Colchicum autumnale

Prepared from the fresh corm and seeds of Colchicum autumnale (family Colchicaceae; placed among Liliaceæ by older writers). The crude drug contains colchicine/colchiceine, highly mitotic-poison alkaloids that in toxic doses cause violent gastro-enteritis, profuse serous stools, collapse, paretic weakness, renal irritation, and myocardial and serosal inflammation (peritoneum, pleura, pericardium) ([Toxicology]). These pharmacologic actions illuminate the homœopathic picture of intense nausea at the mere smell or thought of food, tympanitic distension, shreddy/dysenteric stools, serous effusions, and gouty/articular crises with exquisite touch-sensitivity. The homœopathic mother tincture is prepared from the fresh material and potentised. [Hughes], [Clarke], [Allen], [Hering], [Boericke]

Colchicine has long been used (and still is) in orthodox medicine for acute gout, familial Mediterranean fever, and pericarditis, but with a narrow therapeutic index and GI-limiting toxicity; the historic use in “autumnal dysenteries” and dropsies appears in 18–19th century literature. These data provide pathophysiologic parallels for the remedy’s serous and uric-acid affinities. [Hughes], [Clarke], [Farrington]

Hahnemann introduced Colchicum with provings and clinical observations in Chronic Diseases, later expanded by Allen (Encyclopædia) and Hering (Guiding Symptoms). Recurrent confirmations: nausea from the smell/thought of food (especially eggs, fish, cooking odours), tympanitic abdomen sensitive to the lightest touch, dysenteric stools with white shred-like scrapings, gouty pains exquisitely aggravated by motion and touch, serous effusions about heart and joints, and autumnal aggravations. [Hahnemann], [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]

• Gastro-intestinal mucosa & solar plexus. Extreme gastric nausea from mere smell or idea of food; retching at cooking odours; tympany with cutting colic, peritoneal tenderness as if abdomen would burst; stools jelly-like/shreddy with tenesmus. See Stomach/Abdomen/Rectum. [Hahnemann], [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke]
• Serous membranes. Peritoneum, pleura, and pericardium show stitching pain, effusion, and exquisite sensitiveness to motion—must lie perfectly still; lying on painful side impossible. See Chest/Heart/Generalities. [Hughes], [Clarke], [Farrington]
• Joints (gout/rheumatic-gout). Red, hot, swollen, touch-intolerant joints (often great toe); pains worse motion/touch, worse evening and night, worse cold damp/autumn; shifting from small to large joints. See Extremities/Generalities. [Hering], [Boericke], [Boger]
• Kidney–uric-acid axis. Uric diathesis, red sand, scanty dark or black, inky urine; nephritic colic & dropsy after suppression; renal tenderness. See Urinary/Skin. [Clarke], [Allen], [Phatak]
• Heart & pericardium. Pericardial pain/effusion with stabbing on least movement, lying still required; pulse weak, irregular; palpitation with gastric nausea. See Heart/Respiration. [Farrington], [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Nerves of special sense. Over-sensitivity to odours (chief keynote), sound, light during nausea; slightest smell excites retching. See Mind/Head/Stomach. [Hering], [Allen]
• Rectum & colon. Tenesmus, shreddy mucus like scrapings, jelly-like evacuations with prostration, after-fright exhaustion. See Rectum/Fever. [Allen], [Hering]
• Skin & cellular tissue. Oedema/anasarca, periarticular puffiness; skin cold, clammy in collapse; gouty tophi background. See Skin/Generalities. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Pregnancy / puerperal. Hyperemesis from mere smell of food; peritoneal tenderness post-partum. See Female/Stomach. [Clarke], [Boericke]

• Absolute rest; lying perfectly still—any movement renews pains/nausea. [Hering], [Boger]
• Cool, fresh air at a distance from kitchen odours; open window without draught. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Fanning and cool room during nausea (without strong smells). [Allen], [Clarke]
• Bending knees up, hips flexed to lessen abdominal/peritoneal drag. [Hering], [Farrington]
• Warm applications to gouty joints and abdomen in many cases (contrast Ledum). [Boericke], [Boger]
• Sips of very cold water (though large draughts may vomit). [Allen], [Clarke]
• Drawing the covers lightly over the sensitive parts (weightless warmth). [Hering]
• Evening quiet and darkness after kitchen/house has cooled. [Clarke]
• Gentle pressure over upper abdomen with palm (some provers). [Allen]
• After stool when shreddy mucus is discharged (transient relief). [Hering]
• After urination if red sand passed. [Phatak]
• Warm, dry weather—especially after wet, cold spells. [Boger], [Clarke]

• Odour of food (cooking, eggs, fish, meat, milk); even thought/sight causes nausea/retching. [Hahnemann], [Allen], [Hering]
• Motion of any sort—bed shaken, turning, jarring, even air movement; least touch unbearable. [Hering], [Boger]
• Cold, damp weather; autumn; east winds; after getting wet. [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]
• Evening and night (joint pains, colic, nausea more violent). [Allen], [Clarke]
• Warm rooms with food odour lingering; crowded kitchens. [Clarke]
• After anger, fright, or vexation—stomach and heart symptoms surge. [Hering], [Kent]
• During pregnancy—hyperæsthesia to odours; morning/forenoon. [Clarke]
• After suppressions—checked sweat, checked gout → metastatic serous or cardiac troubles. [Farrington], [Boger]
• Stooping/straightening (peritoneal tug), stretching the legs. [Allen]
• Milk, eggs, fish, and rich foods by smell or taste. [Hering], [Allen]
• Over-heating in bed (nausea, restlessness), yet cold-damp aggravates pains. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Night watching, loss of sleep—increases GI/heart irritability. [Kent]

Gastric nausea / odour-intolerance

• Cocculus — Nausea from motion, travelling, loss of sleep; odours not the leader. Colch.: smell/thought of food primary. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Antimonium crudum — Aversion to food, white-coated tongue, overeating sequelae; less odour trigger. Colch. dominates when odours alone cause retching. [Kent], [Allen]
• Arsenicum album — Burning pains, anxiety, restless though weak, thirst for small sips (like Colch.), better warmth. Colch. is motion/touch < and odour-ruled without the Ars. anxiety. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Nux vomica — Gastric irritability with anger, overindulgence; odours irritate less; motion may ease. Colch.: rest imperative. [Kent], [Clarke]

Peritonitis / serous stabbing pains

• Bryonia — Every motion aggravates; must lie on painful side and keep quiet; thirst for large draughts. Colch.: odour-nausea, small sips, cannot bear touch, often cannot lie on painful side in pericardial/pleural pains. [Farrington], [Boger], [Clarke]
• Belladonna — Hot, throbbing, red face, hyperaesthesia with sudden onset; less serous effusion signature. Colch.: serous effusions/tympany with odour-nausea. [Clarke]
• Kali carbonicum — Stitching chest/back, 3 a.m. aggravation; less odour-gastric axis. [Boger]

Gout / rheumatic-gout

• Ledum — Better cold applications, pains ascend, less touch intolerance. Colch.: warmth often ameliorates, touch/motion intolerable, autumnal aggravation. [Boger], [Boericke]
• Benzoic acid — Offensive urine, gout in big joints, migrating; urine dark, strong. Colch. has inky/scanty urine with red sand and odour-nausea. [Clarke], [Farrington]
• Guaiacum — Contracted tendons, cannot bear heat, sweat without relief. Colch. craves rest and gentle warmth. [Boger]
• Urtica urens — Acute urate crises with uric sand, hives; less joint touch-hyperæsthesia than Colch. [Boericke]
• Rhododendron — Stormy weather aggravation, wandering pains; less odour-nausea and peritoneal picture. [Clarke]

Urinary (urates) / renal colic

• Lycopodium — Red sand, flatulent abdomen, 4–8 p.m.; mental irritability. Colch.: odour-nausea, motion <, small sips. [Kent], [Clarke]
• Berberis — Radiating pains from kidney; stitching to thighs; urine turbid. Colch.: inky/scanty with sand, gastric co-morbidity. [Farrington]
• Sarsaparilla — End-of-micturition pain, child must stand; no odour-nausea. [Boericke]

Pericarditis / pleurisy

• Spigelia — Sharp cardiac pains, left-sided, worse from motion, palpitation; less gastric nausea. Colch.: cardio-gastric link, odour-nausea. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Aconitum — Stormy anxiety, fear of death; dry heat. Colch.: less fear, more rest-necessity with serous effusion. [Kent]

Dysentery (autumnal)

• Mercurius — Tenesmus day and night, salivation, sweats; stools slimy/bloody. Colch.: shreddy “scrapings,” cold sweat, odour-nausea. [Clarke], [Allen]
• Aloes — Jelly-like stools with gurgling, urgency; colic relieved by passing flatus. Colch. adds peritoneal touch-hyperæsthesia and odour trigger. [Farrington]

• Complementary: Benzoic acid — uric diathesis with strong urine after Colchicum has subdued acute gout; keeps the uric terrain clear. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Complementary: Urtica urens — promotes uric elimination and handles urticarial accompaniments after Colchicum crises. [Boericke]
• Complementary: Arsenicum album — lingering gastro-cardiac irritability (small sips, prostration) after Colchicum clears odour tyranny. [Farrington]
• Follows well: Bryonia — after the intense serous motion < picture has been partially relieved but odour-nausea persists. [Boger], [Clarke]
• Follows well: Aconitum — shock/febrile storm first, then Colchicum for serous stabbing with rest imperative. [Kent], [Farrington]
• Precedes well: Ledum — when chronic gout prefers cold and warmth now aggravates; Colchicum opened the case. [Boger]
• Precedes well: Spigelia — residual pericardial neuralgia after effusion settles. [Farrington]
• Compare (gastric): Cocculus, Ant-c., Nux, Ars. — see Differentials. [Clarke]
• Compare (urates): Lycopodium, Berberis, Sarsaparilla. [Farrington], [Boericke]
• Antidotes (practical): Camphora/Opium in toxic collapse (traditional); Nux for medicinal aggravation in gastric sphere. [Hughes], [Dewey], [Clarke]
• Inimical: None fixed; avoid routine alternation with Bryonia—choose by thirst (large vs small sips) and lying posture. [Kent], [Boger]

Colchicum stands at the crossroads of odour, motion, and serosa. Its essence is a sensory tyranny: smells that should entice instead repel to the core; even the thought or sight of food brings sinking nausea, salivation, and faintness. Around this sensory pivot turns a body whose serous membranes (peritoneum, pleura, pericardium) and synovial cavities are so irritable that the least motion or touch becomes a stab. Thus the instinct of the Colchicum patient is immobility—he lies perfectly still, draws the knees up, breathes shallowly, and turns his face away from kitchens, people, and talk (which would force breath and movement). This pairing—odour < and motion/touch <—is the signature polarity that reappears from stomach to joints to serosa, and even to the heart wherein pericardial stitches forbid movement, and repose alone gives mercy. [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Farrington]

The kingdom signature (plant, alkaloid-rich) is irritative–serous: fluids accumulate (effusions, urates), tissues swell, and a watery weakness suffuses the picture (cold sweat, scanty inky urine, anasarca), setting a sycotic tone of over-production/retention. Psora supplies the hypersensitivity—to odours, to touch, to motion; syphilitic hues flicker in shreddy intestinal scrapings, collapse, and paralytic exhaustion after evacuations or vomiting. The pace alternates between paroxysms (waves of nausea, stabbing serous pains, gouty nights) and lulls of exhausted quiet, when any stimulus threatens to renew the storm. The thermal state is paradoxical: cold damp worsens joints and serosa, yet over-heated rooms and stale air increase nausea; the patient seeks cool, odourless air and gentle warmth to the joints—a nuanced balance borne out in practice (Better cool air, better warm applications locally) [Clarke], [Boericke].

Psychologically the patient is aversive rather than aggressive: aversion to food, odours, talk, company, and movement—a shrinking from stimuli. Contrast this with Arsenicum’s anxious restlessness; Colchicum is quiet, sullen, and still, not from fear but from sensory survival. Compare Bryonia: both motion <, both serous; yet Bryonia drinks large quantities and often lies on the painful side to splint it; Colchicum takes small sips, cannot bear odours, and the lightest touch is torture. In gout, contrast Ledum: Ledum craves cold and is less touch-intolerant; Colchicum wants rest, often warmth, and shuns smells that excite nausea, the commonest bedside reason patients refuse the tray. [Farrington], [Boger], [Kent]

Clinically, Colchicum shines when three flags fly together: (1) odour-provoked nausea to the point of loathing, (2) motion/touch-provoked serous/joint stabbing demanding absolute rest, and **(3) a uric/serous terrain—urates, inky urine, oedema, pleuro-pericardial stitches, or autumnal dysenteric stools of shreddy jelly. Treatment marries management and medicine: air the room, banish kitchen odours, serve cold liquids in sips, wrap joints without weight, minimise movement during paroxysms, and guard against cold damp. Correct selection shows quickly: smells lose their power, he turns without dread, stools thicken appropriately (not shreddy), urine clears, and the gout releases its hold. If, however, the case reveals large thirst, lying on painful side to splint, and no odour tyranny, Bryonia may supersede; if cold applications help joints, Ledum leads; if burning anxiety and night restlessness dominate, Arsenicum completes. But when the room smells and the patient cannot move, Colchicum is king. [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Farrington], [Boger], [Phatak], [Kent]

• Acute gout (great toe/ankle), touch/motion intolerable; autumn, cold damp <. Colch. 6C–30C every 2–4 hours in the first 24–48 hours; space/stop as pain abates and movement becomes possible; combine with light wrapping/gentle warmth (not heat if Ledum picture). [Boericke], [Farrington], [Boger]
• Pericardial/pleural serous stitches with necessity to lie perfectly still; small sips only; odour-nausea. Prefer 30C–200C at careful intervals; strict quiet, odourless air; monitor for effusion signs. [Clarke], [Farrington]
• Autumnal dysentery—shreddy/jelly stools with collapse, cold sweat. Colch. 6C–12C after each evacuation (max 6/day) until tenesmus and shredding cease; keep cold sips, avoid warm drinks. [Allen], [Hering], [Dewey]
• Hyperemesis gravidarum from odours. Colch. 12C–30C p.r.n.; keep odourless room, cold sips, and absolute rest during waves. [Clarke], [Boericke]

Case pearls (one-liners):
• Gouty clerk, big toe red-hot, sheet touch intolerable; stew-odour from flat below causes vomiting → Colch. 30C q3h day 1; by evening could bear sheet; no nausea with windows open. [Clarke], [Farrington]
• Pericardial stitches after chill, motion impossible, small sips only, odours nauseate → Colch. 200C single dose; absolute rest; pain eased within hours; effusion receded over days. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Autumnal dysentery: jelly-like scrapings, cold sweat, faint after stool → Colch. 12C t.i.d.; stools became formed; faintness ceased by day 3. [Allen], [Hering]

Mind

• Aversion to being spoken to during nausea. Needs stimulus-minimising, confirms sensory hyperæsthesia. [Clarke]
• Irritability with odours; loathing of food at mere thought. Psychophysical trigger. [Hahnemann], [Allen]
• Fear to move lest pain/nausea return. Behaviour reflects motion <. [Hering]
• Morose, despondent during gastric attacks. Mood mirrors vegetative storm. [Clarke]
• Apathy and indifference in collapse. Toxic/enteritic tail. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Desire for cool air; aversion to warm, odorous rooms. Environmental key. [Clarke], [Boger]

Head

• Headache from smell of food. Odour → head–stomach arc. [Allen]
• Vertigo on rising with nausea. Postural factor in gastric storm. [Clarke]
• Throbbing temples in warm room. Vaso-motor aggravation. [Clarke]
• Cold sweat on forehead with nausea. Collapse sign. [Hering]
• Turning head renews sickness. Motion < confirmation. [Allen]
• Better cool, odourless air. Practical relief. [Clarke]

Stomach

• Nausea from smell/thought/sight of food (eggs, fish, meat, milk). Grand keynote. [Hahnemann], [Hering], [Allen]
• Thirst for small sips; large draughts vomited. “Small sips” polarity. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Epigastrium cannot bear the lightest touch. Hyperæsthesia. [Hering]
• Vomiting of food soon after eating; bilious/mucous. Gastric atony/irritation. [Allen]
• Warm drinks aggravate. Dietary negative. [Clarke]
• Better absolute rest and cool air. Modal match. [Hering], [Clarke]

Abdomen/Rectum

• Tympanites; abdomen drumlike, painful to touch. Peritoneal sign. [Allen], [Hering]
• Peritonitis: motion aggravates; must lie still. Serous keynote. [Clarke]
• Stool jelly-like, white, with scrapings of intestines. Dysenteric hallmark. [Allen], [Hering]
• Tenesmus with faintness after stool. Collapse tail. [Hering]
• Autumnal dysentery. Chrono-key. [Clarke]
• Better after discharge for a time. Valve phenomenon. [Hering]

Urinary

• Urine inky/black; albuminous. Renal irritative sign. [Clarke]
• Red sand in urine. Uric diathesis. [Phatak], [Allen]
• Scanty urine with dropsy/anasarca. Serous retention axis. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Pain end of micturition with tenesmus. End-time marker. [Allen]
• Renal colic with nausea; motion <. Behavioural selector. [Farrington]
• Better after passing sediment. Relief by elimination. [Phatak]

Chest/Heart/Respiration

• Pericarditis with effusion; motion aggravates, must lie still. Central cardio-serous rubric. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Stitching in left chest on breathing/motion. Pleural sign. [Clarke]
• Oppression with flatulence. Cardio-gastric link. [Allen]
• Palpitation with nausea. Axis confirm. [Clarke]
• Cannot lie on left side. Position specificity. [Farrington]
• Better absolute rest; worse talking/coughing. Management code. [Clarke]

Extremities (Gout)

• Joints red, hot, swollen; the lightest touch intolerable. Grand gout keynote. [Hering], [Boericke]
• Great toe affected; pains tearing, stitching; worse at night. Classical localisation. [Clarke]
• Motion aggravates; rest relieves. Modal axis. [Boger]
• Cold damp aggravates; warmth often ameliorates. Weather/thermal pair. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Pains shift from small to large joints. Migratory rheumatic-gout. [Hering]
• Cannot bear the bedclothes. Touch hyperæsthesia. [Boericke]

Generalities/Fever

• Odours aggravate; warm, close rooms <; cool, fresh air >. Master environment. [Clarke], [Boger]
• Motion and touch aggravate everything. Global keynote. [Hering]
• Autumnal aggravation; cold damp weather <. Season/weather law. [Boger], [Clarke]
• Small sips better than large draughts. Polarity across systems. [Clarke]
• Cold sweat with faintness; collapse after stool/vomit. Toxic tail. [Allen], [Hering]
• Better absolute rest; knees drawn up. Posture remedy. [Hering]

Hahnemann — Chronic Diseases (1828–1830): early proving/clinical notes—nausea from smell/thought of food, motion/touch <, serous/abdominal signs.
T. F. Allen — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving/clinical data—shreddy stools, inky urine, peritoneal tenderness, gout joint hypersensitivity.
Constantine Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): confirmations—odour-nausea, must lie perfectly still, gout, dysentery, collapse phenomena.
John Henry Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): synthesis—serous membranes (pericardium/pleura/peritoneum), uric diathesis, autumnal aggravations, modalities.
Richard Hughes — A Cyclopædia of Drug Pathogenesy (1891–95): toxicology—colchicine effects on GI/serosa/heart; pharmacologic context.
William Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1906): keynotes—gout, odour-nausea, small sips, dysentery; therapeutic hints.
C. M. Boger — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): modalities—motion/touch <; cold damp/autumn <; warmth/rest >; gout and serous states.
E. A. Farrington — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differentials—Bryonia, Arsenicum, Ledum, Spigelia; pericarditis/pleurisy and gout guidance.
James Tyler Kent — Lectures on Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic framing; contrasts with Nux, Cocculus, Bryonia; general analysis of motion < remedies.
S. R. Phatak — Concise Materia Medica (1977): concise essentials—red sand, inky urine, odour-nausea, small sips polarity.
Adolph von Lippe — Text-Book of Materia Medica (1866): notes on dysenteric scrapings, gout touch intolerance, seasonality (confirmatory).
E. B. Nash — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): clinical pearls—odour-nausea emphasis, gout and dysentery portraits.
Carroll Dunham — Lectures on Materia Medica (1879): reflections on serous membranes and motion < vs Bryonia.
Margaret Lucy Tyler — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside pointers—banish kitchen odours, sips only; wrapping joints without weight.
W. A. Dewey — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (1901): regimen—cold sips, odour control, rest; dysentery dosing cautions.