# Ignatia (HMT)

## Remedy Classification
- **Type:** Remedy
- **Miasm:** Tubercular Miasm
- **Temperament:** Neutral
- **Aggravation Time:** Neutral/Anytime

## Keynote Indications
Ignatia is an excellent treatment for depression. Women who have the
constitution of Ignatia are very  sensitive in nature.  Although
extremely pleasant and affable, they  are very frail and tender.  They
become easily stricken with grief, which affects their mind, resulting
in various diseases and physical ailments.  It is not surprising that
women who have the nature of Ignatia become mentally ill due to
grief.  Sometimes, such a patient becomes hysterical.  Under these
circumstances, the patient should be treated with Ignatia.

One obvious symptom of Ignatia is  that the patient cannot drink
coffee.  Since the patient’s mind is already very sensitive and
delicately tuned, coffee amplifies her symptoms.  It becomes
extremely difficult for the patient to  take even one or two sips of
coffee.  When mentally agitated, th e patient cannot e xpress her anger
openly.  Instead, she torments herself in solitude or becomes
extremely sallow.  Staphysagria patients also tend to keep their anger
suppressed.  When the condition becomes out of control, this results in
physical ailments.  Similar is the case  in Ignatia.  If an Ignatia patient
is taunted or laughed at in a social gathering, she will quietly tolerate
it. But when she returns home, she will develop severe headache,
mental anguish and restlessness.  In  this situation, a single dose of
Ignatia will relieve her anger and save her from the ill effects of her
suppressed emotions.

In Ignatia, the patient feels the grief of the death of a child or a dear
one very strongly , resulting in far reaching bad effects on the health
of the person.  Ignatia can be very useful to avert this from happening.
In my experience, I have found Ignatia to be very useful in the
treatment of recent grief or bereavement , as well as to prevent its
long lasting ill effects.  However, if  the ill effects have already been
well established, then Ignatia is of no use.  Under these circumstances,
Ambra Grisea, Silicea and Natrum Mur will prove to be more
effective.

Sometimes the woman quivers or may shudder when nervous.  This
may lead to convulsions followed by unconsciousness like hysteria.
This unconsciousness is not a sign of epilepsy but a sign of their
nervous weakness.  This unconsci ousness, superficially resembling
epilepsy, is merely an indication of  her being high-st rung and is a
reaction to grief and sorrow.   In  hot countries, often women may fall
unconscious amidst a thick crowd.  A very strange symptom of Ignatia
is that a patient reacts overjoyed wh en she was expected to be angry,
and behaves angrily when in fact she was expected to be happy on
hearing good news.  Similarly surp rising is her reaction to physical
ailments.  For instance, if her joints have become stiff, red hot and
swollen, she does not feel any discomfort.  In short, Ignatia will be the
essential part of the treatment of a woman expressing conflicting
forms of response to mental and physical stresses.

In a patient of Ignatia, swallowing relieves the throat discomfort .
Local pressure relieves the pain.  The patient tends to sleep on the
painful side.  The headache feels as if a nail has been driven into the
head.  Pressing the painful side over the pillow also reduces the pain.

In Ignatia, like Cocculus, the patient vomits but there is no nausea or
retching before it.  It is amazing about Ignatia that if the patient
happens to feel nauseated, he feels relieved on eating something hard
and indigestible. A light soft di et will however, aggravate the
condition.  The cough resulting from the irritation of the throat further
aggravates the problem, which in turn makes the cough linger on for a
long time.  If during the cough, the patient is given a dose of Ignatia, it
will stop the cough surprisingly fast.  It is my experience that if
Ignatia is going to be effective in a given situation, it is so
immediately.

An Ignatia patient may sometimes develop constriction of the throat,
producing a noise like snoring.  Ignatia works wonderfully well in this
condition.  As soon as a few pellets are placed in the mouth, the
spasmodic constriction of the thro at disappears at once.  In other
words, Ignatia is full of surprises regarding its action as well as its
ailments.

The Ignatia patient is often in despair and depressed .  She does not
want to see or meet anybody.  She loses her memory , develops
hysteria and has a suspicious mind.  She firmly believes that
something dreadful is going to happen to her.  She remains fearful of
the death of her relatives or may even have such visions.  If such a
patient is not treated with Ignatia in time, she may become completely
insane.  Once, she becomes insane, Ignatia is useless.  Instead, Natrum
Mur works better.

Like some other homoeopathic reme dies i.e. Pulsatilla, Helleboris,
Aurum, Hyoscyamus, Lachesis, etc., the Ignatia patient believes that
she is guilty of having committed gr ievous sins that are absolutely
unforgivable.

The body of the Ignatia patient is always cold, yet she desires to drink
cold water.  The patient is disinter ested in taking regular food.  Rest
provides her comfort.

In an Ignatia patient, all sorts of co mplaints related to vision may be
present.  Spots appear before the eyes .  Irregular lines  wave in front
of the eyes.  The eyesight becomes weak and the eyes begin to hurt.
The neuralgic pain over the face is also susceptible to treatment with
Ignatia.  The facial muscles twitch.  The taste of the mouth becomes
sour.  The patient may suddenly b ecome thirsty or lose thirst
unexpectedly.

One should never argue with an Igna tia patient.  The patient will
respond to a positive argument with irrelevant talk, and will keep on
prolonging the conversation unnecessar ily.  It is best to leave her
alone.

Ignatia patients do not sleep  soundly.  As soon as they retire to sleep,
either the muscles start to violently contract or the grief and worries
dispel their sleep.  Such a wo man may often stop menstruating
altogether or the periods become tardy, due to grief and mental shock.
The patient feels painful cramps in  the abdomen.  The hands and feet
go into spasm, while the feet and ankles hurt.

The Ignatia ailments become worse in the morning and in the open,
while they subside on eating, resting or changing sides.

Adjuvants: Natrum Mur, Silicea
Antidotes: Chamomilla, Coccus
Potency: 30 to 200

## Symptoms by System