Introduction

Hi, I’m Dr. Imran Ali, and welcome back to the Materia Medica Series today. I’ll be talking about the homeopathic remedy Chamomilla. Matricaria chamomilla, also known as German chamomile, is a daisy-like flower from the Asteraceae family. Chamomilla is known primarily as a remedy for the frayed nerves of extremely irritable infants and children. The scope of its activity is somewhat narrower than that of other remedies that we’ve already discussed. Although Chamomilla can definitely fit adult ailments too, it’s mostly a remedy for acute childhood conditions.

• View the full Homeopathic Materia Medica list A–Z

Okay, with that said, let’s get started.

Mental State of Chamomilla Child

This is a remedy that is most often identified by its mental state. It’s a remedy for intense irritability and sensitivity. The Chamomilla child is tremendously irritable. His nerves are on edge, and he’s highly reactive. In most cases, this irritability is associated with physical pain.

The Chamomilla state of mind has been described as a combination of irritability, anger, sensitivity, and pain.

The words irritable and angry, however, don’t quite do justice to this mental state. Chamomilla is beyond irritable. I think frantic is a better word. He’s beside himself. He’s absolutely frantic with pain, and there’s nothing that can be done to calm him. He is inconsolable because his suffering is intolerable. He is peevish, cross, hostile, and quarrelsome.

The Entire Nervous System is Irritable & On Edge

This is not a remedy that we give to children with calm temperaments. It’s not just a simple state of anger; it’s more like the entire nervous system is irritable and on edge. This results in a frenzied and impatient state of whining, complaining, and vehement temper. The child kicks, hits, screams, and flails about in a desperate attempt to find relief.

Demands to Be Given Something

He demands to be given something. It’s as if he thinks that a bottle, a toy, or a food item will soothe his agitated state. But just as soon as he’s given the thing that he wants, he just as quickly tosses it aside. He then demands another thing, or even the same thing again, but impatiently and petulantly throws it away yet again. It quickly becomes clear that nothing can calm this poor, miserable child.

Different repertories list this phenomenon in different ways. For example:

• Throws away everything given to it
• Impatiently desires many things
• Child dislikes its favorite play things
• Desires things but refuses them when offered, throws them away

Chamomilla & Cina Are Capricious Children’s Remedies

Of course, all of this is just another way of saying that Chamomilla is notoriously capricious. Cham’s only rival listed in the repertory under capricious children is Cina.

What is the Meaning of Capricious

Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of this word. Dictionaries define capricious as being impulsive, unstable, and unpredictable, given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior. Chamomilla’s capriciousness is largely involuntary. His obstinacy and ugly temper are a function of his great sensitivity to pain and suffering. It’s not so much that he’s thought about something and then decided that he’s mad about it. It’s more like a wildly reflexive state of mental irritability and nervous system reactivity.

Vexation (Chamomilla is Easily Vexed)

Another term that the old books used for Chamomilla is vexation. Chamomilla is easily vexed. In other words, he’s easily irritated. Many seemingly innocuous things grate on his nerves. He’s vexed by trifles (small things). He easily becomes angry at some annoying irritation. This phenomenon works both ways. Think of it as a type of negative feedback loop. Just as his pain creates a tremendously irritable state of mind, so too his anger and vexation can exacerbate his pain.

Synoptic References About Chamomilla

Fran Veran adds an interesting layer of understanding regarding Chamomilla. He notes that Chamomilla, along with Cina and Absinthium, are all plants belonging to the Anthemis, which is a subdivision of the much larger Asteraceae family.

About this subgroup, he notes:

“There’s a tendency to anarchism, revolt, and major upsets. In the Anthemis, order is perceived as domination and ripe for overthrow. Contrary, conflicting, and antagonistic. There is resentment and antagonism toward authority. Though highly intolerant of any authority, Anthem are authoritarian in their intolerance, brooking no contradiction to their anarchist standards.”

The passage concludes by saying, in other words, “Chamomilla is looking for a fight”.

By extension, we can think of Chamomilla as an ordinary, unhappy anarchist who is unimpressed by authority. Since others can’t do anything right, he won’t hesitate to start an argument or a fight.

Chamomilla is Sensitive to All Sorts of Things

Just as Chamomilla is extremely sensitive to pain, so too is he sensitive to all sorts of other things.

He’s:

• Sensitive to odors,
• Sensitive to noise or sounds.
• Sensitive to being touched,
• Sensitive to being talked to,
• Sensitive to even being looked at.

Chamomilla Desires to be Carried

This heightened sensitivity of the nerves makes all of these things nearly unbearable. His suffering makes him frantic and restless, and this restlessness leads us to the keynote:

• Chamomilla’s desire to be carried.

All the books emphasize the fact that Chamomilla desires to be carried. He demands to be picked up and wants to be carried quickly about the room. This is nothing like the weepy Pulsatilla type, who is soothed by being gently carried by her mother.

Chamomilla Child Will Not Like Soft Touch When Irritable

A soft touch will not work with Chamomilla. An intervention of equal intensity must match the intensity of his irritability.  If the parent is lucky enough, vigorously bouncing the Chamomilla child up and down while being carried will sometimes bring temporary relief.

Chamomilla Child Does not Know What He Wants

Oftentimes, the child doesn’t know what he wants. Just like he wants the toy and then throws it away, he wants to be picked up and then put down again, and then picked up again, and so on.

Chamomilla Child Wants to Be Picked Up

Sometimes the Chamomilla child acts like he wants to be picked up, but then stiffens out and arches his back in anger when he is picked up. Handling such children can be an exhausting ordeal for their poor parents.

Important Repertory Rubrics About Chamomilla Child

Chamomilla lists in the repertory under:

• Desires to be carried,
• Desires to be carried fast,
• Desires to be carried constantly,
• Desires to be carried without relief,
• Desires to be carried with aversion to being touched,
• Aversion to being carried.

General Symptoms of Chamomilla

Chamomilla is Warm-Blooded

Generally speaking, Chamomilla is warm-blooded.

Hot Feet, Burning Soles, Cover Feet

We often see hot feet with burning soles and a tendency to cover the feet in bed at night.

One Cheek is Red & Hot, The Other Pale & Cold

A famous Chamomilla keynote clue is that one cheek is red and hot while the other is cold and pale. We see this especially during fevers and acute conditions.

Perspiration on Covered Parts of Body

Another interesting general is that Chamomilla tends to perspire on covered parts of the body. You may recall that Thuja has the opposite keynote symptom, which is a tendency to perspire on uncovered parts.

Perspiration on the Head & Face

Chamomilla can also perspire on the head, especially during fever, and there can be perspiration on the face while eating or drinking.

Thirst for Cold Drinks

Food and drink-wise, Chamomilla has a thirst for cold drinks and can be averse to warm drinks, especially coffee.

Desire for Sour Things

In addition, there can be a desire for sour foods and sour drinks.

Symptoms Are Repeated as Attacks

One last general is that symptoms tend to occur in paroxysms, which means that symptoms occur in sudden, repeated attacks or fits.

Modalities of Chamomilla

The three main aggravating factors for Chamomilla are:

1. Anger
2. Coffee
3. Teething.

Anger Aggravates Chamomilla’s Symptoms

Chamomilla is famous for its angry irritability. That same emotional state can also trigger or aggravate Chamomilla’s physical symptoms. In the repertory for Chamomilla, conditions that are aggravated by anger include:

• Vertigo,
• Headache,
• Face pain,
• Toothache,
• Throat spasms,
• Indigestion,
• Nausea,
• Cramping,
• Vomiting,
• Hepatitis,
• Diarrhea,
• Bladder paralysis,
• Heavy menstrual bleeding,
• Suppressed menses,
• Uterine cramping,
• Miscarriage,
• Suppressed lactation,
• Asthma,
• Cough,
• Suffocative attacks,
• Palpitation,
• Insomnia,
• Trembling,
• Fever,
• Convulsions.

Needless to say, anger plays a very big role in Chamomilla’s pathology.

Coffee Aggravates Chamomilla’s Symptoms

Another big aggravating factor for Chamomilla is coffee. Conditions triggered or aggravated by coffee include:

• Anxiety,
• Irritability,
• Vertigo,
• Headache,
• Toothache,
• Stomach ache,
• Indigestion,
• Nausea,
• Vomiting,
• Abdominal cramp,
• Diarrhea,
• Cough,
• Difficult breathing,
• Palpitations,
• Insomnia,
• Fever.

Infants and children don’t usually drink coffee, but worn-out mothers may drink it and unwittingly contribute to the agitation of their nursing children.

Teething (Dentition) Aggravates Chamomilla’s Symptoms

The third big aggravating factor is teething. Most of the homeopathic literature uses the term dentition to refer to the teething phase in children.

For Chamomilla children, teething can be more than just a routine milestone event. Conditions associated with the Chamomilla dentition phase include:

• Irritability,
• Headache,
• Face pain,
• Earache,
• Vomiting,
• Diarrhea,
• Abdominal colic,
• Cough,
• Insomnia [1],
• Fever,
• Convulsions.

Time Aggravations of Chamomilla

Additional Chamomilla modalities include time aggravations, worse during the evening or night, and aggravation while lying in bed at night. Sometimes, symptoms aggravate at either 9:00 a.m. or 9:00 p.m.

Alcohol & Narcotic Drugs Aggravate Symptoms

Substances other than coffee that can aggravate Chamomilla include alcohol and narcotic drugs.

Aversion to Wind

Wind is another prominent aggravating factor. Chamomilla lists strongly under aversion to wind, sensitivity to wind, intolerance to wind, aggravation from wind, and even fear of wind.

Factors That Relieve Chamomilla’s Symptoms

Factors that can soothe Chamomilla include:

• Amelioration from being carried fast,
• Amelioration from warm, wet weather,
• Sometimes cold or warm applications.

Top Clinical Uses of Chamomilla (Diseases)

Chamomilla for Teething Children

Chamomilla has a well-known reputation as a remedy for teething children. It is indicated when there is extreme restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by fever or diarrhea. Chamomilla fever is accompanied by restlessness and great irritability.

We often see the keynote:

• One red cheek and one pale cheek, along with a thirst for cold drinks.

Chamomilla for Toothaches

Chamomilla can also be a remedy for toothaches, in general. The pain is:

• Worse with coffee
• Worse by anger
• Better with cold drinks.
• Worse with any kind of warmth.

Ear Infections with Intolerable Pain

Chamomilla ear infection causes intolerable pain and an inconsolable state of mind. It’s worse from touch and worse from wind or a draft of air. The only hope of calming the child is by carrying him about quickly and vigorously.

Digestive System Problems of Chamomilla

Chamomilla has a strong relationship to the digestive system. Teething or fever may be accompanied by diarrhea. Chamomilla is indicated when diarrhea occurs after anger. The diarrhea has a characteristic chopped spinach or cut grass appearance. The stool is hot, slimy, green, and can smell like rotten eggs. All Chamomilla discharges can have a similar rotten egg smell. This odor can be associated with stools, belching, flatulence, or even perspiration.

Chamomilla is a Remedy for Abdominal Pain

Chamomilla is also a remedy for colic in infants or abdominal pains in children or adults. The pains are worse from anger, coffee, or touch, and can be accompanied by flatulence or a distended abdomen. The pains may extend from the abdomen down to the thighs. The keynote irritability is always present. The infant’s colic may cause it to arch its back as it cries in pain.

Women’s Health Problems of Chamomilla

Chamomilla can also be indicated for women’s health problems. The main trigger is Anger.

Labor Pains

We think of it when there are labor pains with great irritability and anger.

Dysmenorrhea

As with abdominal colic and cramps, it can fit cases of dysmenorrhea when the menstrual pains extend down to the thighs. Another clue is that Chamomilla pains can be associated with a sensation of numbness. There can be numbness with labor pains, dysmenorrhea, toothache pain, facial neuralgias, or sciatica. We always think of Chamomilla when female health problems are triggered by anger.

Uterine Cramps & Hemorrhages

It fits anger followed by uterine cramping with labor-like pains and uterine hemorrhages with profuse dark clotted blood.

Threatened Miscarriage

It even fits threatened miscarriage [2] caused by anger and irritability.

Respiratory Tract Problems of Chamomilla

Chamomilla also fits problems having to do with the respiratory tract.

It fits:

• Coughs
• Croup
• Bronchitis
• Asthma [3]

Cough

The Chamomilla cough is a dry, tickling cough that is worse at 9:00 p.m. or worse from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. We think of this remedy when a cough occurs at night in bed during sleep without waking the person.

Asthma

Chamomilla asthma may be triggered by or made worse by anger. Chamomilla children can have difficult breathing or suffocative attacks associated with fits of anger. Some hold their breath during fits of anger and then wind up having trouble breathing.

Spasms & Convulsions Associated With Anger

Lastly, Chamomilla can be a remedy for spasms and convulsions, especially when they’re associated with anger. It also fits seizures that occurred during dentition. It even fits convulsions in nursing infants that are triggered by anger on the part of the mother.

Remedy Relationships With Chamomilla

Complimentary Remedies

Remedies that are considered to be complementary to Chamomilla include:

• Calcarea Carbonica
• Belladonna
• Magnesia carbonica
• Pulsatilla

Antimonium Crudum (Irritable, Digestive Issues)

Remedies that we want to compare to Chamomilla include Antimonium crudum, which is very irritable, can’t stand to be looked at or touched, is warm-blooded, and tends to have digestive troubles.

Cina (Irritable)

Cina likewise is extremely irritable and difficult, capricious, averse to touch, and desires to be carried.

Calcarea Phos (Irritable, Complaining)

Calcarea phosphorica is irritable, capricious, whiny, and complaining. It perspires on the head and can be a teething remedy.

Hepar Sulph (Irritable, Oversensitive)

Hepar sulphuris can be very irritable, nasty, and oversensitive, and is indicated for a lot of acute conditions like ear infections, fevers, and coughs.

Ignatia Amara

Ignatia can be intensely emotional, capricious, and can have fitful cramps and spasms.

Colocynth & Staphysagria

Finally, both Colocynthis and Staphysagria have a lot of ailments that are triggered by and aggravated by anger.

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Glossary

Frantic

Frantic means very upset, anxious, or out of control. A person may act in a rushed, confused, or panicked way because of fear or worry. It can also describe very fast, chaotic activity.

Capricious

Capricious means acting in sudden, unpredictable ways. A person may quickly change mood, ideas, or decisions without a clear reason. It shows impulsive or fickle behavior.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is swelling of the liver. It is often caused by viruses (A, B, C, D, E), alcohol, medicines, or autoimmune problems. Symptoms may include tiredness, jaundice, stomach pain, dark urine, and nausea.

Croup

Croup is an infection of the upper airway that makes it narrow and harder to breathe. It also causes a barking-like cough.

References

1. Insomnia: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insomnia/
2. Miscarriage: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/miscarriage/
3. Asthma: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asthma