Aconite stands for the 4 F's: Fast-Fever-Fulminant-Fright. 'Fast', because it belongs to an acute, sudden-onset illness. For instance, the child goes to bed peacefully and wakes up around midnight with sudden high fever (104-105 F), restless and full of fear, screaming for his mother. He feels very hot all over the body and is very thirsty for large quantities of cold water. The word 'fulminant' relates to the high fever. Aconite has a strong disease picture, "as if a storm started suddenly in the patient." This typically happens when the child has played outside in a cold, dry wind as often happens in the winter. The child gets sweaty, throws his jacket off, and gets chilled.

Aconite is most often used for sore throats, beginning cold with dry hacking cough, conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, sudden fright (almost got killed in an accident, after an earthquake, any other shock situation; it has been called the homeopathic "Valium").