IPECAC.

ephaelis ipecacuanha

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.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.

S O U R C E D E TA I L S
O R I G I N
Native to Central and South America and cultivated particularly in Brazil; this plant’s preferred habitat is tropical rainforest.

B A C K G R O U N D
A traditional Brazilian cure for dysentery that was brought to Europe in 1672, it is still used today by herbalists for amoebic dysentery.

P R E PA R AT I O N
The root is dug up and the ?rmest dark rootlets dried, powdered, and macerated in alcohol. They are then ?ltered, diluted, and succussed.

C O M M O N N A M E
Ipecacuanha.

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