Respiratory organs
Ipecac is indicated when the lung haemorrhage is profuse, comes up easily, or is vomited, blood bright red, preceded by a sense of bubbling in the chest. Cough with spitting of blood on the least effort. Nausea and wheezing or rattling in the chest.
After the whooping stage begins, if there is considerable wheezing and spasmodic coughing with blueness of the face during the paroxysm, also gagging and vomiting, Ipecac comes in.
Pertussis (Whooping Cough).
Spasmodic form of asthma, violent contraction, with rattling or wheezing in the bronchial tubes, seems as if would suffocate from constriction, worse on motion, and often accompanied with nausea or vomiting. Asthma.
Ipecac, which also has great accumulation of mucus, is again useful in children, but the oppression of breathing is accompanied with squeaky wheezing breathing instead of the course rattling of Ant. tart. Pneumonia.
Cough character – Sometimes dry, at others loose. Spasmodic often.
Cough aggravated by – worse motion and open air.
Cough ameliorated by – better warmth, and quiet.
Cough Concomitants – Fine rattling or rather wheezing in bronchial tubes, from large accumulation of mucus. Violent dyspnoea, with wheezing; accumulation of mucus threatens to suffocate; loses breath with the cough, turns pale and stiffness; nausea, retching, or vomiting with cough; whooping cough with nosebleed; blue face; rigidity during paroxysm; phlegm rattling everywhere on chest; haemorrhage profuse, bright red.
Any one who can interpret symptoms can see how useful this remedy might become in asthma, whooping cough or catarrhal pneumonia of children. And so it is and especially so if the persistent nausea so characteristic of the remedy is present.
The wheezing breathing may find a similar remedy in Arsenicum and Cuprum. If the mucus becomes looser and with coarse rattling we would prefer Antimonium tart, China, Dulcam., Kali sulph., Lycopod. or Pulsatilla or Carbo veg. and each one has symptoms enabling us to choose. There is not room here to differentiate. It is very interesting and entertaining for the physician to do this for himself and thus, after practice, which makes perfect, become an expert in the art of prescribing.
