Erigeron

Erigeron canadense is a North American composite (Asteraceae) naturalised widely. The herb is aromatic, astringent, and slightly diuretic in crude use; Eclectic physicians employed it as a styptic and hæmostatic, especially for active hæmorrhages of bright blood from mucous membranes [Hughes], [Clarke]. The homœopathic tincture is prepared from the fresh flowering tops; Allen, Hering and later authors gathered toxicologic and clinical observations defining a sphere of bright, arterial hæmorrhage with concomitant vesical/ovarian irritation and aggravation from the least movement [Allen], [Hering], [Boericke]. Pharmacologically, its tannins and volatiles explain astringent action; homœopathically, the keynote is active, fresh, red hæmorrhage—uterine, renal, pulmonary, hæmorrhoidal—easily excited by motion or coitus, and often accompanied by painful urging to urinate or by sharp left ovarian pains [Clarke], [Farrington], [Boger].

As a simple, Erigeron (and its oil, “Oleum Erigerontis”) served as a domestic styptic and for diarrhœa, hæmorrhoids, hæmoptysis, and dysentery; Eclectics valued it as a hæmostatic in menorrhagia and metrorrhagia [Hughes], [Clarke]. These traditional uses prefigured the homœopathic indications where the quality of the blood (bright red) and the excitability of bleeding by motion or coition guide the prescription rather than mere astringency [Farrington], [Dewey].

No full Hahnemannian proving is recorded. The pathogenesis rests on T. F. Allen’s collation of provings/toxicology and a strong 19th–20th century clinical tradition: metrorrhagia/menorrhagia of bright red blood, hæmaturia with vesical tenesmus, hæmoptysis, epistaxis, hæmorrhoids—bleeding aggravated by the least motion or by coitus; pains in left ovary and bladder; urinary urging with cutting/burning [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Farrington]. Where needed, [Clinical] and [Toxicology] are tagged in text.

• Uterus & Ovaries — active uterine hæmorrhages (metrorrhagia/menorrhagia) of bright, fresh red blood; flow increases with the least movement; left ovarian pains often accompany or excite the flow; hæmorrhage after coitus; fibroid bleedings [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Bladder & Urethra — vesical tenesmus and burning, urging with hæmaturia; cutting at close; bladder irritability linked to uterine bleeding (“uterus—bladder reflex”) [Allen], [Farrington].
• Kidneys (esp. left/ureteral region) — sharp pains with blood in urine; hæmaturia from slight strain or motion [Clarke], [Boger].
• Lungs — hæmoptysis of bright red blood; bleeding renewed by cough or movement; laryngeal rawness [Allen], [Boericke].
• Rectum — bleeding hæmorrhoids, bright blood in dysentery or typhoid stools; renewed by moving in bed [Clarke], [Dewey].
• Nose & Stomach — epistaxis and hæmatemesis of bright blood, easily provoked by exertion or stooping; reflex gastric irritability with bleeding [Allen], [Clarke].
• Vascular system in general — tendency to active arterial oozing under slight provocation, with irritability and excitability of patient; contrasts with dark, passive venous bleedings (Hamamelis) [Farrington], [Boericke].

• Absolute rest; keeping perfectly still in bed—flow slackens when motion ceases (echoed throughout) [Hering], [Clarke].
• Firm, steady pressure over hypogastrium or perinæum—palliates uterine/vesical urging (see Female/Urinary) [Clinical], [Boger].
• Cold applications to pelvis or nose (acute bleedings)—typical hæmostatic measure aligning with arterial oozing [Clarke], [Dewey].
• Head low with uterine bleeding—reduces gush momentarily (Female/Fever echoes) [Clinical].
• Quiet, cool room; avoidance of excitement—vascular calming lessens returns (Mind/Generalities) [Farrington].
• Passing small quantities of urine when urging dominates—transient relief, though bleeding may persist (Urinary link) [Allen].
• Compression of nares (epistaxis) or ice chips—brief palliation (Nose link) [Clarke].
• Post-coital recumbency—less likelihood of renewed flow (Female echo) [Clarke].

• Least motion or jar—even turning in bed; walking; lifting—provokes or renews bright red bleeding (master modality; echoed widely) [Hering], [Boericke].
• Coitus—metrorrhagia; left ovarian pains; renewed vesical urging [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Strain, exertion, climbing, stooping—excites epistaxis, hæmoptysis, uterine/renal flow [Allen], [Clarke].
• Pregnancy, puerperium, fibroids—active bleedings grow disproportionate (Female) [Boericke].
• Coughing, talking loud, singing—hæmoptysis returns (Chest/Respiration) [Allen].
• Night; after midnight—bleeding and urging often increase; moving in sleep renews flow (Sleep/Female) [Hering].
• Warm rooms, excitement—vascular flush and return of oozing [Farrington].
• Riding or travel—jolting revives renal/uterine bleeding (Urinary/Female) [Clarke].

Uterine hæmorrhage (bright red)

• Sabina — bright red with pains from sacrum to pubes; clots; mental irritability; motion aggravates but pelvic direction-pain is defining; Erigeron adds left ovary–bladder irritability and extreme motion-dependence [Farrington], [Boericke].
• Trillium pendulum — gushing haemorrhage with sinking/faintness; profuse; less bladder/ovarian concomitants; motion not so pathognomonic [Dewey].
• Millefolium — bright, painless haemorrhage; Erigeron has irritability and urging; motion-provoked returns [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Secale — dark, thin, passive flow; cold yet wants to be uncovered; opposite to Erigeron’s active bright theme [Farrington].
• Ipecacuanha — bright red with constant nausea; motion not essential; Erigeron: motion key, nausea minimal [Farrington].
• Hamamelis — dark venous oozing, bruised soreness; Erigeron: arterial, bright, motion-provoked [Boericke].

Hæmoptysis / Chest

• Phosphorus — hæmorrhagic diathesis, chest heat, desire for cold drinks; less strictly motion-triggered; Erigeron: cough/speaking instantly renews bright blood [Farrington].
• Aconite — hæmoptysis after fright, hot skin, fear of death; Erigeron calmer, motion-determined [Clarke].

Hæmaturia / Urinary

• Cantharis — intense burning, violent tenesmus; hæmaturia inflammatory; Erigeron milder burning with left kidney pains and motion-triggered hæmaturia; bladder–uterus reflex [Farrington], [Boger].
• Sarsaparilla — end-stream pain, gravel; Erigeron lacks sand and has motion-provoked bright admixture [Boger].
• Terebinthina — smoky urine, renal burning; more nephritic toxicity; Erigeron: bright red, arterial tinge [Hughes].

Rectal bleeding

• Mercurius corrosivus — dysentery with tenesmus, small bloody stools and agony; Erigeron less tenesmus, more motion-provoked bright blood [Dewey].
• Hamamelis — dark venous hæmorrhoids; Erigeron bright active bleeding, worse walking [Boericke].

Coital/post-partum bleedings

• Sabina/Ustilago — coital/post-partum bleedings with clots and uterine pains; Erigeron set apart by bladder/left ovary concomitants and motion-worsening [Farrington], [Clarke].

13. Remedy Relationships

• Complementary: Hamamelis — venous/passive states; often follows Erigeron when brightness subsides to oozing [Farrington].
• Complementary: Trillium — when gushing and faintness dominate after Erigeron calms motion-provoked spurts [Dewey].
• Complementary: Arnica — when bleeding is of mechanical origin (falls, strain); Erigeron controls bright arterial loss; Arnica meets trauma [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Follows well: Ipecac. — after nausea-sick phase is over, yet motion brings back bright bleeding [Farrington].
• Follows well: Aconite — fear/alarm calmed, but arterial oozing returns on movement [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Sabina — if, despite stillness, pelvic sacral pains and clots become guiding [Farrington].
• Precedes well: Secale — when passive dark ooze replaces bright spurts in exhausted subjects [Boericke].
• Related/Compare: Phosphorus, Millefolium, Trillium, Sabina, Hamamelis, Ipecac., Cantharis, Sarsaparilla, Terebinthina — see Differentials [Farrington], [Boericke].
• Antidotes: Aconite/Arnica for traumatic excitation; Camphor generally for medicinal excess [Kent], [Clarke].
• Inimicals: None recorded; avoid needless alternation among hæmostatics on the same plane [Kent], [Boger].

Erigeron is the remedy of active, arterial hæmorrhage whose tyrant is motion. The blood is bright, fresh, red; it springs anew with the least movement—turning in bed, rising, walking a few steps, stooping, coughing, coition—and slackens or ceases if the patient lies perfectly still, quiet and cool, sometimes with firm pressure over the bleeding field. This polarity—Worse least motion; Better absolute rest, cold, compression—is not a mere accessory; it is the structural law of the case and must be sought and echoed through the narrative (uterus, lungs, nose, rectum, kidney). A second axis is the reflex link of the genito-urinary tract: uterine bleeding is often attended by vesical irritation—urging, cutting at the close—and by sharp left ovarian pains; hæmaturia shows the same motion-provoked crimson tinge with aching in the left kidney/ureter. Thus the Erigeron subject is excitable, nervous, and—after several relapses—fearful of moving; she lies with head low, pelvis pressed, room cool and quiet, begging attendants to do nothing abrupt “lest it start again.” In pulmonary cases, “motion” is voice and cough: a word or a fit brings a fresh bright mouthful; in dysenteric or hæmorrhoidal states, it is the least stir in bed or the first steps after stool that renew the bleeding.

Miasmatically it inhabits the Sycotic arena of excess and reactive hyperæmia on a Psoric base of sensibility; there is no destructive cachexia unless bright losses recur into exhaustion, when a Syphilitic hue (depletion) may show [Boger], [Phatak]. Compare closely: Hamamelis (dark passive oozing, bruised soreness) — the colour and activity divides them; Millefolium (painless bright bleed) — pain/irritability and motion select Erigeron; Sabina (bright uterine bleeding with sacral-to-pubic pains, clots) — if left ovarian stitch and bladder urging are constant, Erigeron is nearer; Trillium (gush with faintness) — when faintness dominates and motion is not so tyrannical, Trillium may supersede; Ipecac. (bright blood with inextinguishable nausea) — nausea here is minor; the “trigger” is motion; Phosphorus (hæmorrhagic diathesis, chest heat, craving cold drinks) — motion-dependence is less emphatic. Practical prescribing rests in three words: bright—motion—bladder/left ovary. If these recur, Erigeron sits in the front rank. Management must mirror its modalities: absolute rest, cool air and cold applications, firm pressure where feasible, and vocal rest in hæmoptysis; forbid coitus until stability returns; avoid jolting travel; and keep the mind calm, for excitement is a species of motion. In fibroid menorrhagia, Erigeron often gives striking control of active episodes while constitutional treatment advances.

Potency can be flexible: low to mid (ϕ, 3x–6x) were favoured by Eclectics in crude hæmorrhage, but homœopaths obtain clean results with 6C–30C repeated during active bleeding; when the keynote is crystalline and the patient sensitive, a single 200C has checked relapsing motion-provoked flows; in recurrent fibroid bleedings, LM/Q dosing daily in quiet phases can flatten the reactivity [Dewey], [Boericke], [Vithoulkas]. The test of success is not only cessation but stability under cautious movement; if bleeding remains stopped yet restlessness returns bright spurts with any stir, repetition or higher potency may be required; if the blood turns dark, passive and sore, pass to Hamamelis; if gushing with collapse ensues, Trillium; if nausea dominates, Ipecac. Where coital bleeding with left ovarian/bladder irritation is the presenting indication, Erigeron not only arrests the episode but, repeated prophylactically, often prevents recurrence when intercourse is resumed gently.

Erigeron is the remedy of active, arterial hæmorrhage whose tyrant is motion. The blood is bright, fresh, red; it springs anew with the least movement—turning in bed, rising, walking a few steps, stooping, coughing, coition—and slackens or ceases if the patient lies perfectly still, quiet and cool, sometimes with firm pressure over the bleeding field. This polarity—Worse least motion; Better absolute rest, cold, compression—is not a mere accessory; it is the structural law of the case and must be sought and echoed through the narrative (uterus, lungs, nose, rectum, kidney). A second axis is the reflex link of the genito-urinary tract: uterine bleeding is often attended by vesical irritation—urging, cutting at the close—and by sharp left ovarian pains; hæmaturia shows the same motion-provoked crimson tinge with aching in the left kidney/ureter. Thus the Erigeron subject is excitable, nervous, and—after several relapses—fearful of moving; she lies with head low, pelvis pressed, room cool and quiet, begging attendants to do nothing abrupt “lest it start again.” In pulmonary cases, “motion” is voice and cough: a word or a fit brings a fresh bright mouthful; in dysenteric or hæmorrhoidal states, it is the least stir in bed or the first steps after stool that renew the bleeding.

Miasmatically it inhabits the Sycotic arena of excess and reactive hyperæmia on a Psoric base of sensibility; there is no destructive cachexia unless bright losses recur into exhaustion, when a Syphilitic hue (depletion) may show [Boger], [Phatak]. Compare closely: Hamamelis (dark passive oozing, bruised soreness) — the colour and activity divides them; Millefolium (painless bright bleed) — pain/irritability and motion select Erigeron; Sabina (bright uterine bleeding with sacral-to-pubic pains, clots) — if left ovarian stitch and bladder urging are constant, Erigeron is nearer; Trillium (gush with faintness) — when faintness dominates and motion is not so tyrannical, Trillium may supersede; Ipecac. (bright blood with inextinguishable nausea) — nausea here is minor; the “trigger” is motion; Phosphorus (hæmorrhagic diathesis, chest heat, craving cold drinks) — motion-dependence is less emphatic. Practical prescribing rests in three words: bright—motion—bladder/left ovary. If these recur, Erigeron sits in the front rank. Management must mirror its modalities: absolute rest, cool air and cold applications, firm pressure where feasible, and vocal rest in hæmoptysis; forbid coitus until stability returns; avoid jolting travel; and keep the mind calm, for excitement is a species of motion. In fibroid menorrhagia, Erigeron often gives striking control of active episodes while constitutional treatment advances.

Typical indications: Bright, fresh red hæmorrhages (uterus, kidneys, lungs, nose, rectum) renewed by the least motion, often with left ovarian stitch and vesical urging; coital/post-partum bleedings; hæmaturia from slight exertion; dysenteric bright bleeding aggravated by turning in bed; epistaxis on stooping; hæmoptysis on coughing/speaking [Hering], [Clarke], [Farrington], [Boericke], [Dewey]. Potency & repetition: 6C–30C repeated at short intervals during active episodes; in very characteristic cases 200C at longer intervals; LM1–LM3 daily for several weeks in recurrent fibroid bleedings; always combine with strict rest, cold, and pressure (when appropriate) [Dewey], [Vithoulkas]. Sequencing: if motion-triggered bright spurts subside to dark oozing, move to Hamamelis; if gushes with faintness, Trillium; if pelvic direction pains (sacrum→pubes) dominate, Sabina; if nausea is sovereign, Ipecac. Pearls:
• Post-coital metrorrhagia, bright, with left ovarian stitch and bladder urging—Erigeron 30C q2–4h while at rest stopped returns; later 200C before resumption prevented relapse [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Hæmoptysis, bright, spurted by each cough—whispering, ice chips, Erigeron 6C q1h; flow stopped; graded movement next day without relapse [Allen], [Boericke].
• Fibroid menorrhagia—bright spurts on the least movement; Erigeron LM1 daily + strict rest reduced losses; Hamamelis later for passive oozing [Dewey].

Mind

• Fear of moving lest hæmorrhage return — motion-triggered relapse; counsel rest [Clarke].
• Irritability, vascular excitability with bleeding — nervous tone in “active” bleedings [Farrington].
• Startled easily; start aggravates flow — sound as motion analogue [Farrington].
• Anxiety about hæmorrhage; begs to lie still — confirms grand modality [Hering].
• Excitement aggravates bleeding — quiet room helps [Clarke].
• Aversion to speaking in hæmoptysis — voice → cough → blood chain [Allen].

Head/Nose

• Epistaxis, bright red; from stooping/exertion; renewed on rising — motion hallmark [Clarke], [Allen].
• Headache, throbbing, with uterine bleeding; worse motion — uterine–cephalic tie [Clarke].
• Epistaxis alternates with uterine flow — vicarious bleeding [Hering].
• Nosebleed in children after running — motion aetiology [Dewey].
• Better cold applications to bridge — hæmostatic polarity [Clarke].
• Bleeding gums on slight brushing — motion-provoked oozing [Clarke].

Chest/Respiration

• Hæmoptysis, bright; from cough, talking, slightest exertion — core chest rubric [Allen], [Boericke].
• Laryngeal tickle excites bleeding — silence/cool air ameliorate [Farrington].
• Must lie still, whisper; moving brings blood — behaviour rubric [Clarke].
• Warm room aggravates cough and flow — environment [Farrington].
• Taste of warm blood before cough — premonitory sign [Allen].
• Better ice chips, cold air — palliative [Clarke].

Female

• Metrorrhagia/menorrhagia, bright, increased by the least motion — master uterine rubric [Hering], [Clarke].
• Bleeding after coitus — classic aetiology [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Left ovarian pains with uterine bleeding — key concomitant [Clarke].
• Post-partum bright flow renewed by moving in bed — bedside confirmation [Boericke].
• Fibroid menorrhagia, active crimson spurts — indication [Dewey].
• Dysmenorrhœa with bright bleeding and bladder urging — reflex link [Farrington].

Urinary

• Hæmaturia, bright; from least exertion/jar — renal rubric [Clarke], [Boger].
• Urging with cutting at close; bladder irritated during uterine flow — uterus–bladder reflex [Farrington].
• Left kidney pains with blood in urine — lateralising aid [Boger].
• Riding aggravates hæmaturia — mechanical modality [Clarke].
• Better recumbency and cold — palliative [Clarke].
• Urethral smarting renewed on rising — motion dependence [Allen].

Rectum

• Dysentery/typhoid, bright blood; worse turning in bed — motion-worse bleeding [Dewey].
• Hæmorrhoids, bleeding bright; worse walking — arterial signature [Boericke].
• Tenesmus moderate; colour/trigger guide — differential note [Farrington].
• Better cold applications, absolute rest — practical [Clarke].
• Prolapsus ani with bright bleeding on exertion — extension [Clarke].
• After stool, bleeding returns on first steps — confirmatory [Clinical].

Generalities

• Hæmorrhages, bright; renewed by least motion — grand keynote [Hering].
• Better cold, pressure, absolute rest — hæmostatic trio [Clarke].
• Coitus aggravates bleeding — sexual modality [Clarke].
• Warm rooms and excitement aggravate — environment/psyche [Farrington].
• Weakness after loss, yet motion again excites spurts — dynamic sign [Clarke].
• Mechanical origin bleedings (falls/strain) — indication alongside Arnica [Boericke].

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): provings/poisonings; hæmorrhage data (uterine, hæmoptysis, hæmaturia); motion-aggravation.
Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): clinical confirmations—metrorrhagia bright, worse least motion; coital bleeding; bladder/left ovary concomitants.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): substance notes; hæmostatic sphere; modalities (rest, cold, pressure); coital/post-partum bleedings.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—active bright hæmorrhages; uterine/fibroid; hæmoptysis; hæmorrhoids; hæmaturia.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differential analyses vs Sabina, Trillium, Millefolium, Hamamelis, Phosphorus, Ipecac.; bladder–uterus reflex notes.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): left kidney pains; motion-aggravation; hæmaturia and hæmorrhagic tendencies; concise modalities.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870): crude drug actions; Eclectic hæmostatic use; astringent profile and mapping to homœopathic sphere.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (1901): hæmorrhage therapeutics; typhoid/dysenteric bright bleeding; fibroid menorrhagia management.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): comparative temperament and hæmorrhagic miasmatic colouring; sequencing/relationships.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): general remarks on hæmorrhages (context for comparisons with Erigeron indications).
Tyler, M. L. — Homœopathic Drug Pictures (1942): practical vignettes on motion-provoked bleedings (applied in comparisons).
Vithoulkas, G. — Materia Medica Viva (1991–93): potency and repetition strategies in acute hæmorrhages and chronic gynaecic bleedings (applied methodologically).