Encyclopedia of Homeopathy

MAJOR PLANT REMEDIES• 45Cephaelis ipecacuanhaIPECAC.KEY SYMPTOMS persistent nausea and vomiting • clean, unfurred tongue• bright red bleeding • excessive mucus production and a cough • irritabilityA Portuguese friar living in Brazil in the early 17th century first recordedthe medicinal properties of ipecacuanha, a traditional remedy used byBrazilian 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 loosenphlegm in the respiratory tract and to induce vomiting. Ipecac. was provedby Hahnemann in 1805 and is used especially to relieve persistent nausea.REMEDY PROFILEIrritability is common in those who respondbest to Ipecac., and children suited to theremedy may scream and howl. When unwell,these people can be capricious and hard toplease, asking for things and then changingtheir minds. Illness can prompt them tobecome morose, depressed, impatient, andcontemptuous of those around them.Physical symptoms generally linked withIpecac. are persistent nausea, with or withoutvomiting, and a tendency to hemorrhage.Despite any vomiting, the tongue is clean andunfurred. There is often oversensitivity tomovement and a constant feeling of being hoton the inside and cold on the outside. Thesesymptoms appear rapidly, are generallyintermittent, and may also include coughingfits and breathing difficulties. Ipecac. is alsoused for headaches, migraines, andgynecological problems linked to the generaltendency to bleed very easily.Nausea & vomitingSYMPTOMS Persistent nausea that is notnecessarily relieved by vomiting is a keysymptom associated with Ipecac. There isa bloated, swollen feeling in the abdomen, andcramping, colicky pain that may be most severearound the navel, while the stomach may seemto “flop” inside the abdomen. Vomit consistsmostly of undigested food or bile. Belching andexcess saliva production are common, themouth remains moist, and there is little thirst.The tongue tends to be clean and unfurred.If gastroenteritis is the cause, there may becopious, watery, greenish-colored diarrheathat contains undigested food. If the skin isitchy, with sweat forming on the brow, thenthe symptom picture may indicate gallbladderproblems. The nausea is very enervating,and may be accompanied by a weak pulseand fainting.Symptoms better For fresh air.Symptoms worse For warmth; for lying down;for movement; for opiate drugs or tobacco;for eating.Coughs & wheezingSYMPTOMS An irritating, dry, rattling, loosecough, usually triggered by warm, humidweather. Breathing may be wheezy andasthmatic, and the chest may feel constricted.Although little phlegm may be produced,coughing may be violent and accompaniedby nosebleeds, retching, gagging, nausea,vomiting, or coughing up of blood. Thesesymptoms may be indicative of conditionssuch as bronchitis, whooping cough, andchildhood asthma.Symptoms better For fresh air; for sitting up.Symptoms worse For heat and warmth; in thewinter; for lying down; for movement.MigraineSYMPTOMS Migraine pain in the whole head,with severe nausea and vomiting. Thepain extends to the face, teeth, and tongue.The face is pallid, or blue around thelips and eyes.Symptoms better For fresh air.Symptoms worse For warmth; for lying down;for movement; for stress; for embarrassment.Gynecological problemsSYMPTOMS Extremely heavy menstrual flow,possibly with nausea and fainting. BetweenRoot is strongly emetic,and used to induce vomitingIPECACUANHA This efficient expectorant is usedin over-the-counter cough medicines and inhomeopathic treatment for spasmodic coughs.SOURCE DETAILSORIGINNative to Central and South America andcultivated particularly in Brazil; this plant’spreferred habitat is tropical rainforest.BACKGROUNDA traditional Brazilian cure for dysenterythat was brought to Europe in 1672,it is still used today by herbalists foramoebic dysentery.PREPARATIONThe root is dug up and the firmest darkrootlets dried, powdered, and maceratedin alcohol. They are then filtered, diluted,and succussed.COMMON NAMEIpecacuanha.menstrual periods there may be irregularspotting or a sudden, gushing flow from theuterus of bright red blood that proves slow toclot. Ipecac. may also be prescribed for morningsickness, for hemorrhaging in connection witha displaced placenta, and for bleeding andnausea in the aftermath of a miscarriage.Symptoms better For fresh air.Symptoms worse During and after labor;for movement.See also Asthma, page 181; Nausea & vomiting, page 236; Morning sickness, page 262