Polygonum

A pungent, acrid annual of the Polygonaceae, thriving in damp soils and river margins. The whole herb has a hot, peppery taste due largely to sesquiterpene dialdehydes (e.g., polygodial), plus flavonoids (rutin, quercetin) and tannins that account for both vascular astringency and mucosal irritation [Hughes], [Clarke]. In tincture, the fresh flowering plant is macerated in alcohol; the acridity explains its later burning, smarting pains, vascular engorgement, and haemorrhoidal and uterine affinities [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Toxicology]

No full Hahnemannian proving is extant; symptoms derive from small provings and clinical confirmations in the American school (notably Hale), with toxicologic notes from the fresh plant’s acridity and traditional use [Allen], [Hering], [Hale]. Early confirmations clustered around haemorrhoids with burning tenesmus, dysenteric stools, ovarian/uterine pains, and urinary tenesmus [Boericke]. [Proving] [Clinical] [Toxicology]

A venous–mucosal remedy with a hot, acrid, smarting signature. The patient feels congested and oppressed by heat and closeness—worse in warm rooms and bed, better in cool air and by cool applications. The suffering sits in the pelvis: rectum, bladder neck, and uterus/ovaries, where tenesmus and small, frequent, burning discharges dominate. The plant’s pungent chemistry (polygodial, tannins) mirrors the clinical pattern: irritant hyperaemia at outlets (burning, rawness) with capillary astringency that paradoxically coexists with passive bleeding—a profile that explains efficacy in haemorrhoids and uterine spotting [Hughes], [Clarke]. The psychological tone is peevish, heat-intolerant, and relief-seeking rather than explosive; pains are smarting more than tearing, urging is frequent more than copious, and the system longs for coolness and blandness. Compared with Aesculus, Polygonum is more acute and burning; compared with Aloe, it lacks the gushing weakness but has constant urging with small, hot, mucous stools; compared with Paeonia, it is less fissural and more diet-provoked. In women, pelvic dragging and dysmenorrhoea ease as flow becomes free, aligning with its venous-congestive nature; in the urinary tract, a milder Cantharis-like picture appears but tied to spices/acids. The central polarity is heat/irritation at the outlet versus relief by coolness and astringency, with damp-marsh aggravation echoing the habitat. Therapeutically, think of Polygonum whenever haemorrhoidal or uterine bleeding is accompanied by smarting rawness and tenesmus, especially if the patient reports diet triggers (pepper, vinegar, alcohol) and seeks air and cool pads. Cross-link your case to its modalities: sitting worse, cool better, spices/acid worse, open air better, and after a free stool somewhat better, and the choice becomes lucid. [Boericke], [Clarke], [Allen]

• Rectum and anus (piles, dysenteric tenesmus): Burning smarting pains with urging and small, mucous, sometimes bloody stools align with the plant’s acrid principle; veins congested and sore. See Rectum. [Allen], [Boericke]
• Pelvic venous system: Venous engorgement with passive bleeding—haemorrhoidal and uterine—points to capillary astringency (tannins) together with irritant hyperaemia. See Generalities, Female. [Clarke], [Hughes]
• Uterus and ovaries: Cramping pains, ovarian neuralgia, dysmenorrhoea with hot, smarting flow; spotting between periods. See Female. [Boericke], [Hale]
• Bladder and urethra: Persistent urging with scanty, hot urine and burning at the neck of bladder—“tenesmus of bladder.” See Urinary. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Lower bowel mucosa: Mucous catarrh with griping about the umbilicus, colic before stool; echoes “worse after spicy foods” modality. See Abdomen, Food & Drink. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Lumbosacral region: Dull aching across sacrum when piles are active; back feels weak after stool. See Back. [Boericke]
• Peripheral vessels/skin: Flushes of heat, prickling, nettle-like smarting; small bleed on scratching. See Skin, Fever. [Clarke]

Irritable from constant urging and burning pains; fretful, oversensitive to heat and tight clothing, and easily annoyed by interruption when haemorrhoids are active [Boericke], [Clarke]. Anxiety is somatic, keyed to the next urging or fear of bleeding, with a restless desire to find a cool position—this mirrors the better for cool applications modality noted above. A dull, hypochondriacal mood may accompany pelvic congestion, with low spirits before menses and relief when flow becomes freer [Clarke]. The pains provoke peevishness rather than violence, resembling Aesculus in the venous temperament yet differing by Polygonum’s hot smarting and dysenteric urging [Kent], [Boericke]. Sleep loss from tenesmus heightens impatience and distractibility [Allen]. [Clinical]

Broken by urging to stool or urine; heat in bed forces uncovering; dozing with awareness of pelvic dragging; sleep deepens toward morning when coolness returns [Allen], [Clarke]. Dreaming of toilets/haste to find relief; more irritable on waking if the night was hot—feeds back into Mind irritability. [Clinical]

Haste, missing rooms, anxiety of being late; dreams of heat and stifling chambers; relief on waking to cool air. These echo the remedy’s thermal and urging themes [Clarke]. [Clinical]

A hot-smarting, venous-congestive remedy with mucosal catarrh and tenesmus; complaints centre on pelvis, rectum, bladder, and uterine vessels, with aggravation from heat, warm rooms, sitting, spices, acids, and from damp marshy weather; ameliorated by cool air, cool applications, rest in side-lying, and after a freer passage. The essence is astringent-irritant: burning at outlets with passive bleed and small, frequent urges—between Aesculus (venous, aching) and Aloes (gushing, weakness), yet distinct by the acrid smarting keynote [Boericke], [Clarke], [Allen]. [Clinical] [Toxicology]

Flushes of heat in evening and in bed, without high temperature; skin prickling; sweat brings momentary relief unless checked by warm coverings, when smarting worsens—mirrors Skin sensations [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Chilliness on uncovering alternates with heat flushes; sweat easy on face and chest in warm room; overall pattern is congestive heat with surface prickling, better cool air [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Dull, venous congestive headache with heat of face during haemorrhoidal attacks; worse in warm rooms, better in open air—paralleling the open-air amelioration [Clarke]. Occipital weight with sacral aching suggests venous stasis from the pelvic origin; stooping increases fullness [Hughes]. Head pains remit when rectal burning eases or after a freer stool, confirming the bowel–head axis [Allen]. Compared to Aesculus (backache with piles), Polygonum adds mucosal smarting and dysenteric urging [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Smarting, wateriness in heated rooms; lids feel raw after rubbing, a cutaneous echo of the plant’s acridity [Clarke]. Hyperaemic conjunctival injection may attend facial flushes in the warm bed, relieved by cool air—tying to better cool/open air [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Fullness with occasional throbbing in warm rooms during venous congestion; sounds oppressive until cooler air is taken, as in the head and skin sensations [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Tendency to epistaxis from capillary fragility in warm rooms, checked by cold applications—an external analogue to the haemostatic traditional use [Hughes], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Flushed and hot in bed; prickling smarting of cheeks if perspiration is checked; relief from cool air or washing with cool water [Clarke]. The venous, sallow look in chronic haemorrhoids recalls Hamamelis, but Polygonum is more acrid and urging in the rectum [Boericke], [Kent].

Peppery taste; mouth and tongue feel sore or raw after spices, a proving-like echo of the drug’s pungency [Hughes]. Increased saliva before stool in some cases [Allen]. [Toxicology] [Clinical]

Tooth-edge sensitive to hot foods during febrile flushes; not a leading sphere. Relief as the general heat subsides [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Catarrhal soreness with smarting posteriorly after acids or spices; desire for cool drinks which briefly relieve, paralleling better cool [Hughes]. [Clinical]

Transient flushes with pricking over sternum in warm rooms; breathing seeks cool air for relief, tracking the skin/vascular pattern [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Palpitation from venous stasis and heat; settles in open air; not a primary sphere [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Sighing when urging is intense; better when pain abates. Shortness in close rooms improves outdoors—mirrors open-air modality [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Nausea and faintness preceding dysenteric stools; crampy pains after vinegars or fiery condiments, with burning at the anal outlet later [Allen], [Hughes]. Emptiness with sinking at epigastrium when bleeding is profuse, improved by lying quietly on the side [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Griping about the umbilicus with cutting to rectum; urging followed by small mucous discharges and continued tenesmus—worse after spicy foods and in damp weather [Allen], [Boericke]. A dragging, congestive weight in pelvis in the premenstrual days, with colic that lessens once flow becomes free [Clarke]. Compared with Aloes (urgent, gushing), Polygonum shows small, smarting passages and burning outlet pains; with Collinsonia it shares piles but Polygonum is hotter and more acrid [Allen], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Key sphere. Persistent urging with little relief; passages small, mucous, sometimes blood-streaked; exit burns and smarts as if peppered; anus raw and sensitive to touch and warm water [Allen], [Boericke]. Haemorrhoids hot, engorged, and bleeding on least straining; sitting worse, cool applications better—echoing modalities already noted. After stool, renewed smarting with tenesmus; back feels weak across sacrum [Clarke], [Boericke]. Compared with Aesculus (backache, dryness, fullness) Polygonum has more acute burning; with Paeonia the anal fissure smarting is similar but Polygonum is more urging and spicy-triggered [Kent], [Clarke]. [Clinical] [Toxicology]

Tenesmus of bladder with scanty, hot urine; burning at neck of bladder and urethra, sometimes alternating with rectal urging [Allen], [Clarke]. Urging worse after acids or pepper; relief from cool drinks and rest, mirroring general modalities. Differential with Cantharis: both have burning and tenesmus, but Polygonum is milder, bowel-linked, and diet-provoked [Allen]. [Clinical]

Craves cool water and bland food; worse acids, vinegar, alcohol, peppery dishes, and spices which re-ignite bowel/urinary tenesmus and anal smarting (cross-links Stomach, Abdomen, Rectum, Urinary) [Allen], [Hughes].

Pelvic congestion with haemorrhoids; scrotal pricking when overheated; sexual desire depressed by constant rectal discomfort [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Dysmenorrhoea with hot, smarting flow and dragging to sacrum; spotting between periods when over-heated or after exertion; worse during menses, better cool applications [Clarke], [Boericke]. Ovarian neuralgia (often left) with colic and urging to stool; pains remit as flow becomes free, aligning with venous decongestion [Hale], [Clarke]. Compare Sabina (bright bleeding, expulsive pains) and Trillium (gushes, faintness); Polygonum is more acrid-smarting and bowel-linked [Allen], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Dull sacral ache worse sitting, with piles; weakness across lumbosacral belt after stool; better gentle walking and lying on the side [Boericke]. This tallies with the haemorrhoidal modality and venous profile shared with Aesculus, though Polygonum adds burning smarting at the outlet [Kent]. [Clinical]

Heavy, “vein-full” legs in damp weather; pricking heat of calves in warm bed, better uncovering [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Smarting, prickling heat as if nettled, particularly in warm rooms or bed; small bleed on scratching; better by cool air or cool bathing [Clarke]. The cutaneous picture echoes the drug’s acridity and explains the better cool modality that runs through the case. [Toxicology] [Clinical]

Haemorrhoids/Rectum:

• Aesculus — Venous fulness, sacral backache, dryness; Polygonum has hot smarting and dysenteric urging. [Kent], [Boericke]
• Paeonia — Fissure with raw soreness; Polygonum more urging and spice-triggered. [Clarke]
• Aloe — Sudden gushing stool, weakness of sphincter; Polygonum small, frequent, burning passages. [Allen]

Uterine/Pelvic Bleeding:

• Hamamelis — Passive venous haemorrhage with bruised soreness; Polygonum adds acrid outlet smarting and bowel urging. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Trillium pendulum — Profuse uterine haemorrhage with faintness; Polygonum less gush, more smarting and rectal/urinary tenesmus. [Allen]
• Sabina — Bright blood with expulsive pains; Polygonum milder expulsive tendency, stronger burning outlet and diet aggravations. [Clarke]

Urinary Tenesmus:

• Cantharis — Intense burning, constant desire, cutting; Polygonum milder, bowel-linked, aggravated by acids/spices. [Allen]
• Capsicum — Burning tenesmus with haemorrhoids, worse beer; Polygonum is less phlegmatic and more venous-acrid. [Kent]

General Venous Remedies:

• Collinsonia — Piles with obstinate constipation and cardiac irritability; Polygonum has more heat and smarting with smaller stools. [Boericke]
• Millefolium — Capillary bleeding, haemorrhages; Polygonum shares haemostatic tendency but centres on pelvic mucosa. [Clarke]

• Complementary: Aesculus (shared venous pelvis; Aesculus for chronic backbone, Polygonum for acute burning phase) [Kent].
• Complementary: Hamamelis (passive bleeding + venous soreness; Polygonum adds acrid outlet, urging) [Clarke].
• Follows well: Aloe (after gushing stage subsides and smarting tenesmus persists) [Allen].
• Follows well: Paeonia (when fissure soreness leaves a burning-tenesmus picture) [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Sulph. (when congestion is constitutional and outlets remain irritable) [Kent].
• Antidotes/Aggravations: Nux-v. may relieve diet-induced spice/acid aggravations; alcohol and pepper aggravate Polygonum symptoms [Allen], [Hughes].
• Related: Collinsonia, Trillium, Sabina, Millefolium, Capsicum for comparative study of pelvic–venous and haemorrhoidal states [Clarke], [Boericke].

Clinically valuable in acute haemorrhoidal flares with hot, smarting outlet pain and tenesmus; also in dysenteric states with small mucous stools and burning, and in uterine spotting/dysmenorrhoea when heat and closeness aggravate. In acute piles, many authors favour low to mid potencies (e.g., Q/θ externally, 3x–6x internally, repeated), moving to 30C for functional patterns; for dysenteric tenesmus some used 3x–12x at short intervals, then space as urging subsides [Boericke], [Clarke], [Hale]. Repeat more frequently in acute tenesmus; reduce as burning and urging abate.
Case pearls:

1. Haemorrhoids, hot and bleeding, sitting worse, cool pads better; small mucous stools with constant urging → rapid relief on Polyg-hyd. 6x, then taper [Boericke].
2. Dysmenorrhoea with smarting flow, sacral dragging, relief once menses free; aggravated by warm bed, better cool air → 30C twice daily over two cycles aided comfort [Clarke].
3. Urinary tenesmus after hot, spicy meal; anal smarting alternating with urethral burn → 3x every 2–3 hours for a day, then stop as urging ceased [Allen], [Hughes].
   [Clinical]

Mind

• MIND — IRRITABILITY — pain, during. — Driven by burning outlet pains; eases as smarting subsides. [Clarke]
• MIND — ANXIETY — stool, during. — Tenesmus-linked apprehension. [Allen]
• MIND — HEAT — aggravates mental symptoms. — Warm rooms worsen restlessness. [Clarke]
• MIND — AVERSION — heat, to. — Seeks cool air/pads. [Clarke]
• MIND — CONCENTRATION — difficult — pain, from. — Urging distracts. [Allen]
• MIND — HYPOCHONDRIASIS — with pelvic congestion. — Venous temperament. [Boericke]

Head

• HEAD — CONGESTION — venous — haemorrhoids, during. — Pelvic–cranial venous axis. [Clarke]
• HEAD — HEAT — face; in warm room. — Open air relieves. [Clarke]
• HEAD — PAIN — occiput — sitting; while. — Worse with piles. [Boericke]
• HEAD — PAIN — improved — open air. — Tracks general modality. [Clarke]
• HEAD — FULLNESS — stooping — aggravates. — Venous element. [Hughes]
• HEAD — PAIN — after stool — amel. — Relief after freer passage. [Allen]

Stomach/Abdomen

• STOMACH — NAUSEA — before stool. — Dysenteric sequence. [Allen]
• STOMACH — FOOD and drinks — spicy — aggravates. — Key dietary trigger. [Hughes]
• ABDOMEN — PAIN — umbilicus — cutting; urging with. — Small mucous stools. [Allen]
• ABDOMEN — DRAGGING — pelvis; to. — Venous congestion. [Clarke]
• ABDOMEN — WEATHER — damp — aggravates. — Habitat signature. [Boericke]
• ABDOMEN — PAIN — motion — jar — aggravates. — Jarring worsens piles. [Clinical]

Rectum

• RECTUM — TENESMUS — dysentery; in. — Persistent urging with small stools. [Allen]
• RECTUM — HAEMORRHOIDS — bleeding — burning pains; with. — Hot, smarting character. [Boericke]
• RECTUM — PAIN — burning — after stool. — Raw outlet. [Clarke]
• RECTUM — URGING — frequent — small evacuations. — Little relief. [Allen]
• RECTUM — SITTING — aggravates. — Hard seats worse. [Boericke]
• RECTUM — APPLICATIONS — cold — ameliorate. — Cool pads soothe. [Clarke]

Urinary

• BLADDER — TENESMUS — with scanty urine. — Neck of bladder irritable. [Allen]
• URETHRA — BURNING — urination; during. — Hot, smarting urine. [Clarke]
• BLADDER — FOOD and drinks — acids — aggravate. — Vinegar, alcohol worse. [Hughes]
• BLADDER — URGING — alternating with rectal urging. — Pelvic reciprocity. [Allen]
• URINE — HOT. — Sensation of heat. [Clarke]
• BLADDER — REST — ameliorates. — Quiet helps tenesmus. [Clinical]

Female

• FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX — MENSES — painful — burning pains; with. — Smarting flow. [Clarke]
• FEMALE — MENSES — too early — spotting; with. — Passive bleed tendency. [Clarke]
• FEMALE — OVARIES — pain — neuralgic — left. — Pre-flow colic. [Hale]
• FEMALE — HEAT — bed; in — aggravates. — Warmth worsens pelvic pains. [Clarke]
• FEMALE — COOL applications — ameliorate. — Echoes general modality. [Clarke]
• FEMALE — EXERTION — aggravates — spotting. — Venous stasis. [Clarke]

Back/Extremities/Skin

• BACK — PAIN — sacral region — sitting — aggravates. — Piles-linked backache. [Boericke]
• BACK — WEAKNESS — lumbosacral — after stool. — Post-stool fatigue. [Clarke]
• EXTREMITIES — HEAVINESS — legs — damp weather — aggravates. — Venous element. [Boericke]
• SKIN — PRICKLING — heat; from. — Hot smarting surface. [Clarke]
• SKIN — ITCHING — warm bed — aggravates — cool air — ameliorates. — Thermal polarity. [Clarke]
• SKIN — BLEEDING — slight injuries — easy. — Capillary reactivity. [Hughes]

Generalities

• GENERALITIES — HEAT — aggravates. — Warm rooms, bed. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — OPEN air — ameliorates. — Seeks cool draft. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — DAMP weather — aggravates. — Marsh signature. [Boericke]
• GENERALITIES — FOOD and drinks — spices — aggravate. — Diagnostic for Polygonum. [Hughes]
• GENERALITIES — PRESSURE of clothing — aggravates — abdomen/pelvis. — Venous stasis. [Hughes]
• GENERALITIES — AFTER stool — ameliorates — head symptoms. — Bowel–head link. [Allen]

Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): clinical notes (piles, dysentery, pelvic congestion).
Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): toxicology, clinical confirmations, herb background.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): scattered proving/clinical data (bowel/urinary tenesmus).
Hering — Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): confirmations and comparisons (rectum, pelvis).
Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): pharmacology/toxicology correlations (astringency, acridity).
Hale — New Remedies (1875): American school proving/clinical notes for Polygonum spp. (pelvic/uterine, piles).
Boger — Synoptic Key (1915): remedy relations and venous sphere comparisons (Aesculus, Hamamelis, Aloe).
Phatak — Materia Medica (20th c.): keynote tendencies (burning outlet, piles) and modalities.
Nash — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): differential insights for rectal/venous states.
Dewey — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): haemorrhoids and uterine haemorrhage groupings.
Kent — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): comparative commentary (Aesculus, Aloe, Paeonia).
Tyler — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): clinical character and relationships in venous–pelvic remedies.