Spongia has traditionally been used for the relief of symptoms associated with croup and tickling in the throat where the person has a dry barking cough like a seal. This remedy follows Aconite well for croup that is worse around midnight with marked anxiety.
Spongia tosta – roasted sea sponge
Remedy picture as described in traditional homoeopathic texts.
Spongia addresses a dry cough that is intensely hacking and dry. The cough may sound like the barking of a seal, or a saw moving through a wooden board. Exhaustion and heaviness after exertion comes on so suddenly that the person feels they may fall and must lie down. There may be a sense of raw burning, fullness and weakness in the chest. Anxiety with difficulty breathing. One of the key notes of Spongia is awakening from sleep with a feeling of suffocation, a violent cough and great alarm, with difficult or fast hard breathing and a flushed anxious face. This remedy is often recommended to follow Aconite for the management of croup.
Mental/Emotional symptoms
Timid, anxious or terrified. Symptoms such as a cough are aggravated by thinking about them (symptoms) or from any excitement. Anxiety and fear of death from suffocation, sometimes wakes them up. Fear of the future and weary of life. Despondent. Obstinate.
Physical symptom
Head: Heaviness, fullness, or bursting headache. Pressure or pulsating pains. Sensation as if the hairs were standing on end, especially at the top of the head. Violent itching. Vertigo with a sense that the head may fall to one side. Vertigo with nausea after waking at night.
Nose, Mouth and Throat: Burning stinging and dryness. Tickling or irritation in the throat. Larynx, pharynx and tongue are dry. Larynx is painful and tender to touch. Glands of the throat are swollen and feel pressure pain when the head is turned. Hoarseness. Voice gives way when speaking or singing. Bitter taste. Difficulty in swallowing. Swallowing relieves the pain.
Ears: Pressure pain. Feeling of heat. Hard of hearing. Dull ringing in the ears.
Eyes: Protrude and stare. Double vision which improves when lying down. Burning, teary, red eyes. Watery or mucous discharge.
Chest: Burning, rawness and weakness in the chest. Sense of heat and oppression. Sharp pressure pain. Spasmodic, constrictive pains. Feeling of fullness and obstruction. Violent palpitations with difficulty breathing. Awakened suddenly after midnight with pain and a feeling of suffocation, flushed, hot and very frightened.
Lungs: Anxious gasping breathing. Croup, worse on the ‘in’ breath and worse before midnight. Whistling or wheezing breathing. Dryness of the air passages. Cough dry and barking. Breath short and panting. Cough better for eating or drinking, especially warm drinks. Cough worse in cold air with lots of expectoration and a feeling of suffocation.
Stomach and Abdomen: Exaggerated movement of abdominal muscles during the in breath. Can’t bear tight clothing around stomach. Vomiting after drinking milk. Frequent hiccoughs.
Back: Coldness. Neck feels as though there is a cord around it. Cramping in neck muscles.
Female: Hunger and palpitations before menses. Awakes with a suffocating feeling during menses. Pain in lower abdomen or asthma in the absence of menses.
Extremities: Numbness of fingers, pain and numbness in thighs. Pain in knees when rising from kneeling. Numbness in lower half of the body. Feels faint when raising arms above the head.
Skin: Biting itching all over. Hard swelling of the glands. Dry mucous membranes.
Sleep: Feels worse after sleep. Wakens in fright with a feeling of suffocation and terror. Fantastic dreams and delirium during the onset of sleep. Anxious, scary dreams.
Food: Great hunger, excessive thirst. Sweets aggravate symptoms. Loves delicacies.
Temperature: Flashes of heat with anxiety. Heat and sudden weakness when walking in cold weather, feels the need to lie down. Chill that begins in the back, followed by a heat that spreads over the whole body except for the thighs which stay cold and numb.
Keywords
- Squeezing pain
- Dryness of mucous membranes
- Dry, barking, sawing cough
- Wakes feeling suffocated and panicky
- Burning, raw weakness in the chest
- Exhausted and must lay down
Exciting causes
- Dry, cold wind
Modalities
Better: Warm drinks and food, bending forward, warm steamy air, resting in horizontal position
Worse: For being aroused from sleep or after sleep, midnight, dry cold wind, cold drinks, touch or pressure, from exertion, full moon.
Desires: Delicacies, beer, cold drinks which aggravate
Aversions: Beer
Compare to: Lachesis, Aconite.
Follow with: In croup, Aconite then Spongia, followed by Hepar sulph can be helpful.
Always read the label and follow directions for use. Homoeopathic principles should be applied when using this remedy. If symptoms persist consult your health care professional promptly.
© Owen Homoeopathics
