Lycopersicum solanum

Prepared from the fresh ripe fruit of the tomato plant by tincturing or trituration, Lycopersicum entered the materia medica through toxicological observations and small provings that showed catarrhal, gastric, cutaneous, and rheumatic effects [Clarke], [Allen], [Hering]. The plant is a Solanaceous nightshade, rich in organic acids (citric, malic), carotenoids (notably lycopene), and small amounts of alkaloid-like bitter principles in green tissues; culinary exposure occasionally reveals idiosyncrasy—urticaria, erythema, pruritus, gastric upset—which classical authors collected as clinical pointers [Hughes], [Clarke]. Clarke details cases of contact dermatitis from handling vines or fruit, hay-fever–like coryza during tomato season, and gastric catarrh after eating the fruit; these, with proving fragments (cephalic congestion, spinal backache, right-shoulder neuralgia), form the core image [Clarke], [Allen], [Boericke]. Synonyms in older literature include Lycopersicon esculentum; remedy tradition uses “Lycopersicum” while modern botany places it in Solanum [Clarke], [Hughes].

Fragmentary provings and numerous clinical confirmations: catarrhal coryza with incessant sneezing, acrid watery discharge, frontal/occipital headache, lumbosacral backache, rheumatic pains of right shoulder and wrist, gastric acidity with nausea, urticarial eruptions and pruritus after ingestion or handling [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Proving]/[Clinical]

Core Themes / Remedy Essence (not bullet points)
Lycopersicum is the tomato-sensitive, air-hungry subject with a catarrhal nose, sprained lumbosacral back, and itching skin that reacts to tomatoes and odours. The constitutional feel is psoric–sycotic: reactive mucosae pour thin acrid secretions that excori­ate; skin weals or flushes; joints—especially the sacro-iliacs and right shoulder/wrist—ache with weather shifts or strain [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke], [Hughes]. The patient suffers indoors: warm, close rooms and odours (perfume, tobacco, kitchen vapours) trigger sneezing paroxysms with raw burning nares and a bursting frontal–occipital headache; reading quickly overtaxes the eyes. Relief is elemental—open, cool air, a window thrown wide, a short walk that brings mild perspiration and clears both head and chest. This environmental polarity—worse warmth/odours, better cool air/motion—is the prescribing fulcrum, echoed across Mind (impatient oppression indoors), Head (pressure better air/pressure), Nose (odour-provoked acrid flow), Chest (raw tickle behind sternum), Back (sprain-like sacro-iliac eased by motion and warmth), and Skin (urticaria/dermatitis from tomato exposure) [Clarke], [Allen], [Boericke].

Within Solanaceae, it is neither the fiery congestion of Belladonna nor the cold-damp suppression of Dulcamara, but a catarrhal–mechanical picture: mucosa irritated by odours and a spine that complains of use and posture. In hay fever, Allium cepa competes when acridity and air-freshness dominate, yet Lycopersicum is chosen when odours are decisive and a lumbosacral sprain co-exists. In urticaria, Urtica urens is generalist; Lycopersicum singles out tomato causation or handling. Gastrically, Nux-v. and Lycopodium rival for rich-food dyspepsia; Lycopersicum lacks the Nux temper and Lycopodium’s hepatic clock, but adds the tomato idiosyncrasy with catarrh. Direction of cure is clear: the patient tolerates rooms without craving windows, sneezing paroxysms shorten, discharge loses acridity, the upper lip ceases to smart, the back rises without a catch, and tomato handling or ingestion no longer precipitates eruptions. Prescribing is strengthened by observing the triad: (1) odour-provoked acrid coryza, (2) lumbosacral “sprain”, (3) tomato-related skin or gastric upset—with modalities better cool air and gentle motion.

• Naso-pharyngeal mucosa—hay-fever pattern: paroxysmal sneezing, acrid, watery coryza, raw burning nares; often seasonal or odour-provoked (see Nose/Chest) [Clarke], [Boger].
• Head & sinuses—frontal–occipital headache, worse heat, stuffy rooms, and reading; better cool air and pressure (see Head) [Allen], [Clarke].
• Spine & sacro-iliac—lumbosacral aching as if sprained, worse sitting or stooping, better walking a little (see Back/Generalities) [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Right shoulder–upper limb—neuralgic/rheumatic pains of right deltoid/wrist, worse exertion or damp changes (see Extremities) [Clarke].
• Skin—urticaria, erythematous itching rashes, and contact dermatitis from tomato exposure; excoriation where discharge touches (see Skin) [Hughes], [Clarke].
• Stomach & intestines—acidity, nausea, flatulence, and looseness after tomatoes or rich, sour foods; idiosyncrasy (see Stomach/Abdomen/Rectum) [Allen], [Clarke].
• Female pelvic organs—dragging pelvic ache, right ovarian pains, leucorrhoea excoriating in sensitive constitutions (see Female) [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Chest & respiration—rawness behind sternum, tickling cough with fluent coryza; oppression from odours (see Chest/Respiration) [Boger], [Clarke].

Patient feels muddled and heavy-headed during catarrhal attacks, with aversion to mental effort and irritability at trifles; the irritability is not violent but a peevish oversensitivity that rises with coryza and headache, then falls as air is admitted—this tallies with the amelioration from cool, open air already noted [Clarke]. Anxiety centres on inability to breathe freely in warm rooms; he seeks windows and dislikes crowded spaces (Mind ↔ Nose/Respiration). Odours vex him unduly—tobacco, perfumes—provoking sneezing and rawness of throat, hence an avoidance of theatres and kitchens (cross-link to Worse for odours) [Clarke], [Boger]. Concentration flags with frontal pressure; reading quickly clouds the head and waters the eyes (Mind ↔ Head/Eyes). In those with skin idiosyncrasy there is fretfulness from incessant itching after handling tomatoes (Mind ↔ Skin) [Hughes]. Spirits lift as catarrh changes from acrid to bland and headache subsides in the air; he becomes more compliant and can work again. The mood picture is not melancholic but oppressed and impatient; simple, cool regimen lightens it. Children are fretful and rub the nose before fits of sneezing; when taken out to the fresh air they brighten (mini-case) [Clarke].

Sleep is light in heated rooms with blocked nose; better with window open, and especially after midnight when the air cools, mirroring general modalities [Clarke]. Early-morning sneezing soon wakes the patient; a short nap in the afternoon after a walk restores head-clearance. Dreams of suffocation in crowded rooms reflect the respiratory aversion to heat.

Dreams of being in a packed hall, seeking the door for air; of dust and hay. In skin cases, dreams of insects on the arms and scratching.

Lycopersicum centres on a catarrhal–cutaneous–spinal triad: hay-fever–like coryza with acrid discharge and paroxysmal sneezing, urticarial or erythematous itching often from tomato exposure, and a characteristic lumbosacral, sacro-iliac backache “as if sprained,” with subsidiary right-shoulder/wrist rheumatism [Clarke], [Allen], [Boericke], [Hughes]. The modalities are decisive and coherent: worse warm, close rooms, odours, dust/hay, reading, damp changes, stooping/long sitting, and tomatoes themselves; better open cool air, gentle continued motion, pressure/bandaging, warmth to back, and mild perspiration. It stands near Dulcamara (damp-cold rheums) but with a stronger odour-provoked coryza and tomato idiosyncrasy; near Allium cepa (acrid coryza) but with spinal/rheumatic and cutaneous links; and touches Rhus-t. in the back relief from motion yet has catarrhal aggravations in warm rooms unlike Rhus’ outdoor aggravation [Boger], [Clarke]. Cure moves from acrid fluent coryza to bland and less frequent sneezing, from itching/urticaria to quiet skin, and from lumbosacral catch to free rising and walking.

No sustained pyrexia; occasional flushes and hot face in warm rooms during catarrh, followed by chill on going into air and then a comfortable equilibrium (Fever ↔ Generalities).

Chill on exposure if perspiring from a warm room; heat of head and face with catarrh indoors; slight sweat after a brief walk is relieving, paralleling Better for mild perspiration [Boger], [Clarke].

A frontal–occipital headache predominates—weight above the eyes with dragging at the occiput—worse in warm, close rooms, worse reading, better in cool air and from pressure with the hand or bandage [Allen], [Clarke]. A sense as if the forehead would burst when sneezing accompanies acute coryza (Head ↔ Nose). Scalp sensitive to hats; a tight band eases for a time (paradoxical pressure relief). The occiput aches into the nape, linking to lumbosacral weariness later in the day (Head ↔ Back). In some, the headache alternates with skin itching or gastric acidity, especially after tomatoes (Head ↔ Skin/Stomach) [Clarke]. Sun-heat and stuffy rooms exacerbate; going out at dusk or into a draught of cool air relieves, echoing the Better for open air. Vertigo is slight and stems from nasal blockage and eye-strain rather than from inner-ear disorder.

Smarting, lachrymation, and blur with attempts to read; lines run together and the eyes “burn with water,” particularly during the coryzal state (Eyes ↔ Nose) [Allen], [Clarke]. Photophobia is not pronounced but light in a warm room fatigues the eyes faster than outdoor light—an inversion that matches the general desire for air. Canthi raw from acrid nasal discharge that trickles forward. Pressing on the brows or closing eyes briefly eases. No structural inflammation is typical; it is functional irritation and watering.

Ears feel full during sneezing fits; popping on swallowing; noises worsen in warm rooms. Acute otitis is not a sphere, but Eustachian irritation with catarrh is frequent (Ears ↔ Nose/Throat) [Clarke].

Violent sneezing paroxysms, especially on waking and on entering warm rooms, with acrid, watery discharge that excoriates the upper lip; odours, dust, hay, and kitchen vapours provoke attacks [Clarke], [Boger]. The septum and alae burn; roof of nose tickles intolerably. Alternation is common: fluent acrid coryza in warmth becomes less in cool air, yet obstruction increases in a draught (modal play). Tomato season or handling the vines can precipitate hay-fever–like episodes in sensitive persons (Nose ↔ Skin) [Clarke], [Hughes]. As the day advances and air is sought, sneezing lessens, supporting the amelioration by open air.

Excoriated upper lip, red wings of nose; sallow, oppressed look in warm rooms, improving after exposure to air [Clarke]. Infraorbital swelling may attend frontal sinus pressure. In urticarial subjects the face flushes with itching after tomato ingestion or handling.

Mouth waters with sneezing; taste flat or sour if gastric is involved. Tongue often coated thin white in catarrhal mornings; edges reddened in acidic subjects. Heat of room dries lips while nasal discharge flows; outdoors both improve.

No fixed tooth picture; dull aching of molars during frontal pressure; cold air eases more than warm rinses. Gnashing is absent; this is a catarrhal, not neuralgic, state.

Raw, scraped feeling behind the soft palate from acrid drip; hawking thin mucus gives momentary ease but invites a sneeze (Throat ↔ Nose) [Clarke]. Odours cause an instant tickle, provoking cough; cool air soothes. Swallowing is easy; there is no true angina.

Rawness behind the sternum with tickling cough during bouts of coryza; odours at once provoke a cough-sneeze sequence (Chest ↔ Nose/Throat) [Boger], [Clarke]. Oppression in warm, close air makes the patient seek windows; outdoors the chest expands and symptoms fall.

Palpitation of warm-room oppression with soft pulse; anxiety rises with heat and odours rather than from exertion; fresh air calms (Heart ↔ Generalities) [Clarke]. No structural lesions are in view.

Breath short in heated rooms; sighing improves airflow; deep breathing in cool air is grateful (Respiration ↔ Modalities). Wheeze is uncommon; it is the catarrhal tickle that dominates.

Acidity, eructations sour, and mild nausea occur in those idiosyncratic to tomatoes; even small amounts may upset with flatulence and looseness (Stomach ↔ Abdomen/Rectum) [Allen], [Clarke], [Hughes]. Appetite capricious; desire for cool drinks in warm rooms is noted though many prefer tepid sips during sneezing. Symptoms abate when tomatoes and rich, sour foods are avoided, echoing the amelioration list. Anxiety in the chest may accompany heartburn in warm, crowded places (Stomach ↔ Chest).

Distension with gurgling and urging after eating tomatoes; rumbling louder in warm kitchens than in the open (Abdomen ↔ Food modalities) [Clarke]. Gripings mild, relieved by a short walk. The abdomen is not tender; it is wind and acidity that mark the Lycopersicum bowel state.

Soft, frequent stools with burning at the anus after tomato ingestion; acrid evacuations excoriate in sensitive constitutions (Rectum ↔ Skin) [Clarke]. Some have morning urgency that subsides by noon. Constipation alternates in those avoiding tomatoes; when catarrh recurs, looseness returns.

Urging increases after sneezing paroxysms; urine light, frequent in warm rooms; cool air steadies the bladder reflex. Irritation is functional; no fixed burning.

Aggravation from tomatoes—ingestion or handling—defines many cases; sour, rich foods and kitchen odours also disagree (Food ↔ Stomach/Skin/Nose) [Clarke], [Hughes]. Desire for cool drinks in warm rooms; but tepid drinks soothe raw throat better.

Right groin dragging with lumbosacral ache after sitting long; sexual function unaffected, though odours may trigger sneezing during intercourse—a curious reflex complaint (Mind ↔ Nose).

Right-sided ovarian twinges and pelvic dragging coincide with sacro-iliac ache; leucorrhoea may excori­ate like the nasal discharge (Female ↔ Back/Skin) [Clarke]. Catarrhal states around menses worsen headaches in warm rooms and ease in cool air. Handling tomatoes may flare pre-existing eczema of vulvar region (clinical concordance).

Cardinal: lumbosacral aching as if sprained, worse after stooping, long sitting, and rising from a seat, better a little by walking and by warmth to the back [Clarke], [Boericke]. Sacro-iliac joints feel loose; belts help (Back ↔ Modalities). Evening increase parallels daily fatigue. Damp changes and storm-approach aggravate (Back ↔ Weather modalities) [Boger].

Right shoulder neuralgia and right wrist ache with use; lifting or sudden exertion provokes twinges; continued gentle motion eases—a Rhus-type relief set within a catarrhal subject (Extremities ↔ Modalities) [Clarke]. Fingers itch in those handling fruit; in some, nettle-rash appears over forearms.

Urticaria and pruritic erythema after eating or contact with tomatoes; scratching excoriates; nasal and genital discharges excoriate likewise, underscoring acrid secretions (Skin ↔ Nose/Female) [Hughes], [Clarke]. Eczema of hands in pickers/packers; improves when exposure is stopped. Warmth intensifies itch; cool air relieves.

• Aetiology—Food/contact idiosyncrasy
  • Urtica urens: urticaria from shellfish or contact nettle; lacks odour-provoked coryza; Lycpr. highlights tomato trigger [Clarke], [Hughes].
  • Nat-m.: aggravation from sun, thin watery coryza; more periodicity and grief themes; Lycpr. has odour and tomato links [Kent], [Clarke].
• Mind/Environment—Warm rooms/odours
  • Allium cepa: acrid nasal, bland lachrymation, worse warm rooms, better open air; lacks lumbosacral sprain-like back [Clarke], [Boericke].
  • Sabadilla: sneezing from odours/dust, strong parasitic fantasies; Lycpr. more spinal and cutaneous [Farrington].
• Keynotes—Back “as if sprained”
  • Rhus-t.: worse first motion, better continued; often worse cold damp outside; Lycpr. wants cool air and is odour-provoked [Boger], [Kent].
  • Aesculus: sacro-iliac pain with haemorrhoids and dryness; Lycpr. coupled with coryza and acridity, not portal congestion [Clarke].
• Organ affinity—Skin/urticaria
  • Dulcamara: hives from cold damp; also catarrh; Lycpr. has specific tomato causation and odour triggers [Clarke], [Boericke].
  • Histaminum (later): general urticaria reliever; lacks characteristic modalities of warmth/odours [Tyler].
• Modalities—Hay-fever pattern
  • Arsenicum: burning coryza, restlessness, anxiety, chilly; Lycpr. calmer, odour-provoked, with back sprain feeling [Hering].
  • Kali-bich.: ropy mucus, fixed spots of pain; Lycpr. thin acrid flow, paroxysmal sneezing [Boger].
• Gastric acidity/food aggravation
  • Nux-v.: dyspepsia from rich foods, irritable temperament; Lycpr. less irritable, more catarrhal and odour-sensitive [Kent].
  • Lycopodium: right-sided liver, 4–8 p.m. hunger/bloating; Lycpr. overlaps in name only; keep abbreviations distinct (Lyc. ≠ Lycpr.) [Kent], [Clarke].

• Complementary: Allium cepa—both acrid coryza better open air; Lycpr. adds back “sprain” and tomato idiosyncrasy [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Complementary: Dulcamara—damp-weather catarrh/hives; follows Lycpr. when cold exposure dominates [Clarke].
• Complementary: Rhus-t.—for residual sacro-iliac sprain-like pain once coryza abates [Boger].
• Follows well: Nux-v.—after dietary excess (rich/sour foods) when catarrh and backache persist [Kent].
• Follows well: Urtica urens—when urticaria from multiple foods narrows to tomato-specific flare [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Nat-m.—in recurrent hay fever when periodicity overtakes odour-provocation [Kent].
• Related: Sabad., Ars., Kali-bi., Aesc., Lycopodium (distinguish), Histaminum (later)—see differentials for boundaries.
• Antidotes (states): Fresh air, avoidance of tomatoes/odours; medicinally Nux-v. for gastric excess, Rhus-t. for overstrain back [Kent], [Clarke].
• Inimicals: None recorded specifically; avoid alternation without a fresh totality [Kent].

• Hay fever with odour-provoked paroxysms (perfumes, tobacco, kitchen vapours), acrid watery coryza, frontal pressure, better cool air—Lycpr. 6C–30C, hourly in acutes then taper [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Lumbosacral “sprain” in desk-workers: worse rising/stooping, better gentle walking and warmth to back; intercurrent in catarrhal constitutions—Lycpr. 6C b.i.d.–t.i.d. [Clarke].
• Urticaria/dermatitis after tomatoes or handling vines—remove exposure; Lycpr. 6C–12C, compare Urt-u., Dulc. [Hughes], [Clarke].
• Gastric acidity/looseness after tomatoes in hay-fever subjects—Lycpr. 12C–30C after avoidance and light diet; compare Nux-v. if drugging/stimulants present [Allen], [Clarke].

Mind

• Odours aggravate, especially tobacco/perfume—practical trigger for case selection [Clarke], [Boger].
• Aversion to warm rooms; seeks open windows—environmental keynote [Clarke].
• Irritability in warm, close air; better in cool air—mirrors catarrh [Clarke].
• Concentration difficult while coryza flows—functional dullness [Allen].
• Anxiety of suffocation in crowds—links to respiration [Clarke].
• Child fretful before sneezing paroxysm—mini-case cue [Clarke].

Head

• Headache, frontal–occipital, worse warm rooms, worse reading; better pressure and open air—signature [Allen], [Clarke].
• Sinus pressure with acrid coryza—coupling rubric [Clarke].
• Scalp sore to hat; band pressure relieves—modal nuance [Clarke].
• Sun/heat aggravates cephalalgia—summer cue [Clarke].
• Alternating headache and gastric acidity—food-link [Clarke].
• Headache with constant need of fresh air—confirmatory [Boericke].

Nose

• Coryza, acrid, watery; paroxysmal sneezing—core [Clarke], [Boger].
• Odours/dust/hay aggravate—provocation rubric [Clarke].
• Worse warm rooms; better open air—modal axis [Clarke].
• Excoriated upper lip from discharge—acrid proof [Clarke].
• Coryza with raw posterior palate—throat link [Clarke].
• Seasonal (tomato season/handling) aggravation—idiosyncrasy pointer [Hughes], [Clarke].

Back/Extremities

• Pain, lumbosacral, as if sprained; worse stooping/long sitting; better walking/warmth—cardinal [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Sacro-iliac looseness; belt supports—mechanical aid [Clarke].
• Right shoulder/wrist rheumatism from exertion—laterality note [Clarke].
• Weather changes aggravate back—barometric sign [Boger].
• Backache worse rising from seat—functional rubric [Clarke].
• Better gentle continued motion—Rhus-like nuance [Boger].

Skin

• Urticaria after tomatoes (ingestion/contact)—idiosyncrasy hallmark [Hughes], [Clarke].
• Dermatitis of hands from handling vines/fruit—occupational pointer [Clarke].
• Itching worse warmth; better cool air—modal match [Clarke].
• Excoriation from acrid discharges—systemic acridity [Clarke].
• Eczema flares around menses in tomato-sensitive women—clinical nuance [Clarke].
• Hives alternating with coryza—see-saw clue [Clarke].

Stomach/Abdomen/Rectum

• Acidity and nausea after tomatoes—food rubric [Allen], [Clarke].
• Flatulence and rumbling after sour/rich foods—diet link [Clarke].
• Looseness morning after tomato intake—timing [Clarke].
• Burning at anus from acrid stool—acrid theme [Clarke].
• Better abstaining from tomatoes—practical test [Clarke].
• Abdomen distended in warm rooms—environment overlay [Clarke].

Generalities

• Worse warm, close rooms; better open cool air—grand modality [Clarke].
• Worse odours, dust, hay—provokers [Boger], [Clarke].
• Better gentle exercise till slight perspiration—tonic sign [Boger].
• Worse damp, changeable weather; before storms—barometric [Boger].
• Idiosyncrasy to tomatoes—etiologic keynote [Hughes], [Clarke].
• Alternation of catarrh, skin, and back pains—system pattern [Clarke].

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–1879): fragmentary proving and clinical notes (coryza, headache, gastric, back).
Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–1891): confirmations—sneezing paroxysms, acrid discharge, spinal aching.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): full remedy portrait; odour-provoked coryza; tomato idiosyncrasy; skin and back; relationships.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—catarrh, back “sprain,” skin, modalities.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (late 19th c.): toxicology/idiosyncrasy data; dermatitis in handlers; gastric notes.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): modalities—weather change, open air; hay-fever comparisons.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica (1905): differential insights—All-c., Sabad., Rhus-t., Nux-v., Nat-m.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1890): hay-fever differentials and odor-provocation; Sabadilla comparisons.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): clinical hints—catarrhal constitutions and backache.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homeopathic Therapeutics (early 20th c.): hay fever and urticaria management; sequencing with complements.
Tyler, M. L. — Homeopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): vignettes—air-hungry catarrh, tomato-sensitive skin, regimen.
Burdick, E. H. — Early American proving fragments and notes (19th c.): catarrhal and spinal symptoms collated in later compilations [cited by Allen/Clarke].