Ipecac, native to Brazil and Costa Rica, is a medicinal plant used in homeopathy to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. 

A member of the Rubiaceae family, ipecac or ipecacuanha is a South American plant known for its many medicinal properties.

Widely used in herbal medicine, it is also used in homeopathy to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders associated with mucus, nausea and a wet cough.

Cultivated for the medicinal properties of its root, ipecac essentially possesses anti-nausea, antiemetic, antitussive and expectorant properties when administered in small doses.

Ipecac is therefore particularly effective in treating conditions that cause mucus production and mucus obstruction of the airways.

Gastroenterology

In gastrointestinal pathologies, Ipecac can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting associated with excessive salivation and to combat chronic or recurrent diarrhoea.

In non-infectious gastroenteritis, it should be taken regularly to reduce the frequency of vomiting and diarrhoea.

In ulcerative colitis (chronic inflammation of the colon, usually accompanied by bloody diarrhoea), Ipecac can be used if the patient complains of severe abdominal pain and purulent stools.

Ipecac is also particularly indicated if the patient does not feel the need to drink for the duration of the gastrointestinal disorder.

Pneumology

In the respiratory system, Ipecac is mainly indicated for acute bronchitis accompanied by coughing fits and nausea.

It should also be used as soon as the first symptoms of bronchiolitis appear in babies and young children to help clear the airways and improve expectoration.

Repeated doses of Ipecac can also be used to relieve asthma attacks accompanied by a wet cough.

Finally, it can be used for whooping cough or spasmodic cough accompanied by choking, nausea and mucous vomiting.

Gynaecology

Ipecac also helps relieve the symptoms associated with menometrorrhagia, a gynaecological condition that causes excessive blood flow during menstruation and regular bleeding from the uterus outside of menstruation.

Although it is essential to follow a doctor's advice in this case, Ipecac helps to significantly reduce bleeding by reducing the nausea that usually accompanies it.