Ipecac.

Cephaelis ipecacuanha

Key Symptoms

persistent nausea and vomiting, clean, unfurred tongue, bright red bleeding, excessive mucus production and a cough, irritability

A Portuguese friar living in Brazil in the early 17th century first recorded the medicinal properties of ipecacuanha, a traditional remedy used by Brazilian Indians. Its name is from the Portuguese for "sick-making plant," since in large doses it causes nausea, vomiting, and even cardiac failure. In conventional medicine, drugs derived from the root are used to loosen phlegm in the respiratory tract and to induce vomiting. Ipecac. was proved by Hahnemann in 1805 and is used especially to relieve persistent nausea.

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Remedy Profile

Irritability is common in those who respond best to Ipecac., and children suited to the remedy may scream and howl. When unwell, these people can be capricious and hard to please, asking for things and then changing their minds. Illness can prompt them to become morose, depressed, impatient, and contemptuous of those around them.

Physical symptoms generally linked with Ipecac. are persistent nausea, with or without vomiting, and a tendency to hemorrhage. Despite any vomiting, the tongue is clean and unfurred. There is often oversensitivity to movement and a constant feeling of being hot on the inside and cold on the outside. These symptoms appear rapidly, are generally intermittent, and may also include coughing fits and breathing difficulties. Ipecac. is also used for headaches, migraines, and gynecological problems linked to the general tendency to bleed very easily.

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Nausea & vomiting

Symptoms: Persistent nausea that is not necessarily relieved by vomiting is a key symptom associated with Ipecac. There is a bloated, swollen feeling in the abdomen, and cramping, colicky pain that may be most severe around the navel, while the stomach may seem to "flop" inside the abdomen. Vomit consists mostly of undigested food or bile. Belching and excess saliva production are common, the mouth remains moist, and there is little thirst. The tongue tends to be clean and unfurred.

If gastroenteritis is the cause, there may be copious, watery, greenish-colored diarrhea that contains undigested food. If the skin is itchy, with sweat forming on the brow, then the symptom picture may indicate gallbladder problems. The nausea is very enervating, and may be accompanied by a weak pulse and fainting.

Symptoms better: For fresh air.

Symptoms worse: For warmth; for lying down; for movement; for opiate drugs or tobacco; for eating.

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Coughs & wheezing

Symptoms: An irritating, dry, rattling, loose cough, usually triggered by warm, humid weather. Breathing may be wheezy and asthmatic, and the chest may feel constricted. Although little phlegm may be produced, coughing may be violent and accompanied by nosebleeds, retching, gagging, nausea, vomiting, or coughing up of blood. These symptoms may be indicative of conditions such as bronchitis, whooping cough, and childhood asthma.

Symptoms better: For fresh air; for sitting up.

Symptoms worse: For heat and warmth; in the winter; for lying down; for movement.

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Migraine

Symptoms: Migraine pain in the whole head, with severe nausea and vomiting. The pain extends to the face, teeth, and tongue. The face is pallid, or blue around the lips and eyes.

Symptoms better: For fresh air.

Symptoms worse: For warmth; for lying down; for movement; for stress; for embarrassment.

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Gynecological problems

Symptoms: Extremely heavy menstrual flow, possibly with nausea and fainting. Between menstrual periods there may be irregular spotting or a sudden, gushing flow from the uterus of bright red blood that proves slow to clot. Ipecac. may also be prescribed for morning sickness, for hemorrhaging in connection with a displaced placenta, and for bleeding and nausea in the aftermath of a miscarriage.

Symptoms better: For fresh air.

Symptoms worse: During and after labor; for movement.

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