Yucca filamentosa

Yucca filamentosa is a hardy, evergreen perennial native to the southeastern United States. It is characterised by its sharp, sword-shaped leaves and tall spikes of bell-shaped flowers. The homeopathic remedy is prepared from the fresh root. Traditionally associated with hepatic and digestive disturbances, it shows marked action on the liver, gastrointestinal tract, and mucous membranes

Partially proved and clinically confirmed in the American school of homeopathy; proving symptoms are limited but consistent. Primarily known through the clinical observations of Dr. Burt and others in the 19th century.

Yucca filamentosa is the archetypal sluggish liver remedy. The essence of the remedy is dullness, heaviness, and foulness—manifesting physically in the coated tongue, offensive breath, bilious diarrhoea, and mental apathy. It is suited to those who become mentally foggy, digestively overloaded, and emotionally dulled after dietary excess or alcohol. The constitutional type is sedentary, perhaps slightly overweight, prone to morning aggravation, and markedly worse from fatty food. The remedy stimulates elimination, corrects hepatic congestion, and supports detoxification on multiple levels.

• Liver and gallbladder – hepatobiliary dysfunction, torpid liver, gallstones
• Digestive system – sour eructations, nausea, bilious vomiting, dyspepsia
• Mouth – offensive breath, ulcerated mucosa, coated tongue
• Rectum – diarrhoea and haemorrhoids
• Head – congestive headaches, particularly from digestive derangements
• Mucous membranes – ulceration, foul secretions

Depression associated with physical sluggishness, especially in liver and gastrointestinal complaints. Feels dull, irritable, and easily fatigued. Mental inertia mirrors digestive torpor. The patient may be prone to brooding or low spirits, particularly after dietary indiscretions. Aversion to conversation and intellectual work during bilious states. In advanced liver pathology, there may be clouded perception, difficulty focusing, or dullness of memory. [Boericke]

Restless sleep from digestive upset. Wakes with bitter taste and coated tongue. Dreams disturbing, often of water, falling, or defecation. Somnolence during daytime with liver torpor.

Dreams of falling, choking, or being poisoned. Dreams of snakes or reptiles. Nightmare-like experiences that reflect toxicity and anxiety. Dreams may be vivid and leave a lingering sense of unease upon waking.

Complaints are periodic, often worse in the morning, and linked to dietary indiscretion. Indicated in patients with a torpid liver, fetid secretions, and a sluggish constitution. General heaviness, dullness, and aversion to activity. Symptoms often cross from the right hypochondrium to the left shoulder, and are improved by lying down, rest, or warm drinks.

Intermittent low-grade fever in hepatic complaints. Chills alternate with flushes of heat. Fever rises at night with sweat and restlessness. Worse after fatty foods or alcohol.

Chilly in the morning, heat in the evening. Cold hands and feet even when torso is hot. Sweat profuse after midnight. Sweat offensive, sticky, and sour-smelling.

Heavy, congestive headaches, particularly over the forehead and temples, associated with sluggish liver function. The pain is often dull, throbbing, and worse in the morning or after meals. May be accompanied by nausea, sour or bitter taste, and a sensation as if the head would burst. Eyes feel heavy and hot. Vertigo from hepatic congestion. Occipital headache in the afternoon, better lying down. Headache frequently follows late suppers or alcohol. [Clarke]

Yellowish discolouration of sclera (subclinical jaundice), accompanying liver dysfunction. Eyes feel dry, strained, or sensitive to light during headache. Vision clouded in the morning or when constipated. Occasional itching in inner canthi. Lids heavy and swollen.

Buzzing or ringing during hepatic headache. A sense of fullness in ears linked with gastrointestinal congestion. Hearing dulled during bilious states. Twitching or tension in the auricular region with liver pain.

Dryness and occasional nosebleeds during headache or constipation. The tip of the nose feels cold. Loss of smell in sluggish constitutional states. Nose may be sensitive to odours, especially of fatty or fried foods.

Face dull, sallow, or yellowish in liver disorders. Expression weary and drawn. Cheeks may flush during headache or digestive upset. Puffiness around the eyes. Twitching in facial muscles when nervous or during bilious episodes.

Very characteristic: mouth feels foul, dry, and bitter. Tongue heavily coated, especially in the morning—yellowish or brownish in colour. Offensive breath, often fetid or putrid, markedly worse after sleep or eating. Ulcers or aphthae may be present along inner cheeks and tongue. Metallic or bitter taste. Increased salivation during gastric discomfort. [Hale]

Teeth feel elongated and sensitive, especially in the morning. Pain in upper molars radiating to head during hepatic congestion. Gums spongy and bleed on brushing. [Allen]

Dry, burning, or raw sensation in throat, worse in the morning. Hawking of thick, bitter mucus, particularly after meals. Sensation of constriction or fullness as if a lump were lodged. Mucous membranes red and inflamed during gastrointestinal episodes.

Oppression in chest during liver or stomach congestion. Palpitations from gastric flatulence pressing on diaphragm. Stitching pain in right chest or under ribs. Short breath on exertion or bending forward.

Palpitations with bilious headache or after food. Irregular pulse when lying on left side. Sensation as if heart were working too hard. Fluttering from abdominal distension. [Allen]

Shortness of breath from abdominal pressure on diaphragm. Wheezing in the early morning. Breath fetid, worse after eating. Breathing shallow and difficult after rich or fatty food.

Keynote region. Digestive complaints are the primary sphere of action for Yucca. Marked nausea, vomiting of sour or bilious matter, sensation of fullness, and distention after eating. Aversion to rich, greasy, or spicy foods. Belching that is hot, sour, or bitter, often with relief of symptoms. Heartburn with regurgitation of acrid fluids. Constant desire to spit. Heaviness in epigastrium as if a weight were pressing down. Complaints worse in the morning, or after a heavy evening meal. [Clarke, Hale]

Abdomen bloated, tender, and sore to touch. Cutting, griping pains especially in the right hypochondrium and epigastrium. Flatulence abundant but difficult to expel. Rumbling and borborygmi audible. Liver enlarged and sore. Sensation of tension under right ribs. Occasional gallbladder colic. Associated constipation alternating with diarrhoea.

Urgent, cramping pain with loose, offensive stools. Diarrhoea in the early morning, associated with bile and mucus. Stools yellow, greenish, or dark brown, sometimes frothy. Haemorrhoids painful and prolapsed, aggravated during constipation. Burning at anus post-defaecation. [Boericke]

Urine scanty, dark yellow or brown, strong-smelling. Frequent urging, worse during hepatic attacks. Pressure on bladder from bloating. Occasional burning during urination. In advanced liver disease, urine may show bile pigments.

Strong aversion to fatty, fried, and rich foods. Craving for acidic or cold drinks. Worse from coffee, alcohol, and pork. Great thirst, but water causes nausea. Food feels like it lies undigested in the stomach.

Genital weakness with dragging in groin. Sexual desire diminished in hepatic or bilious states. Erections weak or short-lived. Itching of scrotum during warm weather.

Menses irregular, suppressed during liver attacks. Leucorrhoea acrid and yellow, especially following indigestion. Pruritus vulvae worse at night. Heavy, dragging sensation in pelvis after rich meals. Uterine prolapse or displacement linked to chronic constipation and abdominal congestion.

Pain in right scapular region, often reflecting gallbladder irritation. Stiffness and soreness in lumbar area on waking. Dull dragging pain in the sacrum during abdominal discomfort. Better lying on firm surface.

Weakness in limbs during gastric or hepatic states. Hands tremble during nausea. Feet cold, especially in the morning. Cramps in calves during diarrhoea. Pain in left shoulder and right wrist in rheumatic cases linked to liver issues.

Sallow, yellowish tint in chronic liver complaints. Dryness and itching without eruption. Occasional jaundice. Skin eruptions like eczema may be triggered by poor digestion. Pruritus worse at night and from woollen clothing.

• Chelidonium – More left shoulder pain with liver issues; Yucca has more foul mouth and diarrhoea
• Lycopodium – Bloated, but more upper abdominal symptoms and right-sided; both have liver affinity
• Nux vomica – More irritability and rectal tenesmus; Yucca is more dull and fetid
• Sulphur – Similar sour, offensive discharges; Yucca has more focused hepatic and GI involvement
• Podophyllum – Diarrhoea with gushing stools; Yucca more fetid, sour, and bilious
• Bryonia – Dryness and liver symptoms with stitching pains; Yucca is more gastric with morning aggravation

• Complementary: Nux vomica, Chelidonium, Podophyllum
• Follows well: Bryonia, Mercurius
• Antidotes: Camphora, Pulsatilla
• Inimical: Sepia (in hepatic-sensitive constitutions)

• Use in post-alcoholic hangovers with headache, nausea, and foul mouth
• Useful in chronic liver disease with sallow skin and coated tongue
• Indicated in foul breath disorders with poor digestion and gastric disturbances
• Combine with Chelidonium or Lycopodium for broader hepatobiliary support
• Excellent remedy for bilious diarrhoea, especially in the morning

Stomach

• Nausea, morning
• Vomiting, bilious
• Eructations, sour, bitter
• Heaviness after eating

Mouth

• Offensive breath, morning
• Coated tongue, yellow
• Bitter taste
• Mouth, ulcers

Abdomen

• Pain, liver region
• Flatulence, excessive
• Gallbladder colic

Rectum

• Diarrhoea, bilious
• Haemorrhoids, painful
• Burning anus after stool

Generalities

• Morning aggravation
• Worse from fatty food
• Aversion to activity

Mind

• Apathy
• Mental dullness
• Irritability after eating

• E.M. Hale – New Remedies: Clinical experience with liver and gastrointestinal action
• T.F. Allen – Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica: Provided proving details and digestive symptoms
• William Boericke – Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica: Noted action on liver, tongue, and bowels
• John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Confirmed morning aggravation and foul secretions
• C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: Offered insight into offensive excretions and gastric heaviness