Ipecacuanha

The root of a small rainforest plant from Central and South America, used in homoeopathy for persistent nausea, vomiting and rattling, gagging coughs.

Ipecacuanha, now named Carapichea ipecacuanha, is a small plant of the coffee family from the rainforests of Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Its dried root was the source of syrup of ipecac, once used to make people vomit. In crude form it is strongly emetic; homoeopathy uses it only in specially prepared form.

Its guiding feature in homoeopathy is constant nausea that vomiting does not relieve, often with a clean tongue. It is traditionally used for such nausea, for spasmodic coughs with a chest full of rattling mucus and gagging, and for wheezing. It is also linked with bright red bleeding.

• Constant nausea
• Vomiting
• Rattling cough
• Gagging cough
• Wheezing