Homeopathic medicine, treatment and remedies for Dementia

• Agaricus Muscarius
  Common name: Toad stool
  Symptoms: This medicine works best in people who are sensitive to cold air and complain of numbness, tingling and cold sensations. It induces slight stimulation by improving cheerfulness and courage. Toad stool is especially helpful in improving raging delirium, confusion, twitching, disinclination to work, depression and improper gait. This remedy is also beneficial in providing relief from the following symptoms:
  • Excessive talkativeness
  • Confusion while talking
  • Delirium accompanied by muttering, singing and shouting
  • Thoughts of injuring oneself
  • Deliriums occurring in alcoholism and fevers
  • Fearlessness
  • Vertigo while walking and in the presence of sunlight
  • Twitching of the neck muscles
  • Pain that worsens after performing weight-bearing activities
  • Irregular tumultuous palpitations
  • Itching of the feet and toes as if frozen

Symptoms become worse after intercourse, eating meals, in open cold air and in cold weather before a thunderstorm. They become better after moving slowly.

• Belladonna
  Common name: Deadly nightshade
  Symptoms: This remedy is very beneficial for people who experience airsickness-related symptoms in elevators. It is best suited for people who feel extremely alive and have subjective visual impressions along with fantastic illusions. Belladonna provides therapeutic effects on every part of the nervous system and helps reduce furious excitement, convulsions, delirium, active congestion, pain and perverted special senses. This remedy is also beneficial in reducing the following symptoms:
  • Visual hallucinations
  • Excited mental state
  • Seeing frightful images
  • Being engrossed by visions and oblivious to reality
  • An acuteness and excessive sensitivity of all senses
  • Disinclined to talk
  • No fear, anxiety or thirst
  • Pain occurring in the afternoon and in the presence of light and noise
  • Restless sleep
  • Twitching and convulsive movements

Symptoms become worse in the afternoon, while lying down, in the presence of noise and during droughts. They become better on sitting erect.

• Hyoscyamus Niger
  Common name: Henbane
  Symptoms: This remedy is best suited to people with an obscene character and a quarrelsome and manic nature. People with a foolish, suspicious and jealous character also benefit from this remedy. It acts on the nervous system profoundly. Some other symptoms that this remedy works on are:
  • Brain dysfunction and no signs of awareness due to infections
  • Inclination to performing immodest acts
  • Extreme restlessness
  • Unconsciousness due to brain inflammation
  • Feeling confused
  • Inclined to laugh at everything
  • Thoughts of running away
  • Feeling startled or frightened after sleeping
  • Muscular twitching
  • Possession of the brain
  • Suffocating fits
  • Nervous agitation and weakness
  • Constant carphologia (grasping or picking on imaginary objects and clothes)
  • Intense sleepiness

Symptoms get worse at night-time, after eating, during menses or while lying down.

• Anacardium Orientale
  Common name: Marking nut
  Symptoms: People who have an impaired memory, nervousness-related dyspepsia and a reduced sense of hearing, smell and vision benefit from this remedy. It is also beneficial in irritable and depressed individuals. Anacardium Orientale helps improve memory, which makes it effective in treating dementia. This medicine also helps reduce the following symptoms:
  • Aversion to work
  • Lacking self-confidence
  • Absent-mindedness
  • Hallucinations
  • Feeling easily offended
  • Suspicious
  • Malicious
  • Hears voices from far away
  • Brain fog
  • Senile dementia
  • Absence of moral restraints

Symptoms become worse on using hot water. They become better after eating and lying down on a side.

• Calcarea Phosphoric
  Common name: Phosphate of lime
  Symptoms: Individuals with chronic or acute wasting diseases, bone disorders, slow dentition, cold extremities, flabbiness or peevishness benefit the most from this remedy. It helps reduce forgetfulness in people after they experience grief. It can also help reduce other symptoms like:
  • Always wanting to go somewhere
  • Feeling weary while taking the stairs
  • Loss of appetite
  • Reduced energy levels
  • Rapid debility
  • A numb and cold feeling
  • Pain and stiffness of the extremities
  • Heartburn
  • Dullness in the head

Symptoms become worse in cold weather and while being exposed to melting snow or dampness. They become better in the summer season and warm and dry atmospheres.

• Mercurius Solubilis
  Common name: Quicksilver
  Symptoms: This medicine is best suited for the treatment of diseases that affect the lymphatic system. It is mainly indicated in the treatment of rheumatoid pains, secondary stage of syphilis, mouth ulcers and tremors and works well for people who feel weary in life. This remedy can also reduce the following symptoms:
  • Feeling mistrustful
  • Loss of will power
  • A feeling of losing the reason behind doing something
  • Slow while answering questions
  • A weak memory
  • Experiencing vertigo when lying on the back
  • Increased salivary secretions
  • Trembling of the extremities

Symptoms become worse at night, while lying on the right side, in damp or wet weather and while living in a warm room on a warm bed.

An experimental study was conducted on animal models to find out the effects of mercurius solubilis on learning and memory abilities. Mercurius solubilis was given in different diseases for 17 days to animals with memory impairment. After 17 days, the remedy improved cerebral blood flow, memory and learning function. The study concluded that mercurius solubilis could be used as a therapeutic option for the treatment of dementia.

• Opium
  Common name: Dried latex of the poppy
  Symptoms: This medicine is best suited to people who feel painless (do not experience pain) and have a heavy sleep, stertorous breathing and sweaty skin. It helps reduce depression, drowsiness and insensibility of the nervous system. Opium is also beneficial in reducing the following symptoms:
  • Complete loss of consciousness
  • Delirium
  • Constant feeling of not being at their home Losing the mental grasp for everything
  • Not being able to appreciate suffering
  • A paralytic state of the mind
  • Talking in delirium while keeping the eyes open
  • Frightful fancies
  • Complete loss of consciousness
  • Being in a furious state
  • Pain in the back of the head
  • Lightness of the head (especially in old people)
  • Feeling heavy, dull or senseless
  • Ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid)

Symptoms become worse while sleeping and in hot conditions. They become better after walking continuously and consuming cold things.

• Lilium Tigrinum
  Common name: Tiger-lily
  Symptoms: This medicine is most commonly given to unmarried women. It is best suited for the treatment of small painful spots, rheumatic pains and conditions affecting the pelvic organs. Lilium Tigrinum helps reduce profound depression in people and reduces anxiety. It is also helpful in reducing the following symptoms:
  • Constant inclination to cry
  • Fear
  • Profound depression
  • Doing things in a hurried manner
  • Experiencing wild feelings in the head
  • A fear of having an incurable disease
  • Disposition to strike and curse
  • Thinking obscene things
  • Feeling aimless
  • Feeling heavy, dull or hot

Symptoms get aggravated when receiving consolation or in a warm room. They get better in the presence of fresh air.

Homeopathic remedies are prepared in highly diluted doses. Their potency can easily be affected with certain dietary and lifestyle factors. Hence, it is best to include certain changes in your daily routine to ensure an effective treatmentHere are some of such modificationsas advised by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the discoverer of the homeopathic science of therapeutics.

Do’s

• Adjust the room temperature as per your desire. This will help provide temporary relief.
• Eat nutritious foods
• Exercise in open air
• Maintain cleanliness
• Use cotton and linen clothing in summers

Don’ts

• Avoid consuming beverages like coffee, beer prepared using herbs, herbal teas and liquors prepared from medicinal spices
• Do not over-exert your mind
• Avoid over-excitement
• Do not stay awake for a long time at night
• Do not stay in damp rooms and marshy places
• Do not consume stalks and roots of vegetables that have medicinal properties
• Do not use perfumed or scented liquids
• Do not live a sedentary life or in closed rooms

Dementia is a commonly occurring mental condition in old people. People with dementia face difficulties in performing their everyday activities due to loss of or reduction in cognitive abilities. Homeopathy is one of the most popular complementary medicines used in treating diseases. Even though the mechanism of action of homeopathic remedies is unknown, some studies have proved the efficacy of homeopathy treatments in treating conditions like dementia. Homeopathic medicines can be given as a stand-alone or adjuvant therapy to improve symptoms of learning difficulties, memory loss and reduced concentration levels, associated with dementia.

There are no side effects produced by homeopathic remedies or risks associated with them if taken as per the prescription of a qualified homeopathic doctor. Taking the prescribed remedies at appropriate timings and doses can help treat dementia effectively and prevent any unnecessary side effects.

Dementia is characterised by a reduction in cognition and memory. It usually occurs due to impairment of neuron function and is not exactly an age-related condition. Homeopathic remedies aim at reducing the symptoms of dementia and reducing individual tendency to certain conditions (miasms). The natural healing properties of homeopathic medications help improve brain function, memory power and cognitive function. Therefore, homeopathy helps improve overall mental function, slowing down the progression of dementia and improving the quality of life. Following dietary and lifestyle guidelines along with intake of homeopathic medicines can help achieve complete health and manage this diseases effectively.