COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE

Colchicum Autumnale

(Meadow Saffron) 

Colch.
Primarily affects muscles, periosteum, and joint synovial membranes. Effective in relieving gouty attacks, especially in chronic conditions. Affected areas are red, hot, and swollen with tearing pain worse in the evening, at night, and when touched. Stubbing toes causes severe pain. Symptoms include extreme weakness, internal coldness, and a tendency to collapse, along with effects from lack of sleep and intense study. Electrical shock-like sensations in half of the body, adverse effects from suppressed sweat, and dreams of mice.

Head: Frontal, temporal, occipital headaches, and pain in the neck, worse in the afternoon and evening.

Eyes: Unequal pupils; left pupil contracted. Visual acuity varies (cataracts). Increased tearing in open air; severe tearing eye pain, dim vision after reading, and spots before the eyes.

Ears: Itching and sharp, shooting pains below the right tragus.

Face: Facial muscle pain, worse with movement. Tingling and swelling, cheeks are red, hot, and sweaty. Irritability due to pain. Pain behind the right lower jaw angle.

Stomach: Dry mouth, burning tongue, painful gums, and teeth. Thirst with stomach pain and flatulence. The smell of food, especially fish, causes nausea and fainting. Excessive salivation, vomiting of mucus, bile, and food, worse with motion; cold sensation in the stomach. Craving for various foods but aversion upon smelling them, leading to nausea. Gouty stomach pain, burning or icy coldness in the stomach and abdomen, thirst for effervescent and alcoholic drinks. Pain in the transverse colon.

Abdomen: Abdominal gas distension and inability to stretch legs. Rumbling sounds, liver region pain, distended caecum and ascending colon, fullness, and continuous rumbling. Ascites.

Stool: Painful, scanty, jelly-like mucus (intestinal catarrh); anal pain as if torn open (proctitis) with prolapse. Autumnal dysentery; stools contain white shreddy particles. Ineffectual pressing; feels stool in rectum but cannot expel.

Urinary: Dark, scanty or suppressed; bloody, brown, black, inky; contains decomposed blood clots, albumin (nephritis), and sugar (diabetes).

Female: Genital itching, cold sensation in thighs post-menses, sensation of swelling in vulva and clitoris.

Heart: Anxiety in heart region, weak impulse. Severe pain, oppression, and dyspnea with pericarditis, thread-like pulse. Weak heart sounds and low tension pulse.

Back: Aching in lumbar and lumbosacral region, dull loin pain, backache relieved by rest and pressure.

Extremities: Sharp pain down left arm, tearing in limbs in warm weather, stinging in cold. Pins and needles in hands and wrists, numb fingertips. Pain in front of thigh, abolished right plantar reflex, lame and weak limbs, tingling. Pain worse in evening and warm weather, stiff joints, shifting rheumatism, worse at night. Inflamed great toe, gout in heel, cannot bear touch or movement, tingling in fingernails. Knees knock together, difficulty walking. Edematous swelling and cold legs and feet.

Skin: Blotchy, papular rash on face, pink spots on back, chest, and abdomen. Urticaria.

Modalities: Worse from sunset to sunrise, motion, loss of sleep, smell of food, evening, and mental exertion. Better when stooping.

Relationship: Antidotes: Thuja, Camphor, Cocculus, Nux Vomica, Pulsatilla. Compare with Colchicinum, Carbo Vegetabilis, Arnica, Lilium Tigrinum, Arsenicum, Veratrum.