Phosphorus. [Phos]
The cough of **Phosphorus arises from irritation in the trachea. It is tickling which is lower down than the irritation calling for **Belladonna It is made worse by talking or using the voice; in fact, any change in breathing causes the cough. It is at first dry and tight and then with expectoration of tenacious purulent mucus. It is worse from a ***change to cold air, the chest feels dry, and the cough sounds and there is a constriction across the upper part of the chest. Continued hoarseness with a distressing, dry cough. It is also a remedy for stomach or hepatic coughs, anaemic coughs, and in reflex coughs, being here similar to **Ambra grisea.
**Ignatia is useful in nervous coughs, in which the more the patient coughs the greater the irritation to cough. **Sticta has this symptom, but it is not nervous in origin.
**Ambra grisea is useful in nervous coughs followed by eructation of wind. Reflex coughs rather than those of organic lesions of the respiratory organs. **Phosphorus follows **Belladonna well. **Belladonna relieves the soreness, tenderness and fever, but the hoarse, rough voice yields to phosphorus. A dry cough is an important indication for **Belladonna.
Rumex crispus. [Rumex]
This remedy has a dry cough from tickling in the supra-sternal fossa. It is a laryngo-tracheal cough which is teasing and persistent, and is aggravated by cold air. The patient has to cover the head with the bedclothes and breathe warm air to stop the cough. Deep inspiration aggravates it. It suits incessant fatiguing fatiguing coughs, with soreness behind the sternum, and much tough mucus in the larynx which cannot be hawked up. It suits the night coughs of consumptives where there are sharp, stitching pains through the lungs in the early stages.
**Silicea has a similar cough, worse from cold drinks, worse from speaking and worse from lying down at night.
Bryonia. [Bry]
The cough of **Bryonia is generally dry and concussive. It seems to come from the region of the stomach, and is preceded by a tickling in the epigastrium. During the cough the patient holds the sides of the chest with his hands, as the cough not only shakes the chest, but also hurts distant parts of the body. It is induced also by coming from the open air into a warm room and is accompanied by bursting headache. The expectoration is scanty, tough and sometimes bloody.
**Natrum carbonicum. Cough worse in a warm room, with a purulent salty and greenish expectoration.
**Asclepias tuberosa. Loose cough, with stitching pains in the chest, a looser cough than the Bryonia cough, and the patient is more “broken up” with the cold.
Spongia. [Spong]
This remedy suits a hard, barking, ringing, metallic sounding cough, which is worse from deep breathing and excitement, often arousing the patient out of sleep with a suffocative feeling. There is usually no expectoration; it suits, therefore, oftentimes the dry, racking cough of chronic bronchitis.
**Sambucus. Useful in suffocative coughs of children where there is rough wheezing with great dyspnoea; patient can only breathe with the mouth wide open.
Hyoscyamus. [Hyos]
The cough of this remedy is dry, nervous and spasmodic, occurs at night and ceases after sitting up. This is characteristic of the drug; the **Belladonna cough may compel the patient to sit up, but no relief is obtained. Hyoscyamus is a wonderfully calming remedy in the night coughs of consumptives.
**Manganum has a cough that is always better on lying down, only troublesome when sitting up.
**Conium. This remedy has a tormenting dry cough, worse lying down, worse in the evening and at night. Speaking or laughing also aggravates the cough. The irritation is in the trachea or upper bronchi.
**Opium has a difficult cough, especially tormenting at night, with a scanty expectoration. Burt testifies as to its utility in dry spasmodic nightly coughs that prevent sleep, with no expectoration.
**Laurocerasus is a very beneficial remedy in the dry, teasing cough of consumptives.
**Aralia racemosa cures a spasmodic cough coming on at night after the first sleep, caused by tickling in the throat and constriction of chest; has to sit up and cough violently.
**Naphthalin. Dr. Cartier recommends this remedy highly in spasmodic coughs, due to an acute laryngo-tracheitis.
Sanguinaria. [Sang]
This is one of our best remedies in dry and humid coughs following inflammation. It is especially useful in the pre- tubercular stage of phthisis. Brigham says that few remedies have proved equal to **Sanguinaria for bronchial coughs. It is usually a dry cough excited by tickling in the larynx and upper chest. The expectoration is rust colored and the breathe may be offensive. Again, it may have a loose cough, but the secretion of mucus is expectorated with great difficulty, here being like **Kali bichromicum. Holcomb says: ” It has done me more good in pulmonary diseases than any other single remedy.”
Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Michigan Homeopathic Medical College. Member of American Institute of Homeopathy. In addition to his editoral work he authored or collaborated on: Boericke and Dewey's Twelve Tissue Remedies, Essentials of Homeopathic Materia Medica, Essentials of Homeopathic Therapeutics and Practical Homeopathic Therapeutics.