Allium cepa
The great coryza remedy with profuse, acrid, burning nasal discharge and bland, watery lachrymation. The opposite picture from Euphrasia.
Source
Prepared from the whole fresh red onion (Liliaceae).
Available Potencies
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Keynote Symptoms
Profuse acrid nasal discharge that burns the upper lip, with bland lachrymation. Frequent sneezing. Spring coryza and hay fever. Neuralgic pains like a long thread. Complaints worse in warm rooms and better in open air.
Mind & Emotional Symptoms
Dull, confused. Fear that pains will become unbearable. Apathy, melancholy.
General Symptoms
Catarrhal conditions with profuse acrid discharges. Left-sided complaints or going from left to right. Worse in the evening, in warm rooms, in damp weather. Better in open air and in a cool room. Thirst.
Physical Symptoms
Head
Catarrhal headache, mostly frontal, worse in warm room, better in open air. Dull headache with coryza.
Eyes
Bland, profuse lachrymation with burning and smarting. Eyes red, sensitive to light. Worse in warm room.
Nose
Profuse, watery, acrid nasal discharge excoriating the upper lip. Frequent sneezing, especially on entering a warm room. Hay fever every August.
Throat
Raw, sore, hoarse. Pain extends to ear on swallowing. Tickling in larynx.
Stomach
Nausea. Craving for raw onions. Gnawing in pit of stomach. Flatulence.
Abdomen
Rumbling, flatulence, colic. Stitching pains.
Respiratory
Hoarseness. Cough from tickling in larynx, which seems to split. Constant inclination to hack. Laryngeal cough compelling patient to grasp the larynx; it feels as if it would tear.
Chest
Oppressed breathing from pressure in middle of chest. Tightness across the chest.
Extremities
Neuralgic pains like a long thread, in face, head, neck, chest. Limbs feel sore and tired.
Skin
Urticaria with crawling sensation. Prickling.
Modalities
Better From
Open air, cool room, cold applications
Worse From
Warm room, evening, damp cold weather, spring, August
Constitutional Type
Not strongly constitutional. Used primarily as an acute remedy for catarrhal conditions.
Clinical Indications
Hay fever, allergic rhinitis, coryza, common cold, cough, laryngitis, neuralgic pains, earache
Comparative Materia Medica
Euphrasia is the exact opposite: bland nasal discharge and acrid lachrymation. Arsenicum album also has acrid coryza but is more prostrated, restless, and thirsty for sips. Sabadilla has violent sneezing as the primary feature.
Safety Information
Arnica, Chamomilla, Nux vomica, Thuja, Veratrum album.
Non-toxic in material doses. Onion is a common food. Low potencies are entirely safe.
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