Nux Vomica is one of our polychrests, a remedy with a wide sphere of action, and an excellent remedy to have in your first aid kit!
Nux Vomica is the poison nut- it is made from the seeds of the Strychnine tree. The tree is found in India where the bark and seeds are used as fish poison. Nux Vomica is a member of the loginaceae family, along with remedies Ignatia and Gelsemium. All of these have strychnine as an ingredient, which is a poison that causes muscle cramps and spasms, and this is seen in the remedies. Nux Vomica can show this as cramping abdominal pain, but there could also be spasmodic coughs, spasmodic pain in the limbs and general cramp-like contractions of muscles.
Nux Vomica is known for overindulgence- eating too much, drinking too much (alcohol), and working too much. When there are celebrations and parties it is a fantastic remedy for eating too much and feeling sick afterwards, or drinking too much with the related hangover symptoms.
This can look like nausea- particularly if they want to vomit but can’t. If they force themselves to vomit they usually feel better. They can also have a headache, either in the back of the head or over the eyes. They can feel drunk, and have vertigo or dizziness. Nux Vomica is also sensitive to everything- lights are too bright, smells too strong, and noises are too loud.
While Nux Vomica is happy to overindulge in food and alcohol, they can also overindulge in work or other activity. Sometimes described as a remedy for workaholics, or a type “A” personality, they have a strong work ethic, can be ambitious, driven and competitive. They can have little patience with people who do not put the effort in or who cannot keep up, and can be incredibly irritable. Their brain can work at a million miles per hour, and switching off is quite difficult – which may lead to more alcohol to help them switch off at night, and coffee during the day to help the brain work.
Nux vomica is a great liver support remedy, and a 2023 study in mice showed it is helpful in acute paracetamol overdose (1).
The Chinese organ clock tells us that 1-3am is liver time, and this is the time that someone needing Nux Vomica may wake. When they do wake their brain is busy, thinking, planning everything for the day ahead and it can be difficult to go back to sleep and take hours. Waking at this time is more likely if they have been drinking alcohol as the liver is trying hard to process it. This also makes it a great option for perimenopausal women who wake at this time, when the excess oestrogen is needing to be metabolised. The lack of sleep also makes them immensely irritable, and they may rely on coffee or energy drinks to wake them up.
Constipation is another keynote for Nux vomica. There can be a constant urging for a stool that does not come, and when they do pass the stool it feels incomplete. There may also be alternating constipation with loose stools.
We can also think of Nux vomica for viruses. In the early stage of colds there can be a blocked nose, sometimes on only one side, and a clear mucus. The nose can run in the morning or during the day, but be stopped up at night and they can sneeze a lot without mucus. A cough can be spasmodic and dry, and can be worse for cold air, exertion and eating and drinking. I have found it useful in whooping cough with a continued hacking cough.
If you don’t have Nux vomica in your home kit, but some of this post sounds familiar then I recommend getting some to keep on hand!
Reference:
- T, Ajayan & D, Prabha. (2023). AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON EFFICACY OF HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINE NUX VOMICA 30C AND 200C IN THE TREATMENT OF ACETAMINOPHEN INDUCED LIVER TOXICITY IN MICE MODEL. Indian Journal of Psychology.
Image credit: Lalithamba from IndiaUploaded by Vinayaraj, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
