Carbo vegetabilis. child:

By Douglas M. Borland, M.B.,
A drug which also has a very definitely sluggish condition and is sometimes a little like AURUM is CARBO VEGETABILIS although the cause is entirely different. CARBO VEG. children are definitely sluggish but it is more a physical that mental sluggishness and results from physical stagnation, not from any lack of brain capacity. They are slow in thinking they are dull mentally; they have a slow reaction time; and they are lacking in go of any kind. They are very easily discouraged, rather dispirited and miserable sore of children, and if they are pushed they become peevish, but it is a futile sort of peevishness without much bite in it. Associated with the general mental sluggishness there is always sluggishness of circulation. They are very often heavy sallow complexioned children, and they have bluish extremities bluish fingers, bluish toes, and the extremities are always cold. The next thing about them is that if they are pressed at all at school made to work, they are almost certain to develop of a dull, occipital headache. They may get the same kind of headache from wearing a tight hat. With these dull, occipital headaches there is complete inability to work, to concentrate, almost to think. Often the child has been pushed at school, is developing headaches, seems dead tired in the evening, and gets the most violent nightmares, so much so that the child is almost terrified to go to bed, particularly in the dark. In these nightmares they see ghosts, faces, all sorts of terrifying spectres. These cold, sluggish children get very hot and sweaty at night, particularly the extremities, but it is mainly general, and the CARBO VEG children usually have a sour smelling sweat. Another thing linked with the CARBO VEG sluggishness of circulation is that they very easily get a pretty persistent epistaxis; very often these children have a severe epistaxis in the night. Another symptom associated with the general sluggishness is constipation. They mostly have digestive difficulties and tend to have big bellies; they get a lot of flatulence. In spite of being constipated they very easily get attacks of diarrhoea - a very offensive, watery diarrhoea - and then they return to their constipated state again. With these digestive difficulties they have marked likes and dislikes of food. They like sweet things - which often upset them - and they like to have their appetite stimulated with something tasty, so they like salt things. With their general sluggish digestion they are upset by fat things rich food of any kind ; very often they develop a definite aversion to fat and frequently have a marked aversion to milk. A fairly constant feature of all these CARBO VEG children is that they are not primarily CARBO VEG. children ; this condition has developed as the result of some preceding illness, sometimes it is a case of measles; sometimes an illness like bronchitis or pneumonia very often influenzal in origin, and it often dates from an attack of whooping cough.