Dioscorea is prepared from the thick voluminous root of the wild yam plant that commonly grows in Africa. Dioscorea is an important, commonly used medicine. It best works on the gall bladder, especially on biliary colic associated with stones in the gall bladder, if other symptoms of Dioscorea are present.
A peculiar sign is that the colicky pain may be over the gall bladder or on any part of the abdomen. It becomes worse on pressure, while yawning relieves the pain by decreasing pressure on the affected area. The dysentery is associated with severe gripe. The patient of Dioscorea feels better on walking about because it relieves the pressure inside the abdomen. The pain radiates towards the back and the shoulders like waves. In Dioscorea, the pain is always of radiating nature. The spastic pain of the gall bladder (colic) can be referred over the chest and to the shoulders or even on the arms and the hands. The pain of renal colic usually refers towards the liver. Similarly, the severe pain of the piles also radiates towards the liver. The colicky pain of the stomach radiates towards the heart. Dioscorea is useful in all such symptoms and ailments. Until the proper treatment for the gall bladder becomes known, I always include Dioscorea as an essential part of my formulary.
In Cactus too, the radiation of the undulating type of pain from the affected area to other organs is a essential symptom. But, the diagnosis of Cactus is based on different symptoms altogether, for example, waves of pain produced by spasm in the membranes of the brain or external organs radiating down to the big toe.
Dioscorea is a panacea for the ill effects of the excessive drinking of tea. A Dioscorea patient passes foul smelling gas. In the morning, the taste in the mouth is bitter along with the formation of white thick crust on the tongue. Dioscorea is also useful in the treatment of neurogenic type of pain in the abdomen. Its patient remembers and recalls the names of the objects incorrectly. There is mild pain over both the temples, which gets better on light pressure.
In Dioscorea, bleeding piles also occur. The piles are in the form of large bunches of red grapes. There may be diarrhoea, which is worse in the morning. There is a feeling of burning at the time of defaecation. The Dioscorea patient feels his chest is tight and tense. He cannot expand his chest to its full extent so his breathing is shallow. The fingernails are brittle and break easily. The symptoms of Dioscorea become worse in the evening, on lying on the stomach or on bending forward. On standing upright or on walking slowly, and with application of light pressure, the symptoms get better.
Chamomilla and Camphor are its antidotes.
Potency: 30
by Mirza Tahir Ahmad