Petroselinum crispum

A biennial herb of Apiaceae (Umbel family). Classical preparations use the fresh plant—particularly root and seeds—for the mother tincture, then potentised by trituration/succussion [Clarke], [Allen]. Principal constituents include apiol and related phenylpropanoids that are diuretic, emmenagogue, and urinary-tract irritant in crude doses, supplying pathophysiologic colour for the remedy’s urethral tingling, spasm, and tenesmus [Hughes], [Clarke]. The remedy has long been valued in urethral catarrh (including gonorrhoea), vesical tenesmus, nocturnal enuresis, and prostatic irritation, with the peculiar symptom of intolerable itching/tingling deep in the urethra provoking sudden, irresistible urging to urinate [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger].

Pathogenesis assembled from fragmentary provings and extensive clinical confirmations in urethral–vesical disease: violent urethral itching/tingling “as if ants were crawling”, sudden irresistible urging, urine passed in spurts with burning, smarting after micturition, vesical tenesmus, prostatic irritation, and reflex genital manoeuvres (children bore fists into perineum or rub penis); modalities worse after urinating, worse at night, worse from sexual excitement and suppression of discharges; better passing urine (briefly), cooling/ablution, and rest [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Tags: [Proving] [Clinical] [Toxicology].

Core Themes / Remedy Essence. Petros. is the tingling-urethra remedy: a deep crawling/itching shoots along the urethra, provoking sudden, imperative urging; a little urine passes with burning, then smarting and tingling become worse after the act, forcing new efforts. The neck of the bladder is irritable and spasmodic; tenesmus is conspicuous. Children are diagnostic: they rub the penis, pull the prepuce, or bore the fists into the perineum, then bed-wet, especially after midnight; elderly men with prostatic irritability complain of deep tickle and nocturnal urging that is briefly eased by passing a few drops or by tepid ablution [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke]. The gonorrhoeal sphere belongs when stinging-tingling predominates over gross burning, or where suppression has left split/irregular stream and relapses.

Differentiation. Choose Petros. over Cantharis when itch-crawl (not sheer burning) and after-urination aggravation lead; over Sarsaparilla when pain occurs at both beginning & end (not only at close) and the child does not need to stand; over Equisetum when tenesmus is painful and tingling; over Pareira when the all-fours posture is absent; over Chimaphila when there is no perineal ball yet constant tingle; over Clematis/Thuja in catarrh when deep crawling, sudden calls, and smarting after are decisive [Boger], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Allen]. The nursing frame is integral: tepid bathing, diluent sips, rest, open air, and avoidance of spices/alcohol—these modalities echo the remedy and potentiate its action [Clarke]. Pace is spasmodic, reactivity sensory-autonomic, thermal state neutral; the miasmatic tone is psoric-sycotic, with syphilitic erosion only in neglected urethral disease.

• Urethra (chief seat). Deep itching/tingling, crawling, and stinging from fossa navicularis up the urethra, driving sudden, irresistible urging; smarting after the act [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke].
• Bladder (neck/trigone). Tenesmus with scanty, frequent calls; sensation of incomplete emptying; spasm at beginning and end of urination (echoed under Urinary) [Boger], [Boericke].
• Prostate/outlet. Irritable prostate with dribbling, tickling in urethra, and nocturnal urges in elderly men [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Male genitals (reflex acts). Boys rub penis, pull at foreskin, or bore fists into perineum to relieve the deep itch-tingle [Hering], [Allen].
• Female urinary–vulvar tract. Pruritus vulvae with urethral tingling and urgent calls; post-coital smarting in urethra [Clarke], [Allen].
• Gonorrhoeal catarrh. Greenish/yellow discharge with stinging, split/irregular stream, relapses from suppression; remedy acts when tingling predominates more than burning (compare Canth.) [Hering], [Clarke].
• Children (enuresis/irritable bladder). Sudden calls, bed-wetting with penile rubbing; excitability of neck of bladder [Hering], [Boericke].
• Perineum/recto-vesical reflex. Urinary spasm reflected to perineum and anus; pressure there gives transient ease (cross-links to Rectum) [Boger], [Clarke].

The mental picture is secondary to urinary distress, yet certain features recur. There is irritability and fretfulness from incessant urging, the child becoming restless, self-manipulative (rubbing the parts), and anxious lest the next shock of tingling arrive—this harmonises with the night aggravation and the after-urination smarting already noted [Hering], [Clarke]. Adults with gonorrhoeal catarrh become preoccupied, avoiding company for fear of sudden calls and the need to handle the parts secretly (modality echo: worse sitting, better open air). A timid shame colours behaviour, with impatient replies during paroxysms and remorse when the spasm subsides. Sleep loss fuels moroseness and low confidence in control of bladder; in children this shows as clinginess and fear of wetting. Emotionally charged stimuli (sexual thoughts, erotic literature) are worse, reawakening tingling and urging (Mind ↔ Urinary cross-link) [Clarke], [Hering]. Relief of urethral itch by cooling or perineal pressure returns a calmer, more even mood, confirming the bodily origin of the unrest [Boger], [Allen]. [Clinical].

Broken by sudden calls, chiefly after midnight; the child starts, clutches at parts, runs, then returns unrefreshed—repeating the cycle [Hering]. Adults dread the next paroxysm and lie half-asleep, listening for the signal; sleep finally returns after a small discharge or tepid ablution of parts. Dreams turn on toilets sought too late, blocked doors, and public embarrassment, reproducing the day’s continence struggle (Dreams cross-link) [Allen], [Clarke]. Morning finds heaviness of head and short temper which clear as the urinary symptoms lull. The sleep profile thus echoes the remedy’s after-urination aggravation and night worst.

Dreams of searching for a privy, of wetting before relief can be reached, of hot rooms and stinging water; children cry out and grasp the perineum in sleep, then wake to urgent desire [Allen], [Hering]. After good nights (with cool ablution and a calm bladder), dreams are bland or forgotten.

Petros. centres on urethral tingling/itching that forces sudden urging, with burning during and smarting after urination, and tenesmus of the neck of bladder; children rub the parts or bore into the perineum, and old men with prostatic irritability are frequent subjects [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Worse: after urinating, night, sexual excitement, walking/jar, sitting long, spices/alcohol; Better: passing a little, cool/tepid ablutions, perineal pressure, rest, open air. Differentiate from Cantharis (violent burning through the whole act, sexual erethism), Sarsaparilla (pain at close; must stand—children), Pareira (must kneel on all fours to void, pains to thighs/glans), Equisetum (tenesmus with little pain), Chimaphila (must stand, bend forward, perineal ball), Clematis (urethral stricture/intermittency), Thuja (gonorrhoea with split stream, warty diathesis), and Sabal (trophic BPH) by the decisive deep urethral crawling/tingling and after-urination aggravation of Petros. [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Allen].

No sustained fever picture. Slight evening heat with restless urges, transient sweat with paroxysms, then coolness as relief comes—purely functional and reflex [Clarke].

Alternate flush during urge and chill when exhausted; sweat is local from effort and anxiety, not profuse. Thermal state otherwise neutral.

Headache is reflex and congestive after broken nights of urging; a dull frontal weight alternates with occipital aching that pulses with each vesical effort [Allen], [Clarke]. Thinking about urination or hearing running water may evoke tingling up the urethra—an associative reflex that links back to Mind and Urinary. Indoor heat and crowding increase head fulness and irritability (worse indoors, better open air), whereas tepid bathing and short naps cool the head as the itch-tingle abates (modal echo). The scalp feels sensitive during paroxysms; pressure of a cool cloth relieves. Unlike Cantharis, where burning fever may accompany violent dysuria, Petros. headaches are weariness headaches of loss of sleep and pelvic spasm [Boericke], [Clarke].

Eyes grow hot and smarting late at night from wakefulness and irritation; children rub the eyes and genitals alternately as the urge returns. Light glare is not a keynote; rather, fatigue and restlessness blur accommodation until the bladder rests. Lachrymation may accompany fits of impatience but subsides as bodily comfort returns [Clarke]. There is no primary inflammatory ophthalmia in this remedy’s centre.

No characteristic otic disease. Startle at sudden noise may precipitate a call to urinate, an autonomic reflex akin to the running-water suggestion. The ears are otherwise quiet.

Indoor stuffy rooms aggravate peevishness and head heaviness, but the nasal mucosa presents no keynote pathology. Fresh air soothes and often postpones an impending call (Generalities cross-link) [Clarke].

Face flushed during efforts to restrain urine and pale after a bout of smarting; expression anxious in children who anticipate failure to reach the pot in time—mirroring sudden, imperative urging [Hering], [Allen]. Lines of tension relax once a small amount is passed (Better passing a little).

Dry lips from restless nights; mouth otherwise unremarkable. In the gonorrhoeal patient, bad taste may follow alcohol/spices that also worsen burning, tying back to modalities [Clarke].

No characteristic dental symptom; grinding may occur in fretful children during urge-sleep cycles; abates when urethral itching is relieved.

A globus of anxiety may rise at the height of urging; tepid drinks settle both throat and mind. No catarrh native to the remedy.

Anxiety of breathing during violent urging; sighing after small relief; heart and lungs structurally quiet. Palpitation relates to autonomic strain and abates with rest and cooling (Generalities link) [Clarke].

Pulse quickens during paroxysms; softens after cool ablution and a few drops passed. No organic heart picture; all is reflex from urinary torment [Boericke].

Breathing held unconsciously during the urge; deep breaths afterwards mark release. Chill of night air may precipitate a call but the open air itself often soothes when not cold (Modalities balance) [Clarke].

Nausea may appear with pit-of-stomach sinking when the itch-tingle mounts and the patient fears he cannot hold; resolves once a small quantity is passed (Better passing a little). Appetite diminished on bad nights; returns by day [Clarke].

Hypogastric weight and vesical pressure predominate; intestines tense reflexly with the urinary spasm. Tight waistbands worse; loosening clothing and open air better. Gas aggravates pelvic pressure; after stool the urinary urge may abate a little (modal echo) [Boger], [Clarke]. No inflammatory abdominal picture belongs here by default.

Recto-vesical reflex shows as perineal pressure giving brief relief, and ineffectual urging to stool during urinary spasm (tenesmus both ways) [Boger]. Children may squat or bore into the perineum to ease the deep urethral itch, a practical sign guiding prescription [Hering]. True piles or fissure are not a keynote.

This is the centre. Intolerable tingling/itching deep in the urethra, often described as crawling of ants, provokes sudden, irresistible urging; the patient must run and may pass only a little with burning; as soon as the stream ceases, smarting and tingling grow worse, compelling fresh attempts [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke]. Tenesmus of the neck of bladder is constant; pains are sharpest at the beginning and the end of urination (compare Sars.—pain chiefly at close; Canth.—burning through the entire act) [Boger], [Boericke]. In gonorrhoeal states there may be greenish or yellow discharge with stinging rather than scalding, and intermittent split/irregular stream after meddlesome treatment or suppression [Clarke], [Hering]. Children exhibit penile rubbing, foreskin pulling, or perineal boring, then bed-wet, especially after midnight (Modalities cross-link) [Hering], [Boericke]. Elderly men with prostatic irritability report nocturnal urging, dribbling, and deep tickle in the urethra relieved for moments by passing a little and by cool ablutions [Clarke].

Spices, alcohol, and hot rich food worsen smarting and frequency; diluent warm/tepid drinks in sips ease burning and help mechanical flushing (nursing) [Clarke]. Coffee aggravates in some; plain diet better in convalescence.

Urethral tingle shoots to glans and along penis, compelling rubbing; preputial soreness follows handling. Sexual excitement or reading erotic matter worsens the tingling and renewed urging (Mind cross-link) [Clarke]. Gleet with stinging more than burning fits Petros. better than Canth.; Clematis suits more stricture-like intermittency without the characteristic itch-crawl. Post-coital smarting in urethra is common and points here if the deep crawling is emphasised [Allen], [Clarke].

Women with urethral catarrh complain of urgent calls with pruritus vulvae and smarting after the act; coitus may leave a tingling up the urethra rather than vaginal soreness, directing the choice away from Sepia/Nat-m. and toward Petros. [Clarke]. Pregnancy may heighten neck-of-bladder irritability; when crawling/tingling is the decisive sensation and cool ablution palliates, Petros. is apt. Children (girls) show fidgeting at vulva and sudden calls with bed-wetting after excitement [Hering].

Sacral and suprapubic aching accompany tenesmus; jarring the spine (stepping down) aggravates neck-of-bladder spasm (worse jar) [Boger]. Warm flannel to loins eases the reflex aching while tepid bathing calms the urethral itch (modal echo).

Restless thigh adduction or crossing to compress perineum in children; legs twitch as the urge mounts. After relief, limbs loosen and warmth returns to feet (autonomic swing).

No defining eruption. Perineal skin may be irritated from handling; cooling lotions soothe. In gonorrhoeal states, excoriation around meatus may occur but is secondary [Clarke].

Urethral tenesmus / dysuria

• Cantharis — Furious burning before/during/after; sexual erethism; Petros. has tingling/itch-crawl with after-urination smarting predominance [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Sarsaparilla — Pain chiefly at close; child stands to pass; Petros. pains begin & end with itch-tingle and perineal boring in children [Boger], [Allen].
• Equisetum — Intense tenesmus with little pain; Petros. has active tingling and smarting [Boger], [Clarke].
• Pareira — Must kneel on all fours; pains radiate to thighs/glans; Petros. does not require that posture but has characteristic deep crawling [Hering], [Clarke].

Gonorrhoeal/urethral catarrh

• Thuja — Warty, oily skin; split stream; emotional secrecy; Petros. chosen when tingling and post-void smarting lead [Clarke], [Kent].
• Clematis — Intermittent stream, stricture sensation; less deep itch-crawl [Boger].
• Cubeba/Copaiva — Catarrhal discharges, less tingle; Petros. when itch-sting is decisive [Clarke], [Hughes].

Prostatic irritation / elderly

• Sabal — Enlarged prostate, atony; Petros. for irritable neck with deep tickle, nocturnal urging [Boericke].
• Chimaphila — Must bend forward/stand, ball in perineum; Petros. lacks the ball feeling but has tingling [Clarke].

Paediatrics (enuresis/fidgeting)

• Causticum — Enuresis with weak sphincter, worse first sleep; Petros. has sudden, imperative calls with penile rubbing [Boger].
• Belladonna — Enuresis with heat, starting; Petros. colder, tingling-driven [Clarke].
• Equisetum — Enuresis without pain; Petros. with itch-tingle and after-void smarting [Boger].

• Complementary: Sabal — After Petros. calms irritability, Sabal may improve prostatic tone in elderly [Boericke].
• Complementary: Equisetum — Maintains bladder capacity when tenesmus persists without pain after Petros. [Boger].
• Complementary: Thuja — In gonorrhoeal sequelae with split stream after Petros. has quelled itch-tingle [Clarke].
• Follows well: Cantharis — When burning phase abates yet deep tingling and after-void smarting remain [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Follows well: Aconite — After acute chill-cystitis panic; Petros. for residual tingling and calls [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Sarsaparilla — If end-of-act pain persists in children once tingling is quieted [Allen].
• Precedes well: Chimaphila — For remaining outlet atony and perineal ball sensations [Clarke].
• Antidotes (functional): Tepid bathing, diluent drinks, rest, avoidance of spices/alcohol (nursing) [Clarke].

• Paediatric enuresis with perineal boring/penile rubbing; sudden calls after midnight: Petros. 30C every 2–4 hours in the acute phase, then nightly for several evenings; add tepid ablution before bed [Hering], [Boericke].
• Gonorrhoeal catarrh with stinging-tingling and smarting after the act; relapse after suppression: Petros. 30C–200C per sensitivity; reserve Thuja/Clematis if split stream/stricture persists [Clarke], [Allen].
• Elderly prostate irritability with deep urethral tickle and nocturnal urging: Petros. 30C at dusk and bedtime; complement with Sabal once irritability subsides [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Acute cystitis post-chill once burning phase (Canth.) has eased but tingling remains: switch to Petros. and maintain diluent tepid drinks, rest [Clarke], [Boger].

Mind

• Anxiety and fretfulness during urging to urinate — fear of next paroxysm; settles as tingling eases [Clarke], [Hering].
• Irritability from interrupted sleep (urging) — peevish child; mood clears after small void [Allen].
• Aversion to company from fear of sudden calls — shame/handling of parts [Clarke].
• Sexual thoughts excite urging/tingling — psychophysical trigger [Clarke].
• Restlessness at night from vesical tenesmus — pacing, frequent attempts [Hering].
• Better cool ablutions — mood steadies with somatic relief [Clarke].

Head

• Headache from loss of sleep with vesical tenesmus — frontal/occipital heaviness [Allen].
• Worse indoors/heat; better open air — head clears as bladder quiets [Clarke].
• Headache with every attempt to pass water — reflex vascularity [Boger].
• Pressure band over brow during urging — tension sign [Clarke].
• Better tepid bathing — via urinary easing [Clarke].
• Heaviness morning after night calls — fatigue rubric [Allen].

Urinary

• Itching/tingling in urethra (deep), compelling sudden urging — keynote [Hering], [Allen].
• Smarting after urination (worse after the act) — hallmark modality [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Tenesmus of bladder; sensation of incomplete emptying — neck spasm [Boger].
• Pain at beginning and end of urination — phase pattern (vs Sars.) [Boger].
• Gonorrhoeal urethritis with stinging more than burning; relapse after suppression — indication [Clarke], [Hering].
• Enuresis in children with genital rubbing/perineal pressure — bedside sign [Hering], [Boericke].

Male

• Boys rub penis, pull prepuce; bore fists into perineum — reflex manoeuvre [Hering].
• Post-coital urethral smarting/tingling — selection cue [Allen], [Clarke].
• Gleet with stinging; irregular stream — compare Clem., Thuja [Clarke].
• Prostatic irritability with nocturnal urging — elderly terrain [Boericke].
• Sexual excitement renews tingling/urgency — trigger rubric [Clarke].
• Better cool ablutions — practical palliative [Clarke].

Female

• Pruritus vulvae with urethral tingling and urgent calls — urinary–vulvar axis [Clarke].
• Post-coital urethral smarting — urethral, not vaginal, soreness [Clarke].
• Pregnancy: irritable neck of bladder with crawling up urethra — selection pointer [Clarke].
• Enuresis/fidgeting in girls after excitement — paediatric echo [Hering].
• Worse night; better tepid bathing — modalities [Clarke].
• Aversion to spices/alcohol (urinary aggravation) — regimen rubric [Clarke].

Rectum/Perineum

• Perineal pressure relieves vesical tenesmus — reflex aid [Boger].
• Ineffectual urging to stool during urinary spasm — recto-vesical link [Boger].
• Perineal soreness from handling — consequence rubric [Clarke].
• Worse sitting long — pelvic stasis [Clarke].
• Better open air — pelvic easing [Clarke].
• After stool: urinary urging temporarily less — cross-relief [Boger].

Generalities

• Worse after urinating; worse at night; worse walking/jar; worse sexual excitement — master aggravations [Allen], [Clarke], [Boger].
• Better passing a little; better cool/tepid ablutions; better rest; better open air — master ameliorations [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Spices/alcohol aggravate urinary symptoms — regimen [Clarke].
• Children and elderly prominently affected — terrain [Hering], [Boericke].
• Tenesmus with reflex headache and irritability — systemic echo [Allen].
• Reflex relief from perineal pressure — practical sign [Hering], [Boger].

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica (1879): urethral tingling “crawling,” imperative urging, paediatric perineal boring; modalities.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving fragments; phase pains (beginning/end), smarting after micturition.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): preparation, toxicologic notes (apiol), gonorrhoeal catarrh, modalities, relationships.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—itch-tingle, tenesmus, enuresis; prostate; relationships.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key (1915): neck-of-bladder spasm; phase modalities; recto-vesical reflex guidance.
Hughes, R. — Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1870): crude-drug (apiol) diuretic/emmenagogue actions; urinary mucosal irritation (toxicology).
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): comparative insights (Canth., Thuja, Clem., Sars., Chimaph.) used in differentials.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): clinical pearls in dysuria/enuresis; remedy contrasts.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): urinary group comparisons—Canth., Sars., Pareira, Equisetum; selection tips.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (1901): cystitis/urethritis therapeutics; nursing measures (diluent drinks, ablutions).
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1941): concise generals and modalities; paediatric/elder notes.