Chelidonium majus

Chelidonium majus is a tall perennial herb from the Papaveraceae family, with bright yellow flowers and a distinctive orange sap. The sap is acrid and caustic, traditionally used to treat warts and eye ailments. It contains various alkaloids (e.g., chelidonine, sanguinarine), which act primarily on the liver, bile ducts, and digestive tract. Homeopathically, Chelidonium is famed for its action on the liver and right-sided ailments, often associated with a characteristic pain under the inferior angle of the right scapula.

First proven by Hahnemann and later expanded by Hering, Hughes, Allen, and others. Toxicological and clinical observations also contributed significantly.

Chelidonium represents the archetype of congested, sluggish, right-sided liver pathology. Its keynote is the pain under the right scapula, but its essence lies in the whole system’s torpor—mental dullness, digestive heaviness, and physical stagnation. It mirrors individuals who are overworked, irritable, and driven, yet overwhelmed by internal toxicity—physically through bile stasis, and emotionally through suppressed rage or exhaustion.

• Liver and gall bladder – bile ducts, hepatic parenchyma
• Right scapular region
• Stomach and intestines
• Lungs – right lung, lower lobes
• Eyes – sclerotic congestion
• Skin – jaundice, warts, eruptions
• Mucous membranes
• Right side in general

The mental state is dominated by confusion, sluggishness, and a sense of being overwhelmed. Patients feel mentally dull, forgetful, and unable to think clearly [Kent]. Often accompanied by irritability or apathy, they may resent being disturbed or questioned. Mental symptoms are worse in the morning, reflecting hepatic congestion. There may be anxiety about health or obsessive thoughts, especially in chronic liver disease. Sadness and tearfulness alternate with irascibility. Ailments from suppressed anger or grief. Desire to be alone.

Sleepiness during day, sleepless at night. Wakes early feeling unrested. Sleep disturbed by dreams of business, pursuit, or falling. Difficulty falling asleep due to hepatic congestion. Drowsiness after meals.

Dreams of being pursued, anxiety, misfortune. Dreams of business worries. Flying or falling. Dreams reflect daytime mental dullness or preoccupations.

Chelidonium acts most deeply on the liver and biliary system, with hallmark right-sided pain and scapular radiation. Ailments are often accompanied by mental confusion, digestive disturbances, and jaundice. Indicated in gallstones, hepatitis, bronchitis, gastritis, and right-sided headaches. General aggravation from motion, cold, and early morning. Marked fatigue, especially after meals or hepatic attacks.

Low-grade fever with chilliness and hepatic symptoms. Heat in face and head with cold feet. Sweat sour or oily. Alternating heat and chill with digestive upset. Fever with jaundice or bilious vomiting.

Chilliness with cold extremities and heat in face. Heat flushes with distension and thirst. Sweat profuse, offensive, or on covered parts. Sweating gives no relief. Feverish after midday.

Heaviness in the head with a sensation of pressure at the forehead. Headaches begin in the occiput and extend to the right eye, a key indication [Clarke]. Head feels full, congested, as if wrapped in a band. Vertigo on rising or turning head, especially with nausea. Neuralgia on right side, often with liver or gastric symptoms. Worse in morning or before menses. Hair may fall out during hepatic illness. Headache relieved after eating or vomiting.

Pain in eyes, especially the right eye, associated with hepatic or gastric disorders. White of eye appears yellow (jaundice). Photophobia, dry burning, or gritty sensation. Sclerotic vessels congested. Pupils sluggish. Lids red, swollen, or twitching. Pain extending from occiput to right orbit is characteristic. Visual disturbances during headache or hepatic flares.

Buzzing or roaring in ears, worse during hepatic headaches. Pain behind right ear, especially when turning head. Earache extending to teeth or neck. Dullness of hearing during illness. Otitis in hepatic disorders.

Dryness or sneezing, worse in morning. Yellow discharge. Sense of obstruction. Epistaxis with hepatic congestion. Itching of nostrils. Foul smell, especially with indigestion. Coryza with bilious complaints.

Yellow, sallow, or earthy complexion, often seen in liver disease [Boericke]. Dark rings under eyes. Cheeks flushed during attacks of biliary colic. Neuralgia right side. Lips dry, cracked, or pale. Skin may appear drawn or tight.

Bitter taste, especially in morning or after eating. Dry mouth without thirst. Tongue heavily coated yellow or white, especially at root. Blisters or ulcers on tongue and inner cheeks. Toothache with hepatic symptoms. Burning of tongue and gums. Ptyalism in liver affections.

Toothache worse at night and from touch. Pain radiates to ear or temples. Sensitive gums, bleed easily. Often associated with facial neuralgia on right side. Grinding of teeth during sleep in hepatic patients.

Dry, burning, or constricted. Sensation as if something were sticking in throat. Worse when swallowing solids. Mucus difficult to expectorate. Hepatic patients complain of soreness or globus sensation. Rawness during cough.

Pains in right lung, extending from liver. Oppression with sighing respiration. Spasmodic dry cough, worse at night and on lying down. Loose, rattling cough with yellow expectoration. Hepatic coughs often worse from motion and ameliorated by pressure. Stitching pains on inspiration. Associated with chronic bronchitis or pneumonia.

Palpitations with anxiety or liver complaints. Weak pulse during bilious states. Pulsations felt in epigastrium. Cardiac rhythm irregular during fever or gastric attacks.

Shortness of breath on exertion or lying flat. Right-sided pleurisy. Dyspnoea from abdominal distension. Deep sighing. Cough with thick yellow sputum. Wheezing with hepatic fullness.

Profound action here. Nausea, vomiting of bile, food, or mucus, worse in morning. Heaviness in epigastrium. Constant bitter eructations, bloating, and hiccups. Craving for hot drinks, especially milk, which ameliorates [Clarke]. Appetite poor or ravenous, yet food causes distress. Gastric pain radiates to right scapula. Aversion to fat and meat. Gastro-duodenal ulcers with jaundice and right hypochondrium pain.

Liver region is the keynote—enlarged, sore, and congested. Sensation of fullness and tension in right hypochondrium. Pain extends to right scapula, confirmed by multiple authors including Hering and Clarke. Abdomen distended with gas. Crampy colic relieved by passing flatus. Pain worse from touch, motion, or pressure. Gallstones with spasmodic pain and jaundice. Rumbling, especially in upper abdomen.

Constipation alternating with diarrhoea. Stools pale, clay-coloured, offensive, and often float. Biliary diarrhoea with yellow, watery stools. Ineffectual urging. Haemorrhoids bleeding and sore. Sharp, stitching pains in rectum and anus. Tenesmus with incomplete evacuation.

Scanty, dark, thick urine. Strong odour. Urine may stain linen yellow. Cutting pain before and after urination. Irritation of bladder during hepatic inflammation. Urethral itching or smarting.

Desire for hot drinks, especially warm milk. Aversion to cold food, fats, and meat. Craving for cheese. Nausea after fatty food. Symptoms often follow dietary errors. Aggravation from wine or stimulants.

Sexual desire diminished or suppressed in chronic cases. Testicular pain from hepatic congestion. Right-sided hydrocele. Prostate may be enlarged in older patients. Emissions without relief.

Menses irregular, delayed, or suppressed. Amenorrhoea associated with jaundice or chronic liver problems. Leucorrhoea thick, yellow, with hepatic symptoms. Dragging in pelvis. Pruritus vulvae in bilious states. Mastitis of right breast.

Constant, aching pain under the inferior angle of the right scapula—the most characteristic keynote of Chelidonium [Hering, Kent]. Pain may radiate to neck or shoulder. Spine feels bruised. Lumbar ache with weakness. Worse from motion or standing.

Heaviness, particularly in right limbs. Shooting or tearing pains. Rheumatic stiffness, worse in cold, damp weather. Cracking joints. Cramps in calves. Numbness in fingers or toes. Trembling in aged patients. Burning soles.

Yellow, jaundiced skin. Dryness, itching, or burning. Eczema and eruptions on scalp, back, or chest. Warts, especially on face or hands. Liver spots, freckles. Skin disorders with internal liver disturbances. Acne associated with digestive complaints.

• Lycopodium – Right-sided liver remedy with flatulence and afternoon aggravation; more psychological insecurity
• Bryonia – Pain worse from motion, dry mucous membranes, irritability; lacks hepatic focus
• Carduus marianus – Similar liver and gall bladder affinity, but less scapular pain
• Podophyllum – Diarrhoea and liver symptoms, more abdominal than scapular involvement
• Nux vomica – Digestive and hepatic issues with marked irritability; more suited to high-stress individuals

• Complementary: Lycopodium, Nux vomica
• Antidotes: Chamomilla, Mercurius
• Follows well: Aconite, Bryonia

Chelidonium represents the archetype of congested, sluggish, right-sided liver pathology. Its keynote is the pain under the right scapula, but its essence lies in the whole system’s torpor—mental dullness, digestive heaviness, and physical stagnation. It mirrors individuals who are overworked, irritable, and driven, yet overwhelmed by internal toxicity—physically through bile stasis, and emotionally through suppressed rage or exhaustion.

Mind

• Confusion, mental
• Dullness, sluggish thinking
• Ailments from anger
• Irritability in morning

Abdomen

• Pain, liver region
• Pain, right hypochondrium, extending to scapula
• Gallstone colic
• Flatulence, hepatic

Back

• Pain, right scapula
• Pain, liver extending to back
• Stiffness, scapular region

Stomach

• Vomiting, bile
• Craves warm milk
• Bitter taste in mouth

Skin

• Jaundice
• Liver spots
• Warts, hands

Generalities

• Right-sided complaints
• Better from hot drinks
• Worse in morning
• Better from pressure on abdomen

• Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving data
• C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Confirmed scapular pain, liver symptoms, and gastric profile
• J.T. Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Core mental and hepatic states
• William Boericke – Pocket Manual: Emphasis on right scapula, warm milk amelioration
• John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Complete profile of digestive and liver action, modality confirmation
• Allen’s Encyclopaedia: Verified symptom location and organ affinities