Nux vomica

Characteristic symptoms

Aggravation by motion, after eating and in the open air, but worst about two hours after midnight and upon waking in the morning ; aggravation strongly marked at the beginning of the motion, by the continuance of which they are diminished ; periodical and intermittent affections ; rheumatic pains, especially of the muscles of the back, loins, chest and small of the back ; dartings through the whole body ; stitching and tearing in the joints, worse when the weather changes ; drawing and tearing, especially at night, or with numbness of the affected parts ; the pains are so insupportable that he would rather die ; pains of the joints and limbs, as if bruised, especially during motion or early in bed, forcing one to often change his position ; paralysis ; sensation of spasmodic drawing to and fro in the muscles, as if something were moving in them ; trembling of the limbs, with fluttering of the heart and tremor ; convulsions and cramps ; epilepsy ; fainting fits after making the least exertion, or after a walk in the open air ; languor in all the limbs, laziness; heaviness in the upper and lower limbs ; sudden failing of strength ; great nervous weakness, with excessive irritation of all the organs of sense, particularly hearing and sight ; excessive sensitiveness to the cold air ; great liability to take cold ; emaciation ; atrophy and emaciation of children, particularly scrofulous children ; aggravations by coffee, wine, smoking, watching and mental exertion ; the pains which come on by keeping one's-self confined to a room are relieved by a walk in the open air, and vice versa ; burning itching over the whole body ; blue spots on the body, like ecchymosis ; boils, chilblains ; cold and blue skin, with blue nails ; jaundice ; drowsiness in the daytime, after meals and early in the evening ; falls asleep late, as many ideas crowd on his mind ; excessive anguish, as if one must kill himself; sad, despondent, silent or angry ; despairing of health and recovery ; the slightest jarring or concussion insupportable ; impatient of the least opposition ; irritability of all the senses ; the head is easily fatigued by mental exertion ; vertigo ; the whole brain feels bruised ; rush of blood to the head, with heat and redness of the face ; clavus hystericus ; headache, attended with nausea and vomiting ; niigrsene, when no complete intermission of perfect health occurs, where the symptoms during the period (free from headache) will often furnish the surest indication ; livid, yellowish complexion and yellowish color around the mouth and nose ; miserable pale complexion, with blue borders around the eye and pointed nose ; distorted gloomy features ; tongue coated with white slime ; sour taste after eating or drinking, especially after milk, which seems to sour upon his stomach ; herby or foul taste ; aversion to rye bread ; hunger, nevertheless aversion to food ; regurgitation of food while eating, with hiccough ; sour eructations ; heartburn ; vomiting of sour-smelling and sour-tasting mucus ; vomiting of pregnant females; stomach distended and scrobiculus cordis arched forward ; tenderness of external membranes of stomach, increased by slight, but diminished by strong pressure; pains momentarily relieved by bending forward; first eructations of gas, then of fluid, tasting of food followed by retching and nausea, with flow of water from the mouth, and lastly vomiting, till every morsel of food is rejected from the stomach, whereupon the pains pass off; spasms of the stomach, caused by partaking of solid food ; the clothes feet tight around the hypochondrium ; sanguineous congestion and heaviness in the abdomen, as of a load ; bloatedness of the abdomen, especially after eating and drinking ; the abdominal muscles feel as if bruised ; inguinal hernia ; constipation, as from constriction of the rectum, with ineffectual urging ; large hard stool, or frequent stool consisting of mucus and attended with tenesmus; bilious diarrhœa, with a good deal of pain, which ceases after the evacuation ; diarrhœa brown, offensive, slimy, with pressing or squeezing pains ; pains and tenesmus cease with the stool; prolapsus of the rectum ; varices ; painful urging to urinate, with drop-discharge of the urine ; sexual excitement, with erections, especially towards morning in bed and pollutions ; prolapsus uteri ; themenses are too profuse and too long, with much distress ; dry cough, with vomiting of mucus ; asthmatic constriction across the chest ; attacks of suffocation ; slight paroxysms of palpitation of the heart, with rushes of blood.