Iris versicolor

Prepared from the fresh rhizome of Iris versicolor (expressed juice tinctured, then potentised by serial dilution with succussion). Toxicology and provings centre on a gastro–hepatic–pancreatic irritation with acrid, burning secretions and a classic gastric sick-headache: frontal/temporal migraine with visual aura, profuse salivation, intense sour–bilious nausea, and vomiting so acrid it excoriates lips, throat, and anus. A keynote rhythm is the “Sunday headache” (or weekly periodicity) in students, teachers, and business folk after mental strain lets down; headaches are closely linked to stomach and liver disturbance and often end in copious acrid vomiting and diarrhoea [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

Provings and poisonings record: burning from mouth to anus, profuse ropy or watery salivation, sour–bilious vomiting, watery burning diarrhoea, frontal/temporal sick-headaches with visual phenomena, metallic or coppery taste, acrid excoriating discharges, right hypochondrial soreness, pancreatic/duodenal region pain, herpetic eruptions about the lips/nose, and weekly periodicity (often Sunday) [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

Essence: Acrid fire through the gut driving a weekly gastric migraine. Think Iris versicolor when the case is organised by burning from mouth to anus, profuse salivation, sour–bilious, acrid vomiting, and watery burning diarrhoea, with a frontal/temporal migraine that erupts on a weekly (often Sunday) rhythm or after mental let-down. The attack tends to end with free discharges. Worse: rich/fatty foods, heat, close rooms, spring/autumn; better: cool air, quiet dark, head raised, and after vomiting/stool. Distinguish from Sanguinaria (right-sided, flushing, less acrid), Ipecac. (nausea without relief), and Nux-v. (spasm > acridity). Use Iris to shift the terrain from corrosive acidity to neutral, letting the nervous storm settle [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

• Stomach–Liver–Pancreas. Acrid, burning along the entire canal; sour–bilious vomiting, burning eructations, heartburn, right hypochondrial tenderness; pancreatic belt pains to back [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke].
• Head (gastro-hepatic migraine). Frontal (brow/over eyes) or temporal sick-headache with blurred vision, zigzags, then acrid vomiting; weekly/Sunday periodicity [Nash], [Tyler], [Boericke].
• Mouth/Salivary glands. Profuse watery/ropy saliva, burning tongue, coppery taste; saliva may string (submaxillary irritation) [Allen], [Clarke].
• Intestinal mucosa. Watery, gushing diarrhoea with burning at anus; stools sour, acrid; tenesmus after acrid vomiting [Hering], [Clarke].
• Skin. Herpetic/vesicular eruptions, esp. around lips and nose, and oozing eczemas with burning [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Eyes. Blur before headache, spectra, photophobia during migraine; lachrymation with gastric wave [Tyler], [Boger].
• General secretions. Tendency to acidity, acrid, excoriating discharges and sweat [Hering], [Clarke].

Irritable, overdriven, keyed-up from study/teaching; mental work overheats the stomach, and as soon as pressure lifts (weekend), the sick-headache erupts—the Sunday rhythm [Nash], [Tyler]. Restless during prodrome, then apathetic in the height of migraine; aversion to talk; oversensitive to odours (turns the stomach) [Clarke]. Anxiety from gastric burning rather than fear pathology.

Before attacks: restless, cannot get comfortable; wakes toward early morning with acid burn beginning at stomach and mounting to head. During height: dozing in dark with nausea waves; after crisis: refreshing short sleep and sweat bring calm [Nash], [Tyler]. Worse: night heat, close rooms; better: cool room, head high.

Of work, lessons, schoolrooms (students/teachers), kitchens/greasy foods offending; fire/heat imagery (burning theme). Wakes nauseous, salivating [Clarke].

Essence polarity: Acidity and acridity everywhere; burning from mouth to anus, acrid vomit and stool excoriate, and salivation abounds. The head-stomach axis rules: frontal/temporal migraine is secondary to gastric–hepatic storm and ends with discharge (vomit/stool). Weekly (Sunday) periodicity and post-exertional let-down are characteristic. Heat and rich foods aggravate; cool air, quiet dark, head high, and free evacuations relieve. Differentiate from Sanguinaria (right-sided periodic migraine ending with vomiting but less acrid, more flushing and hot palms), Nux vomica (gastric irritability with spasticity, not such acrid excoriation; often craves stimulants), Ipecacuanha (nausea constant with clean tongue, vomit not necessarily acrid; little relief after vomiting), Arsenicum (burning with anguish, thirst in sips, restlessness; diarrhoea more prostrating at midnight), Cocculus (nausea from motion/loss of sleep, vertigo; lacks acrid evacuations and Sunday rhythm), and Bryonia (headache from least motion, great thirst for large draughts, constipation; lacks profuse salivation and acrid theme) [Farrington], [Boger], [Boericke], [Nash], [Tyler], [Clarke].

Flushes of heat with headache and acidity; sweat after vomiting may relieve; no sustained septic fever pattern [Boericke], [Clarke].

Chill along spine during nausea waves; heat of head/face in warm rooms; sweat sour/excoriating post-crisis, sometimes offensive (acid state) [Clarke].

Gastric migraine keynote. Frontal (over eyes) or right temporal pain, bursting/pressing, with blurred sight, zigzags, spots, then intense sour–bilious nausea and acrid vomiting that excoriates throat and lips; pain shifts with gastric waves and ends when vomiting and diarrhoea free the system [Hering], [Allen], [Nash]. Brow hot, scalp sensitive, saliva flows. Worse: Sundays, fat/cream, pork, on waking, heat; better: cool air, vomiting, quiet dark, head raised [Clarke], [Boericke]. Often weekly periodicity; attacks may begin very early morning with burning from stomach to mouth [Tyler].

Pre-migraine aura: blur, wavy lines, colored spectra, photophobia; eyes smart with acrid tears; lids sore after vomiting [Boger], [Tyler], [Clarke]. Vision clears as the gut empties.

Fullness with congestive wave; noises aggravate nausea; ear salivation sensation (parotid/submaxillary tension) [Clarke].

Watery, irritating coryza during gastric storms; smell of cooking fats provokes nausea; sneezing shakes the stomach [Clarke], [Boericke].

Flushed, drawn, saliva on lips; herpes labialis during or after migraine; corners excoriated by acrid vomit [Hering], [Clarke].

Profuse watery/ropy saliva, burning tongue, coppery/metallic taste; ulcerated, raw fauces after vomit; heartbeat felt in palate at climax [Allen], [Clarke]. Breath sour; salivation may precede headache (prodrome).

Tooth edges sore from acids; salivary flow bathes teeth; cold water may transiently soothe mouth burn [Clarke].

Burning from stomach up, raw, excoriated after acrid vomit; constant hawking of sour strings; worse hot rooms, better cool sips [Hering], [Clarke].

Burning retrosternal (acid reflux), heart-throb felt during nausea; sighing after vomit; close rooms oppress, open air relieves [Clarke], [Boericke].

Palpitation with nausea; pulse soft, quick; flushes of heat head/face in warm rooms; settles as stomach empties [Clarke].

Short from epigastric distension; tickling cough post-vomit from faucal rawness (acrid) [Hering].

Cardinal sphere. Intense acidity; heartburn; sour, acrid eructations; sour–bilious nausea; vomiting of food, then bile, then stringy mucus, all burning and excoriating [Hering], [Allen]. Craves nothing during attack; averses fats/cream even between attacks. Right hypochondrial soreness; pancreatic belt pain to spine; empty sinking yet food aggravates [Clarke]. Worse night, early morning, after rich fare; better after free vomiting, cool air, and quiet.

Gurgling, colic, borborygmi; watery, gushing stools with burning at anus; abdomen tender in epigastrium and right hypochondrium; flatulence upward as acrid sour belches [Hering], [Clarke]. Tenesmus may follow acrid stool.

Watery diarrhoea, sour, acrid, burning and smarting at anus; stool and sweat excoriate; relief follows evacuation (with headache easing) [Hering], [Boericke].

Urine scant, high-coloured during attack; burning urethra from general acid state; frequency with gastric waves [Clarke].

Worse: rich/fatty foods, pork, cream, cheese, pastry, acids; coffee may aggravate acidity. Desires: cold water in small sips during attack; aversion to food while burning persists [Clarke], [Boericke]. Not a “sweets-craving” remedy (contrast Argentum nitricum).

Gastric storms blunt desire; prostatic/seminal sensations not central. Right testicular drag occasionally with hepatic congestion (rare note) [Clarke].

Migraine worse premenstrually with acidity; nausea of pregnancy with burning from mouth to anus and salivation (useful when acrid vomit predominates) [Tyler], [Clarke]. Menses may be too early during acid states.

Dorsal (pancreatic) pain radiating to epigastrium and right hypochondrium; between scapulae sore during gastric crises [Clarke], [Boger].

Weak, tremulous during attack; cold hands and feet with hot brow; heaviness in thighs in premenstrual migraines [Boericke].

Herpetic eruptions (especially labial), oozing eczema with burning and acrid moisture; eruption may appear after headaches (vent) [Clarke], [Hering].

• Gastric sick-headache / migraine
  • Sanguinaria — Right-sided, > vomiting and sleep, hot flushes, distension; less acrid excoriation.
  • Nux vomica — Gastric–hepatic headache in active, irritable types; spasmodic, craves stimulants, not the profuse salivation/acrid keynote.
  • Ipecacuanha — Persisting nausea, clean tongue, little relief after vomiting; evacuations not corrosive.
  • Cyclamen — Visual aura, menstrual link; greasy food agg., but less acrid and less salivation.
  • Gelsemium — Dull heavy head with visual blur, drowsy, not acrid; fear-axis rather than acid-axis.
• Gastro-enteritis with burning
  • Arsenicum — Burning with anguish, thirst in sips, restlessness, midnight worst; stools very offensive but not specifically excoriating sour.
  • Veratrum album — Profuse cold sweat, violent purging and collapse; less salivation and acrid burn mouth-to-anus.
• Pancreatic/duodenal belt pains
  • Podophyllum — Painless, profuse early-morning stools; mouth not so burning/salivating.
  • Chelidonium — Constant scapular point pain, jaundice; less acrid evacuations.
• Herpetic/eczema with gastric link
  • Graphites — Sticky exudate, fissures; constipation, chilliness; lacks burning acridity.
  • Rhus toxicodendron — Vesicular, itching > hot water; not the acid gut–head axis.

• Complementary: Nux vomica (intercurrent for dietary indiscretion/stimulants), Sanguinaria (periodic migraine layer), Chelidonium (hepatic), Podophyllum (enteric purge states) [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke].
• Follows well: Ipecac. (when incessant nausea gives way to acrid vomiting), Nux-v. (after spasm settles and acidity rules) [Farrington], [Nash].
• Precedes well: Sanguinaria (residual periodic right-sided headache), Arsenicum (if burning persists with anguish and prostration), Carbo vegetabilis (gastric atony after crisis) [Clarke], [Boger].
• Antidotes/Notes: Avoid rich/fatty food, late suppers, and heat; use light, non-greasy diet; cool air, head elevation, and timely emptying shorten attacks [Tyler], [Boericke].
• Inimical: None fixed; avoid alternation without picture shift [Boger].

• Migraine with gastric disturbance — one of the leading remedies for sick headaches beginning with blur before eyes, violent frontal pain, burning in throat and stomach, sour vomiting [Clarke], [Allen].
• Periodic headaches — weekly or every seventh day; usually commencing with visual disturbance, then nausea and acrid vomiting [Hughes].
• Acid dyspepsia — burning in epigastrium, regurgitation of sour, bitter fluids, much flatulence; tongue red at tip and edges [Boericke].
• Bilious attacks — headache, vomiting of bile, diarrhoea with sour stools, and much prostration; often follows dietary excess [Clarke].
• Burning along alimentary canal — from mouth through oesophagus to anus; excoriating stools and gastric pains [Allen].
• Salivary gland affections — profuse ropy saliva, with nausea and vomiting; sialorrhoea linked to gastric irritation [Hering].
• Skin eruptions — vesicular or herpetic eruptions about lips, mouth, and chin, especially when preceded by gastric disturbance [Boericke].
• Pancreatic sphere — reported useful in pancreatic colic and chronic indigestion with burning pains [Clarke].
• Modalities — worse rest, evening, night, from sweets; better continued motion, open air, and from short sleep [Allen].
• Potency guidance — lower potencies (3X–6X) for dyspepsia and gastric irritation; higher (30C, 200C) for periodic migraine [Kent].

Case Pearls

• Migraine with visual aura — A woman experienced frontal headaches every Sunday, preceded by blurred vision, then burning in stomach and vomiting sour, acrid fluids. Iris vers. 200C taken at onset stopped recurrence [Allen].
• Bilious headache in a student — Severe weekly headaches with nausea, bitter vomiting, and burning from throat to stomach improved markedly on Iris vers. 30C [Clarke].
• Acid diarrhoea in child — A boy had greenish sour stools, excoriating anus, with gastric burning. Iris vers. 6X restored stools to normal within a week [Hering].
• Herpetic eruption after dyspepsia — A patient developed vesicular eruption on chin after repeated gastric acidity; Iris vers. 12X cured both gastric complaints and eruption [Boericke].
• Pancreatic colic — Reported relief of severe colic radiating from epigastrium, with nausea and burning in intestines, by Iris vers. 3X [Clarke].

Mind

• Irritability from gastric disturbance; aversion to talk during headache.
• Headache after mental strain; weekend (Sunday) aggravation.

Head

• Headache, frontal, gastric, with visual aura; better after vomiting.
• Headache, periodic, weekly (Sunday).
• Headache, with profuse salivation; with heartburn; from rich food.

Eyes

• Aura before headache: zigzags, blur, coloured spectra; photophobia during migraine.

Mouth/Throat

• Salivation, profuse, ropy; burning tongue and fauces.
• Vomiting acrid, excoriating; throat raw after vomiting.

Stomach

• Heartburn with acrid eructations; nausea and bilious vomiting.
• Vomiting of food, then bile, then stringy mucus; burning from mouth to stomach.

Abdomen/Rectum

• Diarrhoea watery, burning; stool excoriating.
• Burning at anus after acrid stool; relief after evacuation.

Liver/Pancreas

• Pain right hypochondrium with back radiation (pancreatic belt).
• Hepatic headache with sour vomiting.

Generalities/Modalities

• Worse: Sundays, rich/fatty food, heat, spring/autumn, on waking.
• Better: cool open air, quiet dark, head raised, after vomiting/stool.

Skin

• Herpes labialis during/after migraine; vesicular eczema with burning acrid exudate.

Sleep

• Restless before attack; refreshing sleep after crisis.

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): burning mouth-to-anus, acrid vomiting and stool, salivation, Sunday periodicity.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): provings—gastric–hepatic axis, acrid discharges, visual aura with headache.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): modalities (rich food, heat), hepatic/pancreatic notes, skin eruptions.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—Sunday sick-headache, burning acridity, salivation, diarrhea.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): seasonal aggravations, periodicity, relationships.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): classic “Sunday headache,” better after vomiting, student/teacher profile.
Tyler, M. L. — Homeopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): bedside portrait—frontal gastric migraine, cool-air and dark-room management.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differentiations with Sanguinaria, Nux-v., Ipecac., Arsenicum.
Hughes, R. — A Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1895): cholagogue/alterative context and toxicologic confirmations.
Cowperthwaite, A. C. — A Text-Book of Materia Medica and Therapeutics (late 19th c.): hepatic–pancreatic emphasis; modalities and periodicity.