Ocimum canum

An aromatic basil native to tropical regions; the aerial parts are rich in volatile oils (e.g., eugenol, linalool, thymol-type fractions depending on chemotype) that are spasmolytic, carminative, and irritant to mucosae in concentration [Hughes], [Clarke]. In homeopathy, tincture from fresh leaves/flowering tops is prepared and attenuated. Classical clinical tradition places Ocimum canum among urinary calculus remedies—especially right-sided renal colic with gravel (“red sand”), haematuria, nausea/vomiting, and exquisite ureteral pain radiating to groin/testicle or labium; the whole picture is one of spasm with minute concretions discharged in scant, high-coloured urine [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke], [Phatak]. Secondary uses include hyperuricaemic/“uric acid” states, dysuria of children, and worm irritations (folk anthelmintic pedigree) when the renal–vesical axis dominates [Allen], [Clarke].

No extensive Hahnemannian proving; the pathogenesis is clinical with fragments of provings and toxic analogies. Repeated confirmations: violent right renal colic, urgent, painful urging, scant, thick, reddish sediment (“red sand”), nausea and retching, restlessness, writhing, pressure to urinate without relief, and haematuria; passing gravel gives sudden ease [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke], [Phatak], [Hering]. Tags: [Clinical] [Proving] [Toxicology].

The Ocimum canum essence is acute right-sided renal colic with gravel (the red-sand sign), scant hot urine, knife-like urethral pain during the stream, nausea/retching, restlessness, and a sudden calm the moment the grit drops. It is calculous spasm distilled. The kingdom signature (Lamiaceae—aromatic, spasm-active oils) fits: quick smooth-muscle effects and sensory irritation. The miasmatic tint is sycotic (deposits, concretions) over psoric reactivity. Pace is paroxysmal with remissions when hygienic measures keep uric load down. Thermal state: seeks heat locally; shuns cold drinks/exposure. Core polarities: right vs. left, during flow vs. end-of-flow (for Sars.), jar-worse vs. heat/steady pressure-better, cold drinks-worse vs. warm sips-better, and—centrally—obstruction vs. passage (pain vs. peace).

Clinically, diagnose it at the bedside with three cues: (1) Right renal angle agony shooting to groin/testicle/labium; (2) Urine with red, gritty sediment that relieves when expelled; (3) Restlessness needing heat and forward bending, yet fearing jar. Cross-links hold the case together: Mind quiets as urine flows; Head clears when gravel passes; Sleep returns after relief; Food/Drink shifts (simple, warm) lessen relapses; Generalities synthesise the mechanics (ureter line, jar, heat). Choose Oci. over Cantharis when burning and tenesmus are not the whole story and sand is present; over Berberis when pains are tract-defined rather than wandering; over Sarsaparilla when pain is during rather than at the close of urination; over Pareira when on-all-fours posturing and thigh radiation are absent. Manage constitutionally between bouts: fluids, warmth, dietary uric control, and avoiding chilling. In that terrain, this small basil often prevents a big surgery.

• Kidneys—renal pelvis/ureter (right > left) — Paroxysmal nephritic colic with tearing, cutting pains shooting to groin/testicle or labium; nausea, restlessness, instant relief after passing gravel or a small calculus [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke].
• Bladder/neck of bladder — Intolerable urging, scant, hot urine, burning urethra, tenesmus; brick-dust deposit; children cry before micturition [Hering], [Phatak].
• Prostate/seminal tract (reflex) — Drag to testicle with right ureteric storms; retraction and spermatic cord pain during colic [Clarke], [Boger].
• Gastro-duodenal (reflex emesis) — Retching and vomiting of bile/mucus from renal spasm; faintness and cold sweat [Allen], [Boericke].
• Peritoneal/parietal nerves — Writhing, cannot keep still; intolerance to jar; must press/heat the side; micro-cases note “falls on the bed, doubles up” [Clarke], [Phatak].
• Uric diathesis / gravel — Red, gritty sediment, high-coloured urine, waking at night to void gritty drops; uric-acid habit with diet indiscretions [Boger], [Phatak].
• Children — Dysuria with screams, sand in diaper, restless, hands to genitals; reflex belly-ache relieved after urine with sediment [Hering], [Clarke].

Extreme restlessness with fear that the pain will return; the sufferer cannot lie still, throws himself about, holds the right side, and implores for heat and help [Hering], [Clarke]. Patience is lost; the temper is irritable, yet speech is short because nausea rises with the pain. Anxiety centres in the act of urination—he dreads the knife-like urethral burn until the grit comes; when it does, a wave of relief and gratitude replaces the turmoil, echoing the amelioration already noted. Children become frantic and scream before urine; when coarse grains appear in the diaper they fall asleep—an oft-repeated micro-case in the literature [Hering], [Phatak]. Consolation is useless during the paroxysm; company that acts (heat, rubbing) is welcomed, conversation is not. Between attacks the mood is cautious and compliant with diet, but any chill or dietary slip stirs anticipatory dread. Unlike Cantharis, the mental picture is not sexual irritability with furious tenesmus; unlike Berberis, there is less anxiety about motion away from the hearth—Ocimum will try to move if he thinks the gravel will drop. The mind quiets as urine flows freely, which links psyche to emunctory function throughout the entry.

Sleep broken by paroxysms, usually night/early morning; patient tosses, moans, and rises to try to urinate; when gravel passes he falls into a deep sleep (clinical vignette echoed across authors) [Clarke], [Hering]. Children, having screamed before the passage, sleep heavily after. Dreams recollect the pain if sleep comes without relief.

Dreams of stones, narrow passages, being stuck, or of looking for a place to pass urine; waking brings instant attention to the flank. After a free urinary flow, dreams are bland.

Ocimum canum is a right-sided renal–ureteric colic remedy with red sand, scant, hot urine, knife-like burning in the urethra during the stream, nausea/retching, restlessness, and dramatic relief when gravel passes [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke], [Phatak]. The modality cluster is unequivocal: worse right side, motion/jar/stepping, cold drinks/exposure, night–early morning, during urination, and after dietetic excess in uric diathesis; better heat and warm sips, bending forwards/pressure (light, steady), sweat breaking, free urination, and after the gravel drops. Cross-links recur: Mind settles as urine flows; Head lightens after passage; Abdomen/Back share ureter-line pains; Food/Drink reflect the uric terrain; Sleep returns the instant the obstruction is relieved. Differentiate from Lycopodium (right colic with gas and 4–8 p.m. hepatogastric features), Sarsaparilla (pain at end of micturition; must stand), Pareira brava (must go on all fours to urinate; pain radiates to thighs), Berberis (radiating wandering renal pains with bubbling and left/right variability), Cantharis (intolerable burning and furious tenesmus without the red sand keynote), Nux-v. (spasmodic dysuria in irritable drinkers—less gravel), and Benzoic-ac. (foul, horse’s urine odour; gouty) [Boger], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Phatak].

Fever is sympathetic: chill at onset, heat during agony, sweat at resolution, without a fixed septic curve. Low-grade evening heat may mark uric states; not a fever remedy per se [Boericke]. The sweat that ends the spasm links to Better: sweating moderately.

Chill from cold drinks/exposure triggers spasm (Worse: cold); heat of body rises with pain; sweat breaks with relief. Night sweats follow severe bouts but are not exhausting if urine flows freely next day.

Head reels in the crest of colic; face is pale, lips cold; cold sweat beads the forehead [Clarke]. A dull frontal ache may herald an attack when the uric sand accumulates; after gravel passes the head clears—an organ echo. Loud talking and jar irritate the head and flank simultaneously; the patient wants stillness and heat to the side. Nausea and retching pull the scalp tight; on vomiting, a momentary head relief arrives, then the flank resumes. Head symptoms are reflex; there is no primary congestive headache picture. Compared: Lycopodium (right-sided colic with gas, 4–8 p.m. flatulence), Colocynthis (bending double > but intestinal, not renal), Sarsaparilla (head relieved after urine with end-of-micturition pain).

During pain, eyes are sunken, lids half-closed, pupils somewhat dilated; tears from nausea blur the sight [Allen]. Light is indifferent; jar is everything. When heat is applied to the loin the eyes brighten. No intrinsic ophthalmic sphere belongs; changes mirror shock and nausea.

Ringing with faintness may occur at the worst spasm; otherwise ears are quiet. Noise jars the patient and matches worse from jar everywhere. No catarrhal ear picture is part of the remedy.

Face sweats; nose cool; a faint sour odour accompanies vomit in severe bouts. Sneezing jars the flank and is dreaded. No coryza belongs; nasal notes are incidental to nausea.

Face pale, sometimes greenish, pinched with pain; or flushed after relief [Clarke]. The expression is anxious; the jaw clenches at the peak. Lips dry; mouth drawn to the right with muscle guarding. Children rub the face and groin alternately before urine; when sand appears, the features relax (Urinary cross-link).

Nausea bitter; mouth pasty; tongue lightly coated; thirst in small quantities because large sips excite retching (contrast Ars.). Teeth chatter with chill in onsets. The mouth symptom is subordinate but repeats the spasm–nausea axis; warmth in sips steadies the stomach while heat to the loin steadies pain [Boericke].

No primary toothache signature; grinding from pain occurs; pressing jaws together gives a false sense of control at acme. After the storm, teeth feel ordinary. Dental section kept for completeness.

Retching burns the fauces; stringy mucus hawked after vomiting. Swallowing cold water chills the flank; tepid draughts agree. In children, crying tightens the throat before the urine passage; as sediment passes, the throat eases with the whole picture.

Breathing is short during pain; chest otherwise quiet. A sigh escapes after gravel; palpitation is from distress and vanishes with relief. Heat to the side reduces reflex chest guarding.

Pulse small and quick in the paroxysm; cold sweat at the acme. Heart findings are secondary to pain; no valvular sphere indicated. Calm pulse returns with emunctory freedom—again the organ cross-link.

Shallow, panting breaths accompany writhing; deeper breathing renews jar and is resisted. After relief, a long sigh and even respirations reappear. Cool draughts are avoided lest chill rekindle spasm (Worse: cold exposure).

Nausea, retching, often vomiting of bile/mucus, go hand in hand with renal spasm; the stomach is a sympathetic victim [Allen], [Clarke]. Cold drinks chill and provoke fresh colic; warm sips calm (Modalities cross-link). Appetite is nil during attacks; between them the patient eats simply and avoids excess protein, sour wines, and rich foods that precede relapses (Uric diathesis link). Cramping may double the patient, yet pressure is tolerated over the abdomen more than over the kidney itself.

The right flank and iliac region are centres of torture; pains shoot down the ureter to groin/testicle with a sense of a foreign body scratching its way [Boger], [Clarke]. The abdomen is sensitive to jar; walking downstairs is dreaded. After gravel or a small calculus escapes, a dull bruised soreness persists. Gas is not central (contrast Lycopodium); the pain is tract-specific. Guarding is visible; the patient clutches the right side and bends forwards. Warm poultice settles the parietes and seems to draw the pain downwards—classic bedside observation echoed in Better For.

Rectal tenesmus may accompany bladder tenesmus (pelvic spasm pool); stool scant during severe attacks. After relief, bowels open with ease. Haemorrhoids are not of this remedy’s essence; any straining is reflex to pain. Children may strain fretfully during urination; calm returns as sand passes.

Cardinal field. Violent right renal colic with scant, hot, high-coloured urine; red gritty sediment (“red sand”) that scratches the urethra; knife-like pain during the flow; sudden relief once the gravel drops [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke], [Phatak]. Haematuria streaks are frequent; urine odour may be strong; specific gravity raised in uric phases. Tenesmus and urgency out of proportion to quantity; drops scald. In children, crying before urine and grit in diaper are standing clinical guides [Hering], [Clarke]. Compare Sarsaparilla (pain at end of urination; must stand), Pareira brava (must go on all fours to urinate; pain radiates down thighs), Berberis (radiating renal pains in all directions with bubbling sensations), Cantharis (furious burning and vesical tenesmus without the red sand keynote).

Sour wines, rich meats, salted fare, and acid fruits are common triggers in uric subjects; simple, non-acid, moderate-protein, warm foods suit [Phatak], [Clarke]. Cold drinks during a paroxysm aggravate; warm sips soothe nausea and do not chill the flank.

Pains shoot to right testicle with retraction during ureteric storm; spermatic cord tender [Clarke], [Boger]. Sexual function is overshadowed by pelvic spasm; erections impossible during bouts; after relief, a dull ache lingers in the cord. Profuse perspiration about scrotum during pain episodes is seen in some. Compare Lycopodium (right renal with testicular pain but more gaseous abdomen).

Renal colic extends to right labium/groin; dysuria before menses in uric diathesis settles as grit passes (clinical). Pregnancy may provoke an attack by mechanical pressure; warm applications and posture are crucial while awaiting relief. No specific uterine haemorrhage picture belongs; the urinary theme dominates.

Right renal angle exquisitely sore; cannot bear pounding or percussing; prefers steady warm pressure from a hand or pad [Clarke]. Pain tracks obliquely to groin (ureter line). After attack, a bruised ache lingers for hours.

Restless legs; draws up right thigh to ease ureter pull; presses heel into bed to counter-pull (patient’s trick). Cold feet during the storm; warmth returns with relief. No gouty joint picture is primary though uric states exist constitutionally.

Cold sweat on forehead and trunk during colic; skin otherwise normal. Chronic uric diathesis may give dry, mealy skin with itching in some after diet excesses—minor, not defining. After attacks, flushed patches over the flank may appear from heat applications.

Aetiology / Calculus & Uric diathesis

• Lycopodium — Right renal colic with flatulence, 4–8 p.m. aggravation, sand; Oci. has more acute ureteric tearing and warmth/pressure seeking during the storm [Clarke], [Boger].
• Sarsaparilla — Pain at end of urination; must stand; child screams as last drops pass; Oci. hurts during the flow with gravel relief [Boericke].
• Pareira brava — Must go on all fours to urinate; pain radiates to thighs; Oci. shoots kidney → groin/testicle with red sand [Clarke].
• Berberis — Radiating renal pains in all directions, bubbling; less constant right-focus; sediment variable [Boger].
• Cantharis — Burning before/during/after with furious tenesmus and scant drops; little grit; Oci. hinges on gravel and right ureter [Boericke].
• Solidago — Kidney soreness with catarrh; less colic; use when renal catarrhal state dominates [Clarke].
• Chimaphila — Vesical catarrh, scalding, tenesmus; lack the red sand keynote [Boger].
• Benzoic-acid — Strong, horse’s urine odour; gouty deposits; not the cutting ureter agony of Oci. [Clarke].

Mind/Modalities

• Colocynthis — Bends double > for intestinal colic; urine normal; Oci. is renal with sand [Boger].
• Nux vomica — Spasmodic dysuria in choleric, chilly, stimulant-using patients; no persistent gravel [Kent], [Clarke].

Children

• Sarsaparilla — Child screams at close of urination; Oci. cries before/during, sand in diaper [Hering].
• Cannabis sativa — Burning along urethra, chordee; lacks gravel sign [Boger].

• Complementary: Berberis — After the gravel storm, lingering renal ache and radiating stitches yield to Berb. [Boger].
• Complementary: Sarsaparilla — For end-of-micturition pain residua once Oci. has expelled grit [Boericke].
• Complementary: Solidago — To tone renal parenchyma and catarrh between attacks [Clarke].
• Follows well: Nux vomica — When vesical spasm and irritability have been calmed but right ureteric colic with sand persists [Kent].
• Follows well: Cantharis — After acute vesical tenesmus settles, if grit and ureter tearing remain [Boericke].
• Precedes well: Lycopodium — Constitutional uric states with evening flatulence after acute phase [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Benzoic-acid — In gouty urine states with strong odour after gravel control [Clarke].
• Antidotes (functional): Warmth, steady light pressure, copious bland fluids between attacks; Camphor for over-action noted generically [Hering], [Clarke].

• Acute right renal colic with red sand: writhing, worse jar, better heat/pressure, relief on passing grit—start Oci. promptly; keep patient warm and sip tepid water [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Children with dysuria and sand in diaper: screams before/during urination, then sleeps after grit—Oci. outperforms when Sars. fails (end-pain type) [Hering], [Phatak].
• Uric diathesis prevention: between attacks, add hydration, simple warm diet, and consider intercurrent Lycopodium/Benzoic-ac. if evening flatulence or odorous urine persists [Clarke], [Boger].
• Potency & repetition: Acute colic—6C–30C every 15–30 minutes through the paroxysm, spacing as pain falls; constitutional uric tendency—200C single, then watch. Avoid frequent alternation with Canth./Berb./Sars.; change only on clear shift of picture [Boericke], [Boger].
• Nursing pearl: Stroke the ureter line kidney→groin while hot pack sits on loin; encourage urination at first hint of desire (don’t “hold it”).

Mind

• Restlessness with anxiety during pain — writhes yet fears jar; classic colic behaviour [Hering].
• Fear of urination because of pain — anticipatory dread; eases when gravel passes [Clarke].
• Irritable, short answers in pain — speech curtailed by nausea [Allen].
• Better when urine flows freely — emunctory–mood link [Boger].
• Children: scream before micturition — paediatric keynote [Hering].
• Seeks help, heat, rubbing—not talk — practical bedside observation [Clarke].

Urinary

• Colic, kidney—right — seat of election [Boericke], [Boger].
• Urine—red, sandy sediment (“red sand”) — defining keynote [Clarke], [Phatak].
• Pain during micturition; knife-like burning — phase distinction vs. Sars. [Hering].
• Haematuria with gravel — frequent streaks [Clarke].
• Tenesmus vesicae with scant hot urine — spasm picture [Boericke].
• Children—sand in diaper; cry before urination — clinical rubric [Hering].

Abdomen/Back

• Pain kidney to groin/testicle (ureter pains) — course-of-tract sign [Boger].
• Worse jar/stepping; better warm applications — mechanical–thermal modalities [Clarke].
• Right renal angle sore to touch — physical sign [Clarke].
• Bending forwards/doubling up relieves — posture help [Clarke].
• Vomiting with renal colic — reflex emesis [Allen].
• Bruised soreness after passage of stone — aftermath rubric [Boericke].

Generalities

• Right-sided complaints — lateral preference [Clarke].
• Worse night/early morning — timing [Boericke].
• Worse cold drinks/exposure; better heat — thermal polarity [Phatak].
• Worse motion; better rest after event — mechanics [Boger].
• Relief after discharge (urine/gravel) — emunctory principle [Clarke].
• Uric-acid diathesis — constitutional rubric [Phatak].

Stomach

• Nausea/retching with colic — sympathetic stomach [Allen].
• Warm drinks ameliorate; cold aggravates — bedside diet rule [Clarke].
• Bile/mucus vomit during attacks — common course [Allen].
• Faintness, cold sweat — shock signs [Clarke].
• Aversion to rich/acid foods in uric states — prevention [Phatak].
• Better after pain has ceased — sequence [Boericke].

Male/Female (grouped)

• Pain extends to testicle; cord tender (right) — male reflex path [Boger].
• Pain to right labium/groin — female correlative [Clarke].
• Retraction of testicle during colic — reflex sign [Clarke].
• Urination difficult in pregnancy (gravel) — obstetric note [Clarke].
• Post-attack pelvic soreness — residue [Boericke].
• Sexual function suppressed during attacks — practical counsel [Clarke].

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica (1879): paediatric dysuria with sand; screaming before micturition; relief after passage.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): reflex nausea/vomiting with renal colic; general toxic–clinical notes.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): right ureteric colic; red sand; modalities (jar-worse, heat-better); nursing measures.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—right renal colic, gravel, haematuria, warm applications.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): ureter-line pains; radiations; differentials (Lyc., Sars., Pareira, Berb., Canth.).
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1941): uric-acid diathesis; dietary triggers; paediatric sand.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): spasm remedies comparisons; Nux followings.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): urinary calculus groupings; phase-distinctions in micturition pain.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): concise calculus pointers; acute dosing hints.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (1901): renal colic management; remedy sequencing.
Tyler, M. L. — Homœopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside colour—restlessness vs. jar; heat and posture.
Hughes, R. — Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1870): basil oil constituents; toxicologic rationale for urinary irritation.