Ictodes Foetida

A thermogenic marsh plant of the Araceae (arum) family, exhaling a characteristic fetor when bruised. Like many Arums, the tissues contain raphides of calcium oxalate and an acrid volatile principle that irritates mucosae and skin [Hughes], [Clarke]. The tincture is prepared from the fresh root (rhizome) or whole plant at flowering; acridity explains later laryngo-bronchial tingling, sneezing, and spasmodic cough, as well as gastric flatulence that reflexly worsens breathing [Clarke], [Allen]. American eclectic and indigenous use placed the dried root as an antispasmodic and expectorant for “nervous asthma,” whooping cough, and choreic twitchings [Hughes], [Farrington]. [Toxicology]

Proved and clinically observed chiefly by the American school (Hering’s circle, Hale), with entries consolidated in Allen’s Encyclopaedia and later authors [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke]. The most constant confirmations: asthma in dusty rooms, paroxysmal dyspnoea with abdominal distension, relief after eructations or passage of flatus, sneezing and laryngeal tickle from dust, and a peculiar gut–lung reciprocity [Boericke], [Boger]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Pothos foetidus typifies the reactive asthmatic whose attacks are triggered by dust and closeness and released by the venting of wind. The patient is sensorily keyed to environment: a broom moves, curtains shake, a musty cupboard is opened—and the nose tickles, a few sneezes come, the larynx itches, and the chest “tightens like a band.” The mind responds with quick fretfulness and anticipatory anxiety, yet this is not the existential dread of Arsenicum; it is the body’s reflex alarm, which melts the moment a series of eructations or a stool breaks the abdominal balloon. This gut–lung reciprocity is the central signature: the thorax and abdomen are in dialogue, and decompression of one liberates the other [Allen], [Farrington], [Boericke]. The miasmatic colouring is psoric–sycotic with tubercular lability: heightened environmental sensitivity, rapid shifts between suffocation in a room and freedom outside, a catarrhal surface that is easily irritated but not deeply destructive, and a nervous system that startles and then settles. Compare it with Nux-vomica where dyspeptic irritability dominates and morning aggravation is typical; with Carbo-veg when air-hunger and collapse require fanning; with Sambucus for night suffocation in infants; and with Rumex if cold air to the larynx (rather than dust) is the governing trigger. Therapeutically, Ictod. shines in children and dust-laden interiors—schoolrooms, libraries, lofts—where ventilation transforms the case, and where instructing the family to air bedding and damp-dust rooms is as important as the dose. The hallmark line that decides it at the bedside is often volunteered: “Once I burp or pass wind, I can breathe again.” Anchor your prescribing to that sentence, together with the dust aetiology and better in open air, and Ictod. will repay you. [Clarke], [Boger], [Nash]

• Bronchi/respiration (spasm): Tendency to asthma from dust with tightness, scant expectoration, and a nervous, spasmodic element; paroxysms abate when the stomach/abdomen are decompressed by wind or stool. See Respiration, Abdomen. [Hering], [Allen], [Boericke]
• Larynx and upper air tract: Dust-provoked tickling, sneezing, and husky voice; rawness with desire to clear the throat. See Throat, Nose. [Clarke], [Boger]
• Gastro-intestinal reflexes: Flatulent distension and colic aggravate the chest; eructations and flatus relieve dyspnoea. See Stomach, Abdomen, Generalities. [Allen], [Farrington]
• Vagus/“nervous” sphere: Paroxysms coloured by anxiety and irritability; asthmatic state in sensitive, excitable constitutions (children, neurotic adults). See Mind, Sleep. [Farrington], [Nash]
• Mucosae (catarrhal): Thin catarrh with tickle-cough, especially in dusty, close rooms; tendency to evening aggravation indoors. See Nose, Chest. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Skin/edges: Acrid plant causes smarting/eruption on contact; therapeutically a minor sphere. See Skin. [Hughes]

The mental state is coloured by a nervous, excitable temperament: quick to start, fretful when breathing is impeded, and anxious at the first hint of a tickle in the larynx or a dusty smell in the room [Farrington], [Clarke]. Anxiety is anticipatory—fear that the dust will “set it off”—and mounts with abdominal distension, a clear illustration of the remedy’s gut–lung reciprocity; relief follows as soon as eructations or flatus are passed, echoing the better from wind modality already noted [Allen]. Children are restless, clingy, and dislike being in musty rooms; they brighten markedly when taken outside into clear air [Nash], [Boericke]. Irritability comes from the effort of silent, careful breathing; talking or being pressed to answer can precipitate cough or dyspnoea [Boger]. Pothos is less fastidious/anguished than Arsenicum in the attack, and more “trigger-sensitive” than Sambucus; its anxiety is reflex and lifts with the physical release of wind [Farrington], [Kent]. [Clinical]

Sleep broken in the evening/early night if the room is dusty or the bed has been shaken up; the child wakes with tickle and wheeze, better if taken to the window or outside [Boericke], [Nash]. Position is propped forward. If the room is well aired, sleep becomes sound and the paroxysm does not return. Dreams anxious when the attack is impending; after relief, sleep restores. [Clinical]

Dreams of being in dusty, crowded places; of choking in folds of cloth or curtains; relieved on waking to fresh air—symbolic of the aetiology. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

A trigger-reactive, dust-sensitive asthmatic state with marked gut–lung reciprocity: abdominal distension → chest tightness; wind/stool → relief. Worse indoors, evening, dust, talking, and tight clothing; better open air, forward-leaning, eructations, flatus, and stool. Stands between Nux-v. (gastric asthma) and Carbo-veg (wants air fanned), yet owns the unique dust aetiology; less midnight-fixed than Ars./Kali-c. and less spasmodically suffocative than Samb. in infants [Clarke], [Boericke], [Farrington], [Boger]. [Clinical]

No characteristic pyrexia; heat of face in close rooms during attacks; cool air restores comfort. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Alternations with the environment—chill on going into cold dusty draught, heat and oppression indoors; sweat with exertion during the fit. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Fullness and tight band-like sensation across forehead during chest oppression; face may flush in a close, heated room and clear at a window [Clarke]. Vertigo comes with holding the breath during a paroxysm, improving as the spasm relaxes [Allen]. Headache is aggravated by dust-provoked sneezing and relieved by open air or after eructation, mirroring the general pattern [Clarke]. Compared to Nux-v., the head symptoms are less gastric-irritable and more reflexly tied to chest constriction [Boger]. [Clinical]

Smarting and lachrymation in dusty places; rubbing increases tickle in the naso-laryngeal tract and can usher in a wheezy fit [Clarke]. Photophobia is not marked; relief is from fresh air and leaving the irritant environment, paralleling the keynote better open air [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Sensation of fulness and muffled hearing during the paroxysm from impeded ventilation of the Eustachian tube; clears as breathing eases. Not a leading sphere but tracks the catarrhal tendency [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Sneezing in dusty rooms is a leading trigger; the nasal tickle is felt high and posteriorly, with thin discharge or simple irritation [Clarke], [Boericke]. The more one talks or sniffs, the more the laryngeal itch and dyspnoea mount, a chain often observed in sensitive children [Hering]. Alternating stuffiness and watery coryza can precede evening attacks indoors, better by going into the cool, clean air [Clarke]. The picture sits between Arum-t. (raw, corrosive discharge) and Rumex (cold-air tickle), but Pothos is distinguished by dust as aetiology and relief from wind/stool [Boger], [Farrington]. [Clinical]

Face anxious and slightly puffy during oppression; lips dry from breathing through the mouth; expression relaxes as the abdomen “lets go” and a few eructations come [Clarke]. No special neuralgias recorded. [Clinical]

Dryness of palate with desire to clear the throat; voice becomes husky in a dusty atmosphere and clears when the room is ventilated [Clarke]. Saliva not excessive. Taste may be flat in the evening indoors. [Clinical]

No constant proving features; jaw set during effort for breath and relaxes with relief. [Allen]

A persistent tickle at the laryngo-tracheal notch is the usual premonitory sign; talking drags the tickle downward into the chest [Boger]. The desire to clear the throat is characteristic, yet clearing aggravates—better to keep quiet and breathe evenly until an eructation comes, echoing modality patterns [Clarke], [Allen]. Rawness is irritative rather than inflammatory, and is linked to dust exposure rather than cold damp like Dulcamara. [Clinical]

Sensation of weight or band across upper chest; thorax feels too small to expand; must sit inclined forward with elbows on knees [Boger], [Boericke]. Cough is scant, tickling, and unproductive at first; as wind is expelled the breathing opens and cough loosens. Dust and house-cleaning are common precipitating circumstances (sweeping, shaking curtains) [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Palpitation is functional during the spasm; settles as the paroxysm abates. No organic sphere. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

True keynote: asthma from dust, from close rooms, and when the abdomen is distended; better eructations, flatus, and stool [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke]. Breathing must be quiet; speech or laughter rekindles the tickle. Between attacks the lungs are usable in open air, with quick relapse on re-entering dusty rooms—this volatility matches the tubercular colouring in the miasmatic assignment. Pothos is less midnight-fixed than Arsenicum/Kali-c., and more trigger-linked; it sits near Nux-v. (gastric asthma) but is uniquely dust-sensitive with relief from wind [Farrington], [Boger]. [Clinical]

Epigastric pressure with imprisoned wind aggravates chest constriction; eructations (even tasteless) release the thoracic tightness, a keynote frequently verified [Allen], [Boericke]. Nausea is not prominent unless the attack is severe; eating hastily or flatulent foods (cabbage, beans) increases evening distress in closed rooms [Farrington]. Appetite returns once the chest is free. [Clinical]

Great flatulent distension and borborygmi precede or accompany the dyspnoea; passage of flatus downward relieves the chest as surely as upward eructations do [Allen], [Boger]. Colic is not violent but nagging, with a sense of ballooning epigastrium and upper abdomen; tight belts aggravate [Clarke]. The gut–lung reflex differentiation: Carbo-veg shares relief from eructations but wants air fanned; Lycopodium has right-sided gas with evening aggravation but lacks the dust-asthma keynote of Pothos [Farrington], [Nash]. [Clinical]

Desire for stool during the attack, and after stool the breathing is freer—a clinically valuable observation in children [Boericke], [Clarke]. Stool itself may be normal; the point is decompression. No haemorrhoidal sphere noted. [Clinical]

No leading signs; some frequency from anxiety. Urging passes off with relief of respiration. [Allen]

Flatulent foods and hasty eating aggravate; warm drinks that provoke eructation relieve, tying gut to chest [Farrington], [Allen].

No constants beyond general respiratory picture. [Allen]

Evening indoor aggravation before menses noted in a few cases, with the same relief from wind; otherwise not a distinctive gynaecic remedy. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Tension between scapulae while holding the breath; better forward-leaning. No characteristic spine pains. [Boger]. [Clinical]

Fidgety hands and feet during dyspnoea; slight tremor from anxiety; better once respiration steadies. [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Fresh plant may cause tingling, erythema, or vesiculation—typical Arum acridity; not a strong curative sphere but helps explain the laryngo-nasal irritability [Hughes]. [Toxicology]

• Aetiology—dust/atmosphere
  • Ictod. vs Arsenicum: Ars. < midnight, anxious, wants warmth; Ictod. is trigger-dust, relieved by wind/stool, less chilly. [Clarke], [Kent]
  • Ictod. vs Rumex: Rumex cough < cold air to larynx; Ictod. < dust and < talking, with gut–lung relief by wind. [Boger]
  • Ictod. vs Kali-s.: Kali-s. late-afternoon catarrh with yellow mucus; Ictod. scant mucus and dust-trigger. [Farrington]
• Gut–lung axis / flatulent asthma
  • Ictod. vs Nux-v.: Both gastric; Nux-v. irritable, < after dinner, < morning; Ictod. has distinct relief from eructations/flatus and dust sensitivity. [Farrington], [Boger]
  • Ictod. vs Carbo-veg: Both > eructations; Carbo-veg wants air fanned and is collapsed; Ictod. is reactive, not collapsed, and dust-provoked. [Nash]
  • Ictod. vs Lycopodium: Lyc. gas > evening, right-sided; lacks dust trigger and the prompt relief of chest by stool/flatus seen in Ictod. [Farrington].
• Asthma of children
  • Ictod. vs Sambucus: Samb. has night suffocation with bluish face and nasal blockage; Ictod. shows dust-provoked tickle and relief in open air/by wind. [Boericke]
  • Ictod. vs Ipecac: Ipec. intense dyspnoea with nausea and clean tongue; Ictod. less nauseous, more environmental trigger, relieved by eructations. [Clarke]
• Laryngo-tracheal tickle
  • Ictod. vs Spongia: Spong. dry, saw-like cough, < talking; Ictod. has dust-tickle plus gut relief. [Boger]
  • Ictod. vs Drosera: Drosera violent paroxysms with whooping, < after midnight; Ictod. evening-indoors, dust, and wind-relief picture. [Kent]

• Complementary: Nux-v. (when gastric habits and flatulence are central to asthma) [Farrington].
• Complementary: Carbo-veg (shares relief from eructations; consider when collapse/air-hunger appears) [Nash].
• Follows well: Ipec. (after the nauseous, suffocative phase when a dust-tickle remains and wind relieves) [Clarke].
• Follows well: Samb. (in children when night suffocation gives way to dust-triggered evening attacks) [Boericke].
• Precedes well: Sulph. (when environmental reactivity points to a tubercular/psoric diathesis needing chronic care) [Kent].
• Related (family): Arum-t. (Araceae rawness) — Ictod. has less corrosive discharge and more dust-trigger. [Boger]
• Antidotes/antagonisms: Nux-v. may antidote gastric over-excitation; dust exposure aggravates and should be minimised during treatment [Clarke], [Allen].
• Allies: Nat-s., Kali-s., Rumex, Spong., Ars. for comparative respiratory prescribing. [Farrington], [Boericke]

Classical authors often used low to medium potencies in flatulent/asthmatic states—3x–6x repeated during the paroxysm—moving to 12x/30C when the trigger sensitivity (dust/indoors) was clear and the gut–lung reflex prominent [Boericke], [Clarke]. In excitable children, 30C at the first sneeze/tickle, alongside immediate removal from the dusty room, can abort the attack; spacing doses once the pattern breaks [Nash]. Where gastric hygiene is poor, pair the remedy with simple measures: eat slowly, avoid heavy flatulent meals in the evening, loosen waistbands, and ensure ventilation—all congruent with the remedy’s modalities [Farrington].
Pearls (one-liners):

1. “Dust-room wheeze, > burping”: Ictod. 6x every 20–30 minutes for three doses, then stop as relief holds. [Allen], [Boericke]
2. Child wakes in evening after bed-making with tickle + wheeze, settles at open window and after a few burps → Ictod. 30C once. [Nash], [Clarke]
3. Librarian with attacks while shelving dusty books, has to loosen belt, breathes easier after flatus → Ictod. 12x TID for a week, then PRN. [Farrington]

Mind

• MIND — ANXIETY — respiration; during. — Reflex fear that a paroxysm is coming. [Clarke]
• MIND — IRRITABILITY — talking aggravates cough/asthma. — Speech precipitates tickle. [Boger]
• MIND — FEAR — suffocation; of. — Heightens at first sneezes. [Nash]
• MIND — EXCITABILITY — children; in. — Nervous, sensitive constitutions. [Farrington]
• MIND — AVERSION — room, being in closed. — Seeks fresh air. [Clarke]

Nose/Throat

• NOSE — SNEEZING — dust — aggravates. — Leading trigger. [Clarke]
• NOSE — CORYZA — evening — room; in close. — Indoor aggravation. [Clarke]
• THROAT — TICKLING — larynx — talking aggravates. — Tickle sets off wheeze. [Boger]
• VOICE — HOARSE — dust — from. — Husky in dusty places. [Clarke]
• THROAT — CLEARING the throat — desire — aggravates cough. — Better quiet. [Allen]

Respiration/Chest

• RESPIRATION — ASTHMATIC — dust — aggravates. — Keynote aetiology. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• RESPIRATION — DIFFICULT — flatulence — from — amel. by eructations. — Gut–lung reflex. [Allen]
• RESPIRATION — DIFFICULT — stool — after — amel. — Relief after evacuation. [Boericke]
• CHEST — CONSTRICTION — band; as of a. — Tight thorax sensation. [Boger]
• CHEST — POSITION — leaning forward — amel. — Elbows on knees. [Boericke]

Stomach/Abdomen

• STOMACH — ERUCTATIONS — dyspnoea — amel. by. — Pathognomonic relief. [Allen]
• STOMACH — EATING — hastily — aggravates. — Brings evening oppression. [Farrington]
• ABDOMEN — DISTENSION — flatulent — dyspnoea — with. — Gas precedes attack. [Boger]
• ABDOMEN — CLOTHING — band — aggravates. — Tight waist <. [Clarke]
• RECTUM — STOOL — after — respiration — amel. — Decompression effect. [Boericke]

Generalities

• GENERALITIES — DUST — aggravates. — Environmental sensitivity. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — ROOM — closed, warm — aggravates. — Needs ventilation. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — OPEN air — ameliorates. — Immediate improvement outdoors. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — TALKING — aggravates. — Precipitates tickle. [Boger]
• GENERALITIES — CLOTHING — tight — aggravates. — Loosen belt to breathe. [Boger]

Sleep

• SLEEP — WAKING — night — asthma; with. — Evening/early-night indoors. [Boericke]
• SLEEP — POSITION — sitting up — amel. — Propped forward. [Clarke]
• SLEEP — ROOM — ventilated — desires. — Window open better. [Clarke]
• DREAMS — CHOKING/smothering — dusty room; in. — Symbolic aetiology. [Clinical]

Skin

• SKIN — ERUPTIONS — vesicular — acrid plants — from. — Arum-type irritancy. [Hughes]
• SKIN — TINGLING — contact with plant — after. — Toxicologic pointer. [Hughes]

Hering — Guiding Symptoms (1879): proving/clinical pointers (dust-trigger, relief from wind; respiratory).
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): collated symptoms (gut–lung relief, laryngeal tickle).
Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): substance background, eclectics’ notes, environmental triggers.
Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes (asthma from dust; > eructations/stool; forward-leaning).
Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): Araceae acridity, toxicology to mucosae.
Farrington — Clinical Materia Medica (late 19th c.): nervous/asthmatic constitutions; gut–lung reciprocity.
Boger — Synoptic Key (1915): modalities (talking <, forward-leaning >), relations.
Nash — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): differentiations (Carbo-veg, Nux-v., Samb.).
Dewey — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): respiratory groups and clinical hints.
Kent — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): comparative insights (Ars., Drosera, Rumex).
Tyler — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): clinical character of sensitive respiratory remedies.