Coccus cacti
Remedy for paroxysmal cough with stringy, ropy mucus. Whooping cough. Renal colic with passage of large clots. Cough ending in vomiting of clear, ropy mucus. Tickling in larynx.
Source
Tincture of the dried bodies of the female cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), which lives on cactus plants.
Available Potencies
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Keynote Symptoms
Paroxysmal, spasmodic cough ending in vomiting of clear, ropy, stringy mucus that hangs in long threads. Cough worse on waking, from brushing teeth, from warmth. Renal colic — right-sided, with passage of large blood clots. Whole body feels as if held together by wires. Tickling in larynx.
Mind & Emotional Symptoms
Irritable. Gloomy. Cross in morning. Anxiety with oppression.
General Symptoms
Paroxysmal cough is the keynote. Stringy, ropy discharges everywhere. Renal symptoms with blood clots. Worse from warmth and on waking. Acts on mucous membranes producing profuse, stringy secretions. Winter coughs.
Physical Symptoms
Throat
Tickling in larynx provokes cough. Hawking of ropy mucus. Fauces dark red.
Respiratory
Paroxysmal, spasmodic cough ending in vomiting of clear, ropy mucus. Whooping cough. Cough worse in morning on waking, from brushing teeth, from warm room. Expectoration hangs in strings.
Urinary
Renal colic, right-sided. Large blood clots pass from urethra. Urine dark with clots. Violent pains in kidneys and ureters.
Female Genitalia
Large blood clots during menses. Intermenstrual hemorrhage. Menses too early, too long.
Extremities
Sensation of wires holding body together.
Modalities
Better From
Cold air. Cold drinks. Walking. Open air.
Worse From
Warmth. On waking. Morning. Brushing teeth. Warm drinks. Winter. Touch.
Constitutional Type
Persons prone to chronic catarrhal and respiratory conditions. Those with tendency to kidney problems with hemorrhage. Women with clotted menses.
Clinical Indications
Whooping cough. Spasmodic cough. Chronic bronchitis. Renal colic. Kidney hemorrhage. Dysmenorrhea with clots.
Comparative Materia Medica
Compare Kali bichromicum (also stringy mucus but more viscid, yellow-green), Drosera (whooping cough but worse after midnight), Corallium rubrum (minute-gun cough). Coccus cacti has clear, ropy mucus with cough worse from warmth and on waking.
Safety Information
Arnica. Ipecacuanha.
Cochineal is widely used as a food dye (carmine, E120). Generally non-toxic. Allergic reactions are rare but possible. Mother tincture is considered safe.
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