Several years ago, I came home in the evening and the first thing I heard as I stepped through the door was sobbing. It was coming from one of my daughters’ rooms. I looked at my husband, wondering what had happened. He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, she just got really hot and started crying about an hour ago.”
Putting my things aside, I walked into the bedroom where the wailing was coming from, feeling concerned. My daughter was in her bed, glassy-eyed and crying. I walked to her and before my hand even touched her forehead I could feel the heat radiating off her skin. She was uncovered and her face looked red and sweaty. “I don’t feel well!” she yelled emphatically and started crying again.
The symptoms very clearly pointed to Belladonna: Sudden onset, glassy eyes, radiating heat, profuse perspiration. I grabbed a 200C and popped it in her mouth. I sat on the edge of her bed and stroked her hair, waiting to make sure this was the right remedy. Within five minutes, the weeping stopped. Within ten minutes, her body felt a normal temperature. She pulled the covers up and rolled onto her side. “Can I have some ice cream?” she asked, looking at me with eyes that were no longer glassy.
She slept well that night. In the morning, her fever started to go back up, so I gave her one more dose of Belladonna. That was all she needed. By the next day, all was back to normal.
When there is a sudden onset of symptoms like this, Belladonna is one of the first remedies to think of. Another one that should pop into your head right away is Aconite. This can look a lot like Belladonna, with a sudden onset and glassy eyes. Even the perspiration can be similar, although more likely in Bell. So how do we tell the difference? One way is to pay attention to the heat. Is it radiating off the body? That’s Belladonna. Does your patient feel hot internally by not externally? That’s Aconite. Another key is the emotional state. A person who is very fearful in an acute state will likely need Aconite over Belladonna. Someone who is feeling suddenly angry is more likely Bell. Belladonna pains tend to be throbbing, bursting, or pulsating. Aconite pains are sudden and unbearable.
Belladonna (Bell): Sudden onset, heat radiating off the body, delerium, hypersensitivity, moaning, bright red face, dilated pupils, glassy eyes, throbbing pains.
Aconitum napellus (Aconite, Acon): Sudden onset, dry heat, full of fear, restlessness. May come on after being exposed to a cold wind or after a fright.
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