Oleum animale

A dark, fetid oil produced by destructive distillation of animal substances (traditionally bone, horn, cartilage), containing a complex mixture of alkylamines, pyridines, and tar-like bases; historically known as Dippel’s animal oil [Hughes], [Clarke]. In homeopathy the tincture is prepared from the purified oil and attenuated. Toxic and empirical reports describe respiratory spasm (laryngeal irritation, spasmodic, suffocative cough), neuro-muscular excitability with convulsive tendencies, nausea, and vomiting; the odour and vapour are notably laryngo-tracheal irritants [Allen], [Hughes], [Clarke]. These pharmacodynamic notes underwrite the remedy’s sphere in whooping cough, laryngismus stridulus, spasmodic laryngitis/croupy attacks, and spasm-provoked retching with cyanotic choking in children [Hering], [Boericke], [Boger].

No full Hahnemannian proving. The pathogenesis rests on toxicology and clinical confirmations in pertussis, laryngeal spasm, suffocative night-cough, and convulsive, cyanotic paroxysms with retching; modalities emphasise night, cold air/draught, talking/laughing, exertion, and on lying down, with relief from warm room, sips of warm fluid, eructation/vomiting, and sitting erect [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Tags: [Toxicology] [Clinical].

Essence: Oleum animale is the glottic-spasm remedy for whooping and laryngismus: the attack begins in a tickle at the glottis, advances to explosive ringing coughs in volleys, peaks in a crowing inspiration (whoop) with cyanosis, and ends in retching or vomiting—after which the patient sighs, sweats, and sleeps [Hering], [Clarke], [Allen]. The child is fearful, avoids talking/laughing/crying lest the fit begin, and dreads lying down, preferring to be propped or carried upright; cold air/draught, odours/smoke, and exertion ignite the sequence, while warm air, neck-wrap, warm sips, and quiet extinguish it. The kingdom signature (acrid, ammoniacal organic bases from animal distillation) maps neatly to laryngeal irritancy and vagal hyper-reflexia. Miasmatic shading is psoric–sycotic (paroxysm, spasm, mucus shifts) with a syphilitic edge only in asphyxial and convulsive extremes.

Differentiation: Prefer Ol-an. over Drosera when retching/vomiting is an integral, relieving close to each paroxysm and crowing is distinct; over Corallium when the pace is not ultra-rapid but the whoop is marked; over Coccus-c. when ropiness is absent; over Mephitis when the central problem is glottic closure rather than inability to exhale; over Sambucus when the attacks finish with retching, not merely nasal spasm. Clinical ordering frequently runs: early Ipecac. (nausea at every stage) → Oleum animale (spasm–whoop–retch) → Drosera/Coccus-c. as catarrh asserts. Regimen is half the cure: keep the child upright, warm the neck and room air, avoid cold draughts/odours, allow warm sips, and do not force speech or crying; most relapses are preventable by these explicit modalities.

• Larynx–glottis (spasm centre) — Paroxysmal closure of glottis with crowing inspiration, choking, and cyanosis; fear of suffocation; cough ends in whoop or retching [Clarke], [Hering].
• Trachea–bronchi — Explosive, ringing, croupy cough; scant mucus at first then stringy plugs; attacks leave the patient exhausted [Boger], [Boericke].
• Vagus/respiratory reflex — Cough → vomiting reflex is strong; nausea rises with spasm; relief follows eructation/vomit [Allen], [Clarke].
• Chest circulation — Cyanosis, cold sweat, and small irregular pulse during fits; reactionary heat afterwards [Hering].
• Naso-pharyngeal mucosa — Irritant fetor tickles the choanae; odours, smoke, cold air precipitate paroxysms [Clarke], [Boger].
• Childhood — Pertussis and laryngismus of infants and small children with night predominance; attacks wake the child strangling [Hering], [Boericke].
• Neuro-muscular — Clonic jerks, general twitching, or post-tussive convulsion in severe paroxysms (oxygen debt), pointing to a convulsive edge to the remedy [Hughes], [Hering].
• Stomach — Nausea and retching drive a close of the cough; epigastric cramp from repeated spasm [Allen], [Clarke].

During clusters the child or patient is anxious, clingy, and fearful of the next fit, watching attendants with widened eyes; crying or attempted speech at once turns the fear into a paroxysm, mirroring the worse from talking/laughing/crying under Modalities [Hering], [Clarke]. There is a characteristic dread of lying down—a learned association with strangling; the sufferer begs to be propped or carried upright, tallying with better sitting erect. Between fits the mood is tired, subdued, and wary of cold air or smell of smoke, anticipating the tickle that opens the next attack. Older children may grow peevish, resent any noise or disturbance, and guard the throat with the hand, a gesture that sometimes truly lessens tickle (Mind–Throat cross-link). After vomiting there is a brief calm, then drowsiness; if roused suddenly the fear returns. Unlike Drosera, the mental tone is less irritable and more frankly frightened with glottic panic; unlike Coccus-c., there is less fuss over tenacious phlegm and more alarm over air-hunger. In severe bouts twitchings or a brief jerk of limbs may appear—an oxygen-debt sign that connects Mind to the remedy’s convulsive undercurrent [Hughes], [Hering].

Sleep is light and alarmed; the patient starts, coughs, and wakes strangling, particularly after midnight; then sits up or is carried upright, takes warm sips, vomits, and sleeps a short exhausted sleep until the next cluster [Hering], [Clarke]. Dreams of suffocation or falling may precede a fit. Quiet, dark, warm rooms prolong intervals; noise and cold shorten them.

Dreams of being choked or unable to cry out; of smoke filling a room; children whimper, then wake with a whoop—a mental echo of the reflex pathways (Mind/Respiration cross-link).

Oleum animale is a spasm-dominant respiratory remedy: glottic closure, crowing inspiration, explosive, ringing cough in volleys, a dragging whoop, then retching/vomiting with subsequent relief—most often in children with night predominance [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Allen]. The master modality cluster is: worse at night (after midnight), from cold air/draught, talking/laughing/crying, lying down, odours/smoke, exertion, and after eating; better in warm room, wrapped neck, upright or carried, sips of warm fluid, and after expectoration or vomiting. Cross-links are explicit: Mind’s fear tracks the glottic spasm; Head/Face show congestion → cyanosis → sweat; Throat is the tickle focus; Stomach closes the fit by retching; Sleep fragments into post-paroxysmal naps; Generalities converge on avoid cold, avoid talk, keep warm, keep upright. Differentiate from Drosera (post-midnight whoop, less retching, more laryngeal rawness), Corallium (ultra-rapid “machine-gun” cough, cold blue face), Coccus-cacti (tenacious stringy mucus, morning fits), Mephitis (cannot exhale, extreme cyanosis), Sambucus (child wakes choking, sweatless, nasal spasm), Cuprum (spasm with convulsions, thumbs in), and Ipecac. (nausea at every stage, little relief after vomiting) [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke], [Hering], [Allen].

Fever is not essential; slight evening heat may follow series; temperature otherwise normal. In catarrhal phases a low subfebrile state accompanies mild bronchitis, but the spasm exceeds the catarrh in importance [Clarke].

Chill from cold air is a trigger rather than a cycle; heat follows exertion of coughing; sweat appears at the peak and resolution, often cold on face [Hering]. Gentle, even warmth is curative (Modalities).

The head is thrown back instinctively during the whoop to open the glottis; face congests, then bluish, with sweat on brow [Hering]. After the paroxysm a bursting headache settles in temples and forehead; the scalp is sensitive to cold draughts which at once renew tickle (cross-link Nose/Respiration). Turning the head to speak or laugh triggers the cough. Children often hold the head still and stare, then the explosion comes: a string of coughs, a dragging whoop, and then retching. Compared: Corallium (extra-rapid, machine-gun cough; face cold and blue), Drosera (fits after midnight with choking but less retching), Mephitis (more asphyxial, cannot exhale, extreme cyanosis) [Clarke], [Boger].

During paroxysms tears stream; palpebral vessels inject; lids swell slightly; petecchiae may dot the lids after repeated strains [Hering], [Allen]. Light is not the main irritant; cold air and odours are. After vomiting, eyes appear glassy; a minute’s quiet with warm sips restores comfort. Photophobia is slight compared with Bell. or Samb.; the ocular signs are vascular consequences of cough violence.

Ringing may be noticed by older children after a storm; earache is occasionally reported from Eustachian strain, worse night; swallowing brings a tickle into the throat that re-ignites cough (Ear–Throat reflex). No otorrhoea belongs; the ear is a barometer of the paroxysms rather than a seat of disease.

The fetid vapour-like tickle is felt “high up” behind the nose; cold air, smoke, or odours shoot a prickle into the glottis and the fit begins [Clarke]. Sneezing may provoke a sequence. Discharge scant; a little stringy mucus is expectorated through the posterior nares with the vomit. The nose and upper lip may bleed slightly after violent series; warm compresses soothe and, by calming reflexes, lessen further attacks (cross-link Generalities).

Face dark red → bluish, then pale and sweaty; mouth wide in a forced inspiration; alæ nasi flare [Hering]. After an attack the facial muscles tremble briefly; a blank, exhausted look follows. Lips crack in winter coughs, but the remedy’s face is more asphyxial than eruption-driven. Compare Cuprum (blue face with spasm of flexors), Corallium (cold blue face, very rapid cough), distinguishing Oleum animale by laryngeal focus and retching closure.

Tongue protruded during the whoop; frenum sore in infants from repeated thrusting [Hering]. After vomiting the mouth tastes acrid; warm water rinses comfort. Saliva increases during the fit, threatening choking; turning to the side and sitting up aid drainage (Better For echoed). There is no ulcerative stomatitis sphere; the mouth signs are mechanical.

Teeth may clatter with the rigour before a night cluster; children grind when finally asleep after a bout (neuro-excitability). Jaw is tired from strain; no neuralgia belongs.

Glottic tickle is the linchpin: a spot that itches to cough; talking, laughing, crying instantly irritate it [Clarke]. Spasm closes the glottis, a high crowing follows, then hacking in volleys, a whoop, and retching; warm drinks and steady warmth to the neck shorten the chain (Modalities cross-link) [Hering], [Allen]. Hoarseness follows series; whispering precipitates fresh fits. Cold air is the most consistent external trigger.

Chest is the theatre: explosive, ringing cough in volleys, then whoop, then retching; crowing inspiration in laryngismus; sternal soreness and costal pain from strain [Clarke], [Hering]. Breath stops momentarily in spasm; cyanosis creeps in, then a gasp; a warm wrap and upright posture shorten recovery (Modalities cross-link). Auscultation may be surprisingly clear early (spasm > catarrh), later adding sibilance and scant sticky rales.

Pulse small, quick, sometimes irregular during fits; after vomiting, a soft recovery pulse with sweat [Hering]. Palpitation comes with fear and effort; recumbency increases distress (recumbent glottic closure). There is no primary valvular disease sphere; the heart is a barometer of asphyxia.

Spasm of the glottis and crowing are cardinal; breath holds, then a dragging whoop, then rapid coughs, then retching and relief [Clarke], [Hering]. Cold air, draught, odours ignite the sequence; warm air and upright posture extinguish it (Modalities). Between attacks respiration is shallow and cautious; the least talking lights the fuse.

Nausea mounts with the paroxysm; retching or frank vomiting ends many fits, after which the patient sighs and goes limp [Allen], [Hering]. The epigastrium is sore and cramped from repeated efforts; food taken soon before a cluster is generally lost. Warm sips are preferred; cold drinks are rejected as they chill and trigger cough (Food/Drink link). Appetite returns briefly between series, then falls away as fatigue sets in.

Strain marks the whole abdomen; umbilical pain during and after coughing; in children, transient hernial bulge may be noticed during the whoop (nursing caution). Gas is secondary; the key is spasm–strain. Warmth eases soreness; cold room revives tickle and abdominal gripping (Generalities link).

Involuntary stool may occur at the peak of a whoop, particularly in small children; otherwise stools are normal or slightly loose during the pertussis phase [Hering]. The perineum becomes sore from vomiting postures and wiping; bland care and rest equal relief. No dysenteric picture belongs.

Involuntary urination with paroxysm is frequent in older children and women; urine otherwise natural [Hering], [Clarke]. Coughing to the last drop renews tickle and risks another series; encourage brief pause between efforts and upright posture (nursing measure).

Worse swallowing cold drinks and after meals (cough–retch reflex); better from warm sips (water, milk) [Allen], [Clarke]. Appetite falls during clusters; small warm feeds between series are best. Odours of cooking may trigger fits (Nose/Respiration cross-link).

No primary gonadal sphere; strain may cause transient testicular ache during violent spasms; warmth and rest settle it. Sexual notes are irrelevant to the acute picture.

Incontinence with cough; in pregnancy, paroxysms threaten syncope and call for special care with upright position and warm air; cold rooms worsen. Menses may increase laryngeal irritability (neuro-reflex link) [Clarke]. No specific uterine pathology belongs.

Dorsal and interscapular ache after series; muscles tremble; the child often leans forward, clutching a pillow during a bout (posture sign). Cold to the back, as when bedclothes slip, provokes a new tickle—clear link to worse draughts.

Trembling and jerks of limbs at the acme; hands clutch the throat or rail; feet cold and moist during cyanotic spells, warming with relief [Hering]. Calves cramp after repeated night clusters; rubbing quietly (without cold air) helps.

Cold sweat during paroxysm, especially forehead; skin blue-tinged at lips and fingers; afterwards warm and lax [Hering]. Eruptions are not part of the core; chill on exposed skin (neck/chest) is a practical trigger.

Pertussis / Whooping-cough cluster

• Drosera — Nocturnal, choking cough with hoarseness; Oleum animale has stronger glottic spasm and retching relief [Clarke], [Boger].
• Corallium rubrum — “Machine-gun” rapidity, cold blue face; Ol-an. less rapid but more crowing/retch sequence [Boger].
• Coccus cacti — Ropy, stringy mucus; morning paroxysms; Ol-an. scant mucus, spasm-whoop-retch pattern [Clarke].
• Mephitis — Suffocative, inability to exhale, profound cyanosis; Ol-an. whoop predominates with vomiting end [Hering], [Boericke].
• Antimonium tart. — Rattling tenacious catarrh with weakness; Ol-an. spasm far exceeds rattling [Boericke].
• Ipecacuanha — Constant nausea, clean tongue; Ol-an. nausea peaks at close of paroxysm, then relief [Allen].

Laryngismus / Croup-like attacks

• Sambucus — Child wakes choking, dry sweatless skin; Ol-an. more crowing with retching after [Hering].
• Spongia — Sawing croupy cough better by warm drinks; less whoop/retch than Ol-an. [Clarke].

Convulsive edge

• Cuprum — Flexor cramps, thumbs in, violent spasm; consider when convulsions dominate beyond cough [Boger].
• Cicuta — Terrible distortions; trauma-fright aetiology; Ol-an. convulsion is post-tussive and brief [Clarke].

Triggers / modalities

• Arsenicum — Worse cold air, after midnight, fear; but Arsen. has burning, restlessness, thirst; Ol-an. is glottic and retching-relieved [Clarke].
• Belladonna — Congestive heat, carotid throbbing; less crowing-whoop; Ol-an. not a blaze but a spasm [Farrington].

• Complementary: Drosera — When catarrh and laryngeal rawness linger after Ol-an. has quelled spasm–retch chain [Clarke].
• Complementary: Sambucus — For night choking residue in infants once whoop lessens [Hering].
• Follows well: Ipecacuanha — After constant nausea phase subsides but paroxysms persist with whoop + retch [Allen].
• Follows well: Spongia — If croupy sawing cough has yielded yet glottic spasm remains [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Coccus cacti — When ropey expectoration emerges as spasm quiets [Boger].
• Precedes well: Antimonium tart. — If rattling mucus supervenes late in course [Boericke].
• Related (asphyxial group): Mephitis, Corallium, Cuprum — choose by exhalation failure, rapidity, or convulsion dominance [Hering], [Boger].
• Antidotes (functional): Warm air, upright posture, quiet/dark, warm sips; Camphor noted generally for medicinal over-action [Clarke], [Hughes].

• Pertussis with whoop → retch: paroxysm ends in vomiting with prompt relief; cold air, talking, lying down trigger—Ol-an. fits this classic chain [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Laryngismus stridulus (infants): crowing on waking at night, blue lips, relieved by upright, warm room, warm sips—dose Ol-an. and insist on no draughts [Hering], [Boger].
• Post-tussive convulsion: brief jerks at the peak of cyanosis; after vomiting the child sleeps—Ol-an. often shortens the series [Hughes], [Clarke].
• Sequencing: if later rattling supervenes, move to Ant-t.; if ropey strings appear, move to Coccus-c.; if fits become machine-gun-rapid, test Corallium [Boger], [Boericke].
• Potency & repetition: Acute paroxysms—6C–30C every 15–30 minutes through a cluster, spacing as attacks shorten; constitutional pertussis diathesis—200C single or once daily for 2–3 days, then watch; change only on a clear shift of picture [Boericke], [Boger].

Mind

• Fear of suffocation; dreads lying down; wants carrying upright — glottic panic [Hering].
• Irritability to talking/laughing (provokes cough) — phonation trigger [Clarke].
• Anxiety at night before paroxysm — anticipatory dread [Hering].
• Better after vomiting — mental calm post-discharge [Allen].
• Startled by odours/smoke — sensory trigger [Clarke].
• Aversion to cold air; seeks warmth — management clue [Clarke].

Throat/Respiration

• Laryngismus; crowing inspiration — glottic spasm [Hering].
• Cough in volleys with whoop — pertussis pattern [Clarke].
• Cough → vomiting, then relief — vagal arc [Allen].
• Worse cold air, lying, talking; better warm room, upright — modality quartet [Hering], [Clarke].
• Suffocative paroxysm with cyanosis — asphyxial edge [Hering].
• Odours/smoke provoke cough — irritant trigger [Clarke].

Chest

• Pain in sternum and intercostals from coughing — strain sequel [Hering].
• Cold sweat on face during fit — collapse sign [Hering].
• Palpitation with paroxysm — reflex [Clarke].
• Must press hand to throat/chest — instinctive aid [Clinical].
• Exertion precipitates cough — effort trigger [Boger].
• Warm wrapping of neck/chest ameliorates — nursing rubric [Clarke].

Stomach

• Nausea during paroxysm — vagal storm [Allen].
• Vomiting of food after cough — end-phase relief [Hering].
• Warm sips relieve gastric spasm — practical aid [Clarke].
• After eating paroxysms worse — reflex [Allen].
• Epigastric soreness from strain — sequel [Hering].
• Aversion to cold drinks in cluster — chill trigger [Clarke].

Nose/Eyes

• Posterior tickle behind nose triggers cough — sensory key [Clarke].
• Tears and lid petechiae after series — strain signs [Hering].
• Odours excite — volatile trigger [Clarke].
• Sneezing brings on paroxysm — reflex link [Clarke].
• Slight epistaxis at height of whoop — pressure relief [Hering].
• Better warm, even air — management [Clarke].

Generalities

• Night aggravation, esp. after midnight — timing [Hering].
• Cold air/draught aggravates; warm room ameliorates — thermal axis [Clarke].
• Upright position essential — posture [Hering].
• Noise excites in children — startle-prone [Boger].
• Sleep broken; short post-paroxysmal naps — course [Hering].
• Convulsive twitching with cyanosis — severity marker [Hughes].

Hughes — Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1870): toxicology and pharmacology of Dippel’s animal oil; neuro-respiratory irritancy.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): clinical notes—whooping cough with retching and relief; modalities (warmth, upright, after vomiting).
Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica (1879): laryngismus; crowing inspiration; cyanosis; night clusters; nursing measures.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): laryngeal tickle; odour/smoke triggers; warm-room amelioration; differential with Drosera/Corall./Coccus-c.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—whoop ending in vomiting, night aggravation, warm sips, upright posture.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key (1915): modalities—cold air, talking, exertion; repertory pointers among pertussis group.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): comparisons across whooping-cough remedies (Bell., Drosera, Spongia); congestive vs spastic typology.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): terse clinical hints—whoop with vomiting, relief after discharge.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): whooping-cough management; remedy sequencing through catarrhal and spasmic phases.
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1941): modalities summary—night, cold air, talking; better warmth and upright.
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside colour—children carried upright; post-paroxysmal sleep; crowing inspiration.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): general reflections on spasmodic coughs and remedy differentiation (Drosera/Corall./Cupr.).