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Carbo vegetabilis (Carb-v.)

Carbo vegetabilis (Carb-v.) appears in 892 rubrics in the repertory. Of these, 32 are single-remedy rubrics in which only this remedy is listed, and 55 are small rubrics with no more than two other remedies. The emphasis lies on anxiety, delusions, fear, and the rubrics on children, along with voice, death, confusion, and dullness. The picture is of a person who is beset by images at night and in the dark, withdraws in exhaustion, and whose vital force stands at the brink of extinction.

Anxiety and fear in the dark

Anxiety, the largest group with 77 entries, is tied to the night and the bed. The person must sit up in bed, fears the bed in the dark, fears ghosts during sleeplessness, and fears apoplexy on waking. During the day the anxiety comes on in the afternoon, especially between 4 and 6 p.m., as does anxiety of conscience, remorse, and restlessness. Strangers and new situations also trigger it. The anxiety reaches into the body: it accompanies dysentery, congestive heart failure, pulmonary emphysema, and incarcerated flatulence.

Delusions around the bed

What feeds the anxiety shows itself in the delusions. Several single-remedy rubrics describe that someone comes to the bed, that the person hears it, and that a hand strokes over the body. The touch is explicitly recorded: "Delusions – hand – stroking – feels a hand stroking him/her – body, over the". Equally documented is the delusion that someone wants to wake the person. There are also the delusions of walls falling in, of a tongue made of wood, and of terrible visions in the evening. This can be read as a state in which the boundary between sleep and waking becomes permeable and protection is lacking.

Extinction of strength

A second theme is the ebbing of life. The repertory records apparent death, also after hemorrhage and from carbon gas, lying as if dead, and consciousness nearly extinguished. The voice bears this feature: there is aphonia in the evening and at night, a smoky voice in the evening, and aggravation of the voice from damp air and humid weather. Thinking follows suit: confusion and dullness are numerously represented, and memory is impaired, at times only temporarily. Belonging to this withdrawal are the single-remedy rubrics "Enthusiasm – lack of" and "Poverty," as well as the aversion to being rocked.

Children

Children form the third large group with 64 entries. The repertory lists dullness in schoolchildren and, conversely, a special affectionateness toward children. Anger and striking appear in complaints from worms. In adults this corresponds to indolence from a life of luxury and the late consequences of drunkenness.

Summary

The repertory shows Carbo vegetabilis as a remedy of nocturnal fears and waning strength. This is a person who senses figures at the bed in the dark, becomes restless and plagued by anxiety of conscience in the late afternoon, and threatens to fall silent in exhaustion.

A reference work for professionals; it does not replace diagnosis or treatment.