Coccus Cacti – Cochineal

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried impregnated female cochineal shield-louse, Dactylopius coccus Costa, which occurs in Central America, Peru, Al- geria and Spain, feeding on cacti, especially on Nopalea coccinellifera, Opuntia monocantha and others. N.O. Coccidae.

The main indications are:

Renal colic, pyelitis, nephrolithiasis. Whooping cough with tough, stringy mucus, better in cold air. Constricting sensation in throat, as if bound up, (bulbar palsy,  speech disturbances).

Typical of Coccus Cacti are whooping cough-like paroxysms with a thick, mu- coid, stringy, expectoration, with stabbing pains and pressure above the lungs, radi- ating out; with a hemmed-in sensation and a feeling of increased warmth in the chest. A sensation of heat is also present in the oral mucosa, with a clean, rough, dry tongue.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Dactylopius coccus, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for coccus cacti: inflammation the nasopharyngeal region and of the respi- ratory passages; uterine bleeding; renal disorders and nephrolithiasis.