Allium cepa

Allium cepa is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae. Its fleshy bulb is rich in sulphur-containing compounds (including allyl-propyl disulphide), which are released when cut, producing the characteristic pungent odour and lachrymation. Widely cultivated across the globe, it has culinary, medicinal, and preservative uses. In homeopathy, the fresh bulb is chopped and macerated in alcohol to prepare the mother tincture. The proving reveals a marked affinity for mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract, producing a profuse, acrid, watery discharge and sneezing — closely resembling the common cold or hay fever.

Proved by Dr. C. Hering in 1847 and confirmed by clinical use in coryza and hay fever [Hering]. Symptoms primarily affect the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, and larynx, with characteristic alternation between sides.

Allium cepa’s essence lies in acrid nasal discharge with bland lachrymation, left-sided onset of coryza, and aggravation in warm rooms with relief in open air. Acts rapidly in acute colds, hay fever, and influenza, especially when discharge is profuse, excoriating, and accompanied by sneezing and laryngeal irritation.

• Mucous membranes – Nasal passages, eyes, larynx, trachea [Hering, Clarke].
• Respiratory system – Coughs, colds, influenza, laryngitis.
• Sensory organs – Eyes and nose in acute catarrh.
• Peripheral nerves – Neuralgias, especially after injuries [Allen].
• Circulation – Tendency to local congestion in acute inflammations.

Irritable, restless during acute illness; mental dulness from catarrh [Hering]. Difficulty focusing; aversion to company when unwell. Hypersensitive to odours.

Disturbed by cough and sneezing. Restlessness in acute catarrhal fever.

Marked action on mucous membranes, producing irritation and profuse secretions. Left-sidedness predominates, but symptoms often change sides. Neuralgic pains after trauma. Tendency to seasonal recurrence of coryza in spring and autumn.

Fever with alternating chills and heat during influenza; heat predominates in head.

Chilliness in evening; warm head with cold extremities.

Headache associated with coryza, worse in warm rooms and better in open air. Sensation of fullness and heaviness in forehead, often extending to root of nose. Dull, pressing pains alternating sides [Clarke].

Profuse, bland lachrymation (non-irritating to skin), but in Allium cepa this discharge may cause slight smarting in prolonged cases. Conjunctiva reddened, lids swollen. Photophobia in acute coryza [Hering]. Eyes feel hot, watery, and heavy.

Dull hearing during coryza; occasional stitching pains extending from throat into ears.

Keynote: Profuse, watery, acrid discharge from the nose, excoriating the upper lip [Hering, Clarke]. Constant sneezing, worse entering a warm room. Coryza begins on one side (often left), later involving the other. Raw, sore feeling in nostrils; obstruction alternating sides. Worse in evening and warm air; better in open air.

Raw, sore upper lip from acrid nasal discharge. Face pale or flushed in acute inflammation.

Increased salivation during coryza. Taste diminished; tongue sometimes coated white.

No characteristic symptoms beyond dental neuralgia from cold wind exposure.

Raw, scraping sensation in larynx and fauces. Pain extends from larynx up into ears during swallowing. Irritation worse on inspiration of cold air.

Tickling in larynx causes cough. Larynx feels sensitive; hoarseness and loss of voice in laryngitis. Irritation extends downward into trachea. Oppression of chest during influenza.

No direct proving symptoms; palpitation possible from febrile excitement.

Short, hacking cough from tickling in the larynx. Worse evening and warm rooms; better in open air. Cough may be provoked by inhaling cold air [Hering].

Loss of appetite during acute colds; occasional nausea from nasal catarrh.

No major proving symptoms; occasional colicky pains from raw onion ingestion in sensitive persons.

Slight increase in urination in some provers; odour of urine may be onion-like after ingestion.

Aversion to food during coryza; desire for cold drinks.

Neuralgic pains in sacral region after cold exposure.

Sciatica and neuritis, especially after injuries or amputations; neuralgic pains may follow surgical wounds [Allen].

Excoriation under the nose from acrid discharge. Burning, smarting from nasal and ocular secretions.

• Euphrasia officinalis – Bland nasal discharge, acrid lachrymation (opposite to Allium cepa).
• Arsenicum album – Thin, acrid nasal discharge, but more prostration, anxiety, and burning pains.
• Sabadilla – Coryza with violent sneezing, but more itching and spasmodic character.
• Gelsemium sempervirens – Influenza with catarrh, but more muscular weakness and drowsiness.

• Complementary: Phosphorus, Nux vomica, Arsenicum album.
• Follows well: Aconitum in the early inflammatory stage of coryza.
• Antidotes: Arnica for neuralgic pains after injury; Camphora in medicinal overdose.

Particularly effective in hay fever where the discharge is acrid and watery, starting on the left and extending to the right [Hering]. In neuralgias after injuries or amputations, it can relieve pain when other remedies fail. Low potencies (2x–6x) in acute colds; higher potencies for neuralgias.

Mind

• Irritability with catarrh
• Mental dulness from coryza

Head

• Headache from coryza
• Pain in forehead, extending to root of nose

Eyes

• Lachrymation, profuse, bland
• Conjunctivitis with coryza

Nose

• Discharge, watery, acrid
• Sneezing, frequent, in warm room
• Coryza, beginning on left, moving to right

Throat

• Rawness, larynx, with cough

Respiration

• Cough from tickling in larynx
• Cough, worse evening, warm room

Skin

• Excoriation of upper lip from nasal discharge

Generalities

• Neuralgia after injuries
• Symptoms worse in warm rooms, better in open air

1. Hering, C., Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica – Original proving notes; keynote of acrid nasal discharge with bland lachrymation; modalities.
2. Clarke, J. H., A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica – Seasonal coryza patterns; alternating sides; modalities from warm rooms and open air.
3. Allen, T. F., Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica – Details of neuralgic pains post-injury; proving symptoms of mucous membranes.
4. Boericke, W., Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica – Condensed keynotes and clinical applications in coryza and influenza.