a fortnight developed into a regular fit of asthma.

"She was all this time treated by an old school physician, but when the husband of the lady saw that she was daily getting worse and a new disease crept in, he made up his mind to change the treatment. I was called to see her in the morning of the 8th of June, 1890.

"She became very much emaciated, could not take any food, had fever with acute bronchitis, hurried respiration, difficulty of breathing, this she was complaining of bitterly, owing to which she could not lie down in bed, but had to sit up day and night. There was a prolonged fit of spasmodic cough at short intervals with slight expectoration, but these coughing fits would make her almost breathless.

"This was the first time I prescribed Blatta orientalis 1x in a case of asthma with fever and acute bronchitis. It answered my purpose well. She had only ten powders during the day and passed a comparatively better night.

"Next morning when I saw her she was better except the coughing fits, which were continuing as before. The same medicine was repeated. On the 10th of June she had no asthmatic trouble at night, but there was not much improvement in her cough. Ant-I. and Bry. were needed to complete the cure."

RELATIONS

Compare: (I) Ars., Hydr. (2) Puls., Sil., Kali-s.

REFERENCES

Anshutz. Boericke. Clarke. Murphy.