Nux Vomica

General

NUX VOMICA. [Nux vom.] Poison-nut. Hahnemann. Loganiaceae.

Mind

► Defective memory ; manner shy and awkward. ► Can't read or calculate, for she looses the connection of ideas ; thinks she will lose her reason. ► Time passes too slowly. ► Delirium tremens, with oversensitiveness, nervous excitability and malicious vehemence. ► Desire to talk about one's condition, with anxious reflections about it. ► Inclined to find fault and scold ; morose ; stubborn ; an insane desire when alone with her husband, whom she adores, to kill him. ► Disinclination to work and great lassitude or weakness in the morning. ► Cannot bear reading or conversation ; irritable and wishes to be alone. ► Anxiety, with irritability and inclination to commit suicide, but is afraid to die. ► Despondent and buoyant alternately. ► Hypochondriac mood of persons of sedentary habits, and of those who dissipate at night, with abdominal suffering and constipation ; also when worse after eating, with sensitiveness. ► Loss of energy. ► Careful, zealous persons, inclined to get excited and angry, or of a spiteful, malicious disposition. ► Irritable, morose, sullen ; apt to become quarrelsome if disturbed. ► Anger with habitual malicious, spiteful disposition. ► Fiery, excited temperament. ► Oversensitiveness to external impressions ; noise ; smells ; light and music ; or the most trifling ailments are unbearable and affect him much. ► Oversensitiveness, every harmless word offends, every little noise frightens, anxious and beside themselves, cannot bear the least, even suitable medicine. ► Ailments after continued mental labor. ► Worse after mental exertion. ► After anger, chilliness alternating with heat, vomiting of bile, and thirst ; great laziness and aversion to occupy oneself.

Sensorium

► Stupefaction, confusion as from nightly reveling. ► Vertigo : with loss of consciousness ; falls forward ; when stooping ; as if the bed was turning in a circle ; reeling in morning and after dinner ; with pains in forehead, heat and redness of face. ► Intoxication from drunkenness of previous day, with vanishing of sight and hearing ; worse after dinner and in the sun. ► Apoplexy, with stertorous breathing ; dropping of the jaw, paralysis ; attack preceded by vertigo, buzzing in ears, nausea and urging to vomit.

Inner Head

► Congestion to the head with burning in it, and with heat and redness of the bloated face. ► Burning in the forehead on awaking and after eating. ► Stunning headache in morning after eating and in sunshine. ► Bruised sensation of the brain, generally one (right) sided ; better when lying on the painless side. ► Pressive, boring pains in head, beginning in morning, less by evening ; with dim sight, sour vomiting and palpitation ; worse from mental exertion, light, noise, coffee, after eating. ► Periodical headache in the forehead, sore as from ulceration, with constipation. ► Semilateral headache from excessive use of coffee. ► Pressing on vertex, as from a nail ; as if the skull were pressed asunder. ► Pressing as if something heavy were sinking down into head. ► Tension in the forehead, as if it were pressed in, at night and in the morning, worse on exposing the head to the cold air. ► Intense occipital headache ; dizziness ; pains in the eyes ; stomach deranged. ► Sensation as from bruise in the back part of the head. ► The brain seems to shake when walking or running in open air ; better when wrapping head up, in warm room, and when at rest. ► Head symptoms are worse from mental exertion, exercising open air and after eating ; better after rising in morning (except sick headache) in warm room ; lying down or sitting quietly.

Outer Head

► Scalp sensitive to touch, or to the wind ; better from being warmly covered. ► Liable to take cold on the head, mostly from dry wind, or from a draught. ► Fetid sweat of one-half of the head and face which is cold, with anxiety, and dread of uncovering head ; sweat relieves pain.

Eyes

► Sight blurred by overheating. ► Vision impaired by dissipation. ► Photophobia, worse in the morning. ► Atrophy of the optic nerve. ► Hyperaesthesia of the retina ; pains to the top of the head ; sleepless ; awakens irritable in the morning. ► Exudation of blood from the eyes. ► Ecchymoses. ► Burning and smarting as from salt ; canthi reddened. ► Eyeballs (lower part) yellow. ► Lids burn and itch, especially their margins ; worse mornings. ► Blepharospasmus. ► Paresis of ocular muscles, worse from stimulants or tobacco.

Ears

► Strong reverberation of sounds in the ear. ► Tearing, stitching pains in the ears extending to forehead and temples : worse mornings, evening in bed, and on entering a warm room. ► External meatus dry and sensitive. ► On swallowing, pushing out pain in the ear.

Nose

► Oversensitive to strong odor -even fainting. ► Smell before the nose like old cheese, or brimstone. ► Snuffles, especially of the newborn. ► Nosebleed during sleep, when preceded by headache and red cheeks, or in the morning ; from suppressed haemorrhoidal flow. ► Coryza, dry at night, fluent by day ; worse in warm room, better in cold air ; sneezing early in bed ; scraping in nose and throat. ► Acrid discharge from the obstructed nose. ► Internal nose inflamed.

Face

► Face : yellow ; florid, with a yellow ground ; pale ; distressed ; yellow around mouth, eyes or nose. ► Tearing in the infraorbital branch of the trigeminus ; clear water from the eye and nostril of affected side ; face numb ; after abuse of coffee, liquors or quinine. ► Intermittent neuralgia, worse in the infraorbital branch of trifacial, always markedly exacerbated in the morning ; better sometimes when lying in bed. ► Swelling of one cheek, faceache and pain in cheekbone. ► Pimples on the face, from dissipation. ► Twitching of the muscles in the evening on lying down.

Lower Face

► Painful peeling off of the lips, after excesses ; crusts on the lips, or ulcers that burn and stick. ► Lower jaw hangs down. ► Submaxillary glands swollen, with stinging on swallowing.

Teeth

► Toothache, with swollen face ; worse from reading or thinking ; tearing is worse from cold or cold things ; better from warm drinks ; worse from coffee or wine. ► Stinging in decayed teeth ; burning-stinging in a row of teeth. ► Gum-boils, which seem about to burst. ► Gums white, putrid, bleeding.

Tongue, Etc

► Taste : bitter ; sour ; putrid in the morning, must rinse the mouth. ► Tongue : heavily coated white or yellow ; black and dark red, cracked on the edges ; heavy with difficult speech. ► First half of tongue clean, sometimes red and shining ; posterior, covered with deep fur.

Mouth

► Roof of mouth, throat and gums inflamed and swollen. ► Small aphthous ulcers in the mouth and throat with putrid smell ; bloody saliva runs out at night ; gums scorbutic ; coagulated blood is spit out ; voice altered, as if speaking with a full mouth. ► Mouth dry, parched, without much thirst.

Throat

► Raw, sore, rough, as if scraped, causing hawking. ► Pain as if the pharynx was constricted, or as if a plug was sticking in throat, during empty swallowing. ► Swelling of the uvula, stinging pains, with sensation of a plug when swallowing saliva only. ► Stitches into the ear, when swallowing ; small fetid ulcers in the throat ; even in cases of a "nervous" character. ► Throat worse while eating and still more afterward. ► Allays irritation caused by topical applications ; especially if rawness and scraping are present.

Desires And Aversions

► Ravenous hunger, after drinking beer. ► Canine hunger, with aversion to bread, water, coffee and tobacco. ► Longing for brandy, beer, fat food or chalk. ► Very hungry twenty-four hours or so before a spell of dyspepsia.

Eating And Drinking

► Milk sours on the stomach. ► Bad effects of coffee ; alcoholic drinks ; debauchery. ► After eating : sour taste ; pressure in stomach an hour or two after a meal, with hypochondriacal mood ; pyrosis ; tightness about the waist, must loosen the clothing ; confused, cannot use the mind. ► Two or three hours after a meal, epigastrium bloated with pressure as from a stone in the stomach. ► After eating : 2, 3, 16, 17, 19, 26, 27, 29. Warm food or drinks : 10, 17, 27. Cold food or drinks : 10, 16.

Nausea And Vomiting

► Eructations : sour or bitter ; putrid in the morning. ► Hiccough from overeating, or from cold drinks. ► Heart-burn ; water-brash ; worse before breakfast ; also with drunkards. ► Nausea : early in the morning ; with fainting ; after eating ; from tobacco. ► Vomiting : food ; drink ; bile ; black substances ; slime ; sour mucus ; blood ; after suppressed haemorrhoidal flow. ► Vomiting of food that was taken a day or two before ; contraction of the pylorus.

Stomach

► Region of stomach sensitive to pressure. ► Indigestion after abuse of drugs ; business anxiety ; sedentary habits ; long watching or debauchery, after too high living. ► Burning in the stomach ; at the pylorus. ► Clawing, cramping pains in stomach, with pressure and tension between the scapulae ; pains extend to the chest or down the back to the anus, with urging to stool. θ Gastralgia. ► Gastralgia worse from food, better from hot drinks ; worse in the morning before breakfast. ► Pressure in epigastrium, as from a stone ; worse mornings and after meals.

Hypochondria

► Stitches in region of liver, worse from contact or motion. ► Throbbing as from hepatic abscess. ► Liver swollen, indurated, sensitive, with pressure and stinging ; cannot bear the clothing tight ; caused by high living ; abdominal plethora, debauchery. ► Jaundice, aversion to food, fainting turns ; gall-stones ; constipation nearly always present.

Abdomen

► Pressure under the short ribs, as from incarcerated flatulence ; worse mornings and after meals. ► Colic from indigestion, with water-brash ; worse after coffee, brandy or overeating. ► Flatulent colic, with pressure upward, causing dyspnoea ; and with pressure downward, causing urging to stool and urination. ► Periodical colic before breakfast or after meals. ► Colic from suppressed hemorrhoidal flow. ► Hernia ; sensitive, bitter vomit ; labored breathing. ► Tension and fulness in loins, abdominal and renal region ; haematuria, abdominal plethora.

Stool, Etc

► Stools : small, slimy, bloody, with urging, ceasing after stool ; mucous or watery, from indigestion or cold ; like pitch, with blood. ► Alternate constipation and diarrhoea. ► Constipation, with rush of blood to the head ; obstructed portal circulation ; frequent, ineffectual urging ; stools may be in hard masses. ► Hemorrhoids, blind or flowing ; abdominal plethora ; congestion to the head ; worse from high living or sedentary habits ; with burning and sticking in rectum ; anus burning, smarting and feels as if cut, some hours after stool. ► Tearing in anus ; constriction after mental exertion, after eating.

Urine

► Renal colic, especially in the right kidney, extending to genitals and right leg ; worse lying on that side, better on the back. ► Painful ineffectual urging to urinate ; urine passes in drops, with burning and tearing ; spasmodic strangury. ► Before urinating, pressure on the bladder. ► Urine : pale, later thick, whitish, purulent ; reddish, with brick-dust sediment. ► Haematuria, from suppressed hemorrhoidal flow or menses. ► Spasmodic urethral stricture ; paralysis of the bladder ; urine dribbles.

Male Sexual Organs

► Easily excited desire, painful erections, especially in the morning ; often excitable but power is weak. ► During an embrace, the penis becomes relaxed. ► Emissions during sleep ; especially after from onanism or from too high living. ► Bad effects of sexual excesses. ► Chancroid often relieved. ► Orchitis, with stinging and spasmodic contraction, extending into the cords ; the testicles being hard and retracted. ► Increase of smegma. ► Gonorrhoea : after abuse of Copaiva and Cubebs ; thin discharge, with burning on urinating and frequent urging to stool.

Female Sexual Organs

► Crampy, stitching pains in pelvis ; soreness across pubes. ► Congestion of blood to the uterus. ► Contractive, uterine spasms, colic, with discharge of coagula. ► Pressure toward the genitals in the morning ; prolapsus uteri, from straining or lifting ; bearing down toward the sacrum, with ineffectual urging to stool, or pressing on the bladder with urging to urinate. ► Burning, heaviness, sticking in the uterus. ► Metrorrhagia, especially at the climaxis, or from high living. ► Hardness and swelling of the os tincae. ► Menses too early and profuse ; flow dark, oversensitiveness to nervous impressions ; faints easily. ► Leucorrhoea fetid, staining yellow. ► Tingling and itching of the vulva, causing onanism.

Pregnancy

► During pregnancy : morning sickness ; jaundice ; colic ; difficult breathing from upward pressure. ► Abortion (especially for precursory symptoms). ► Labor-pains : spasmodic, cause urging to stool or to urination ; cause fainting ; are worse in back ; are too violent. ► After-pains violent and protracted. ► Lochia scanty and offensive.

Larynx

► Hoarseness, with roughness and scraping in throat. ► Spasmodic constriction of the larynx after midnight, suffocating spells.

Breathing

► Spasms of chest from vapor of copper or arsenic. ► Asthma, with fulness in the stomach ; better after belching ; oppression mornings or after eating ; spasmodic contraction of the lower part of the chest, worse from cold air or exercise. ► Short, slow, stridulous breathing.

Cough

► Dry, fatiguing, from titillation in the larynx ; worse after midnight and in the morning ; causing pains in the stomach and soreness in the abdominal walls ; worse after eating. ► Cough worse from mental effort ; ascending ; cold ; exertion ; on awakening ; from tobacco ; drinking ; eating ; from beer ; better from warm drinks. ► Whooping-cough worse in the morning ; with vomiturition ; splitting headache, the child hold its head ; face blue ; bleeding from eyes, nose and mouth. ► Sputa yellow, grey, cold mucus, sour or sweetish, or bright red blood.

Lungs

► Roughness and rawness in the chest. ► Pressing in the chest, as from a heavy load. ► Sensation as if something was torn loose in the chest. ► Intercostal neuralgia, better when lying on the well side. ► Congestion to the chest, with heat and burning. ► Haemoptysis ; from anger ; suppressed hemorrhoidal flow ; debauchery ; especially in drunkards.

Heart And Pulse

► Heart feels tired ; palpitation on lying down ; frequent belching. ► Palpitation : with orgasm of blood ; from mental emotions ; from protracted study ; after eating, especially after spices or coffee. ► Pulse : hard, full, accelerated ; small, rapid ; intermits every four or five beats.

Neck And Back

► Neck stiff, with heaviness ; from cold. ► Tension, burning, pressing as from a stone between scapulae. ► Cervico-bracial neuralgia, neck stiff, worse in the morning or after eating and from touch. ► Burning or tearing in back. ► Sudden stitches in back when turning, with dull pain while sitting. ► Backache, must sit up to turn over in bed. ► Pains in small of back, if bruised or broken ; worse 3 or 4 A.M. ► Spine affected by sexual excesses.

Upper Limbs

► Shoulder pain, as if bruised. ► Drawing pain, from shoulder to fingers. ► Paralytic heaviness in shoulders, with weak arms. ► Paresis of the arms, with shocks as if the blood would start from vessels ; worse at night, or early in morning. ► Arms go to sleep, numb, stiff feeling. ► Veins in the hands, enlarged. ► Hands cold and sweaty, with cold nose.

Lower Limbs

► Darting pains from toes to hip, or from trochanter to hollow of knee ; worse at stool, from motion or lifting, and at night. ► Numbness and deadness of the legs. ► Paralysis of the lower limbs : from overexertion, getting wet, sexual excesses, or after apoplexy ; limbs cold, bluish, emaciated ; jerks, tension of muscles, formication. ► Sensation of paralysis, feeling as of a painful stripe down the inside of the thigh. ► Knee-joints feels dry, with cracking when moved. ► Arthritic inflammation of the knees, also with nodosities. ► Bright red swelling of the legs, with black, painful spots. ► Cramps in calves at night, also in soles, must stretch foot. ► When walking, legs tremble ; unsteady gait ; drags feet.

Limbs In General

► Sick feeling through all the limbs. ► Bruised pains in limbs ; in joints ; worse during motion and at night. ► Rheumatism, attaching mostly the muscles of the trunk, and the large joints ; pale, tensive swellings ; numbness or twitching, worse from the least jar or from cold. ► Fingers and toes red with burning and itching, as if frozen.

Position, Etc

► Motion or exertion : 18, 26, 27, 33, 34, 40. Walking : 3, 33. Running : 3. Ascending : 27. Must stretch the foot : 33. Turning : 31. Must sit up to turn over : 31. Sitting : 3, 31, 36. Stooping : 2. Lying : 3, 8, 21, 29, 36. ► Worse in a horizontal position ; better with the head high. ► Rest : 3, 6.

Nerves

► Stitches through the body in jerks, feels sore all over, worse mornings. ► Sudden failing of strength. ► Trembling all over ; mostly of the hands ; in drunkards. ► Great debility with over-sensitiveness of all the senses. ► Wants to sit or lie down. ► Tendency to faint : from odors ; in the morning ; or after eating. ► Paralysis : parts cold, numb, emaciated ; caused by apoplexy or cerebral softening, with vertigo and weak memory ; from sexual excesses ; from the abuse of alcohol ; after spasms ; after poisoning with arsenic ; after diphtheria. ► Great reflex excitability, etc. ► Convulsions : from emotions, as anger ; from indigestion ; preceded by constipation, jaundice, etc. ; begin with an aura from the epigastrium ; opisthotonos with consciousness ; limbs, rigid and go to sleep ; choreic, with numbness ; renewed by bright light, sudden jar, noise, or the least touch ; deep sleep follows.

Sleep

► Yawning, stretching ; chilliness. ► Sleepy in the early evening, but sleeplessness at night. ► Drowsy all day, worse after meals. ► Stupor, lower jaw dropped ; deep sleep. ► Night seems long ; dreams full of bustle and hurry ; springs up delirious, has frightful visions ; awakens in fright from the least noise. ► During sleep, blowing, snoring expiration. ► Goes to sleep late from crowding of the thoughts. ► Awakens at 3 A.M. (with many complaints). ► Awakens 3 A.M. ; falls into a dreamy sleep at daybreak, from which he is hard to arouse, and feels then tired and weak. ► Better after a short sleep, unless aroused.

Time

► Morning : 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 32, 36, 40. Evening : 3, 6, 8, 37, 40, 46. ► Remission evening until midnight. ► Night : 3, 7, 12, 32, 33, 34, 37, 40. After midnight : 25, 27, 31, 37, 40. Day : 7, 37.

Temperature And Weather

► Warmth of sun : 2, 3. Warm room : 3, 7. Warmth : 3, 4, 5, 6, 10. Cold, or cold air : 3, 4, 7, 10, 26, 27, 34, 40. ► Worse in dry, generally better in wet weather. ► Bad effects from sitting on cold stones. ► Dry wind : 4. Getting wet : 33.

Chill, Fever And Sweat

► Chill : evening and night in bed till morning ; worse when moving and from drinking ; with hot face ; alternating with heat ; mornings, with constipation (in nursing children) ; not relieved by heat. ► Sleep after sleep. ► Anticipating morning fever : chill with aching in the limbs, gasping ; blue nails ; no thirst ; then thirst ; long-lasting fever with stitches in the temples ; light sweat. ► Apyrexia marked by gastric and bilious symptoms ; legs feel weak, paralytic. ► Heat : at night without thirst ; increase during least exertion or in the open air ; averse to uncovering, or desire, but becomes chilled from uncovering, or is seized with colic ; before the chill. ► Congestive chills, with vertigo, anguish, delirium, vivid visions, distended abdomen ; stitches in the sides and abdomen. ► Sweat : after midnight and in morning ; sour, offensive odor of musty straw ; one sided, or only on upper part of body ; cold, clammy on face ; relieves pains in limbs ; chill and again sweat.

Attacks

► Periodical and intermittent affections.

Sides

► Right : 3, 18. Above downward : 17, 33. Below upward : 33.

Tissues

► Atrophy of infants, no appetite, or ravenous hunger ; desire to eat, with frequent vomiting ; constipation ; sallow skin ; face bloated. ► Rheumatism especially of back or large joints ; muscles palpitate and are cramped ; parts feel torpid, paralytic.

Contact, Injuries, Etc

► Touch : 4, 18, 36. Pressure : 17. Jar : 34. Straining or lifting : 23, 33. Must loosen clothing : 15, 18.

Skin

► Burning-itching all over ; worse in the evening ; itching with icterus. ► Urticaria, with gastric derangements. ► Ecchymoses, blue. ► Boils, especially if several small ones unite. ► Abscesses ; often disperses them.

Stages And States

► Suits thin, irritable, choleric persons, with dark hair, who make great mental exertion, or lead sedentary life. ► Debauchers who are irritable and thin.

Relationship

► Follows well after : Arsen., Ipec., Phosphor., Sulphur ; is followed by Bryon., Pulsat., Sulphur. ► Zincum does not agree with Nux vom. ► Complementary to Sulphur. ► Antidotes to Nux vom. : wine, coffee (large doses) ; Chamom., Coccul., Pulsat. ► Nux vom. is an antidote to : abuse of aromatics, drastics, "hot medicines", narcotics, bad effects of coffee and alcoholic drinks, tremors caused by mercury. ► Compare with : Graphit. (gastralgia) ; Laches. (congestion of liver) ; Carbo veg., Caustic. (catarrhal hoarseness).