Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq
Substance Background
Euonymus atropurpureus is a North American shrub; Eclectic physicians used its root-bark as a bitter, cholagogue, laxative and mild diuretic. Its resinous “euonymin” was a favourite hepatic stimulant in “biliousness,” jaundice, torpor of the liver, and intermittent (malarial) disorders, with a reputation for gently moving bile and bowels without drastic griping [Hale], [Hughes], [Clarke]. Toxicology of overuse records nausea, green bilious vomiting, colicky pains, griping diarrhœa or, contrariwise, obstinate constipation with clay-coloured stools; a dull, heavy frontal headache and sallow skin complete the “bilious” tableau [Allen], [Hale]. Homœopathic tincture (φ) is prepared from fresh bark of the root; Allen compiled proving fragments and many clinical verifications in hepatic torpor, sick headaches of biliary type, gastric catarrh, constipation with pale stools, and splenic congestion in marsh districts [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke].
Proving Information
No Hahnemannian full proving. The pathogenesis rests on Allen’s collation (provings and clinical notes), with extensive confirmations from Hale’s “New Remedies,” Hughes’ pharmacodynamics, Clarke’s Dictionary, and Boericke’s clinical keynotes. Early confirmations: sick-headache of hepatic origin; jaundice with clay-coloured stool; constipation from torpid liver; bilious diarrhœa; spleen–liver congestion after intermittent fevers [Allen], [Hale], [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke]. Tags: [Proving] [Clinical] [Toxicology].
Remedy Essence
Typical indications: Hepatic torpor with dull right hypochondrial ache; clay-coloured stools or alternation with green bilious diarrhœa; bitter mouth on waking; dull frontal “band” headache; sallow tint; worse rich/fat foods and alcohol; better after a bilious stool, warm simple food, and gentle walking in open air; splenic drag and marsh-weather periodicity in ex-ague subjects [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke]. Potency: 3x–6x (or 6C) t.i.d. in sluggish bowels; 30C for characteristic hepatic headache; 200C single dose in clean keynote cases; LM/Q daily for several weeks in chronic torpor with periodicity [Dewey], [Vithoulkas]. Repetition: in acute bilious turns, dose on return of bitter mouth/brow-band heaviness; in chronic states, taper as stools regain colour and mornings brighten. Adjuncts: warm broths, avoidance of fats/alcohol, early light supper, loose belt, gentle post-prandial walk, dry air when possible [Clarke], [Hughes].
Case pearls:
• “Clay stool + brow band-headache” after pastry and wine; Euon. 6C q6h; next morning bilious stool with relief of head; diet correction maintained [Hale], [Clinical].
• Ex-ague clerk, marsh damp aggravations, spleen drag, bitter mouth; Euon. 30C b.i.d. for a fortnight with dry-air walks—less morning sallow, stools coloured [Clarke], [Hughes].
• Postpartum constipation, pale stools, right-sided heaviness; Euon. 6x t.i.d. + warm fluids—stool bilious by day 3, mood and sleep improved [Boericke], [Clinical].
Affinity
- Liver & Biliary Tract — torpor with dull right hypochondrial ache; clay-coloured stools; bitter taste; hepatic sick-headache; alternation constipation↔bilious diarrhœa; see Abdomen/Stomach/Head [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke].
- Stomach & Portal Drainage — gastric catarrh with nausea/retching of bile; coated tongue; relief when bile flows or after stool (see Stomach/Rectum) [Hughes], [Boericke].
- Intestines — sluggish peristalsis from hepatic inertia; pale, putty-like stools or green bilious stools; tenesmus slight; see Rectum [Allen], [Clarke].
- Spleen — enlargement/drag after agues; marsh-weather periodicity; left hypochondrial weight (see Abdomen/Fever) [Clarke], [Hughes].
- Head (Hepatic Cephalalgia) — dull frontal or supra-orbital headache with sallow face and bitter mouth; worse rich food and morning; see Head [Hale], [Boericke].
- Skin — sallow tint, mild icterus; pruritus when bile is obstructed; see Skin [Clarke], [Hughes].
- Urinary — scant, high-coloured urine in hepatic torpor; later diuresis when portal load is eased; see Urinary [Hughes], [Boericke].
Better For
- Free bilious stool or after a free flow of bile—relieves head and right hypochondrial weight (echo Head/Abdomen) [Allen], [Hale].
- Warm drinks; light broths—soothe gastric catarrh and favour bile excretion (see Stomach) [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Gentle walking in open air after the worst nausea—promotes portal drainage without jarring (Generalities) [Clarke].
- Lying on left side with knees drawn—takes weight off the liver (Abdomen) [Clinical], [Boericke].
- Pressure/hand support over right hypochondrium—palliative in hepatic ache (Abdomen) [Clarke].
- Regular small meals—prevents sick-headache from fasting or delayed bile (Food & Drink) [Hale].
- Dry, elevated climate; away from marsh damp—less periodic splenic–hepatic congestion (Fever) [Hughes], [Clarke].
- After a mild diuresis—urine freer, head clearer (Urinary/Head) [Hughes].
Worse For
- Fatty, rich, or fried foods; pastry; alcohol—precipitate biliousness and headache (Stomach/Head) [Hale], [Clarke].
- Morning on waking—bitter mouth, coated tongue, frontal weight (Head) [Allen], [Boericke].
- Sudden stoppage of habitual stool; sedentary life—heaviness in right hypochondrium (Rectum/Abdomen) [Clarke].
- Cold, damp, marsh weather; autumn mists—periodic hepatic–splenic aggravation (Fever/Abdomen) [Hughes].
- Stooping or tight clothing over the liver—urge to loosen belt; pressure aggravates fullness (Abdomen) [Clarke].
- Anger or business worry—nausea and right-sided ache increase (Mind/Stomach) [Kent], [Hale].
- Night after late supper—bilious eructations and restlessness (Sleep/Stomach) [Boericke].
- Long fasting or missed meals—sick-headache from “stopped” bile (Head/Food) [Hale], [Clarke].
Symptomatology
Mind
Irritable, “liverish” mood with aversion to contradiction; small cares annoy; he is not ferocious like Nux but peevish and easily fatigued mentally, feeling best when the portal system is “set going” by a free stool—this tallies with the amelioration after bilious evacuation already noted [Hale], [Kent], [Allen]. Sluggish concentration with heaviness of head comes on after rich foods or alcoholic dining, and he becomes business-anxious without energy to act (contrast Nux’s driven zeal) [Clarke], [Kent]. Apathy alternates with fretfulness; the temper mends immediately after relief of right hypochondrial tension (cross-link to Abdomen) [Clarke]. Emotional excitement or anger quickly renews nausea and bitter eructations (Stomach echo) [Hale]. Aversion to tightness about the waist leads to loosening clothes, a small yet persistent behavioural note in hepatic remedies (Abdomen link) [Clarke]. Marsh-weather gloom is reported in those with ague-history and splenic drag; mood lifts in dry air (Fever echo) [Hughes], [Clarke]. The Euonymus mind is thus reactive to visceral state rather than primarily neurotic—clarifying swiftly when bile and bowels move [Allen], [Hale]. Children are cross, sallow, with bitter mouth; cheer up after a light warm meal (Food cross-link) [Boericke]. Sleep broken by flatulence increases morning ill-humour; regular routine pacifies (Sleep link) [Clarke].
Head
Hepatic cephalalgia: dull frontal weight as from a band across the brow, with heavy eyelids, sallow face, bitter taste, and coated tongue; worse morning, worse from rich food or late supper, better after a bilious stool or flow of bile—this “hinge” relief repeats the modality already stated [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke]. Occipital tightness sometimes precedes the frontal phase; stooping increases fulness; sitting up and loosening clothes helps (Abdomen echo) [Clarke]. Sick-headache with nausea and greenish vomiting comes in waves after dietary indiscretion; unlike Iris, burning is less, and unlike Sanguinaria the side-switching and sun-aura are absent [Farrington], [Boericke]. Supra-orbital ache (right more than left) accompanies hepatic ache, with a dull backache from portal congestion (Back cross-link) [Clarke]. Head clears notably in dry open air and after gentle exercise if not too soon after meals (Generalities link) [Clarke]. The scalp is not particularly sensitive. In periodic cases (ex-ague), headache alternates with splenic drag and chill in marsh mists (Fever cross-link) [Hughes].
Eyes
Sclerae faintly icteric in hepatic torpor; conjunctivæ slightly yellowish, with gritty feeling in morning; better as bile flows (Skin/Generalities echo) [Clarke]. Lids heavy with frontal weight; vision dull during nausea; improves after eructations (Stomach link) [Allen]. Photophobia is slight; bright light annoys principally during the brow-band pain [Hale]. No catarrhal eye discharge is characteristic; if tears acrid and coryza copious, consider Allium cepa [Farrington]. Eye symptoms thus serve as outward tokens of the biliary disturbance rather than an independent sphere.
Ears
Fullness and dull hearing in the morning during congestive hepatic states; clears after breakfast and stool (Food/Rectum cross-links) [Clarke]. No neuralgic or otitic keynotes belong here. Pulsation in ears corresponds to head-congestion; relieved by open air [Boericke].
Nose
Smell diminished in the morning “bilious” state; fetid posterior drip is not a keynote (contrast Eucalyptus) [Clarke]. Epistaxis is not typical. Snuffling from swollen nasal mucosa occurs in those sleeping in close rooms after late suppers; improves on rising and airing (Sleep/Generalities link) [Clarke].
Face
Sallow, muddy hue with subicteric tint; expression fatigued; lips taste bitter on waking (Mouth cross-link) [Clarke]. Cheeks sometimes blotched in the dyspeptic; clears with improved hepatic action [Hale]. Heat of face follows anger or gastric disturbance, a reflex flush (Mind/Stomach echo) [Kent]. No characteristic neuralgia.
Mouth
Bitter taste on waking; tongue coated yellow-white, imprint of teeth sometimes seen (portal catarrh) [Hughes], [Clarke]. Nauseous saliva in morning; breath foul after rich food (Stomach echo) [Hale]. Mouth dryness is moderate; warm drinks are grateful (modal echo) [Boericke]. Metallic taste if bilious vomiting has been frequent [Allen]. Aphthæ are not a keynote; if marked, Hydrastis better suits [Farrington].
Teeth
No distinct odontalgia. Teeth feel dull/elongated during sick-headache; mastication of rich foods aggravates (Head link) [Clarke]. Gingival bleeding is not constant; if dominant think of Merc. [Farrington].
Throat
Slight rawness from bilious eructations; hawking of bitter mucus in morning (Stomach echo) [Hale]. Thirst is moderate; cold draughts check eructations temporarily but aggravate gastric oppression (Food link) [Hughes]. Swallowing not painful.
Stomach
Cardinal sphere with the liver. Nausea constant with bitter eructations, worse morning and after fat, pastry, or alcohol; vomiting of green bile in bad attacks—relieved after the bowels move or after a free flow of bile (explicit echo to Better after bilious stool) [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke]. Appetite capricious; aversion to fats; longing for warm, simple food that “settles” the stomach (modal echo) [Hughes]. Epigastric weight and distension after tight clothing or stooping (Abdomen link) [Clarke]. Heartburn less marked than in Nux; the picture is more “stopped bile” than acid gastritis [Farrington]. Eructations offensive; flatulence upward; better by gentle walking in air post-prandially (Generalities) [Clarke].
Abdomen
Right hypochondrium dull, heavy, positively sore to firm pressure; patient loosens belt; lying left-side eases weight—these practical modalities repeat above [Clarke], [Boericke]. Liver feels enlarged to patient (weight rather than stabbing pain); pain rarely shoots to right scapula as in Chelidonium, a micro-differential [Farrington]. Spleen drags in those with marsh agues; left hypochondrial weight alternates with chill or headache (Fever/Head links) [Hughes], [Clarke]. Borborygmi with portal congestion; abdomen tympanitic after rich meals; relief after stool and wind (Rectum echo) [Allen]. Pressure of clothing intolerable; stooping aggravates fullness (Mind/Head cross-link) [Clarke].
Urinary
Urine scant, high-coloured during hepatic torpor; increases in quantity (diuresis) once portal load is relieved, the head clearing correspondingly (Generalities echo) [Hughes], [Clarke]. Burning is slight; if intense with tenesmus, consider Cantharis [Farrington]. Bile-pigment may tinge urine in icteric states (Skin link) [Clarke]. Night urination increases after late supper and alcohol—dietary aggravation (Food link) [Hughes].
Rectum
Constipation from hepatic torpor: pale, clay-coloured, putty-like stools requiring effort; sense of incomplete relief; head better when stool becomes bilious (green-yellow) [Allen], [Hale], [Clarke]. Alternation with bilious diarrhœa—thin, green, offensive stools when bile overflows; little tenesmus (contrast Merc. cor.) [Hughes], [Farrington]. Hæmorrhoids are secondary; if primary and bleeding, think Hamamelis or Aloe [Clarke]. Habitual laxatives worsen the torpor; Euonymus regulates where the picture agrees (Clinical) [Hale].
Male
Sexual desire subdued in bilious states; erections imperfect after heavy suppers and alcohol; improves as hepatic symptoms abate (Generalities cross-link) [Clarke]. No urethral keynotes. Congestion of prostate is not characteristic; consider Sabal if marked [Boericke].
Female
Menstrual flow tends to delay or diminish in jaundiced or bilious periods; the patient is sallow, headachy, with right hypochondrial heaviness; symptoms improve as bile and bowels move [Clarke], [Hale]. Nausea before menses with bitter mouth; aversion to fats (Stomach link) [Boericke]. Post-partum constipation of pale stools responds when the hepatic picture is clear (Rectum echo) [Hale].
Respiratory
Short breath from abdominal distension; wants to loosen clothing and step out of doors—this reproduces the general modalities [Clarke]. Deep breathing difficult immediately after meals; better later (Food/Generalities). No asthmatic keynote.
Heart
Palpitations after late suppers and wine, with pulsations in head; better in open air and after stool (Head/Generalities) [Clarke]. Circulation otherwise soft and languid in torpor; no specific valvular picture [Boericke].
Chest
Oppression from flatulent distension presses upward; sighing relieves slightly (Abdomen link) [Clarke]. Cough is not a keynote; if present after rich meals, it is reflex and eases as stomach empties [Hughes]. Heartburn sensation may reflect upward gas rather than true œsophagitis (Stomach cross-link).
Back
Aching between scapulæ with hepatic congestion; dull lumbar heaviness in constipation; better after stool or passage of flatus (Rectum link) [Clarke]. Right scapular pain is less distinct than Chelidonium’s needle-like stitch; Euonymus remains dull, heavy [Farrington].
Extremities
Lassitude and limb-ache in intermittent-type subjects; worse damp marsh weather; better dry, mild air (Fever echo) [Hughes]. Cold hands and feet with sallow face in morning; warmth returns after food and stool (Food link) [Clarke]. No articular inflammation belongs here.
Skin
Sallow, muddy complexion; faint icteric tint of sclera and skin in hepatic obstruction; pruritus when bile is retained (Skin–bile tie) [Clarke], [Hughes]. Greasy, yellowish skin in dyspeptics improves with regulated bile flow (Generalities echo). No specific eruptions recorded; if acne rosacea with liver signs, compare Nux/Chelidonium [Kent].
Sleep
Unrefreshing; disturbed after late, rich suppers with abdominal distension; wakes at 3–4 a.m. with bitter taste and head weight (Head/Stomach echoes) [Boericke], [Clarke]. Drowsy after meals during torpor; brighter after a bilious evacuation (Generalities). Dreams of business worry and food; irritability on waking until bile moves (Mind link) [Kent]. Napping in open air soothes the brow pain (Head echo).
Dreams
Business, accounting, kitchen scenes—day residues after dietary indiscretion (aetiologic rather than symbolic) [Clinical]. Unpleasant dreams when overfed at night; better with early light supper (Food link) [Clarke]. Dreams not otherwise characteristic.
Fever
Intermittent tendency in marsh dwellers or after old agues: chill in damp weather with splenic drag; slight heat with head weight; sweat brings some relief; periodicity is meteorologic rather than clock-like (contrast Cedron) [Hughes], [Clarke]. Low, bilious fevers with coated tongue, bitter mouth, pale stools respond where the hepatic picture is central [Boericke]. Not a high septic fever remedy.
Chill / Heat / Sweat
Chill easily in damp air; internal heat after eating rich food; sweat follows stool or warm drinks with relief of head (Head/Food echoes) [Clarke], [Hale]. Sweat is not profuse; if drenching and offensive with fetor, see Eucalyptus or Baptisia [Farrington].
Food & Drinks
Aversion to fats, pastry, rich gravies; desire for warm simple broths and toast; alcohol decidedly worse (master dietary modality) [Hale], [Hughes], [Clarke]. Long fasting aggravates (“stopped bile” → sick-headache), hence small, regular meals suit (Mind/Head links) [Hale]. Cold drinks temporarily palliate nausea but chill the stomach later (Stomach echo) [Hughes].
Generalities
Euonymus is a hepatic–portal regulator, keyed to torpor of the liver with “stopped bile” signs—right hypochondrial weight, bitter mouth, coated tongue, sallow tint, constipation with pale, clay-coloured stool alternating with green bilious diarrhœa—and to the hinges of relief: better after a bilious stool, better after warm drinks, better in open air, worse morning, worse rich food, worse tight clothing over liver [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke]. The head mirrors the liver: dull frontal band-ache, heavy lids, bitter taste—clearing when bile moves (explicit echo to Better after evacuation). The environment matters: marsh damp rekindles spleno-hepatic congestion and a meteorologic periodicity (Fever cross-link). Compared remedy-wise: vs Chelidonium (right scapular stitch, constant desire for very hot drinks; more stabbing and shoulder-reflex) Euonymus is dull, heavy, with clay stools; vs Chionanthus (severe jaundice with intense gallbladder pains and salivation) Euonymus is milder, more regulation than crisis; vs Nux (irritable, gastric spasm, ineffectual urging) Euonymus is less spasmodic, more “bile-stopped heaviness”; vs Podophyllum/Leptandra (profuse painless watery/black stools) Euonymus centres on clay or green bilious stools with hepatic weight; vs Lycopodium (gas, 4–8 p.m., right lower ribs) Euonymus lacks the marked 4–8 p.m. flatulence and mental timidity [Farrington], [Boger], [Kent], [Dewey]. The practical portrait is consistent: regulate bile, lighten diet, keep to small warm meals, loosen the belt, walk gently in open air; when these echoes match, Euonymus acts cleanly.
Differential Diagnosis
Hepatic torpor / jaundice
- Chelidonium — sharp pains to right scapula, desire for very hot drinks; yellow-coated tongue; Euonymus has dull heaviness and clay stool without marked scapular stitch [Farrington], [Clarke].
- Chionanthus — violent biliary colic, intense jaundice, salivation, sick-headache; Euonymus for quieter torpor with clay stools and frontal weight [Hale], [Boericke].
- Carduus marianus — liver swelling, stitching pains, varicose/portal stasis; Euonymus less venous, more bile-secretion regulation [Clarke], [Farrington].
- Nux vomica — irritable, ineffectual urging, gastric spasm; Euonymus milder temperament, relief after bilious stool prime [Kent], [Boger].
- Lycopodium — 4–8 p.m. flatulence, right-to-left distension, craving sweets; Euonymus lacks fixed time, has clay stool/bitter mouth [Kent], [Farrington].
Bilious diarrhœa / constipation
- Podophyllum — profuse, painless, early-morning gushes; Euonymus: alternation with clay stools; hepatic weight dominant [Farrington].
- Leptandra — black, tarry stools, prostration; Euonymus: pale or green stools, less collapse [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Mercurius dulcis — pale stools in infantile hepatic catarrh; more salivation; Euonymus with adult torpor and sick-headache [Hale], [Farrington].
Hepatic cephalalgia
- Iris versicolor — burning, acrid vomit, visual aura; Euonymus dull band-ache with bitter mouth and hepatic relief by stool [Farrington].
- Sanguinaria — right-sided, sun- or clock-related; Euonymus less periodic, more diet- and bile-linked [Clarke].
Splenic drag / intermittent tendency
- China — periodicity with profound debility, flatulent distension; Euonymus when marsh-weather and hepatic signs (clay stool, bitter mouth) lead [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Cedron — precise clock periodicity, neuralgias; Euonymus has meteorologic periodicity, biliary colouring [Farrington].
- Remedy Relationships
- Complementary: Nux vom. — clears drugging and gastric spasm; Euonymus then regulates bile and stool [Kent], [Clarke].
- Complementary: Chelidonium — alternates in right hypochondrial states: Chel. for stitching scapular pains; Euon. for clay stools and dull weight [Farrington].
- Complementary: China — restores after long bilious states with flatulent weakness; follows Euon. when torpor lifts [Dewey].
- Follows well: Chionanthus — once acute gall-storm subsides yet torpor with clay stool remains [Hale], [Clarke].
- Follows well: Hydrastis — after mucous gastric catarrh is lessened; Euon. takes the hepatic regulation [Farrington].
- Precedes well: Lycopodium — when gas and 4–8 p.m. flatulence persist after bile flow improves [Kent].
- Related: Carduus mar., Taraxacum, Chelidonium, Nux, Leptandra, Podophyllum — hepatic cluster; compare per stools and pains [Farrington], [Boericke].
- Antidotes: Nux/Coffea for medicinal over-action; general Camphor as needed [Kent], [Allen].
- Inimicals: none recorded; avoid needless alternation among hepatic analogues on the same plane [Kent], [Boger].
Remedy Relationships
Euonymus personifies the liver’s heaviness: a slow, overburdened portal tree with “stopped bile.” The sufferer wakes bilious—bitter mouth, yellow-white tongue, dull brow-band ache, sallow skin, right hypochondrial weight. Meals are a gamble: rich, fatty, late, or alcoholic foods provoke nausea and greenish vomiting; yet long fasting is no friend, for it precipitates the sick-headache of arrested bile. The bowels tell the tale: clay-coloured, putty-like stools in torpor; or a turn to green, bilious stools when the organism finally “lets go.” These stools are not the torrential, painless gushes of Podophyllum, nor the tarry prostration of Leptandra; they are the mechanical register of a biliary tap turned too little or too much. The head and mood follow the liver slavishly: irritability, fretfulness, mental slowness—then clarity after a bilious stool or warm drink; this hinge of relief appears in Mind, Head, Stomach and Rectum and must be explicitly heard (Better after bilious stool; Better warm drinks) [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke].
Kingdom signature (per Hughes/Hale): a bitter, cholagogue shrub whose Eclectic “euonymin” stirred bile and bowels—transposed homœopathically into a regulator for functional torpor, modest jaundice, gastric catarrh, and spleno-hepatic congestion in damp seasons [Hughes], [Hale]. Miasmatically Psoric–Sycotic: cycles of under/over-secretion, periodic marsh aggravations, a temperament bettered by routine and gentle motion in dry air (Better gentle walking, Better dry climate), yet worse morning and with tight clothing (pressure) over the liver intolerable (Generalities echoes) [Clarke]. Pace: subacute-chronic; reactivity: low, heavy, sluggish; thermal: not extreme, but a clear aversion to cold damp (marsh) that rekindles the intermittent drag of spleen and dull head. Core polarities: stagnation vs flow; heaviness vs lightness after drainage; diet-bound aggravations vs relief by simplicity and warmth.
Micro-comparisons sharpen the choice. When the right scapula stings and a very hot drink is incessantly desired, Chelidonium eclipses Euonymus; when gall-storm and intense jaundice roar, Chionanthus leads; when irascibility and spasm dominate, Nux commands; when the stool is black, tarry, and collapse steals strength, Leptandra; when watery gushes at dawn pour forth, Podophyllum. If, however, the narrative repeats “I feel a band across my brow; my mouth is bitter; my right side heavy; my stool is pale unless bile runs; and I am better after a good bilious stool and warm simple food,” Euonymus deserves first thought. Practically: insist on small, regular, warm meals; forbid fats and alcohol; loosen the belt; walk gently in open air; avoid marsh damp. Potency: low–mid (3x–6x/6C) in sluggish bowels and gastric catarrh; 30C–200C when the keynote clay stool + hepatic band-headache + relief after bilious stool is crystalline; LM/Q for chronic intermittent torpor with marsh periodicity [Hale], [Boericke], [Dewey], [Vithoulkas]. Repetition should mirror the hinges: dose when heaviness and bitter mouth reappear; space as flow normalises. Sequencing often runs: Nux (drugging/spasm) → Euonymus (regulate bile) → China (convalescent flatulence/weakness).
Clinical Tips
Typical indications: Hepatic torpor with dull right hypochondrial ache; clay-coloured stools or alternation with green bilious diarrhœa; bitter mouth on waking; dull frontal “band” headache; sallow tint; worse rich/fat foods and alcohol; better after a bilious stool, warm simple food, and gentle walking in open air; splenic drag and marsh-weather periodicity in ex-ague subjects [Hale], [Allen], [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke]. Potency: 3x–6x (or 6C) t.i.d. in sluggish bowels; 30C for characteristic hepatic headache; 200C single dose in clean keynote cases; LM/Q daily for several weeks in chronic torpor with periodicity [Dewey], [Vithoulkas]. Repetition: in acute bilious turns, dose on return of bitter mouth/brow-band heaviness; in chronic states, taper as stools regain colour and mornings brighten. Adjuncts: warm broths, avoidance of fats/alcohol, early light supper, loose belt, gentle post-prandial walk, dry air when possible [Clarke], [Hughes].
Case pearls:
• “Clay stool + brow band-headache” after pastry and wine; Euon. 6C q6h; next morning bilious stool with relief of head; diet correction maintained [Hale], [Clinical].
• Ex-ague clerk, marsh damp aggravations, spleen drag, bitter mouth; Euon. 30C b.i.d. for a fortnight with dry-air walks—less morning sallow, stools coloured [Clarke], [Hughes].
• Postpartum constipation, pale stools, right-sided heaviness; Euon. 6x t.i.d. + warm fluids—stool bilious by day 3, mood and sleep improved [Boericke], [Clinical].
Selected Repertory Rubrics
Mind
- Irritability, “liverish,” better after stool — functional affect change with drainage [Kent], [Clarke].
- Aversion to tight clothing about waist — hepatic pressure-sensitivity [Clarke].
- Anxiety from business/anger aggravating biliousness — trigger rubric [Kent], [Hale].
- Mental slowness in morning with bitter mouth — hepatic fog [Allen].
- Better in open air and after gentle walking — portal drainage aid [Clarke].
- Apathy alternating with fretfulness, relieved by warm food — dietary hinge [Hale].
Head
- Headache, frontal band, morning, with bitter taste — hepatic cephalalgia [Allen], [Hale].
- Headache better after bilious stool or flow of bile — master hinge [Clarke].
- Headache worse rich/fat foods; after late supper — dietary modality [Hale].
- Heaviness of eyelids with brow pain — portal signature [Clarke].
- Headache with sallow face and coated tongue — biliary link [Boericke].
- Loosening clothing around waist eases head pressure — abdominal–head reflex [Clarke].
Mouth/Stomach
- Taste bitter on waking; tongue yellow-white — hepatic catarrh [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Nausea and vomiting of green bile after rich foods — bilious storm [Hale], [Allen].
- Eructations, offensive, after alcohol or pastry — aggravating foods [Hughes].
- Desire for warm drinks; warm food ameliorates — modality [Boericke].
- Heartburn less than Nux; dyspepsia from “stopped bile” — differential note [Farrington].
- Worse morning, before breakfast; better after gentle walking — routine hinges [Clarke].
Abdomen/Rectum
- Right hypochondrium, dull ache; worse pressure/tight clothes; better lying on left — hepatic weight [Clarke].
- Stools, clay-coloured; constipation from hepatic torpor — keynote [Allen], [Hale].
- Stools, green, bilious, alternating with pale — alternation rubric [Hughes].
- Splenic drag in damp weather (ex-ague) — meteorologic periodicity [Clarke], [Hughes].
- Borborygmi with portal congestion; better after flatus/stool — drainage relief [Allen].
- Hæmorrhoids secondary; not bleeding as keynote — differential (vs Hamamelis) [Clarke].
Urinary/Skin
- Urine scant, high-coloured, during hepatic torpor — portal–renal tie [Hughes].
- Urine increases as bile flows; head clearer — systemic hinge [Clarke].
- Jaundice, mild; sallow skin with pruritus if bile obstructed — integumentary sign [Clarke], [Hughes].
- Bile pigment in urine with icterus — confirmatory [Clarke].
- Morning sweat slight on forehead with head heaviness — minor marker [Clarke].
- Complexion muddy; clears with restoration of bile — prognostic rubric [Hale].
Generalities/Fever
- Worse cold damp, marsh weather; periodic aggravation — intermittent echo [Hughes].
- Better open air and gentle motion after nausea subsides — practical rubric [Clarke].
- Worse morning; better after evacuation — daily rhythm [Allen].
- Food: fats, pastry, alcohol aggravate — dietary law [Hale].
- Loosening clothing ameliorates oppression — mechanical cue [Clarke].
- Weakness after rich meals; relief after warm light food — convalescent hint [Hughes].
References
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving fragments and clinical notes—hepatic cephalalgia, clay stools, bilious vomiting, morning bitter mouth.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): clinical keynotes—liver torpor, jaundice tendency, gastric catarrh, dietary modalities.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): miasmatic colouring; comparisons with Chelidonium, Nux, Lycopodium in hepatic states.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): substance background, Eclectic history, hepatic–portal indications, modalities (after stool, warm drinks, open air).
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (1901): dosing strategies in bilious dyspepsia; sequencing with Nux, China; marsh periodicity remarks.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differentials—Chelidonium, Chionanthus, Podophyllum, Leptandra, Iris, Sanguinaria.
Hale, E. M. — New Remedies (various eds., late 19th c.): extensive Eclectic–homœopathic experience with Euonymus/Euonymin; cholagogue action; case confirmations.
Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): confirmations in bilious cephalalgia, pale stools, hepatic heaviness.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870): pharmacology and clinical sphere—portal–hepatic drainage, antiperiodic notes, dietary relations.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): temperament and organ-remedy comparisons (Nux, Lycopodium, Chelidonium).
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): general remarks on bilious headaches and hepatic remedies (contextual comparisons).
Vithoulkas, G. — Materia Medica Viva (1991–93): potency and repetition guidance in chronic functional hepatic states (applied methodologically).
Disclaimer
Educational use only. This page does not provide medical advice or diagnosis. If you have urgent symptoms or a medical emergency, seek professional medical care immediately.
