Lycopus virginicus

A marsh-loving mint of the Lamiaceae, Lycopus virginicus was adopted by the Eclectics as a haemostatic and “cardiac sedative,” noted to slow and steady the heart, lessen vascular excitement, and restrain haemorrhages, particularly haemoptysis in consumptives [Hughes], [Hale], [Clarke]. Clinical observation further linked it with a thyroid-tranquillising action—tachycardia, tremor, and exophthalmic features in Graves’ disease abating under Lycopus—whence its repute as a low-pulse, anti-thyroid remedy [Clarke], [Boericke]. Pharmacologically it depresses over-activity of the heart and diminishes peripheral vascular irritability; tincture from the fresh plant (flowering tops) is used, and triturations are prepared where required [Hale], [Clarke]. The materia medica picture is thus largely [Clinical]/[Toxicology], with scattered proving fragments collated by Allen and others—palpitation, dyspnoea on exertion, haemorrhagic oozing, precordial anxiety, and thyroidal fullness [Allen], [Clarke], [Hering].

No full Hahnemannian proving. Data derive mainly from Eclectic toxicology and abundant bedside confirmations; Allen and Clarke summarise provers’ and patients’ notes—cardiac depression, oppressed breathing, vascular quieting, slight somnolence, and control of passive bleedings [Allen], [Clarke], [Hale]. [Clinical]/[Toxicology]

Lycopus-v. is the cooler of hot blood. The patient’s trouble is not cardiac failure but cardiac irritability—a rapid, soft pulse that leaps at the least emotion or effort, with oppression of chest and short breath that forbid lying flat. This vascular excitement extends to the thyroid: hot, tremulous, exophthalmic subjects, flushed in warm rooms, easily startled, and worse from stimulants. The capillary system leaks under pressure—passive haemorrhages of dark blood: haemoptysis on exertion, epistaxis in heat, bleeding piles—oozing that drains strength but does not purge it violently [Clarke], [Hale], [Boericke]. Modalities are decisive and consistent across systems: worse warmth, motion, emotion, stimulants, better absolute rest, head and shoulders raised, cool air, mental quiet, and small sips only. As the pulse steadies, the whole sphere clears—the chest opens, the head cools, the eyes lose their stare, and the mind’s fretfulness subsides. This linkage of heart–thyroid–haemorrhage gives the remedy its unity.

In the broader map, Lycopus balances Iodum/Spongia (hot thyroids) by tempering rather than driving; it differs from Digitalis which supports a failing, slow heart, while Lycopus restrains a fast, irritable one. It approaches Hamamelis in passive venous bleeding, yet adds a command over the pulse. The pace is subacute-to-chronic with paroxysms; excitable temperaments, students overstimulated, or convalescents from fevers who cannot bear warm rooms often need it. The practical hallmark is the return of tolerance: the patient can recline without flutter, pass a staircase without breathlessness, and hours pass without a trace of oozing. This therapeutic shift—the heart behaving like a servant again, not a master—signals Lycopus has struck home [Clarke], [Hughes], [Hale].

• Heart—rate and force: depresses tumultuous action, steadies irritable tachycardia, especially functional and thyroidal; dyspnoea and palpitation from least exertion (see Heart/Respiration) [Hale], [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Thyroid—hyperfunction: exophthalmic goitre, tremor, heat, anxiety with rapid pulse; Lycopus moderates vascular and thyroid excitement (see Generalities/Chest) [Clarke], [Hughes].
• Vaso-motor system & capillaries: passive haemorrhages—haemoptysis, epistaxis, bleeding piles—oozing rather than spurting; blood dark, non-coagulant (see Respiration/Rectum/Nose) [Hale], [Clarke].
• Lungs/bronchi: cough of cardiac origin; oppression, haemoptysis with warm chest feeling and fluttering (see Chest/Respiration) [Boericke], [Hale].
• Nervous system: cardiac anxiety, tremulousness, insomnia from vascular excitement; calms by slowing circulation (see Mind/Sleep) [Clarke], [Hughes].
• Eyes (thyroid): prominence, stare, vascular injection in Graves’ states, improving as pulse falls (see Eyes) [Clarke].
• Liver/portal: portal congestion accompanying cardiac states; haemorrhoids bleeding easily (see Abdomen/Rectum) [Hale].
• Urino-genital: secondary bleedings—menorrhagia/metrorrhagia, haematuria—in the same passive type (see Female/Urinary) [Clarke], [Hale].

Anxiety gathers in the precordia: a quiet dread that the heart will fail, increasing with excitement and lessening in mental rest, which tallies with the modality (better for mental quiet) already noted [Clarke]. Patient is tremulous, easily startled, intolerant of stimulants; the least disturbance sends the pulse up and brings breathlessness. There is no stormy anger of Nux-v., nor the panicky terror of Acon.; rather a vascular fretfulness from over-driven circulation (Mind ↔ Heart). Confidence returns as the pulse falls under rest or after doses; sleep then becomes possible. Fear of haemoptysis in those who have coughed blood leads to precautionary quiet; any contradictory desire to move results in relapse (cross-link to Worse for exertion). With thyroidal states the mind is hurried, hot, and restless; as Lycopus cools the vascular tide the thoughts slow proportionately [Clarke], [Hughes].

Cannot sleep for fluttering and heat; wakes with palpitation on turning; sleeps better toward morning when the air cools and the pulse is quieter (Sleep ↔ Heart/Modalities) [Clarke]. Dreams anxious of suffocation or bleeding.

Of choking, blood, or crowds; startles awake with heart-rush (Dreams ↔ Mind/Heart).

Lycopus draws a coherent picture: an over-driven circulation—hot, rapid, soft pulse; palpitation from least motion or emotion; oppression of chest with cardiac cough; and passive dark haemorrhages—especially haemoptysis—all worse warmth, exertion, and stimulants, better absolute rest, cool air, mental quiet, and head raised [Clarke], [Hale], [Boericke], [Hughes]. Where thyroid symptoms supervene—tremor, heat, exophthalmic stare—the same modalities hold, and improvement in pulse ushers relief in mind, chest, and eyes (cross-links: Mind/Eyes/Heart). It stands between Spongia and Iodum (thyroid hyper), but Lycopus is cooler, haemostatic, and cardio-sedative; beside Digitalis, which slows a failing heart, Lycopus steadies an irritable one; with Crataegus (tonic), Lycopus is chosen when bleeding or thyroid drives the picture. Direction of cure is readable: haemorrhages cease, pulse steadies, ability to recline returns, and the patient bears small exertions without flutter or cough.

Flush-heat without high temperature; hot face, soft pulse, then slight chill as circulation falls; night aggravation common (Fever ↔ Generalities) [Clarke].

Chill on exposure after flush; heat from warm rooms; sweat with least motion—mirrors vascular irritability (Chill/Heat/Sweat ↔ Modalities) [Hale].

Fullness and throbbing, especially in warm rooms, with flushing of face and temples, relieved by cool air and repose (Head ↔ Modalities) [Clarke]. Vertigo on stooping or first lying down suggests vascular surges; sitting up and steadying the breath helps. Headache accompanies palpitation rather than precedes it; a cardio-cephalic sympathy typical of the remedy. Epistaxis may ease the head yet weaken the whole (Head ↔ Nose/Haemorrhage) [Hale]. There is no congestive fury as in Belladonna; it is the soft, hot, oppressed head of vascular irritability.

Prominent, shining look with wide palpebral fissures in exophthalmic cases; conjunctival injection when the heart flutters [Clarke]. Vision mists during flushes, clears as the pulse subsides (Eyes ↔ Heart). Photophobia slight; heat aggravates discomfort. In haemorrhagic subjects, sub-conjunctival oozes have been recorded clinically [Hale]. Improvement of the eyes follows quieting of heart and thyroid rather than direct ocular action.

Roaring in the ears during palpitating fits; pulsations audible to the patient [Clarke]. Sudden start or effort increases tinnitus. Hearing returns to normal as circulation steadies (Ears ↔ Heart). No inflammatory otology is characteristic.

Epistaxis of the passive kind—oozing, dark blood—relieving head pressure yet exhausting, often induced by warmth or exertion (Nose ↔ Head/Generalities) [Hale], [Clarke]. Dry heat of room provokes nasal tickle; cool air steadies. Smell of tobacco irritates and may start bleeding in the sensitive.

Flushes easily; pallor follows bleeding. Lips may be bluish during dyspnoea; a cardiac tint rather than pulmonary per se (Face ↔ Respiration/Heart) [Clarke]. Expression anxious, particularly when lying down.

Tongue moist; taste flat with weakness after haemorrhage. Mouth and fauces feel warm; little thirst unless heated; large draughts aggravate cough (Mouth ↔ Stomach/Respiration) [Hale].

No fixed tooth picture; gum oozing in haemorrhagic diathesis occasionally noted [Hale].

Sense of warmth and throbbing at root of neck with thyroidal fullness; external neck-vessels seem over-brisk (Throat ↔ Thyroid/Heart) [Clarke]. Swallowing normal; talking or excitement starts fluttering.

Oppression behind sternum with fluttering heart; cannot lie flat; must have head raised—this tallies with the amelioration (head raised) already noted [Boericke]. Warmth floods the chest; cool air gives ease. Cough is short, teasing, cardiac in origin; haemoptysis of dark blood on least exertion (Chest ↔ Respiration/Haemorrhage) [Hale].

Keynote: irritable, rapid heart with palpitation from least effort or excitement, pulse soft, compressible; Lycopus slows and steadies, diminishing the force of the wave [Clarke], [Hale], [Boericke]. Precordial anxiety, tremor, heat, and throbbing neck-vessels; voice may tremble when pulse is high. Not the failing, intermittent heart of Digitalis, but the over-driven, hot heart of thyroid or nervous origin. Improvement seen in power to recline and to take a few steps without flutter (Heart ↔ Generalities/Respiration).

Dyspnoea on ascending or on first lying down; must be semi-recumbent. Haemoptysis—dark, passive—on exertion or heat; cough eased by small sips and stillness (Respiration ↔ Modalities) [Hale], [Boericke]. Asthmatic element is secondary; the cardiac engine is the theme.

Weight at epigastrium with cardiac oppression after meals; large meals or stimulants renew palpitation (Stomach ↔ Heart/Modalities) [Hale]. Nausea may accompany coughing fits. Appetite small during hot, irritable phases; returns with quiet pulse.

Portal congestion when heart is irritable; abdominal fullness relieved by lying with head raised (Abdomen ↔ Heart) [Hale]. Tenderness not pronounced.

Bleeding piles—dark, passive oozing, worse from exertion or warm room, better cool rest; Lycopus restrains the flow and calms the vascular storm (Rectum ↔ Generalities) [Hale], [Clarke]. Tenesmus slight.

Urine pale during vascular excitement; haematuria of the same passive type has been reported clinically (Urinary ↔ Haemorrhage) [Hale]. Frequency with anxiety; settles as circulation steadies.

Worse stimulants (coffee, alcohol, tobacco), worse large or late meals; better small sips and light diet (Food ↔ Heart/Stomach) [Clarke], [Hale]. Desires cool drinks during heat.

Palpitation after coitus; needs quiet and cool air. Passive urethral oozing rare but within the haemorrhagic trend [Clarke].

Menorrhagia/metrorrhagia—dark, passive, worse warmth and motion; menses aggravate palpitation; relief in recumbency (Female ↔ Heart/Generalities) [Clarke], [Hale]. After-pains not a sphere; lochia over-free may be moderated.

Throbbing in back of neck; cervical vessels thrum with excitement; relief by cool application and rest (Back ↔ Heart). Dorsal oppression with cough; not the clutching constriction of Cactus.

Tremulous weakness; hands warm and moist during flushes; coldness after bleedings. Oedematous ankles where heart strain persists (Extremities ↔ Heart) [Clarke].

Pale or flushed; tendency to passive haemorrhages under skin (ecchymoses) in those disposed [Hale]. Sweat on exertion readily; hot and moist in warm rooms.

• Aetiology—Thyroid-driven tachycardia
  • Iodum: heat, ravenous hunger, emaciation, restless drive; pulse hard; Lycopus cooler, haemostatic, less catabolic [Kent], [Clarke].
  • Spongia: dry heat of thyroid, barking cough; less haemorrhage; Lycopus has passive bleedings and cardiac quieting [Boericke], [Clarke].
  • Thyroidinum: endocrine regulation broadly; less specific to passive haemorrhage; Lycopus targets tachy-haemorrhagic states [Clarke].
• Organ affinity—Heart (palpitation)
  • Digitalis: slow, weak pulse, sinking, bluish, must lie perfect still; Lycopus—rapidity/irritability with soft pulse, haemorrhagic tendency [Hale], [Clarke].
  • Cactus: constriction “as if iron band”; Lycopus—oppression without iron grip; bleeds more [Boger], [Boericke].
  • Crataegus: tonic to myocardium; not notably haemostatic; Lycopus for irritable tachy with bleeding [Farrington], [Boericke].
• Haemorrhage (passive, dark)
  • Hamamelis: venous stasis, bruised soreness; Lycopus adds cardio-thyroid irritation [Clarke], [Hale].
  • Millefolium: bright haemoptysis from exertion; Lycopus—dark passive oozing with soft pulse [Boericke].
  • Phosphorus: bright red haemorrhage with burning and anxiety; Lycopus—cooler, less burning, more cardiac [Hering].
• Respiration—Cardiac cough/haemoptysis
  • Aconite: panic, dry hot skin, acute onset; Lycopus—less fear, more vascular irritability and bleeding [Kent].
  • Ipecac.: incessant nausea with cough; haemoptysis bright; Lycopus—little nausea; passive dark ooze [Allen], [Clarke].
• Modalities—Worse warmth/exertion; better cool air, rest
  • Glonoine: bursting head in heat, throbbing; more cerebral; Lycopus heart/haemorrhage focus [Hughes].
  • Gelsemium: slow, drowsy, drooping; Lycopus—hurried yet depressed heart; haemostatic edge [Farrington].

• Complementary: Crataegus—tone to myocardium while Lycopus calms irritable tachycardia [Boericke], [Farrington].
• Complementary: Spongia—thyroid states; Spongia for glandular hardness/hoarseness, Lycopus for hot pulse and bleedings [Clarke].
• Complementary: Hamamelis—venous haemorrhages; Lycopus adds heart quieting [Hale].
• Follows well: Aconite—after acute vascular fright when pulse remains irritable [Kent].
• Follows well: Phosphorus—after bright haemoptysis when passive oozing persists with cardiac irritability [Hering], [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Digitalis—if irritability passes to weakness and slowness (change of state) [Clarke].
• Related: Cactus, Millefolium, Ipecac., Belladonna (heat throbbing), Thyroidinum, Iodum—see differentials.
• Antidotes/Aggravations: Stimulants (tobacco, alcohol, coffee) aggravate; quiet, cool air antidotes environment [Clarke].
• Inimicals: None recorded in the classics; avoid alternation without new totality [Boger], [Kent].

• Haemoptysis in cardiac irritation or early phthisis—dark, passive oozing, worse exertion/heat: tincture (Ø) 3–10 drops in water q2–3h, then taper; compare Hamam., Millef. [Hale], [Boericke].
• Exophthalmic goitre with tachycardia—palpitation on least motion, heat intolerance, tremor: 2x–3x or mother tincture in small doses; avoid stimulants; monitor pulse [Clarke], [Hughes].
• Cardiac cough/oppression—cannot lie flat; better with head raised and small sips: Lycopus-v. 3x–30C, given cautiously and watched for steadying pulse [Boericke], [Hale].
• Bleeding piles (passive)—dark oozing, worse warm rooms: combine regimen (cool sitz, rest) + Lycopus 2x–6x [Hale].
• Case pearls:
  • Haemoptysis after ascending stairs, dark blood; pulse 110 → 80 after two days on Lycopus Ø, bed-rest, cool room [Hale].
  • Graves’ patient with tremor/pulse 120 in warm room; Lycopus 3x + strict stimulant avoidance reduced pulse to 88 in one week [Clarke].
  • Cardiac cough nightly on lying flat; two pillows and Lycopus 6x removed haemoptysis and allowed recumbency [Boericke].

Mind

• Anxiety in precordia with palpitation—cardio-mental linkage; choose when fear tracks the pulse [Clarke].
• Startled easily; slight emotion → flutter—excitability rubric [Clarke].
• Aversion to stimulants; aggravation from tobacco/coffee—practical management sign [Clarke].
• Better in quiet, dark room—rest/quiet modality [Clarke].
• Fear to move lest haemorrhage recur—post-bleed caution [Hale].
• Mental exertion aggravates pulse (reading, talking)—vascular sensitivity [Clarke].

Head

• Headache, throbbing in warm rooms; better cool air—thermal key [Clarke].
• Vertigo on stooping/lying down—vascular surge [Boericke].
• Flushed face with soft rapid pulse—“hot head” of circulation [Clarke].
• Epistaxis, dark, passive—relieves head yet weakens [Hale].
• Pulsation in temples synchronous with heart—diagnostic feel [Clarke].
• Must sit up for relief—postural rubric [Boericke].

Nose

• Epistaxis—dark, passive; worse warmth, exertion—haemorrhagic trend [Hale].
• Coryza with chest oppression during palpitations—cardio-nasal link [Clarke].
• Sensitive to tobacco odour—provokes flutter or bleed [Clarke].
• Dry nose in warm rooms, flushed face—thermal aggravation [Clarke].
• Nosebleed after coughing—cardiac cough association [Hale].
• Better cool air—environmental cue [Clarke].

Chest/Respiration

• Dyspnoea on least exertion—cardiac type [Boericke].
• Oppression of chest with palpitation—signature [Clarke].
• Cannot lie flat; better head raised—positional [Boericke].
• Cough, cardiac, with haemoptysis (dark, passive)—key indication [Hale].
• Warm room aggravates breath—thermal [Clarke].
• Small sips of water relieve tickle—practical bedside sign [Hale].

Heart

• Palpitation from least motion/emotion—grand rubric [Clarke].
• Pulse soft, rapid; vascular excitement—physiognomy [Hale].
• Throbbing carotids; precordial anxiety—objective/subjective pair [Clarke].
• Better absolute rest—selection aid [Boericke].
• Worse stimulants—management rule [Clarke].
• Heart symptoms with thyroid enlargement—endocrine link [Clarke].

Haemorrhages (General)

• Haemoptysis, dark, passive—Lycopus key sphere [Hale], [Boericke].
• Epistaxis in warm rooms—environment-modal [Clarke].
• Haemorrhoids, bleeding, dark oozing—portal-venous sphere [Hale].
• Menorrhagia passive—increased with warmth/exertion—female rubric [Clarke].
• Haematuria oozing—less common but confirmatory [Hale].
• Bleeding worse at night on lying down—positional [Boericke].

Generalities

• Worse warmth (rooms/bed), exertion, emotion, stimulants—master modalities [Clarke], [Hale].
• Better cool air, rest, mental quiet, head raised—nursing essentials [Boericke].
• Thyroid hyper-function concomitant—state-level tag [Clarke].
• Passive bleedings with soft quick pulse—type diagnosis [Hale].
• Flushing then chill—vascular instability [Clarke].
• Tremulous weakness; oedematous ankles (cardiac) late—evolution cue [Clarke].

Hale, E. M. — New Remedies (various editions, late 19th c.): clinical and toxicologic data; haemostatic and cardiac action; dosage guidance.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (late 19th c.): physiological and clinical notes on cardiac/haemostatic effects.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): thyroid–cardiac portrait; haemorrhages; modalities; relationships.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): collated proving fragments and clinical confirmations (heart, haemorrhage).
Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): confirmations in haemoptysis and cardiac irritability.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—heart, Graves’, haemorrhage; nursing modalities.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): generalities, relationships—Cactus, Digitalis, Hamamelis.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica (1905): comparisons—Acon., Iod., Spong., Digitalis; selection by modalities.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1890): heart and haemorrhage differentials; Crataegus relation.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): clinical hints—haemorrhage states and cardiac irritability.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homeopathic Therapeutics (early 20th c.): haemoptysis, cardiac cough, Graves’ tips.
Dunham, C. — Lectures on Materia Medica (1879): general therapeutic philosophy and cardiovascular comparisons.