Aconitum Napellus – Homeopathic Medicine: Its Uses, Indications and Dosage

Aconitum Napellus is commonly known as monkshood or wolfsbane. It belongs to the family ranunculaceae. This homoeopathic remedy is prepared from the whole plant monkshood with root during flowering through the  process of potentization. It is a process of preparing homeopathic medicines that extracts and arouses medicinal properties from crude substances. It is a useful medicine to manage numerous complaints occurring from exposure to dry, cold air/wind and to manage anxiety, panic attacks and various sorts of fears.

The ‘Aconitum Napellus’ Constitution

This medicine is suitable for people with a nervous nature and those having sedentary (means spending much of the time seated with little to no exercise) life. It suits well anxious persons and those having fears and predisposition to panic attacks.

Drug Action 

This remedy acts on multiple organs and treats numerous related conditions and diseases. Among different organs its main action is seen upon the mind, nose, eyes and respiratory tract. Rest it acts well on ears, face, throat, mouth, tongue, limbs and heart.

Clinical Indications

Anxiety, panic attacks, fear, cold, sneezing, epistaxis (nose bleeding), fever, cough, conjunctivitis, earache, noises in ear (tinnitus), trigeminal neuralgia, throat inflammation, tonsillitis, laryngitis, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, sleeplessness (insomnia), palpitations, pericarditis, hypertrophy of heart.

Scope as a Homeopathic Remedy

1. Mind complaints (anxiety, panic attacks, fear)

It has a wide sphere of action in mind to settle many complaints. Among these it is a renowned medicine for managing anxiety, panic attacks and fears. Persons needing it have great anxiety with restlessness. They do everything in great haste. They have a tendency for panic attacks too. There is excessive anxiety, palpitations, shaking, trembling. Fear of death is marked. Numbness and tingling in fingers is felt. Sometimes fainting occurs.
There are lots of fears for which it is indicated. The main one is fear of death with feeling as if a person were to die soon, so strong is this fear. Next is fear of the dark and ghosts. Another prominent fear is of crowds where a person is afraid of going out of house. There is fear of narrow streets.
It is a top grade medicine to manage complaints occurring from fright, emotional shocks and anger. Rest of noteworthy features indicating its use are over-sensitiveness to pain, sadness from listening to music, mood swings between happiness and sadness, delirium (sudden confusion and change in mental status). 

Key indicating features

Anxiety, panic attacks with restlessness, palpitations, trembling and fear of death
Fear of death, of dark, ghosts, crowds
Ailments from fright, emotional shocks and anger

2. Nose (cold, nose bleeding)

This medicine has a marked action on the nose where it is most beneficial to manage cold, sneezing and nose bleeding. It is an infallible medicine for treating colds that follows exposure to cold dry air. There is a runny nose and excessive sneezing. Other ways there may be stopped up dry nose with little discharge. There is fever and a headache present with cold. Next, it is helpful for cases having nasal bleeding. Here it is well indicated when the bleeding is of bright red blood. 

Key indicating features

Cold after exposure to cold dry air
Runny nose with sneezing or dry stopped up nose
Nose bleeding with bright red blood

3. Eyes (conjunctivitis, eye inflammation)

With its action on eyes it helps to manage various complaints. First among these is conjunctivitis. It refers to inflammation of conjunctiva which is a transparent membrane covering the eyelid and white part of the eye. In such cases it helps in initial stages when there is no discharge but there is redness, heat, dryness of eyes with pain that can be burning, pressive or shooting type. There is a sensation of sand in the eyes. It may follow exposure to cold dry wind. 
Next important feature that points towards its use is eye inflammation that happens from dust, or some foreign body in eyes or after surgery. It can be used for eyelid swelling too when eyelids are red, hard swollen with a tense feeling. It also covers complaints of excessive eye watering from exposure to dry, cold winds and from reflection of snow. 

Key indicating features

Conjunctivitis in early stages with redness, heat, dryness and pain in eye
Eye inflammation from dust, some foreign body in eyes or after surgery
Profuse eye watering from exposure to dry, cold winds and reflection of snow

4. Ears (earache, noises in ear)

This medicine can be given to manage some of the ear problems. It is of great service to manage ear pain. Pain in the ear can be sharp or tearing. The external ear is red, painful, warm and swollen. Next it works wonders in cases of otitis media (inflammation or infection of middle ear). Further this medicine can be given in cases of noises in the ear that can be roaring, ringing, buzzing or humming noises. 

Key indicating features

Sharp tearing pain in ear
Roaring, ringing, buzzing or humming noises

5. Face (trigeminal neuralgia)

When it comes to face it proves to be effective to treat trigeminal neuralgia and alleviate facial pain. Trigeminal neuralgia is a sudden shooting or electric shock like facial pain from pressure over trigeminal nerve or its damage. There is pain on the left side of the face with redness and heat where it is a magnificent medicine to manage it. The pain is intense that can make a person scream. Anxiety restlessness occurs with this. Numbness, tingling in face accompany. There may also occur crawling and creeping sensation on face. 

Key indicating features

Left sided trigeminal neuralgia
Pain in left side face with numbness, tingling

6. Throat (inflammation, tonsillitis, laryngitis)

Action of Aconite is also seen on the throat. It is of great value in treating throat inflammation, tonsillitis, and laryngitis. It is primarily indicated when there is throat inflammation with dark redness and high fever. The tonsils, palate look dark red. Tonsils are dry, swollen. There is stinging burning pain in my throat and difficulty in swallowing. This medicine is also known to be of service in laryngitis cases. Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx or the voice box. In such cases it helps when there is hoarseness and husky voice. It may be attended with pain when talking. Larynx is sensitive and fever may accompany.

Key indicating features

Throat inflammation with dark redness, stinging, burning pain and high fever
Tonsillitis  with dark red, dry, swollen tonsils
Laryngitis with hoarse and husky voice

7. Respiratory complaints (cough, asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis)

Aconitum Napellus is very suitable for treating numerous concerns related to the respiratory system. Out of these chiefly it is indicated for managing cough. Cough occurring after exposure to dry, cold air or wind is a classic indication for its use. It has shown great clinical improvements when cough is short, hoarse, dry, barking, hacking type.  It is a loud cough and laboured breathing may occur with this. Its other clinical indications are asthma, bronchitis (inflammation of lining of bronchial tubes), pneumonia (inflammation of air sacs of lungs). There is shortness of breath, sensation of band around chest.
Rusty, frothy mucus or white mucus with blood streaks can appear. Lastly, stitching pain in the chest when breathing or coughing can be felt.

Key indicating features

Cough from exposure to dry, cold air or wind
Dry, short, loud, hoarse, barking, hacking sort of cough

8. Fever

It is one of the leading medicines to manage fever cases. It is a magnificent medicine for cases of inflammatory fever for example fever with throat inflammation. It is typically indicated for the first stage of fever. There is very hot, burning skin where it is required, face is red or red and pale alternately. Coldness may alternate with heat. In some cases the cold stage predominates. There is anxiety, restlessness and excessive thirst for water. 

Key indicating features

First stage of inflammatory fever
Fever with excessive heat, dry, burning skin and intense thirst for water
Fever with anxiety, restlessness

9. Mouth (bitter taste, coated tongue, and tingling, burning, numbness)

Coming to this section, it is useful for cases of bitter taste in mouth, dryness, burning sensation in mouth. There is a bitter taste of everything except water.
Its next indication is tingling, numbness of lips. Burning sensation can accompany it. Other guiding features are related to tongue and includes coated tongue, swollen tongue, tingling / prickling on tongue, numbness, burning on tongue. Tongue is coated white or yellowish white and maybe dry, red. Burning and tingling on tip of tongue is present.

Key indicating features

Bitter taste of everything except water
White or yellowish white coating on tongue
Tingling, burning, numbness of lips or tongue

10. Sleep (sleeplessness, nightmares)

Aconite is extremely helpful for managing some sleep problems. To begin with it is a leading medicine for sleeplessness that results from anxiety or some sort of fright. There is restlessness and tossing about in bed from sleeplessness. People are sleepless mainly after midnight. Not only this, it is suited well to elderly people to manage the concern of sleeplessness. It can also be given to those who get nightmares and to those who tend to startle in sleep. 

Key indicating features

Sleeplessness from anxiety or fright
Sleeplessness in elderly people
Nightmares and starting during sleep

11. Limbs (numbness, tingling, joint inflammation)

Apart from above this medicine can rectify well some of the complaints related to limbs. It can give a solution to complaints of numbness and tingling in limbs. Person may complain of shooting pain in limbs. It can improve twitching of fingers and toes. Additionally it is indicated for joint inflammation. The joints are swollen, red, shiny, and sensitive to slight contact, complaints are worse at evening and night. 

Key indicating features

Numbness, tingling and shooting pain in limbs
Swollen, red, shiny, sensitive joints, worse at evening and night

12. Heart (palpitations, pericarditis, hypertrophy of heart)

For certain heart issues too its use is recommended. This medicine can help cases of palpitations. These may be from motion, fright, smoking. Pulse is fast, hard, bounding. It can be given for heart pain extending to the left shoulder. Its use is indicated for pericarditis which is an inflammation of lining that surrounds the heart. In such cases there is stitching pain in the heart and hard, strong pulse. Lastly it is well indicated for hypertrophy of heart.  

Key indicating features

Palpitations from motion, fright, smoking
Pericarditis with stitching pain in heart and hard, strong pulse
Hypertrophy of heart

Modalities

Worsening factors: exposure to dry, cold wind, checked sweating, fright, shock, at night, from music

Relieving factors: in open air and from rest

Dosage

This medicine can be used from 30 C to 1 M potency. If using it in low potency, repetition can be done frequently. But in higher potencies frequent repetition should be avoided.

Relationship with Other Remedies

Antidoted by: Acetic Acid, Paris Quadrifolia

It antidotes Belladonna, Chamomilla, Coffea Cruda, Nux Vomica,

Followed well by: Abrotanum, Arnica, Arsenic Album, Calcarea Carb, Hepar Sulph, Ipecac, Pulsatilla, Sepia, Spigelia, Spongia and Sulphur