Cough; burning in the air passages; all the mucous membranes in a state of irritation; nasal tone to voice; loss of voice; sore throat; tickling cough. Dry, teasing cough with great soreness of the chest, like Bryonia, the head feels as if it would split.
Coryza goes to the chest. Grippe with fever and bone pains; must pile on clothing; the only relief is by keeping unusually hot, yet a warm room aggravates the coryza before the fever comes on; but after the fever comes on he must have heat; aggravated even from the movement of air under the bed clothes; lifting the covers aggravates the pains, cough, etc.
Sharp fever and sweat, or a hot sweat like Opium (but Opium in a hot sweat wants the covers off, while Nux cannot raise the covers). Chills and fever; heat and sweat intermingled. In chills the fingers and hands are cold, and purple; cold from head to foot; the chill begins in the extremities or back, and extends over the whole body and, the patient must be covered up. Shortly there is a reaction and heat and sweat come on, but he must be covered through all the stages. Thirst is not a marked feature; sometimes it is found in the heat.
Tendency to jaundice in all the febrile states. Sclerotics become yellow. Skin becomes very yellow. Old intermittents with yellow skin. Runs close to Bryonia in abdominal complaints with jaundice.
Nux vomica suffers from a disordered stomach. A stasis of the portal system is present, portal congestion; stasis in hoemorrhoidal veins with hemorrhoids; constipation; dysentery; paralysis of the rectum.
Stomach symptoms like Pulsatilla; worse in the morning; foul mouth in the morning also like Pulsatilla Bursting sensation in the head as if a stone crushed the vertex after disordered stomach.
Full of paralytic conditions. The bowels are in a state of excitement but this passes away and the time comes when the faeces remain in the rectum with no warning. This extends to the bladder, so that it becomes full of urine which cannot be voided; dribbling of urine in old men with large prostrate, or in gonorrhea.
Paralysis of the extremities; of the face; one arm; one hand; single muscles; facial paralysis not uncommonly cured by Nux. The sticking pains in paralysis are important.
At times false plethora, with flushed face; excitement of face blushing; great weakness and exhaustion, with irritability and the mental condition. When under no exertion with nothing to think of, patient appears to be well, but the thought of doing something exhausts him in a moment.
Headache from sweating; in wine drinkers; in those staying out at night; from night watching. The greatest relief in headaches as from perfect quiet. Headaches as if a stone pressed upon the vertex.
Most symptoms better from heat, but the head is worse from heat. Acne from eating cheese. It has most violent convulsions with opisthotonos; convulsions of all the muscles of the body, with purple face and loss of breath from the movements; conscious or semi-conscious during the whole spasm, aware of the sufferings and contortions which are horrible; worse from the slightest draft of air; tickling of the feet; the merest touch of the throat causes gagging.
It is given as a routine remedy for loss of appetite. It will increase the appetite but do dangerous work to the patient.
“Aversion to meat, usual food and drink, and customary tobacco and coffee, to water, ale, food just eaten.”
Abdomen: Pains particularly of the abdomen; pains cutting, causing the patient to bend double, with nausea from overeating; bearing down; spasmodic pains in the abdomen, often extend into the limbs, but more often towards the rectum; colicky pains which urge to stool and urination; renal colic, especially when each pain shoots to the rectum and urges to stool.
Renal colic is caused by a stone in the ureter, which by its irritation causes a spasmodic clutching of the circular fibers of that canal; the proper medicine relaxes these fibers and the pressure from behind forces these calculi out at once.
The same is true of gall stone colic. The remedy that ameliorates, or some of its cognates, will overcome the tendency to form stones. Healthy bile dissolves gall stones in the sac; healthy urine does the same to a stone in the pelvis of the kidney.
Nux vomica runs close to Bryonia in abdominal complaints with marked yellowness of the skin. Bryonia is worse from motion and not better from heat – Nux is both and is more suited to portal congestion, the neuralgias, etc.; is worse from slightest pressure (Coloc. is better from the slightest pressure, Mag. ph. is better from pressure and heat).
Bryonia indicated more in peritonitis, lies with limbs drawn up. Hemorrhoids, portal congestion, cutting pains to rectum causing urging to stool.
Cuprum has cutting pains from front to back as if transfixed.
Abdomen sunken in Nux vomica, while in Calcarea and Sepia it is engorged. Inula resembles Nux; has colic with urging to stool and to urinate.
“Milk sours on the stomach.”
“Heat in the head when eating.”
Bad effects from coffee, alcoholic drinks, debauchery. Sensation of phlegm in the throat; worse from eating. Aloe has diarrhea from leaving off beer. Nux vomica has diarrhea from leaving off alcoholic drinks.
Sensation of a lump in the stomach (Bryonia). In chronic cases Sepia is more apt to be indicated and follows Nux vomica well, but quarrels with Bryonia; associate this with the pressure in the vertex and you have the typical Nux condition.
Sensation of stone comes an hour after eating, showing that there has been an attempt at digestion, but in Abies nig. it comes at once. Kreosotum pains do not begin until three hours after eating and then the food is vomited.
It is closely related to Sulphur and often antidotes the overaction of Sulphur. It seldom goes to the bottom and antidotes the constitutional action of Sulphur, but it will remove its exaggerated action, its superficial action.
Women: Menses too soon; too long; flow copious; more strikingly prolonged; flows and dribbles just enough to stain the linen, starting up now and again with clots.
One menstrual flow is prolonged into another. This will be accompanied with the mental state; excitable; oversensitive to medicines.
“Menses too early and too profuse; occur too soon and last too long; flow dark.”
At times attended with violent pains, cramps in the uterus, extending over the body, ameliorated from heat and pressure; aggravated by the slightest current of air or cold; pains and spasms ameliorated by the hot water bottle, clothing, and heat.
Labor pains with soreness like Arnica, urging, etc. Bearing down as if contents would protrude, with teasing to urinate and urging to stool. The flow may be scant and fitful. Itching of the vulva is prominent.
Full of hysterical manifestations. Europeans develop symptoms more often calling for Nux vomica in their hysterical manifestations, while Americans oftener need Ignatia.
Has troublesome asthma. Useful in persons who say they have asthma from every disordered stomach. They may go free for a year after Nux vomica is given, and then they eat something that disagrees, and they sit up all night with asthma. They need Nux. Asthma associated with cough; rattling in the chest; chest fills up with mucus; cough with gagging, retching; appears as if he had taken a fresh cold.
Coryza every time he disorders his stomach. I have a patient who has a coryza every time she eats sausage; there is no cure for her because she places her coffee, wine, and social matters above her health. She can eat steak; some cannot eat any meat. After a disturbed stomach coryza which goes to the chest and then asthma comes on.
Palpitation and excitement of the heart and circulation. Much throbbing, Worse in the morning – mentally and physically. The coryza and some head symptoms are worse from the warmth of the bed like Mercurius, yet worse uncovering; worse from eating and from- motion; head is worse from heat.
Pressure and sense of weakness in, the left inguinal ring – hence cures hernia in babies (Lycopodium, right side). Arnica relieves soreness, etc. Conium also – it competes with Nux vomica in sense of goneness in the groin.
Chills are riot better from any amount of covers; Ignatia chills are better uncovering. In intermittents, the chill and heat intermingle, the heat is short and dry, and followed by hot, sweat and intense heat worse in the morning, but the chill comes at any time.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888. In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. Kent moved to Chicago in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College.