Allium cepa
Made from the common onion — the kitchen bulb whose tear-gas chemistry is real pharmacology, and the classical hay-fever remedy of burning coryza and bland tears.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a hay fever with a chemical signature: a burning, smarting, watery nasal flow that reddens the upper lip, eyes streaming but bland and comfortable — the exact reverse of what the onion does to the cook's eyes — worse in warm rooms, better in open air. Burning nose, bland tears: that is Allium cepa.
The substance, in plain words
The onion is the world's most-used vegetable and a genuine chemical curiosity: cutting it releases syn-propanethial-S-oxide, the volatile tear-gas of every kitchen — real, measured lachrymatory pharmacology. The proving simply turned the onion's chemistry upon itself: burning coryza, bland eyes, better air.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Irritability from the symptoms. Cross, worse in the evening as the room warms; anxious about the constant drip.
- Low spirits indoors. The mood improves the moment fresh air is reached.
- Restlessness with the burning. Cannot settle with the smarting nose and the sneezing fits.
The body
- Burning nasal flow, bland tears. The keynote: profuse, burning, acrid nasal discharge scalding the lip, while the eye-water is bland — the reverse of Euphrasia.
- Sneezing fits. Continuous sneezing on entering a warm room, in the evening.
- Worse warm rooms. Every catarrh worsens indoors; the sufferer longs for the door.
- Better open air. Cool fresh air relieves the nose within minutes.
- Cough from the tickle. A hacking cough from the raw larynx, worse cold damp rooms.
- Thirstlessness and head-dullness. Little thirst; a dull, dragged-down feeling with the coryza.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| warm rooms; evening; damp cold; the coryza's own acridity. | open air; cool breeze; motion outdoors. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Nose and eyes (coryza, hay fever), larynx, respiratory mucosa, senses.
Where the classical picture comes from
The onion's tear chemistry is the proving: a bulb that makes eyes weep and noses burn produced the exact portrait — with the eye-water curiously bland, as if the chemistry mocked its own cook. The remedy became the classical hay-fever standby.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Onion chemistry is genuinely pharmacological: the lachrymator is a real, studied volatile compound; quercetin, the onion's flavonoid, is researched for antihistamine-like effects and circulatory benefits. The kitchen's oldest tear-jerker is a small pharmacy of actives — folk wisdom's most testable claim.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Euphrasia officinalis | Hay fever, tears and nose | Euphrasia reverses the pattern: bland nose, burning tears; Allium burns the nose and spares the eyes. |
| Sabadilla officinalis | Sneezing fits, hay fever | Sabadilla is the sneezing paroxysm with itching; Allium the burning drip with bland eyes. |
| Arsenicum iodatum | Hot acrid catarrh | Ars-iod is hot, restless and glandular; Allium the kitchen-chemistry coryza. |
| Nux vomica | Irritable catarrh | Nux is fiery and stimulant-born; Allium is teary, burning and air-hungry. |