COLCHICINUM

Every homeopathic remedy is explained in detail by William Boericke, M.D. in the Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory, a book which is highly respected by the homeopathy profession. The following text is excerpted from that book and explains the symptoms covered by this remedy:

COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE
Meadow Saffron
(COLCHICUM)

Affects markedly the muscular tissues, periosteum, and synovial membranes of joints. Has specific power of relieving the gouty paroxysms. It seems to be more beneficial in chronic affections of these parts. The parts are red, hot, swollen. Tearing pains; worse, in the evening and at night and from touch; stubbing the toes hurts exceedingly. There is always great prostration, internal coldness, and tendency to collapse. Effects of night watching and hard study. Shocks as from electricity through one half of body. Bad effects from suppressed sweat. Dreams of mice.

Head.--Headache chiefly frontal and temporal, but also occipital and in nape of neck, worse afternoon and evening.

Eyes.--Pupils unequal; left pupil contracted. Variations in visual acuity. Lachrymation worse in open air; violent tearing pain in eyes. Dim vision after reading. Spots before eyes.

Ears.--Itching in ears; sharp, shooting pains below right tragus.

Face.--Pain in facial muscles, moving about. Tingling and œdematous swelling; cheeks red, hot, sweaty. Very irritable with the pains (Cham). Pain behind angle of right lower jaw.

Stomach.--Dry mouth, tongue burns, gums and teeth pain. Thirst; pain in stomach and flatulence. The smell of food causes nausea even to fainting, especially fish. Profuse salivary secretion. Vomiting of mucus, bile and food; worse, any motion; great coldness in stomach. Craving for various things, but is averse to then when smelling them, seized them with nausea. Gouty gastralgia. Burning or icy coldness in stomach and abdomen. Thirst for effervescent, alcoholic beverages. Pain in transverse colon.

Abdomen.--Distention of abdomen, with gas, inability to stretch out legs. Borborygmi. Pain over liver. Cæcum and ascending colon much distended. Fullness and continuous rumbling. Ascites.

Stool.--Painful, scanty, transparent, jelly-like mucus; pain, as if anus were torn open, with prolapse. Autumnal dysentery; stools contain while shreddy particles in large quantities. Ineffectual pressing; feels feces in rectum, but cannot expel them.

Female.--Pruritus of genitals. Cold feeling in thigh after period. Sensation of swelling in vulva and clitoris.

Urine.--Dark, scanty or suppressed; bloody, brown, black, inky; contains clots of putrid decomposed blood, albumin, sugar.

Heart.--Anxiety in region of heart. Impulse not felt. Pericarditis, with severe pain, oppression and dyspnœa, pulse threadlike. Sound of heart become weaker, pulse of low tension.

Extremities.--Sharp pain down left arm. Tearing in limbs during warm weather, stinging during cold. Pins and needles in hands and wrists, fingertips numb. Pain in front of thigh. Right plantar reflex abolished. Limbs, lame, weak, tingling. Pain worse in evening and warm weather. Joints stiff and feverish; shifting rheumatism; pains worse at night. Inflammation of great toe, gout in heel, cannot bear to have it touched or moved. Tingling in the finger nails. Knees strike together, can hardly walk. Œdematous swelling and coldness of legs and feet.

Back.--Aching in lumbar and lumbo-sacral region. Dull pain across loins. Backache, better, rest and pressure.

Skin.--Blotchy papular rash on face. Pink spots on back, chest and abdomen. Urticaria.

Modalities.--Worse, sundown to sunrise; motion, loss of sleep, smell of food in evening, mental exertion. Better, stooping.

Relationship.--Antidotes: Thuja; Camph; Coccul; Nux; Puls.

Compare: Colchicine (intestinal catarrh with shreddy membranes; convulsive jerkings of right hand; rheumatic fever, gout, endo and pericarditis, pleurisy, arthritis, deformans in early stages; intense pain of rheumatism 3x trit). Also, Carbo; Arnica; Lilium; Arsen; Verat.

Dose.--Third to thirtieth attenuation.