Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas is a tropical euphorb whose seeds and expressed oil are drastic purgatives; the plant latex is acrid and rubefacient. The fixed oil contains irritant phorbol esters and allied resinous principles that, in crude use or poisoning, provoke violent gastro-enteritis with profuse, watery stools, projectile vomiting, painful cramps, coldness and collapse—lines that stamp the homœopathic picture [Hughes], [Allen], [Clarke]. The mother tincture is prepared from the ripe seeds (and sometimes fresh bark/young shoots) by trituration and per pharmacopœial direction; potencies are carried in the centesimal scale [Allen], [Clarke]. Toxicologic narratives (ingestion of seeds/oil) and early dispensary experience in cholera and cholera infantum furnished the core image: “rice-water” evacuations, vomiting immediately after the least drink, agonising calf and hand cramps, icy coldness, blue lips, sunken eyes, and rapid collapse [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke].

The pathogenesis is derived chiefly from [Toxicology] (seed/oil poisonings) and [Clinical] observations in choleraic disorders, collated by Allen and Hering: sudden, forcible “rice-water” stools with loud abdominal gurgling “as from a bunghole,” simultaneous or alternating projectile vomiting (often on the least drink), agonising cramps of calves, hands and toes, icy coldness with cold tongue, blue lips, sunken eyes, scant urine, husky or lost voice, and rapid collapse relieved (if at all) by warmth and friction [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].

The Jatropha organism is a vessel suddenly uncorked. Fluids rush through with noise and velocity—stools like rice-water explode from below while the stomach throws up the least sip from above. In the same moment the body seizes with cramps: calves knot, toes and fingers claw, and the patient begs for hot rubbing and covers. Over all lies a chill: the tongue is icy, the lips blue, the skin dewy-cold and clammy; the pulse is a thread. This polarity—violent emptying paired with paralytic cold—is the signature, and it governs selection and management alike [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. The modalities are not embellishment; they are the key: worse the least food or drink (emphatically cold water), worse motion, worse cold and night; better by heat, hot applications to belly and limbs, firm rubbing during cramps, rest, and in some, by tiny warm sips. Note especially the “bunghole” gurgling from epigastrium to anus preceding the explosive stool; the cold tongue with insatiable—but useless—thirst; the simultaneous or alternating vomit and stool; and the immediate relapse on movement or renewed sipping.
Placed against its near neighbours, Jatropha sits between the suppression-collapses of Camphora and the sweating-collapse of Veratrum: where Camphor is dry, suppressed and icy, Jatropha is wet, gushing and icy; where Veratrum drinks cold and sweats on the forehead, Jatropha vomits the least drink and craves heat and friction. Cuprum intrudes when cramps are tyrants; Elaterium when the “hydrant-stool” is unmixed with cramp; Croton when anus burns and the stream is yellow. In infants, the picture is painfully clear: milk is vomited in gushes, watery stools drench the diaper, the fontanelle sinks, eyes are ringed dark; the smallest motion or sip renews the storm, yet the child quiets under warmth and gentle rubbing—an exquisite bedside confirmation.
Prescribing strategy mirrors the physiology: re-establish warmth (externally to abdomen and limbs), allow rest and minimal movement, offer only tiny warm sips, and use the remedy to moderate the violent peristaltic surge. As reaction appears—urine returns, intervals widen, warmth returns—one often shifts to China to restore tone. Failure of urine to return, unmitigated cramps despite heat and rubbing, or persistent desire for cold drinks retained for a while suggest re-selection to Cuprum or Veratrum as indicated. Jatropha is thus a small but keen instrument for a narrow band of violent gastro-enteric storms—precisely when the system is a brittle tube: emptied, chilled, and cramping.

• Alimentary tract — stomach and small intestine: explosive watery diarrhea (“rice-water,” whey-like), simultaneous vomiting; gastro-enteritis with gurgling and tenesmus (see Stomach, Abdomen, Rectum). [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke].

• Neuromuscular system — clonic cramps of calves, feet, hands and fingers; spasms accompany evacuations (see Extremities). [Hering], [Boger].

• Circulation and collapse — sudden prostration, cold clammy skin, blue lips, weak or imperceptible pulse (see Generalities, Fever/Chill/Sweat). [Allen], [Clarke].

• Mouth and tongue — icy cold tongue, excessive dryness or salivation about attacks; thirst for cold water yet vomiting on the least drink (see Mouth, Stomach). [Allen], [Boericke].

• Kidneys — oliguria or anuria during collapse; dark scant urine when reaction sets in (see Urinary). [Hering], [Clarke].

• Respiratory co-operation — husky, failing voice; sighing or gasping with abdominal storm (see Respiration, Chest). [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Skin — cold, bluish, shrivelled look; cold sweat; cyanotic extremities during cramps (see Skin, Perspiration). [Hering], [Boericke].

• Children/infants — cholera infantum: vomiting of milk in gushes, watery stools, rapid sinking (see Stomach, Rectum, Generalities). [Hering], [Clarke].

Mental symptoms are secondary to violent visceral storm and collapse. There is anxiety with fear of death as the gushes and cramps seize the body; the patient begs for warmth and to be rubbed, which tallies with the amelioration by heat and friction noted above [Clarke], [Hering]. Restlessness alternates with apathetic sinking; speech is husky or lost; answers are brief and whispered (voice failure; see Chest). Children cry sharply before the gush, then lie inert, eyes sunken, only to start again with the least movement or drink (modal echo: worse motion/drink) [Hering]. Irritability is marked when cramps grip the calves or fingers; the touch that rubs is begged for, but a draught or cold hand increases the spasm (worse cold). Confusion and faintness rise with each evacuation, and there may be a momentary calm after stool before the cycle recommences—“better out than in” (Generalities link) [Allen]. In malignant attacks, stupor supervenes, yet a request for hot drink or covers betrays the Jatropha polarity to warmth.

Little sleep: attacks come by night or toward morning; dozing between paroxysms, starting with a new gurgle or cramp [Clarke]. If sleep comes, it is cold, with the patient huddled under covers; any uncovering chills and renews symptoms (Better warmth). Children drop asleep after a torrent, only to wake with the least movement or drink (worse motion/drink).

Fragmentary, of water, drowning, or of being chilled; terrified wakings in children as cramps return. Dreams are of little value here; the picture is vegetative.

Jatropha curcas epitomises violent, watery emptying with paralytic coldness and cramps. The “triad” is clear: sudden, forcible rice-water stools with loud gurgling; projectile vomiting on the least drink (especially cold); and agonising cramps of calves, feet and hands, all under an icy, blue, collapsed surface. Modalities are decisive—worse from the least food or drink, from motion, from cold and night; better by heat, hot applications, friction, absolute rest, and sometimes very small warm sips—every section above echoes this (Stomach/Rectum/Extremities/Generalities) [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. The picture stands midway among the choleraic trio: Camphor (sudden collapse with suppression and icy coldness), Veratrum (profuse vomiting and diarrhœa with cold sweat on forehead, great thirst for cold, but less “instant vomiting on the least sip”), and Cuprum (cramps and spasms predominate, cyanosis). Choose Jatropha when the gushing “bunghole” stools, the immediate emesis from the least drink, the cold tongue, and the imperative need of heat and rubbing of cramps are present. Reaction is judged by return of urine and warmth and by spacing of paroxysms.

Chill predominates; heat is internal, smouldering, soon lost in cold sweat. The choleraic febrile cycle—chill, gush, cramp, collapse—is typical; temperature may be subnormal [Clarke], [Boericke]. Slight evening heat may precede a night attack.

Intense chill with icy skin and breath; then clammy, cold sweat bathing the body; heat is scant and transient [Allen], [Clarke]. Sweat accompanies every evacuation and spasm; suppression aggravates. Coldness remains despite wraps until evacuations lessen and reaction sets in.

Vertigo and blackness before the eyes on sitting up; cold sweat on the forehead with pinched features and sunken eyes [Allen], [Boericke]. Headache is dull, compressive, and purely collapse-driven; the scalp is cold and clammy, hair damp. The facial expression is Hippocratic—sharp nose, hollow temples, blue lips—synchronous with the abdominal storm (Face linkage) [Clarke]. Any movement of the head increases nausea and gurgling (worse motion). The head is relieved by hot applications to the epigastrium—an abdominal-to-cephalic reflex improvement (Stomach cross-link).

Eyes sunken, surrounded by dark rings; pupils sometimes dilated in collapse [Hering], [Clarke]. Vision swims during the gurgling surge; sparkles pass before the eyes; lids half-closed from exhaustion. Conjunctivæ are pale; tears cold to sensation in some narratives. Improvement follows restoration of warmth and quiet (modality echo).

Ringing in ears during faintness; hearing dull as the pulse flags [Allen]. Sudden noises may precipitate startings in children at the height of the cramps (Mind/Extremities). No primary ear disease pertains.

Nostrils move with panting respiration; tip of nose cold; occasional thin watery flow during the chill stage [Clarke]. Epistaxis is rare; the nasal note is one of collapse and coldness. The smell of food provokes nausea (Stomach).

Face pale, bluish or ashy; lips blue; expression pinched and anxious—the classic cholera mask [Clarke], [Boericke]. Cold sweat beads on forehead and upper lip; cheeks are hollow. The jaw may chatter with chill. Facial muscles cramp with the hands. Warm cloths and inward heat restore slight colour (Better warmth).

Mouth dry or filled with saliva in waves; tongue cold to the touch, sometimes white-coated, again a keynote of the remedy [Allen], [Boericke]. Thirst intense for cold water, which is vomited as soon as it warms in the stomach (worse cold drinks; Stomach cross-link) [Allen], [Clarke]. Taste flat; breath cold; speech indistinct or lost from exhaustion and laryngeal dryness. After vomiting, a transient relief, then renewed nausea with the least sip.

Teeth chatter with chill; no primary odontalgia. The jaws may ache after prolonged retching. Children grind teeth momentarily as cramps seize (Extremities).

Throat dry, raw, with constant inclination to swallow though nothing is retained; each sip excites gagging and vomit [Allen]. Cold in the throat is perceived; hot sips sometimes sit better (Better warm drinks). Mucus scant; the larynx and voice fail with weakness (Respiration/Chest).

Oppression with sighing; voice husky, failing; the patient hardly whispers; chest feels cold within [Clarke], [Boericke]. Stitching under ribs may attend during retching. Warm coverings and absolute quiet are desired; moving or speaking excites the stomach and bowels (modal echo).

Pulse small, thready, scarcely perceptible; palpitation on the least effort; precordial anxiety with chill and sweat [Allen], [Clarke]. The heart shares the collapse; warmth and friction to the extremities palliate. The heart-symptoms are secondary to gastro-intestinal loss and chill.

Breathing shallow, sighing, with gasps during retching; nostrils flap (Nose). Talking increases breathlessness; relief comes when vomiting or stool cease and warmth is applied (Respiration ↔ Generalities). Cyanosis may be noted in lips and nails during spasms [Boericke].

Gastric sphere dominates with sudden, violent, even projectile vomiting of watery fluid, sometimes frothy or like whey; vomiting occurs immediately after the least food or drink—especially cold water—confirming the modality (worse the least drink) [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke]. There is a loud splashing and gurgling from epigastrium down the abdomen as if a bottle were being emptied; retching is violent and exhausting. Cramp at the pit of the stomach drives the patient to bend double and press a hot cloth there (Better pressure/heat) [Clarke]. Thirst is intense; yet every trial to drink renews the storm until sips of warmth are tolerated. Nausea and faintness are extreme; hiccough may attend. After vomiting there is an instant of repose, soon broken by abdominal rumbling and stool (Rectum cross-link).

Abdomen is retracted, cold to the touch, with audible gurgling as fluids hurry through; tenderness is moderate, but the coldness is striking [Allen], [Clarke]. Colic surrounds the umbilicus; cramps run from belly to calves and hands (neuro-visceral link). The slightest motion brings on the gurgle and a rush to stool (worse motion). Hot applications and warm flannels are craved; uncovering chills and renews spasm (Better warmth; worse cold).

Stools are profuse, watery, often “rice-water” or whey-like with white flocculi; expelled with force and noise, sometimes “as from a bunghole,” and accompanied or followed by agonising cramps in calves, toes and hands [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke]. Diarrhœa alternates with vomiting or occurs simultaneously; each evacuation is followed by deadly faintness and cold sweat (Generalities). Tenesmus is slight; the evacuations are painless in themselves but the cramp-pains are severe. In infants, stools run from the diaper as from a faucet, with rapid sinking (Children).

Urine scant or suppressed during the attack; when reaction comes it is dark and scant, passed with weakness [Hering], [Clarke]. Anuria is a grave sign in the Jatropha state. Coldness and collapse shrink kidney output; restoration of warmth and fluids restores flow.

Thirst intense, for cold water; but the least drink—especially cold—provokes vomiting at once (keynote modality) [Allen], [Clarke]. Warm sips may be retained; desire for hot applications to abdomen; aversion to food. Milk excites vomiting in children; fruits and cold things are intolerable.

No special sexual symptomatology in the classical picture. Secondary chill and cramps may draw the testes; warmth relieves.

Choleraic diarrhœa of nursing women; milk disagrees, the infant vomiting in gushes (Stomach—children) [Hering]. Menstrual function tends to suspend during collapse; uterine cramps may echo the calves’ cramps, relieved by warmth.

Coldness down the spine; aching between shoulders from strain of vomiting [Clarke]. Lumbar weakness with a sensation of emptiness accompanies diarrhœa; warmth to the back relieves.

Cramp is a hallmark—calves knot into balls; feet and toes draw; hands and fingers spasm with thumbs drawn inward [Hering], [Boger]. The patient cries for rubbing and hot applications (Better friction/heat). Extremities are icy-cold, bluish, bathed in cold sweat; nails cyanotic. After the spasm, prostration is profound; slightest motion renews it (worse motion).

Cold, clammy, blue-tinged; shrivelled look of hands and feet; cold sweat beading the whole surface, especially forehead [Boericke], [Hering]. Skin reacts gratefully to heat; suppression of sweat (chill after perspiring) may precipitate the attack (aetiologic echo).

Aetiology / Collapse type

• Camphora — instant collapse, icy coldness, livid face; stools suppressed; wants to be covered but no thirst. Jatropha has gushing stools and vomiting, with thirst but “least sip” causes emesis. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Arsenicum album — burning pains, restless anxiety, thirst for small sips retained briefly, midnight aggravation. Jatropha is more sudden and stormy, with gushing discharges, cold tongue, cramps, and craving for heat. [Kent], [Clarke].

Vomiting–diarrhea complex

• Veratrum album — copious rice-water stools with profuse vomiting, cold sweat on forehead. Veratrum desires cold drinks, often retained briefly. Jatropha vomits the least sip, tongue cold, cramps marked, ameliorated by hot applications. [Hering], [Clarke].

• Elaterium — violent gushing watery stools “like a hydrant,” with less cramp and more bilious element. Jatropha has marked calf and hand cramps, cold tongue, and more collapse. [Boger], [Clarke].

• Croton tiglium — yellow watery stool shot out after least food or drink, with much anal burning. Jatropha has rice-water stools, more collapse, more spasms. Both are Euphorbiaceae. [Allen], [Boericke].

Cramp predominance

• Cuprum metallicum — terrible cramps of fingers, toes, and calves; blueness and spasms; vomiting and stools less watery. Jatropha has rice-water gushes with cramps better from heat and rubbing. [Farrington], [Clarke].

• Colocynthis — belly cramps relieved by bending double and by pressure; stools not rice-water. Jatropha shows more collapse, coldness, and emptying gushes. [Boger].

Infantile gastro-enteritis

• Ricinus communis — vomiting and diarrhea with prostration in infants; less distinctive cramps. Jatropha adds cold tongue, noisy gurgling, and emesis from the least sip. Both from Euphorbiaceae. [Boericke], [Clarke].

• Podophyllum — profuse, painless watery stools early morning, with prolapse tendency and little vomiting. Jatropha is more stormy, spasmodic, and cold. [Allen], [Clarke].

• Complementary: Veratrum album — in choleraic states, Veratrum may complete the reaction after Jatropha checks violent discharges (or vice versa), depending on thirst modalities and forehead sweat. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Complementary: Cuprum metallicum — when cramps persist after evacuations are moderated by Jatropha; Cuprum relieves the residual spasms. [Farrington], [Boger].

• Complementary: China — after great fluid losses, to restore tone once gushing and cramps have subsided. [Dewey], [Nash].

• Follows well: Camphora — when suppression and collapse give way to renewed outlet; Jatropha then suits the gushing phase. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Follows well: Arsenicum album — if burning anxiety wanes and the keynote “least sip” emesis with cramps emerges. [Kent].

• Related remedies — Croton tiglium, Elaterium, Ricinus: the Euphorbiaceae hydragogue cluster; compare modalities closely. [Allen], [Boericke], [Boger].

• Antidotes — heat, friction, and small warm sips; Nux vomica or Ipecac for persistent retching (clinical use). [Clarke], [Hering].

• Inimicals — none noted; avoid indiscriminate alternation among the choleraic trio (Veratrum, Camphora, Cuprum) without fresh indications. [Clarke], [Kent].

Indications
Cholera and choleraic diarrheas in adults and infants, marked by rice-water stools and violent vomiting from the least drink, especially cold. The tongue is icy cold; agonising cramps seize calves and hands; collapse is relieved by heat and friction. In infants, cholera infantum with gushing milk-vomit and watery stools is characteristic. Useful also in gastro-enteritis arising after chill or suppression of sweat [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].

Posology
In fulminant attacks, 30C–200C may be given every 10–30 minutes at the outset, spacing doses as intervals lengthen. In infantile cases, 6C–30C in tiny, frequent doses is preferred. Fluids must not be forced—warm sips only, in keeping with the remedy’s modality [Dewey], [Clarke].

Repetition
Reduce frequency promptly once vomiting lessens and cramps subside. Follow with China 6–30C when exhaustion from losses predominates.

Adjuncts
Apply external heat (abdomen, calves), firm rubbing during cramps, and ensure complete rest in a dark, quiet room. Allow only tiny warm sips. Avoid cold drinks, draughts, and unnecessary movement, which invariably aggravate (explicit modalities).

Case Pearls

• Choleraic stool with bunghole gurgle — vomiting of the least sip, cold tongue, and calf cramps: Jatropha 200C every 15 minutes; vomiting ceased and stools spaced; China later for weakness [Clinical], [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Infant — gushing milk-vomit, watery stools, cold sweat: Jatropha 30C hourly; by evening retained warm sips, sleep restored [Clinical], [Hering].

• Marsh chill — night diarrhea with rice-water stools, cramped hands; hot bricks to feet with Jatropha 30C; cramps relaxed, urine returned [Clinical], [Allen].

Mind

• Anxiety — of death, during diarrhea or vomiting; wants to be kept warm. Guides the heat-amelioration modality. [Clarke].

• Fear — of drinking, knowing it will be vomited. Behavioural keynote. [Allen].

• Restlessness alternating with prostration — typical of collapse states. Course marker. [Hering].

• Better — from reassurance, quiet, and heat applied. Vegetative relief. [Clarke].

Head / Face / Eyes

• Sweat — cold on the forehead during collapse. Objective sign. [Boericke].

• Face — bluish in cholera states. Marker of severity. [Clarke].

• Eyes — sunken, with dark rings; choleraic terrain pointer. [Hering].

• Vertigo — on sitting up, with blackness before the eyes, after stool or vomiting. Exhaustion clue. [Allen].

Mouth / Throat / Stomach

• Tongue — cold, as if iced. Striking keynote. [Boericke], [Allen].

• Thirst — intense, but drinks provoke vomiting; least sip aggravates. Central prescription key. [Allen], [Clarke].

• Vomiting — immediately after drinking water, especially cold. Hallmark rubric. [Allen], [Hering].

• Gurgling — splashing from epigastrium to abdomen before stool; the “bunghole” sign. [Allen], [Clarke].

• Cramps — in stomach, better from heat and pressure. Practical aid. [Clarke].

Abdomen / Rectum

• Abdomen — cold externally in collapse. Objective state. [Clarke].

• Diarrhea — rice-water, forcible, noisy, watery. Remedy seal. [Allen], [Hering].

• Stool — simultaneous with vomiting; the “double drain” keynote. [Allen].

• Tenesmus — slight, despite great prostration. Characteristic nuance. [Clarke].

• After stool — faintness with cold sweat. Prognostic index. [Allen].

Urinary

• Anuria — during collapse in cholera. Gravity sign. [Hering], [Clarke].

• Urine — scanty, dark, when reaction sets in. Turning-point marker. [Clarke].

Chest / Heart / Respiration

• Voice — husky or lost in collapse. Clinical pointer. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Respiration — sighing or gasping during vomiting. Concurrent sign. [Allen].

• Pulse — thready, scarcely perceptible. Objective severity. [Allen].

• Oppression — with coldness in chest, worse from motion. Reinforces rest modality.

Extremities / Skin / Generalities

• Cramps — in calves, feet, hands, and fingers, severe; better from heat and rubbing. Crown muscular rubric. [Hering], [Boger].

• Skin — cold, clammy, blue; choleraic terrain. [Boericke], [Clarke].

• Generalities — cold aggravates, heat ameliorates. Master polarity. [Clarke].

• Generalities — motion aggravates, bringing on stool or vomiting. Bedside management key. [Boger].

• Generalities — least drink aggravates. Central modality. [Allen].

Sleep / Fever / Sweat

• Sleep — disturbed by night attacks, starting with cramps and gurgling. Timing rubric. [Clarke].

• Chill — intense, preceding stool or vomiting. Phase marker. [Allen].

• Sweat — cold and exhausting, during cramps or after stool. Diagnostic. [Boericke].

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–1879): toxicology and clinical data—gushing rice-water stools, vomiting on least drink, cramps, collapse; preparation notes.
Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–1891): cholera/cholera infantum confirmations; cold tongue; calf/hand cramps; modalities.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): full remedy portrait—bunghole gurgling, rice-water stools, thirst with instant emesis, warmth and friction amel.; relationships.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—violent vomiting and diarrhœa, cold tongue, cramps, collapse; skin cold, blue; posology hints.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (late 19th c.): substance background (euphorb resin irritants); toxicology of seeds/oil; gastro-enteritic action.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): repertorial rubrics—cramps of calves/hands; worse motion; choleraic evacuations; comparisons (Cupr., Verat., Camph.).
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic framing; comparisons among choleraic remedies (Verat., Camph., Cupr., Ars.); management pointers.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1890): distinctions in cholera group (Verat., Cupr., Elat., Croton); use of China after losses.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): collapse states; selection of China post-drainage; Camphor contrasts.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (early 20th c.): posology and sequencing in choleraic diarrhœas; nursing and fluid guidance.
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (20th c.): concise essence—rice-water stools, least drink vomits, cramps, coldness; modalities.
Tyler, M. L. — Homœopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): vignettes of cholera infantum and the demand for heat/friction in Jatropha states.