Cantharis Side Effects

"Cantharis vesicatoria" is the Latin name of an insect also known as Spanish fly or blister beetle, which can be found in the Mediterranean region. This insect contains a chemical (cantharidin) that is highly irritable for the skin, causing it to blister. Cantharidin has been historically used as a sexual stimulant and it is the main ingredient of the commonly used homeopathic remedy "cantharis." High concentrations of the drug can be very toxic for humans.

Uses

• In homeopathy, which is based on the principle that a substance that causes symptoms similar to those of a disease can be used to cure that particular disease, cantharis is frequently recommended in cases of burns and scalds on the skin, burns of the esophagus and stomach, unquenchable thirst and painful urination that results from cystitis.

Method

• To obtain cantharidin, the substance is not usually extracted from the Spanish fly, but instead the whole insect is crushed and powdered to obtain the drug. In homeopathy, through the method called trituration, the powder is combined with lactose (milk sugar) and the mixture resulted is subsequently highly diluted in order to obtain the remedy.

Homeopathic Dosage

• The recommended dosage in the "Homeopathic Materia Medica" of William Boericke is a potency of 6x (where the homeopathic process of potentiating the active substance by diluting and shaking it has been repeated six times) to 30x (where the process has been repeated 30 times). It is also used locally, for cases of burns and eczema, in potencies of 1x and 2x.

Side Effects

• In high concentrations, the substance can be highly toxic for the urinary and genital tract. It can cause abdominal cramps and burning in the mouth, throat and stomach, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, renal dysfunction and hemorrhage of the gastrointestinal tract. Convulsions, coma and even death have occurred, although rarely.

Considerations

• The diluted homeopathic preparations are usually safe, as they contain only minimal amounts of the drug and sometimes none at all, in the very high potencies. Cantharidin can, however, be found in large concentration in illicit preparations that are available because of the drug's use as sexual stimulant. In such cases, ingestion can cause severe symptoms.

History

• Cantharidin has a vast reputation as supposedly potent aphrodisiac. This is how the Spanish fly came to have a historic connection with the infamous Marquis de Sade, whose name is at the root of the word "sadism." In 1772, the marquis was sentenced to death for having fed two prostitutes with aniseed sweets mixed with cantharis, in hope for the famed aphrodisiac effect. Instead, the two women suffered a violent toxic reaction and were believed to have been poisoned, which was an offense severely punished at the time.