Basic Information:
- Common Name: Indian Cockroach
- Source: Insect – Blatta orientalis
- Family: Insecta
- Miasm: Psoro-sycotic
- Preparation: Tincture from entire cockroach
- Region of Action: Respiratory tract – Lungs and Bronchi
- “The Indian Cockroach Remedy for Bronchial Asthma”
Keynote Symptoms:
Great difficulty in breathing with much mucus in chest
Cough with dyspnea, worse in damp weather
< Rainy season, fog, cold damp places
Useful in obese, corpulent patients prone to asthma
Chest feels heavy, with rattling of mucus
Clinical Indications:
Respiratory Conditions:
- Bronchial asthma, especially in obese individuals
- Chronic bronchitis, with dyspnea and mucous rattling
- Dyspnea with orthopnea, must sit up to breathe
- Severe cough with expectoration, < monsoon, > dry weather
Constitutional Type:
- Obese, corpulent persons
- Fat individuals who suffer from breathlessness after exertion
Mental State:
- Not well-marked mentally, but shows irritability during asthma attack
- Anxiety due to suffocation and oppression of chest
Modalities:
|
Worse From |
Better From |
|
Damp, rainy weather |
Dry weather |
|
Fog, mold, cellar air |
Expectoration |
|
Cold drinks |
Sitting up |
Potency & Dosage:
- Mother tincture (Q) – Commonly used
- 3x to 6C – For chronic use
- Frequent repetition during acute attacks
Compare With:
|
Remedy |
Differentiation |
|
Antim Tart |
Rattling cough with little expectoration, drowsy |
|
Ipecac |
Violent cough with nausea and no expectoration |
|
Arsenic Alb |
Restlessness, anxiety, thirst for small sips |
|
Lobelia Inflata |
Asthma with weakness, nausea, profuse salivation |
Mnemonic – “BLATTA
= BREATHE”
- B – Breathless, bronchial asthma
- L – Lungs rattling with mucus
- A – Attacks during rainy weather
- T – Thick mucus expectoration
- T – Tincture form preferred
- A – Asthma in obese persons
One-Line Summary:
"Blatta Orientalis is the top remedy for asthma with much rattling of mucus, worse in rainy weather, especially in fat individuals."
