by Mohinder Singh Jus, director of SHI Homoeopathic College , Switzerland

Surgery is a very vital part of medicine. There are life threatening situations like accidents, falls and injuries where surgery is perhaps the only mode of help which can save life.

Apart from this there may be conditions which are beyond the realm of medicine and need the surgical intervention. All surgical operations, major or small, need anaesthesia. General anaesthesia required in operations which are complicated and long leaves behind often side effects. Replacement of hip joint, heart valves, organ transplantations are long and hazardous operations. The quantity of anaesthesia is very big. But it is not always the quantity, there are individuals who react even so strong to smallest quantity of local anaesthesia. We have seen cases where a patient after a local anaesthesia from a dentist complained of loss of taste and concentration problems.

We have had patients who after an epidural anaesthesia develop symptoms of paraplegia or venous thrombosis.

It actually depends on the individual sensitivity and miasmatic background of each patient. One expresses whatever latent weakness one possesses.

The most common side effect of anaesthesia are though felt in the digestive tract. Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation or diarrhoea etc. Many patients are either constantly drowsy or completely sleepless.

In elderly patients one often finds concentration and memory problems. We have had patients with severe orientation problems and loss of time sense. Memory for names of people, dates and places is seriously damaged.

We discuss here some remedies with there sphere of action in combating the bad effects of anaesthesia.

• Patient feels very weak.
• Dissatisfied whatever you do for him.
• Restless, angry; goes from one bed to another, one room to another.
• Pulls her hair, shouts and scolds.
• Predicts the day and time of her death.
• Depression, doesn't want to move, feels far away.
• Patient when woken up from slumber shrieks, hallucinates, talks nonsense, thinks there are thieves and murderers all around.
• Does not wish to be left alone, thinks something bad may happen; fear of death.
• Mental problems may arise like fears: fear of choking, cannot lie down; fear that he is incurably sick and that people are hiding it from him. Suspicious. Imaginary worries about future of existence, of not having enough to eat.
• Sunken face, covered with cold sweat; dry mouth and lips.
• Constant nausea with burning in the stomach; desires icy cold water but cannot retain it, feels worse by it; desires sweetened warm milk and feels better by it; aversion to food; sight and smell of food nauseate; worse after eating particularly cold food.
• Thirst often little quantities just to moisten the lips; often drinks without thirst, just to make the lips and mouth wet.
• The food and drinks come out at the same time of intake
• Bitter taste in the mouth.
• Offensive diarrhoea and vomiting at the same time.
• Even small quantity of excreta tires her. Feels weak and generally worse after vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Arsenicum should be also thought in cases where anaesthesia had produced a kind of sleeping sickness.
• Grinding of teeth in deep sleep.
• It is a useful remedy in cases of peripheral neuritis or neuropathy as a result of anaesthesia.
• Patients with extreme trembling and weakness in the calves.
• Cramps in the calves on trying to stand or move.
• In acute cases of vomiting or diarrhoea usually a dose or two of C30 is enough. In cases where deeper constitutional changes persist C200 or higher may be needed.

These are very sensitive people. They are very sensitive to smells, light, noise etc. Before they go in for surgery they are internally so stresses and fearful that they invariably come out with lots of side effects. In fact when no other remedy is clearly indicated Nux vomica in C200 has shown amazing results.

• They are angry, irritated at everything. They cannot tolerate noise, crying of a child, music, everything disturbs.
• Will not talk, does not like to be asked how he feels, what he would like to have.
• Nervous and only concentrated on his business; he cannot relax and let himself be properly healed and keep worrying about his business.
• Impatient, cannot tolerate any delay in obeying or carrying out his orders. Anaesthesia irritates his already irritated and sensitive nerves.
• Cannot eat, has hunger but does not know for what.
• Eating little quantity fills him to his throat.
• He has constant nausea and has ineffectual desire to vomit.
• After long phases of strong nausea he vomits a little bit and feels better.
• He is chilly and shivering, he can not be warm.
• Ineffectual desire for stool with cramps and uneasiness in the stomach and intestines.
• Mouth is dry but there is no desire to drink. Tongue is white coated and they have an offensive odour from the mouth.
• They may suffer from severe vertigo with loss of consciousness. Fell as if everything turning in circle.
• Patient may complain of circulation problems. He has numbness of the sides lain on. On standing he gets cramps in the soles.
• Nux vomica is one of the most often indicated medicine when patient after an operation complains of sleep disturbances. He is sleepy during the day, but cannot sleep at night. He wakes up at 2-3 AM and cannot sleep.
• They may develop serious concentration and memory problems.

In some patients a dose of Nux vomica is sufficient to take away the depressions, loss of desire to live and weakness of will power.

In short Nux vomica is one of our most important remedy in neutralising the bad effects of narcosis, especially when no other remedy is properly indicated.

• Patient has orientation problems. Forgets the right words or does not find the appropriate words.
• Ideas are slow. Patient is always sleepy, as if in a dream.
• Patient has a feeling of having two heads or of being divided in two.
• Cannot remember anything about his past, as if washed out.
• Confused, hallucinates, looks mad, cries and laughs.
• Does everything, but as if in a trance.
• Headache; cannot get up from bed, on rising nausea, feeling as if brain rolls from side to side.
• Extreme dryness of mouth, palate and throat, not better by drinking water. Feels like leather. Dry mouth without thirst.
• Feeling as if intestines paralysed. Even soft stool is passed with great difficulty. Has to strain a lot.
• Nausea from thinking of food and particularly lightly boiled or cooked food. Craves spicy, hot food.
• Icy cold feet.
• Paralytic weakness in legs. Cannot walk, is easily tired.
• Sleepy all the time. Sleeps deep as almost in a coma. Snoring during sleep, cannot keep awake.
• This is the most important characteristic of this reredy: patient is confused, lost and sleepy.

This is one of the most important remedy to think of in the stage of patients after an operation.

• Patient is very weak, run down.
• There is extreme nausea and vomiting. Burning pain in the stomach with icy cold sweat on forehead. Vomiting after any kind of food and drink.
• Patient talks always about his disease and worries about family, finances and existence.
• When his wife tries to keep some news for herself, he insists to know them. Then he argues, broods and worries about it. He invites problems for himself.
• Cannot tolerate cold water and vegetables.
• Has offensive, copious diarrhoea which cause dehydration with oedematous legs.
• Strong night sweats and afterwards feels cold.
• After narcosis, he may have a constant irritating cough, particularly during inspiration.
• This remedy acts well in C30 and can be repeated often if necessary.

• Main action of this remedy is on the patient who suffers from strong gastritis after an operation.
• Patient feels totally frustrated and hopeless and thinks of never getting well. Has fear to be alone.
• Cannot decide what he wants and often let the others decide for him.
• Face looks bluish or pale.
• The taste in the mouth is sweetish or metallic.
• They crave icy cold drinks but vomit it straight away or it may also happen that they keep drinking often till they have enough and then the whole of it comes out in a gush.
• Burning pain in stomach.
• Cannot have pressure on the stomach, cannot bend, feels better by stretching backwards.
• Passes large quantities of urine, stool or vomiting. Desires to drink in large quantities . This is the main difference with Arsenicum apart from other mental symptoms.
• A single dose of C200 has brought about wonderful effects.

• Patient usually very warm, friendly and pleasant to deal with. Due to their hypersensitive character, they may develop gastritis, asthma like symptoms, stricture of the oesophagus, palpitation or arrhythmic states of heart and problems with their circulation and nervous system.
• We have had patients who transformed completely as to their character after the narcosis. These patients are normally known to be friendly, joyful, happy going and full of life. After the operation it may so turn out that they are easily stressed and everything is too much. When children shout or cry or dogs bark, they get mad, it irritates them.
• Before they used to seek company and enjoy it, now they avoid every contact. They become shy, as much as fear of people.
• They have vertigo as if floating in the air, constantly heavy head.
• Alopecia after narcosis.
• Glaucoma or great loss of vision after narcosis is also possible.
• I had patients who reported tinnitus and deafness as a result of narcosis.
• Gastritis, burning heat in stomach. Craving for icy cold drinks, cold milk, which is vomited after a while, when it gets warm in the stomach.
• Empty feeling in stomach with feeling of hunger; feels as if stomach is hanging loose.
• Vomiting green, bloody.
• Nausea on washing the face with cold water.
• Aversion to sweets, nauseate him.
• Craves salt, wants to lick it.
• Diarrhoea profuse, sometimes involuntary. Anus remains open after stools.
• Pressure on chest as if he cannot expand enough; choking cough which is exhausting; on coughing pain and burning in chest and stomach.
• Has to constantly hawk. Feels something is stuck in the throat.
• Respiratory symptoms are worse from cold drinks and cold.
• Palpitation from least emotional factors, anger, nervousness, movement. Weak feeling in the heart.
• Weakness in legs. Numbness begins in the tips of toes and fingers and ascends.
• Everything falls out of hands.
• These may be the beginning signs of neuropathy and Phosphorus has done wonders in such cases.
• Feeling of extreme weakness in the joints. Feeling as if joints will slip out of their place.
• Unsteady walking.
• Coldness of hands and feet.
• Tired easily during the day, from least exertion. Sleepy during the day.
• After eating dinner the sleepiness disappears, he cannot sleep till after midnight.
• Dreams intensive of fire, accidents, haemorrhages.
• Gets up tired in the morning. Feeling not having slept enough.
• A single dose of C200 and above has brought many people in balance.

• This is one of the strongest working remedy in cases of stomach and intestinal problems following narcosis.
• Patient is not cooperative. Will eat what he will, does not want to eat what is permitted and suitable. Mostly desires things to eat and drink which are forbidden.
• Tongue clean red, increased salivation, no thirst.
• His own saliva nauseates him.
• Taste in the mouth bitter, sweetish or even bloody.
• Constant nausea not better by vomiting. Feels stomach as if sinking down or hanging.
• Yellow green or grass green diarrhoea, full of mucus.
• Some patients may also develop a bronchial irritation after narcosis. The Ipecacuanha Patient has great rattling of mucus in the chest but nothing comes out.
• Coughing constant till he becomes nauseated and mostly ends in vomiting. Patient feels temporarily better after this.
• Sleepy, sleeps with half open eyes.
• Ipecacuanha in lower potencies D3, D6, C6, C12, C30 may often produce more nausea. Experience shows that it may even be repeated in C200.

It is a deep acting polychrest which has a enormous capacity to stabilise and cure the most crippling effects of narcosis. Useful in :

• Concentration and memory problems.
• When patient is going towards cerebral degeneration, paralysis or even Alzheimer.
• Distant past memory is better than day to day things.
• Patients have orientation problems, loose the thread of conversation or repeat things again and again.
• In worst cases I have seen people have problems to tell their own name.
• Fear of incurable diseases and future.
• Fear of going mad.
• Feels lost, confused.
• Feeling of imaginary guilt. She feels herself responsible for all the wrong that happened to others.
• Sense of time passing too slowly.
• Hardness of hearing.
• Rapid loss or greying of hair.
• Obesity with retention of water in the extremities.
• Venous thrombosis.
• Tendency to constipation.
• Sleep disturbances. Wakes up after an hour or so and thinks he slept very long.
• Apart from these, they are threatened with other miasmatic diseases e.g. arthrose, hypertonia, asthma, kidney problems, lupus etc.

It is a great remedy to eradicate bad effects of shock and fear. Bad effects of an accident in car, boat, ship, of drowning in water. Also people who get caught in a fight, or a burning building, in a cyclone or in snow storm. These effects can live in the mind of the survivors for a very long time and homoeopathy help eradicate these.

Similarly Opium acts very strongly against hypnotics and narcotics.

• Patient never really recovers after the operation, lies almost unconscious, with half closed eyes.
• Does not wish to be disturbed. Days "all is o.k., please go away, I am o.k."
• He does not realise what is right or wrong, lies or says yes to everything.
• Light feeling in the head.
• Head hot and sweaty.
• Face alternately red hot and pale.
• Facial muscle twitch.
• Lower jaw hangs.
• Hungry but when offered, he does not want to eat.
• Great thirst.
• Loss of smelling power or cannot differentiate the smell of one from the other.
• In the abdomen everything lies without movement. Paralysis of the intestines.
• Stool hard in balls, without urge. Ileus.
• Retention of urine. Bladder full but no desire to urinate.
• Patient sleeps deep, snoring.
• Patient stops to breathe on going to sleep and does not breathe until shaken.
• Hot sweat during sleep.
• cribbling in the extremities.
• Skin feels extremely dry.

I would suggest a single dose C1000 or higher and then wait. When the remedy is indicated, it does not need any further repetition.

Narcosis has an effect on human constitution like any other narcotics. It is not free of risk but these are situations when one has to undergo this. Homoeopathy has the potential of correcting, stabilising and curing many of the side effects. Like any other disease this state has also to be studied and treated on the individual picture that each patient presents.

Naturally these few remedies which have been discussed here are not the only ones to be considered. It may be any other remedy which an experienced homoeopath finds befitting to the case.