What is Pertussinum?

Pertussinum is a single homeopathic remedy made from whooping cough sputum. Sputum is mucus coughed up by a person with the illness. The Latin source name is Bordetella pertussis, the germ that causes whooping cough.

It is also sold as the whooping cough nosode, or Coqueluchinum.

Homeopaths give it mainly for a dry, barking cough that comes in fits. It is used most often for a cough that drags on after a bout of whooping cough has passed.

Some people are also offered it in place of a vaccine. It is not a vaccine. It gives no protection against whooping cough.

The source material is watered down and shaken over and over. At the usual 30C strength, no molecule of the sputum is left. What you swallow is a sugar pellet, or a drop of alcohol and water.

The verdict in one line: no human trial tells Pertussinum apart from placebo, a dummy treatment. Its standing comes from homeopathic practice alone.

Long use in a tradition is not proof that something works. That point is made here once, for the whole page.

How does Pertussinum work?

There is no proven way that Pertussinum could work in the body.

Homeopathy holds that a substance can cause certain symptoms. Once watered down a great deal, it is said to help the body settle those same symptoms. Pertussinum is used this way for coughing fits.

That is a traditional idea, not a proven mechanism. No one has shown how a dilution with no source material left could act on the body.

Homeopaths say the water or the sugar carries an imprint of the first substance. Lab science has not shown that such an imprint exists. It has not shown that it does anything either.

The honest summary is that three plain things explain any reported benefit. One is the placebo effect, which means feeling better because you expect to. A cough also fades on its own with time, and a long, caring consultation helps as well.

What forms does Pertussinum come in?

Pertussinum comes as small sugar pellets, granules, or alcohol-based liquid drops. The strengths sold most often are 30C and 200C.

Put pellets under the tongue and let them melt. Do not chew them or wash them down with water. Liquid drops hold alcohol, which matters if you avoid alcohol or are treating a child.

Some pharmacies sell single-dose tubes. Others sell multi-dose vials. Nosodes need a pharmacy or a prescription in some countries and are sold freely in others, so stock varies.

Where it comes from:

Nosodes are homeopathic remedies made from diseased tissue or discharges. Constantine Hering brought them in during the 1830s. He was a follower of Samuel Hahnemann, who founded homeopathy.

Pertussinum was made from whooping cough sputum. It appears in homeopathic materia medica from the 1800s on. Materia medica are the reference books that list remedies.

It has been used mainly in Europe, above all in France, where the name Coqueluchinum is common.

Its standing is that of a known but second-rank remedy inside one tradition. It is not a classic staple shared across several traditions.

What does Pertussinum help with?

• Lingering dry cough after whooping cough: This is the classic homeopathic use for Pertussinum. Traditional texts recommend it when the infection has settled but a dry, tickling cough drags on for weeks. No human trial has tested it for this. A post-infection cough usually fades on its own over weeks, which makes any remedy taken during that time look effective.
• Coughing fits that come in spasms, often worse at night: Homeopaths select Pertussinum when coughing arrives in bursts, leaves the person breathless, and is worse lying down at night. This picture is drawn from case notes and prescribing manuals, not from trials. Spasmodic night cough in a child can also come from asthma, reflux or infection, so a doctor should look at it.
• Cough that ends in gagging or vomiting: Vomiting after a coughing fit is a traditional prescribing sign for this remedy. There is no clinical evidence that taking it shortens or eases such episodes. Coughing until you vomit is one of the signals that whooping cough may be present, and that needs proper testing and, if confirmed, antibiotics.
• Barking, croup-like cough: Some homeopaths extend Pertussinum to a harsh, barking cough even without a whooping-cough history. This is an extension of the traditional picture rather than a tested use. Croup in a small child can cause noisy breathing and distress. Seek medical care rather than relying on pellets.
• Claimed prevention of whooping cough (not supported by evidence): Pertussinum is sometimes promoted as a homeopathic substitute for the whooping cough vaccine. It is not a vaccine, it contains no measurable material, and no study shows it prevents infection. Relying on it instead of vaccination leaves a child unprotected against an illness that can be fatal in babies.

Which foods are rich in Pertussinum?

Homeopaths traditionally advise avoiding coffee, mint and strong flavours around a dose; this is custom, not a tested requirement.

What are the side effects of Pertussinum?

• No direct side effects are expected at 30C, since nothing measurable is left
• Wind, bloating or loose stools if you react badly to lactose (milk sugar)
• Mouth or stomach upset from the alcohol in liquid drops
• Choking risk from loose pellets in children under three
• A short worsening of the cough, which homeopaths call an aggravation
• Late diagnosis and late treatment if the remedy is used in place of medical care

Good to know:

Direct harm from the remedy itself is very unlikely. At 30C the pill holds no measurable source material. Most reported reactions come from the sugar or the alcohol carrier.

Homeopaths describe a brief aggravation. This means symptoms get worse before they get better. No study has shown that this is a real drug effect.

So treat a worsening cough as a reason to see a doctor, not as a good sign.

The serious risk with this remedy is indirect. Using it in place of a vaccine, antibiotics or urgent care can leave whooping cough untreated. Whooping cough can kill babies.

How much Pertussinum should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose is established by evidence, because no trial has shown Pertussinum to do anything beyond placebo. What follows describes usual homeopathic practice only. A common pattern is a single dose of 30C, taken as 3 to 5 pellets or 5 drops, repeated only if the cough returns. Some practitioners give one dose a day for three to five days. Higher strengths such as 200C are usually given once and not repeated. Tip the pellets into the cap or onto a clean dry spoon rather than handling them, then let them melt under the tongue.
• Best time of day: Homeopathic practice suggests taking it away from meals, drinks and toothpaste, so many people use it first thing in the morning and at bedtime. The timing has no tested effect.
• With or without food: Without food. Homeopaths advise taking it about 15 minutes before or after eating or drinking, though this rule is custom rather than a proven requirement.
• Time to effect: Traditional sources say a response may be seen within a day or two. There is no evidence of any effect at all, so treat a lack of change within a few days as your signal to stop and seek advice.
• How long to take it: Keep any trial short. If nothing has changed after three to five days, stop and speak to a doctor. Do not keep taking it for a cough that has lasted more than three weeks, and never stretch out a course while a cough in a baby goes unassessed.