Tabacum
Made from tobacco — the American leaf that gave pharmacology its nicotinic receptors and the world its most used drug plant, and the classical remedy of deathly nausea.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of sickness unto death: nausea so profound the face turns deathly pale, cold sweat breaks, the pulse sinks, and the world swims — the seasick, the motion-sick, the poisoned; worse for the least motion, for opening the eyes, for the smell of tobacco itself; better only in the open air with the stomach bare. The deathly-nausea remedy: that is Tabacum.
The substance, in plain words
Tobacco is the American leaf whose nicotine is one of the most studied molecules on earth — the namesake of the entire nicotinic receptor family of the nervous system, the most-used psychoactive drug of all. Its overdose sickens exactly as the remedy portrays; the proving wrote down what every seasick smoker and every green apprentice knew.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety with the sickness. Dread, misery, the fear of never being well again, worse in the close cabin.
- Irritability. Cross, worse from motion, smell and sympathy.
- Despair of recovery. The seasick despair — the books record it faithfully.
The body
- Deathly nausea and pallor. The keynote: nausea of such depth the face turns pale-grey, with cold sweat and sinking pulse.
- Motion sickness. Seasickness, carriage-sickness — the classical use the books record in detail.
- Worse opening the eyes. The quoted modality — opening the eyes renews the vertigo and the sickness.
- Worse the smell of tobacco. The substance aggravates its own picture — tobacco's smell sickens the Tabacum state.
- Cold sweat and sinking pulse. The vasovagal shading of the proving — pallor, sweat, collapse of the pulse.
- Better for open air and baring the stomach. Fresh air, uncovering the abdomen, and absolute stillness are the only reliefs.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| motion of the ship and carriage; opening the eyes; the smell of tobacco; warm close rooms. | open air; uncovering the abdomen; stillness; fresh cold air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach and vomiting centre, circulation (vasovagal), the senses, motion perception.
Where the classical picture comes from
The apprentice smoker's sickness and the seasick sailor's misery wrote the proving before it began; Tabacum became the classical remedy of deathly nausea, its modalities — the eyes closed, the stomach bared, the air craved — read from the ward and the wave alike.
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.
Nicotine is the most-studied psychoactive molecule in pharmacology — the namesake of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that run muscle, nerve and brain — and nicotine replacement is a genuine, effective medicine for quitting. Motion sickness itself is now managed with scopolamine patches and antihistamines: the sickness the remedy portrayed has precise, effective pharmacology, some of it from the plant's own family.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Ipecacuanha | Constant nausea | Ipecac's nausea is unremitting with a clean tongue; Tabacum's is deathly, pale and motion-worse. |
| Nux vomica | Nausea, irritability | Nux is the irritable retching of the stimulant era; Tabacum the deathly seasick pallor. |
| Cocculus indicus | Motion sickness | Cocculus is motion-sick with emptiness and dizziness; Tabacum is deathly pale and worse opening the eyes. |
| Petroleum | Seasickness | Petroleum serves the chronic seasick disposition; Tabacum the acute deathly state. |