Cocculus indicus

The dried seed of Anamirta cocculus, a climbing plant native to Southeast Asia. The active chemical is picrotoxin—a toxic, bitter crystalline compound with stimulant and convulsant effects.

Proved by Hahnemann and others; published in Materia Medica Pura and expanded upon by Hering, Allen, and Clarke.

Cocculus is the remedy of overcare and collapse. The patient gives so much—emotionally, mentally, and physically—that their system begins to falter. It is especially suited to those who lose themselves in service to others: nurses, parents, students, carers, all united by one feature—utter depletion. Their nervous system becomes oversensitive, their digestion fails, and time itself seems warped. Cocculus brings balance back by calming the nerves, quieting the mind, and restoring the inner rhythm of life.

• Nervous system – especially the cerebrospinal axis: vertigo, faintness, motion sickness, paralysis
• Digestive system – nausea, vomiting, gastric sensitivity
• Female reproductive system – menstrual suppression, dysmenorrhoea, weakness from care
• Mind – sleep-deprived, anxious, care-worn, overstrained individuals
• Muscles – fatigue, trembling, paralysis from mental and emotional strain

The mental picture of Cocculus revolves around exhaustion from overcare, sleep loss, and emotional depletion. The patient feels as if time moves too slowly or they are outside their body. The mind becomes clouded, dull, confused, especially after long periods of nursing the sick, grieving, or sleepless nights [Clarke]. There is a profound irritability—they are sensitive to noise, contradiction, and mental exertion. Even small tasks seem overwhelming. Emotions are dulled, as if they are watching life from afar. A peculiar emptiness pervades their thoughts. Often indicated in caregivers, mothers, nurses, or students who burn out mentally and physically. Time feels disjointed or dragging, and memory becomes fragile. Despair, mental sluggishness, and a sensation of being “too weak to think” prevail. Noise and conversation are unbearable, and they may respond with irritability or withdrawal.

Profound sleep disturbance, especially from worry, nursing, or mental strain. Sleepless from thoughts circling in the mind. Sleep is unrefreshing; wakes still exhausted. Yawning without relief. Drowsy but cannot sleep. Dreams may be distressing or emotionally charged.

Vivid, anxious dreams—often about falling, losing control, or failing responsibilities. Dreams of sickness, loss, or endless tasks. May awaken with palpitations or trembling.

Cocculus typifies functional weakness of the nervous system. It suits caregivers, nurses, students, or mothers—those who sacrifice sleep and emotional well-being for others. Classic in motion sickness, nausea, and neuromuscular fatigue. Paralysis may be local or general. Better lying quietly; worse from the slightest motion or thought. Time and perception feel distorted. Left-sided affections are common. General aggravation from loss of sleep, grief, or anticipation.

Chilliness with gastric symptoms. Flushes of heat alternate with coldness. May develop mild fever from exhaustion or travel. Often feels too cold despite warm weather.

Cold sensation internally; shivers down back. Alternating chills and heat in early stages of exhaustion or travel fatigue. Sweat cold or clammy, especially during faintness or vertigo.

Marked vertigo that worsens with the least motion, especially of the head or eyes. There is a feeling as though the brain were rolling about inside the skull. Occipital heaviness, as if the head were too heavy to lift. Pain begins in the nape of the neck, radiating to the forehead, often accompanied by nausea. Headaches appear after mental effort, grief, or sleeplessness. The scalp may feel tender to touch. The brain feels empty, hollow, or bruised. Pain is aggravated by noise, reading, or riding in vehicles. Often a remedy for motion-induced headache with gastric disturbance.

Extreme sensitivity to light and motion, with twitching of lids and blurred vision. Cannot watch moving objects without vertigo or nausea. Eyelids feel heavy, tremble, or twitch. Staring aggravates dizziness. Diplopia or blurred vision during motion sickness. Eyes feel dry or burning, especially after sleep loss.

Buzzing, ringing, or roaring in the ears, especially with vertigo. Hearing may feel dull, or sounds echo strangely. Hypersensitive to sudden noise. A sense of pressure or fullness, especially when lying down or during dizziness.

Little local pathology, but may be congested during vertigo or motion sickness. Nasal dryness or itching possible. Offensive odours can provoke nausea or faintness.

Pale, sallow, drawn expression of fatigue. In women, flushed cheeks may alternate with pallor. Twitching of facial muscles or eyelids. Cheeks feel numb or heavy. Trigeminal neuralgia with gastric complaints. Sweat may be visible on the upper lip during nausea.

Dryness with bitter, metallic, or offensive taste, especially in the morning. Speech may be slow, confused, or slurred after exertion. Tingling of the tongue. Mucosa pale or coated white.

Sensitive teeth; grinding at night. Pain radiates to ears or head. Worse from cold air. Not a prominent focus, but dental sensitivity may accompany neuralgic symptoms.

Dryness and rawness, especially after loss of sleep or in nervous states. A lump-in-the-throat sensation during anxiety. Swallowing may aggravate nausea. Throat feels constricted during dizziness or faintness.

Constriction and anxiety felt in the chest, often during vertigo or nausea. Palpitation from nervous exhaustion. Trembling felt internally. Dyspnoea on exertion. Pressure on chest as from a weight. Weakness of intercostals.

Palpitation with faintness or nausea. Pulse irregular, soft, and compressible. Feeling of emptiness or weakness in chest during emotional distress. Anxiety felt directly in the heart.

Breathing shallow, quick, or sighing. Worse from exertion or emotional strain. Feels as if suffocating when anxious or dizzy. Respiratory weakness in exhaustion or travel sickness.

This is a primary sphere of action. Nausea is constant, persistent, and worsens with the slightest motion—riding in a car, boat, or turning in bed provokes retching and vomiting. Even the thought or smell of food can make them sick. They often lie perfectly still to avoid aggravating the sensation. The stomach feels hollow, weak, or distended. Eating may bring on bloating, sour eructations, or hiccups. Hunger may exist but eating aggravates. Sea-sickness and morning sickness are classic indications [Boericke]. There may also be a sense of emptiness, gnawing, or fluttering in the epigastrium.

Distension, with a sensation as if intestines were falling out. Spasmodic colic with paralytic weakness. Flatulence often worsens nausea. The abdomen feels tender, with cutting or twisting pains. Worse before stool or during menses. Hypogastrium sore to pressure.

Constipation from inactivity, nervous exhaustion, or long travel. Stools are dry, hard, and passed with great difficulty. A paralytic weakness of the rectum—no urge or sensation to evacuate. Sensation of incomplete evacuation. Occasionally useful in travel constipation.

Urination infrequent. Bladder feels heavy or paralysed, especially after childbirth or prolonged exhaustion. May be useful in postpartum retention from nervous exhaustion. Urine may be dark, scanty, and offensive. Micturition sluggish.

Craves: cold drinks, sour things, occasionally beer
Aversion: hot food, smell of cooking, strong odours
Worse from: eating, smell of food, greasy dishes
Better from: fasting, cold sips, rest

Sexual desire diminished by exhaustion. Emissions may occur during sleep or with little stimulation. Genitals may feel weak or numb. Backache or dizziness after coition. Suited to men worn out from mental strain.

Suited to overburdened women, especially caregivers, nurses, or mothers worn out by worry and night watching. Menses delayed, suppressed, or irregular. Dysmenorrhoea with faintness, nausea, and trembling. Uterus feels heavy and sore. Vertigo and vomiting worse during menstruation. Labour pains inefficient due to weakness.

Aching, paralytic pain in small of back, often associated with uterine symptoms or mental exhaustion. Pain worse from motion or standing long. Neck stiff, especially after mental strain. Dorsal spine may feel bruised or numb. Weakness in lumbar region after coition or menses.

Limbs feel trembling, heavy, or paralysed, especially after exertion or anxiety. Numbness in fingers or toes. Jerking or twitching in sleep. Weakness from lack of sleep. Tremors worse with attention or nervousness. Legs may tremble after standing.

Dry, pale skin. Occasionally itchy or hypersensitive. Not a prominent remedy for cutaneous disorders, but may exhibit sweat from anxiety or faintness. Face or limbs may feel numb.

• Gelsemium – Also drowsy and heavy, but Gels. is more passive and flushed; Coccul. has more nausea, vertigo, and motion sensitivity
• Nux vomica – Sleepless and overworked, but Nux is irritable, driven, and chilly, with more gastric spasm
• Sepia – Also burnt-out, especially in women, but colder emotionally and aggravated by consolation
• Ignatia – Acute grief, emotional reactivity; Coccul. is more exhausted and paralysed by care
• Tabacum – Also motion sickness with cold sweat and nausea, but more violent symptoms and desire for fresh air

• Complementary: Lycopodium, Staphisagria
• Antidotes: Camphor, Nux vomica
• Inimical: Coffea
• Follows well: Ignatia, Gelsemium
• Precedes well: Sepia, Calc. carb.

• One of the best remedies for motion sickness, seasickness, and nausea from riding
• Indispensable for caregivers, mothers, or nurses suffering after loss of sleep
• Use in postpartum weakness, especially with dizziness or bladder issues
• Often indicated in morning sickness, especially with aversion to motion
• Low to medium potencies (6C–30C) for acute complaints; 200C or higher for deep constitutional states

Mind

• Time, distortion of
• Overcare, from nursing
• Sadness with exhaustion
• Noise aggravates
• Confusion from loss of sleep

Head / Vertigo

• Vertigo, motion agg.
• Headache, occiput
• Brain feels loose
• Turning in bed agg.

Stomach

• Nausea, motion agg.
• Seasickness
• Aversion to food
• Vomiting, from thought of food

Female Genitalia

• Menses, suppressed
• Dysmenorrhoea with faintness
• Leucorrhoea from fatigue
• Labour pains ineffective

Extremities

• Paralysis, trembling
• Numbness
• Weakness, limbs
• Jerking in sleep

Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving, particularly focused on vertigo and nausea

James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Provided psychological insight into time distortion and overcare

C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: Elaborated on motion sickness and postpartum states

William Boericke – Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Practical indications for nausea, weakness, and travel-related disorders

John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Detailed chronic exhaustion, vertigo, and functional nerve disorders

Allen’s Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica: Supplemented characteristic symptom descriptions