A Comparison: Anacardium, Tarentula and Agaricus
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2001 Jul / Aug VOL III NO 4.
Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy
'Anac / Tarent / Agar

Case 1
I had seen the child right from birth, ie almost from the day she was adopted. Her adoptive parents were then Fa 33 and Mo 26yr; not the happiest of couples and thought a child may help bridge the gap, and adopting seemed a good option (adoption not because of infertility but because of non-consummation of marriage! tells you of the level of disharmony). Child was 3 months when adopted (April 85). Investigations done routinely, showed elevated immunoglobulin patterns. IgA - 220mg/dl (N: 1-90) and IgM - 142 (N: 1-20). Hb electrophoresis showed high HbA2 at 5.8 (N: 1-4.1) The pediatrician's note of May 85 said: "yes the head is a little small, but that is because the tummy is large - common in malnutrition. CNS Responses, whatever possible to examine, are adequate. The elevated IG's have no real significance, except probably recurrent infections due to malnutrition."

So the child came home, already with a not very good emotional bank-balance. Here too things did not improve considerably except maybe in the first 1yr. Her negative emotional bank balance built up. The early childhood went with lots of cold and coughs, vomiting, evening colics, for alternating diarrhoea and constipation, mildly delayed milestones - dentition at 9 months etc, which they came to me casually and most of which settled under Cham, Merc and Puls.

By '87 nail biting and nail breaking started, by '88 ie at 4 she was already showing the traits, which would later get full blown - obstinacy, violence, spitting, hitting others etc. By '89 she was throwing tantrums. By '90 it was written in a note: she beats, bites, spits, no fear of being beaten up. June '90 she was naughty, defiant3, broods and lifts dress up often.

Craves spices and water3 with aversion to sweets. She talks alone and confesses to the mirror. By 1991 biting and hitting reached new heights. Relations hid their belongings when she went to their houses and called her that mad child. Cousins would gang up on her and refuse to play with her. Her mother used to literally beat her with a stick to get a response - blunted emotion was the result. By '93, she was angry with the world and her parents, she was abusive, violent, defiant and impertinent, with sudden vomits.

A Psychiatrist's note in 1994 says: she is distracted easily, laughs alone. Talks alone, makes strange positions, wrings hands, grasping and greedy and makes many faces. This made the parents say that they had been given an abnormal child (never owning up to responsibility) At this point they became serious about Homoepthay and Hyos followed by Tarentula was used with some relief. By '95 talking alone became an embarrassment to the family, even at family gatherings she would talk to herself with great animation, especially when no one around her. This is when the parents came to me for some serious treatment. Till then, being a cousin, her mother would keep informing me off and on.

'97- dysmenorrhoea started. Fidgety, restless sleep, a wild look, violent. Verat helped that phase. Then an event occurred which marred her: her regular, very up-market school threw her out for poor performance (she was diagnosed as learning disabled). Nor would any other school accept her. Almost became retarded as she was put in a school for mentally compromised.

In 2000, she did improve, which in retrospect was because of the good special school and attention. She began to look like a little lady. She learnt to cook and do many creative things - like making candles etc. Violence in her went down, but her stubbornness continued as was her loner-ness at home. She would go down to cycle by herself but not play with other kids; would watch TV when relatives came home. The only fear she had was of being punished. All of this with her mental state and evolution put me onto Anacardium finally. In 2001 she was put on Anacardium.

She has since shown remarkable changes. She has stopped talking to herself almost completely. She takes great care of dressing. Her stubbornness has reduced 20%. Her father had a near death heart attack and survived, which has improved family wet-up. More would happen, if her mother could change herself too.

The Rubrics

1. Household with no harmony and poor communication.
2. Adamant.
3. Fearless.
4. Loner, talks herself to
5. Violent.
6. Abusive language.
7. Laughs at odd times.
8. Makes faces.
9. Unsocial.

An Understanding
The boldest naughtiest remedies in the Materia Medica:
Anacardium, Agaricus, and Tarentula. Now how to differentiate between these remedies? Agaricus & Tarentula like company,Agaricus is positively loquacious. Anac likes to be alone and play alone.

Agaricus is just too fearless. Tarentula is cunning whereas the other 2 are straightforward and show their true faces, however ugly.
I want to cite another recent case of Anacardium and then of the other remedies.

Case 2
Again quarreling parents. The whole family was like that. [A dysfunctional family is a pre-requisite to produce an Anacardium, not so for the other 2 remedies.]

The PGF was totally outline - a slum lord, considered very rich in the locality. His first wife died. At the funeral itself he fixed up his 2nd marriage. But that ran into problems, as second wife felt that first wife's ghost haunted the house and made her life hell. Even the sons, whom she brought up, turned against her when grown. Gradually all went their separate way. The husband continued undeterred his way - the path was strewn with women; including wife's own 2 sisters!!

The son, ie our patient's father, naturally also had a woman on the side- the root cause of trouble between our patients parents; so quarrels continued even after separating from the joint family. The mother would beat up the child with a hanger when she was frustrated, and just for not eating!!

The child became a loner, totally fearless, could go out on the road in the dead of night. She won't share her toys with cousins, screams. [Phatak says unsocial, Ill-natured. Profane. Sees everybody's faces in the mirror]. Maybe that is why she plays with the mirror. Mirror plays an important role in Anacardium. Likes to play by herself. Talks with the mirror. Dresses up and plays mock games with the mirror. And the child refuses to eat. At 4 years her wt is 13 kg. At 5years wt 13.4 kg.

Phatak say refuses to eat for fear of being poisoned. Here there is not that fear, maybe it is sibling rivalry after brother born in 1999. Not eating was a fact, her mother beat her to make her eat. Then what happens I ask the little girl "Then I cry" she told me. I put her on Tub and Calc-phos with no improvement. At 5 yrs, ie a year later, a clearer picture emerged. Refusing to share her toys with cousins. Screaming and beating them. Her grandmother told me, vdoctor she has to have some fear, otherwise it is very dangerous. Yesterday at dead of night she opened the door and walked out of my house and went to the mother's!" Itching and recurrent infection of vagina. Sleepless till 2 am. Could this fall into the spells of sleeplessness referred to by Phatak?

Anacardium 1M a single dose was given on 10-9-01, with a warning to the mother to not force or even discuss food. Lay a plate for her, ask her to come for food, and then leave her alone. There has been not 1 gm increase in her wt in 1yr so we can afford to wait for 1 month. Do this consistently for 1 mth. No pressurising, no scolding except for very major issues, and saying kind words of praise (positive reinforcement) when warranted. In a month we had a new child. Love and caresses are fortunately the order of the day, so we do not have too many abnormal children. God has made sure to make children so lovable that one cannot resist and must love them inspite of themselves.

Except in war-ridden Bosnia. The other day I watched a very thought provoking serial called Chicago Hope. This episode was about a baby the hospital picked up in the park. 4 yrs old and she refused to connect with the hospital staff, even talk. She had burn marks on her abdomen. Her parents eventually came to pick her up and hugged and kissed her, but she did not connect to them too! They investigated her and found her brain had grown only 50% in actual size. She did not know any language. The parents said she had been adopted from Bosnia and she had been found tied to the crib for 8 months. She had never been hugged or responded to. Scientist say, no development takes place if a child is not responded to!!. In this child the only slim chance was to stimulate the Broca's area (the speech area of the brain) esp the language site and see if that would help develop a language skill. This was done, the child said Mama before the episode ended. Presumably some progress was made.

The reason for citing this case is that remedies like Anac probably get produced in very early childhood depending on the handling of children, the lack of love and the cruelty and indifferent behaviour they are exposed to. Here too some centers of the brain must remain undeveloped. It would be very reveling to be able to prove this.

Case of Agaricus:
Boy 2½ yr came on 9/8/01 for a 3"x 2" blister on his Lt forehead: Itching, sticky, oozing. It started after an injury- a cut for which a diluted dettol solution was put. Only other complaint was frequent cough.

Child 34" and 13.6 kg, profuse sweating, craves sweets and milk.
The child, all the while he was in the clinic, roamed at will, climbed up on the exam couch, jumped down. Very restless, no fear at all, considering it is a new place. The parents were the new fangled Yuppie parents, quite disturbed by the spot, esp since pediatrician had said it would take 6 months to cure!!
Mother had given up working to look after child.

A single dose of Agaricus 200, based on his behaviour in the clinic was given on 9-8-01. He came next week with the spot gone except of 1cm!! An instant cure.

I asked the mother if the pediatrician had seen it and what was her comment. She said there is still a little eruption and oozing left. Fishing for compliments I said she is not happy with the improvement? It should have been faster? (knowing full well the pediatrician had asked for 6months!) This is just to illustrate how even miracle cures that we do, seem so effortless that patients later suspect they had it in the first place. Therefore sometimes I am terribly tempted not to give a result in the first week/ Pts come back and say, I am feeling better, but maybe it is only psychological!!

Case of Tarentula:
A very lively remedy, loves people and to talk all the time. Bright, keen observation, very useful as a subordinate and an ally, very frustrating as an enemy. You have to use their excess energy and put it to good us e- channelization.

It wants company, lots of humour, likes to do tricks which brings out laughter. Unfortunately most of these tricks have a victim and so may be painful. I had a patient, who would tie up his class partners shoelaces together, so that when he got up, he would fall. Tie a girls sash to the bench, so she would get pulled when she ran after the period for the break. Then he would shriek with laughter.

If not controlled, these children can while away their time in pranks and fail at the end of the year in spite of having brains.

I had a maid like this. She was 11-12 yr when she came to me. She loved people, she would cling to everyone, hold the watchman's hand, so too the next-door memsahib's hand and talk to them for hours. Everyone loved her, thought she was small so forgave her digressions. The men folk would of course got irritated and embarrassed. Everyday, there would be some or the other complaint against her. She broke flowers from the garden and gave them to the driver in the next building; she talked to someone on the road. Etc.

Since she was so small, I felt she should go to school and took great pains to get her admitted to school at this late age. Everyday I had to worry about waking her up, sending her to school and of her coming back from school on time. I was not home at 1pm when she had to come back. None of my other staff was willing to take responsibility.

One day there was a message from school that they had detained her because she had come to school with Rs 100 and given all the children ice-cream, and even after beating she refused to divulge source of money. So I went straight from clinic; she refused to tell me too. She had this habit, whenever scolded or beaten she just clammed up. Her voice, which at other times never stilled could not be heard now. She had not really stolen it, she just took it because it was there. She had to be explained that taking things belonging to other people was called stealing.

Another time, after school, she was seen in the garden of the hill and did not come home till 2pm! The last straw was when she was dropped home one day in a car- a man just gave her a lift, she said!

It was becoming risky; I could not take the responsibility any more, more so when her parents and relatives were not at all keen she go to school. I removed her from school; forgot my new fangled ideas of equal opportunities for all! Let her remain a maid. Let her not leave the house. Difficult years those; it was not easy to contain a child who had little fear. I could not find her remedy. Eventually God came to my rescue. She returned from after her annual leave, with her scalp full of boils. No remedy helped.

Eventually I hit upon Tarentula-cubensis which cleared up the boils in a jiffy. Tarentula was her remedy- she is now 19yr, still affectionate and a big talker, but does not hold hands nor steal. She is caring, makes a good 'nurse' when one is ill. Her talking to strange men and women does continue, but we have bee able to so far contain it without any untoward experience, quite an achievement, I think, with a monthly dose of my scolding medicine - An Occasional Tight Slap.

Conclusion: these 3 remedies are the order of this century. The number of children needing these remedies is on the increase. Parents have lost the art of loving and caring and disciplining children and this would be the outcome. Homoeopathy alone in my opinion can set them Right.