# Colocynthis Acetica

## Remedy Classification
- **Type:** Herbal Remedy
- **Miasm:** Psoric Miasm
- **Temperament:** Chilly
- **Aggravation Time:** Morning

## Keynote Indications
Colocynth was used as a drastic purgative in allopathic practice. Coloc. should be compared 
to Bry. as they both have the same general features. 
Pain in muscles, nerves and joints, gastro enteric disturbance and the same condition in regard to rheumatic 
joints, worse by move ment. Great irritability and ailments from mental emotion, though the latter feature is 
more marked in Coloc. 
 
 
Coloc. is useful in acute disorders of di gestive tract and intestines. It develops most of its symptoms in the 
abdomen and head, causing intense neuralgias. Neuralgic pains are cutting,  pinching, clamping, gnawing 
or boring. Neuralgic pains followed by numbness, better by pressure.  Long-lasting action on large nerves, 
especially tri-facial, sciatic and spinal nerves. 
Agonizing pain in abdomen. Colic causing patient to bend double. Cries out from pains, wriggles for relief, 
or must bend him double. Sudden, atrocious, crampings, tearing pains  which make the patient twist and 
turn. The patient will press something hard against the abdomen. 
Sensations of cutting, twisting, grinding, contracting and bruised pains. Pains as if clamped with iron bands. 
Pains are accompanied by nausea and diuresis and the patient vomits from intensity o f pain. Faints with pain 
and with coldness. Rheumatic pain 
Colocynthis in the limbs is better by discharge of flatus. 
Cramps and twitching and shortening of muscles. Constrictions and contractions. Formication in affected part. 
Bladder cramps or spasms following operations on orifices (Hyper.). Urine odor of perspiration (Berb., Nit-ac.). 
Prostration, as if all his strength was failing. 
Especially suitable for irritable persons easily angered and ill effects there from. Women with painful, profuse 
menstruation and of sedentary habits.

## Modalities (Aggravations / Ameliorations)
Better coffee, smoking. Warmth ameliorates most pains. Better lying with head bent forward. 
Better lying on abdomen. Better bending double. Better rest, motion. Better hardpressure, 
warmth. Betterafterstoolorflatus. Worse from emotions, chagrin. Worse anger, vexation and indignation.  
Worse from ly ing on painless side. Worse before and after urination. Worse drafts, taking cold. Worse at 4 
p.m. Worse lying in bed, evening and night. Worse eating, drinking.

## Symptoms by System

### Mind
- Angerwith indignation  (Staph., Cham., Bry.,Nw-v.).
- Extremely irritable .
- Impatient.
- Anger, easily 
vexed during pain.
- Humiliation causedby offense.
- Ailments after anger, with silent grief.
- Children are worse 
when reprimanded (Cham.).
- Easily offended, aggravated when questioned (Bry.).
- Morose, becomes offended at everything.
- Greatly affected by the misfortunes of others.
- Want of religious 
feeling.
- Wants to be alone, even friends irritate.
- Offended at everything.
- Screams with pain, wants to walk 
about.
- Restlessness before menses.
- Restlessness, anguish, agony, suppressed rage.
- Depressed and joyless.
- Disposition to weep and cry.
- Complaining bitterly day and night.
- Walks about room 
in great agony from headache.
- Delirium alternating with sopor, with constant desire to escape, eyes half closed.
- Disinclined to talk, to answer.
- Becomes angry when questioned.
- Confusion from beer, wine.
- Angerwith indignation  (Staph., Cham., Bry.,Nw-v.).
- Extremely irritable .
- Impatient.
- Anger, easily 
vexed during pain.
- Humiliation causedby offense.
- Ailments after anger, with silent grief.
- Children are worse 
when reprimanded (Cham.).
- Easily offended, aggravated when questioned (Bry.).
- Morose, becomes offended at everything.
- Greatly affected by the misfortunes of others.
- Want of religious 
feeling.
- Wants to be alone, even friends irritate.
- Offended at everything.
- Screams with pain, wants to walk 
about.
- Restlessness before menses.
- Restlessness, anguish, agony, suppressed rage.
- Depressed and joyless.
- Disposition to weep and cry.
- Complaining bitterly day and night.
- Walks about room 
in great agony from headache.
- Delirium alternating with sopor, with constant desire to escape, eyes half closed.
- Disinclined to talk, to answer.
- Becomes angry when questioned.
- Confusion from beer, wine.

### Vertigo
- Vertigo when quickly turning head.
- Vertigo when turning head to the left.
- Vertigo with nausea.
- Vertigo with 
slight delirium and deafness.
- Vertigo from stimulants.
- COMMENTS - Guernsey wrote ‘ The strongest characteristic calling for the use of this remedy is an agonizing 
pain in the abdomen causing the patient to bend over double.
- Relief is obtained by motion, such as twisting, 
turning and wriggling around and the motion is kept up steadily while the pain lasts.
- The pain is worse by eating or drinking the least amount.
- This pain may occur alone or in the dysentery, 
cholera, etc.
- The doubling over the patient is the chief characteristic.” 
The patient bends double or presses something hard against the abdomen, leans over chairs, the table or bed-
posts to get relief.
- The characteristic griping, forcing the patient to bend double, may be accompanied by 
cramps in other parts, with or without stool.
- If a  stool occurs it gives immediate relief (Nux -v.
- the opposite), 
worse any attempt to eat or drink.
- Griping, cutting, tearing and spasmodic pains in the body, burning pains, pulsations through the body, 
sensation as of hard stones or potatoes in the body.
- Pa ins accompanied by stiffness and retarded motion of 
the affected parts, especially the hip joints.
- Pains affecting joints are worse from motion.
- Sciatica.
- Arthritis and gouty headaches with ophthalmia.
- Facial neuralgia with pains extending to eye.
- Neuralgic pains are better by rest.
- Cramps occur in the legs, uterus and ovaries.
- A sensation as if clamped with iron bands is very characteristic 
in coxalgia and dysmenorrhea.
- Dragging in uterus and vagina.
- Suppressed lochia from indignation.
- Diabetes with milky, gelatinous or colloid urine.
- Perspiration may smell like urine.
- Bitter taste in mouth, strong 
aversion to food.
- Worse raw fruits or something cold on a hot day (Bell-p., Ruta.).
- Worse tobacco, better coffee.
- Easily intoxicated by any stimulants.
- Diarrhea from grief, indignation, or chagrin.
- Severe, painful dysentery.
- As if hard stones are rubbing the 
intestines, or hot knifes stabbing the intestines.
- Vomiting 
yellow, bitter fluid.
- Tension of the bowels as they are forced inward right below the navel, for cing the person 
to bend double.
- Babies with colic may have severe pain radiating from the umbilicus.
- According to Nash, Mag-p.
- comes nearest 
to it in colic and neuralgic disorders.
- Cham, is also very close, both having colic from disturbing emotions, but 
the Cham, child does not double up, they toss about.
- The Staph, patient is likely to have black or decayed teeth and sore eyelids and there is a chronic tendency to 
colic.
- Verat.
- has colic better bending double, but it has also cold sweat.
- Dioscorea has wind colic, but is better 
by stretching out.
- The Stann.
- child wants to be carried with the abdomen on the mother's shoulder.
- Chilly, sensitive to cold and damp, cold winds.
- Better heat.
- Affections of the left side generally.
- 4 p.m.
- aggravation (Lyc., Hell., C aust.).
- One prover experienced that “at 4 p.m.
- the colic came on, six days in 
succession.”

### Head
- Head hot, red face, glistening eyes.
- Dullness of head and giddiness at beginning of colic.
- Lateral cutting 
pains with nausea, vomiting.
- Headache better coffee.
- Pains, better pressure and heat.
- Burning pains, digging, 
rending and tearing.
- Headache with nausea and vomiting.
- Headache with soreness of scalp.
- Roots of hair 
painful.
- Head pains worse stooping.
- Headache 
worse lying on back and moving eyelids.
- Heaviness in forehead with stupefaction.
- Pressure in both temples.
- Head hot, red face, glistening eyes.
- Dullness of head and giddiness at beginning of colic.
- Lateral cutting 
pains with nausea, vomiting.
- Headache better coffee.
- Pains, better pressure and heat.
- Burning pains, digging, 
rending and tearing.
- Headache with nausea and vomiting.
- Headache with soreness of scalp.
- Roots of hair 
painful.
- Head pains worse stooping.
- Headache 
worse lying on back and moving eyelids.
- Heaviness in forehead with stupefaction.
- Pressure in both temples.

### Eyes
- Pain and twitching in eyelids.
- Burning eyelids.
- Severe burning, sticking and cutting pains.
- Pains sharp, 
boring, better from pressure.
- Violent pain in eyeballs which precede the development of glaucoma.
- Sensation 
as if eye would fall out on stooping.
- Gouty disorders of eyes.
- Smarting in eyes, with pain in eyeballs.
- Great 
itching in right eyeball, must rub.
- Discharge of acrid fluid.
- Bluish -white ring around cornea, in rheumatic form 
of iritis.
- Redness and lachrymation.
- Dimness of vision.
- Region around eye very sensitive to touch, during headache.
- Conjunctivitis, with tendency to ulceration.

### Ears
- Sounds re-echo in ears.
- Crawling, itching, stitching, aching, better by putting finger into ear.
- Roaring 
and throbbing, especially in left ear.

### Face
- Face distorted from pains.
- Cheeks cold.
- Tearing, shooting and sw elling of face, left side great 
 
 
soreness, relieved by pressure (Chin.).
- Prosopalgia with eye symptoms.
- Neuralgia with chilliness.
- Pain 
anywhere is reflected on the face.
- Sensation as if left side of face were being torn from right side.
- Deathly color 
of face, during colicky pains in bowels.
- Face red and purple.
- Pimples on face.

### Mouth
- Persistent bitter taste.
- Teeth feel too long.
- Offensive smell from mouth from decayed teeth.
- Bitter 
taste of food and drink.
- Offensive ormetallic taste.
- Stinging in velum palati.
- Burning on the tip  of the tongue.
- Tongue rough, as from sand.
- As if tongue had been scalded.
- Burning on anterior surface of tongue.
- Nose - Throbbing, burrowing pains from left side of nose to glabella.
- Nose stopped up.
- Purulent nasal 
discharge.
- Fluent coryza, worse open air, better indoors.
- Sense of smell impaired during headache.
- Perspiration - Sweats at night.
- Cold sweat.
- Sweat smelling like urine.
- Sweat causes itching of skin.
- Sweats 
mainly on head and limbs.
- Profuse, warm sweat on forehead and neck.

### Throat
- Cramps in gullet, with empty belch - ings and palpitation of the heart.
- Throat as if constricted, with 
empty eructations and palpitation of heart.
- Dryness, rawness, roughness or scraping in throat.
- Sensation of 
constriction of larynx, better open air.
- Frequent tickling and irritation in larynx induces cough at night.
- Urine - Urine, gelatinous, sticky, stringy.
- Tough mucus sediment in urine which can be drawn out into strings.
- Urine milky white.
- Urine coagulates on standing.
- Red hard crystals adherin g to the vessels.
- Urine like brown 
beer, becoming turbid as soon as cold, depositing copious sediment.

### Chest
- Oppression of chest.
- Pain in inter costal muscles.
- Stitching, in right or left side of chest.
- Swelling and 
suppuration of axillary glands.
- Constitutions - Suited to easily angered, irritable persons with tendency to cor pulence.
- For women of 
sedentary habits with copious menstruation.
- To blondes, persons of choleric temperament and those liable to 
cramps and colic from fruit, lead poisoning or excessive venery.
- Strong throbbing in all blood vessels.
- Heart feels pushed up by a distended stomach.
- Stitches in cardiac 
region.
- Pulse generally hard, full, accelerated.
- Pulse small and weak.
- Kidneys - Kidney colic with diuresis.
- Fetid, small quantities of urine with frequent urging.
- Diabetes.
- Short cough when smoking tobacco.
- Difficulty bre athing during menses, ovar ian tumor.
- Asthmatic 
attacks at night with slow, difficult breathing, which provokes cough.
- Anxious and oppressed, sensation as if 
about to smother.
- Tickling cough frequently during night.
- Dry cough from tickling in throat.

### Stomach & Abdomen
- Burning pain in stomach.
- Violent cutting, tearingpains.
- Feeling in stomach as if something would 
not yield, drawing ,.ain.
- Cramps in stomach at night, bet- 
ter eructations.
- Sensation of fullness in epigastric region.
- Pain in stomach with toothache or headache.
- Sharp 
pains before menses,  with extreme nausea and vomiting.
- Nausea, with greenish vomit ing.
- Retching and 
bending body forward.
- Vomiting and diarrhea from anger, with indignation.
- Vomiting of food without nausea.
- Vomits from pain.
- Vomiting of bitter water.
- Agonizing cutting pain causing patient to bend over double  and pressing on the abdomen.
- Violent, cutting, gripping, grasping, clutching pains.
- Radiating, colicky pains.
- Cutting pain in abdomen after 
anger.
- Colic with cramps in calves.
- Cutting pains in bowels at navel.
- Colic pains, come in waves, better 
doubling up, hard pressure.
- Pains are worse least food or drink, except coffee and tobacco smoking.
- Colic 
from drinking while overheated.
- Pressure improves the pain in abdomen in acute stage but when pain 
remains for a long time, parts become tender and pressure ag gravates the pain.
- Intestines feel squeezed 
between stones.
- Intestines feel as if bruised.
- Flatulent colic.
- Colic with cramps in calves.
- During colic, infant lies on abdomen and screams when he is slightly moved.
- Appetite variable, mostly poor.
- Ca nine hunger.
- Food and drink taste bitter.
- Aversion to food.
- Coffee 
helps the colic, headache.
- Desires forbread and beer.
- Potatoes and starchy food disagree.
- Potatoes causes 
bellyache.
- Confusion from beer, after wine.
- Constipation from cheese.
- Very thirsty.
- Drinks much, without thirst.

### Urinary & Genital
- Sensation as if everything were flowing towards genitals from both sides of the abdomen, causing 
seminal emission.
- Pain and swelling of testicles and spermatic cord.
- Retraction of testicles and priapism, with 
retention of urine.
- Para phimosis.
- Retraction of prepuce behind glans during sleep.
- Strong sexual desire with 
erections.
- Impotency.
- Amenorrhea and chronic diarrhea.
- Suppression of menses or lochia from indignation.
- Menses 
copious in women with sedentary habits.
- Menses increased and too frequent.
- Dysmenor rhea, worse eating 
and drinking.
- Bearing-down cramps, causing her to bend double (Sep.).
- Metritis from indignation.
- Boring pain 
in ovary.
- Must bend over double with great pain and restlessness.
- Uterus prolapsed.
- Clutching pain in 
ovarian region.
- Ovarian tumors, cysts.
- Ovaritis.
- Round, small cys tic tumors in ovaries or broad ligaments.
- Ovarian cysts with pain better flexing thigh on pelvis.
- Wants abdomen supported by pressure.
- Puerperal fever 
brought on by indignation or grief because of unkind treatment.
- Swelling of labia with dragging pain and heat 
in vagina.
- Yellow, thick, offensive leucorrhea between menses.

### Extremities
- Rheumatic pains in limbs ánd joints, after catching cold.
- Contraction of muscles.
- Cramps in muscles 
during sex.
- All the limbs are drawn together.
- Stiffness of joints and shortening of tendons.
- Cramp-like pain in 
hip, lies on affected side, pain from hip to  knee.
- Heaviness of limbs during headache.
- Spontaneous luxation 
of the hip joints.
- Sciatic pain, left side, drawing, tearing.
- Sciatic pain, better pressure and heat, worse gentle 
touch.
- Pain in right deltoid.
- Pain down right thigh, muscles and tendons feel  too short, numbness with pains 
(Gnaph.).
- Icy coldness of hands and feet.
- Cold hands with warm feet.
- Knees feel stiff, cold.
- Pain in left knee 
joint.
- Feet cold with colic.
- Liver - Gallbladder, colic.

### Neck & Back
- Pain under right scapula, better pressure.
- Lumbar ache, better pressure.
- Bruised pain in lumbar region.
- As of a heavy weight in lumbar-dorsal region, better lying on left side.
- Cramp like pains in the hips, better lying 
on the affected side.
- Neck stiff, worse moving head.
- Muscles of nape as if stiff when moving head.
- Bladder - Tenesmus of bladder.
- Bladder catarrh, discharge like fresh white of egg, viscid (Ph-ac.).
- Pains on 
urinating over whole abdomen.
- Burning along urethra during stools.
- Itching at orifice.
- Bladder spasms after 
operation on the orifices.
- Sud den violent pressure upon bladder, which was full, passed off suddenly on 
emission of flatus.
- Retention of urine.
- Breasts - Painful nodes in breasts.
- Sharp pains.
- Causations - Ill effects of anger indignation, chagrin, grief, catching cold, or excessive venery.

### Skin
- Itching, prickling, crawling, formica tion.
- Desquamation over whole body.
- Dry ness and heat of skin.
- Smarting, itching, followed by perspiration.
- Itching, burning ulcers.
- Carbuncles, with continuous burn ing pain.
- Boils on neck and face.
- Corns.
- Herpes on face.
- Itch-like eruptions.

### Sleep
- Sleepless and restless, with pains af ter anger.
- Y awning and sleepiness.
- Sleeps badly, often wakes 
 
 
tired and irritable.
- Dreams disturb sleep.
- Vivid, anxious, voluptuous dreams.