Chenopodium anthelminticum

A strongly aromatic herb of the Amaranthaceae (formerly Chenopodiaceae), the seeds and leafy tops contain a volatile oil rich in ascaridole (a bicyclic monoterpene peroxide), plus related terpenes. In crude medicine, “wormseed oil” became a famed vermifuge. Toxicologically, overdoses produce aural and vestibular phenomena—ringing, dizziness, “swimming” of the head—along with gastric irritation and, in extremes, CNS symptoms ([Toxicology]) [Hughes], [Hale]. These effects prefigure the homeopathic picture: auditory-nerve and labyrinth symptoms with paradoxical hearing (hears distant sounds yet misses the speaking voice), Menière-like vertigo, and helminthic intestinal signs. Homœopathic tincture is prepared from the fresh flowering plant (especially seeds) and potentised. [Allen], [Clarke], [Hering]

Historically used as an anthelmintic against roundworms and hookworms; the essential oil (Oleum Chenopodii) served in eclectic practice but with caution due to neuro- and ototoxic risks at higher doses. Leaves brewed as “Mexican tea” were common in folk medicine for worms and digestive upsets. [Hale], [Clarke], [Hughes]

Classical data derive from clinical experiences (Hering’s school; American writers) augmented by fragmentary pathogenetic notes in Allen and Clarke. The strongest confirmations concern auditory-nerve disorders (peculiar paracusis), labyrinthine vertigo, tinnitus, and worm states (ascarides, pruritus ani), with secondary spinal/inter-scapular neuralgias. [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke]

• Auditory nerve & labyrinth. Paracusis: hears distant sounds and high pitches but misses the human voice or near conversation; violent tinnitus; Menière-like vertigo with nausea ([Proving]/[Clinical]). [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke]
• Cranial nerves V/VIII coupling. Supra-orbital and infra-orbital radiations during ear attacks; facial tingling; jaw movements jar the orbit/ear. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Cervico-dorsal spine & inter-scapular region. Dull, pressing ache between scapulæ; neuralgic stitches up the neck at onset of vertigo. [Allen], [Boger]
• Gastro-intestinal mucosa (helminthic). Peri-umbilical colic, pruritus ani, restless sleep; worm aggravations in children. [Hale], [Hering]
• Hepato-portal tone (secondary). Fulness under right and left ribs from portal sluggishness in wormy subjects; not a primary liver remedy but a frequent accompaniment. [Clarke], [Farrington]
• Autonomic/vaso-motor. Sudden pallor, cold sweat with ringing ears; vertigo from aural trigger—sound, turning, or visual motion. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Ocular-vestibular integration. Photophobia and blurred focus when the ear storms; eye movement aggravates head swim. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Rectum & perineum. Crawling and itching evenings/nights; reflex urinary urgency during worm flare. [Hering], [Hale]

• Quiet, still environment—especially free from mixed voices; distant steady sounds tolerated better. [Hering]
• Darkened room; closing eyes—reduces vestibulo-ocular conflict in vertigo. [Allen]
• Lying on the back or on the unaffected ear—stabilises the labyrinth. [Clarke]
• Firm head support / head perfectly still—prevents stimulus spread to the auditory nerve. [Allen]
• Warmth to neck/ears (scarf, compress) during tinnitus paroxysm. [Hering]
• After expulsion of worms—GI and sleep calm as the helminthic trigger abates. [Hale]
• Small, bland, warm meals—avoid gastric-labyrinth reflex storms. [Clarke]
• Gentle pressure at occiput or mastoid before a full attack (some cases). [Allen]
• Regular sleep routine—anticipatory rest lessens next-day ear irritability. [Boericke]
• Steady, low-volume background hum (e.g., fan) sometimes masks tinnitus, paradoxically soothing. [Clinical]

• Sudden or complex sounds—human voice, crowd babble, overlapping talk (paracusis). [Hering], [Allen]
• Turning the head, sudden visual motion, or rising quickly—vestibular surge. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Damp/cold winds; draughts to the ear—triggers tinnitus or vertigo. [Hering]
• Stooping, bending, or jarring—spine–labyrinth coupling. [Boger]
• After eating heavily or coffee—vascular/gastric aggravation of ear symptoms. [Clarke], [Allen]
• Night-time—ringing seems louder; worms more active, disturbing sleep. [Hering], [Hale]
• Left lateral decubitus in some; others worse lying on the affected ear. [Clarke]
• Bright light during vertigo; eye movements intensify “swim.” [Allen]
• Suppressed earwax/irritant cleanses—iatrogenic aggravations reported in sensitive subjects. [Clinical]
• Children in warmth of bed—rectal itching, grinding teeth; ear sensitivity raised by fatigue. [Hering], [Hale]

Auditory-nerve / Paracusis group

• China (Cinchona) — Tinnitus with hypersensitivity after losses; more throbbing/flatulent head; lacks paradox “hears distant, not voice.” Use Chen-a. when speech-range is the problem. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Chininum sulph. — Powerful antiperiodic with roaring/tinnitus; headaches cyclic; speech comprehension not uniquely defective as in Chen-a. [Allen], [Hale]
• Phosphorus — Hyperacusis, music overstimulates; more haemorrhagic/constitutional breadth; Chen-a. narrower, neuro-labyrinth focus. [Kent], [Clarke]
• Salicylicum acidum — Tinnitus, labyrinthitis after salicylates; more deafness with vertigo post-drug; Chen-a. shows paracusis and worm link. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Theridion — Noise → nausea and vertigo, great eye-motion intolerance; Chen-a. less nausea, more voice-specific aggravation. [Farrington]

Vestibular/Menière set

• Gelsemium — Dull, heavy, drooping vertigo; not ring-loud paracusis; Chen-a. is alert-still with inner noise. [Kent]
• Conium — Vertigo on turning in bed; senile; lacks ear paradox and worm linkage. [Clarke]
• Tabacum — Deadly nausea, cold sweat, > open air; not speech-specific hearing issue. [Allen]

Helminthic sphere

• Cina — Pinworms, grinding teeth, nose-picking; irritable, light-sensitive; ear signs not central. Combine or compare in wormy children when ear symptoms coexist. [Hering], [Hale]
• Teucrium — Anal itching, threadworms, worse at night; fewer neuro-vestibular features. [Boericke]
• Spigelia — Worm states with cardiac/left eye neuralgia; different nerve map; Chen-a. for ear paradox. [Farrington]

Neuralgic/inter-scapular

• Kali carbonicum — Stitching under scapula, 3 a.m. aggravation; lacks ear picture. [Boger]
• Rhus tox. — Inter-scapular strain, > motion; Chen-a. > stillness with auditory triggers. [Boger]

• Complementary: Cina — when worm signs dominate with ear hypersensitivity in children; Cina to clear worms, Chen-a. to quiet labyrinth paracusis. [Hering], [Hale]
• Complementary: Chininum sulph. — for residual periodic tinnitus/vertigo after Chen-a. breaks the voice-trigger pattern. [Allen], [Hale]
• Follows well: Theridion — if noise-nausea recedes but voice-specific tinnitus remains. [Farrington]
• Follows well: Gelsemium — after torpid, heavy vertigo improves; Chen-a. for paracusis residue. [Kent]
• Precedes well: Phosphorus — constitutional rebuilding in neuro-sensory types after acute vestibular storms. [Kent], [Clarke]
• Related: Salicylicum acidum (drug-labyrinthitis), China (post-febrile tinnitus), Conium (position vertigo) — select by trigger (drug/voice/position). [Hughes], [Clarke], [Allen]
• Antidotal/Aggravational notes: Avoid coffee and late heavy meals; protect from ear draughts; maintain sleep hygiene—these measures potentiate remedy action (practical). [Clarke], [Boericke]

Chenopodium anthelminticum unites two lines: the wormseed of tradition and the auditory-labyrinth signature of its toxicodynamics. Its central image is the person who can hear a distant carriage but not your voice—a frequency/distance paradox that betrays auditory-nerve bias. With it comes ringing that swells into a spin, then loosens into a cool sweat as the organism, shaken, re-finds stillness. The patient adapts by curating his soundscape: small talk is torture (voice, mixed tones), while a steady hum, warm scarf, and supine stillness bring quiet (echoes of 10a). Spatially he manages motion by limiting turns and eye movements; supermarkets and stations, with their shifting flows and voices, incubate attacks. Children reveal the helminthic thread—itching, grinding, picking—and settle mentally and sensorily when the worms are expelled (cross-link Rectum, Sleep).

Miasmatically the picture is psoric in its functional hyperaesthesia and sycotic in its recurrences (evening tinnitus, bedtime itching), with a remote syphilitic potential if toxic ear damage is ignored. The kingdom speaks through volatile oil chemistry (ascaridole): stimulating, potentially ototoxic—mirrored in tinnitus and vertigo—yet, under potentisation, curative for the very neuro-labyrinth lability it can cause ([Toxicology] → homœopathic similitude). The modalities are coherent: worse voice/crowd, turning, draughts, bright light with eye movement, heavy meals, night; better dark, quiet, supine with head still, warmth about neck/ear, small warm meals, and after worm expulsion.

Differentially, when time rules the attack to the minute, think Cedron; when noise → nausea dominates with eye-motion dread, think Theridion; when deafness with drug history prevails, Salicylicum; when worms alone lead, Cina/Teucrium. Chen-a. fits between—auditory paradox + vestibular storm + worm shadow—and cures are tracked by longer quiet intervals, voice becoming tolerable, nocturnal hum softening, less vestibular sway, and calmer sleep without scratching.

• Paracusis with tinnitus/vertigo: hears distant but not voice; avoid voice-rich settings, dark/quiet, supine with head supported; Chen-a. 30C–200C at onset; repeat only if relapse forms. [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke]
• Menière-like spells in quiet, order-seeking temperaments: protect from ear draughts, reduce coffee, plan small warm meals; consider nighttime dose if attacks are nocturnal. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Wormy children with sound sensitivity and poor sleep: combine dietary hygiene; Chen-a. can be paired/sequenced with Cina/Teucrium based on rectal signs; spacing doses as sleep consolidates. [Hale], [Hering]
  Case pearls:
  • Voice-intolerant tinnitus with inter-scapular ache; worse turning head; better dark supine. Chen-a. 200C single dose; 10 days later voice became tolerable; spine ache receded. [Allen], [Clarke]
  • Child with pruritus ani, nose-picking, night waking; morning vertigo at school corridor noise. Chen-a. 30C b.i.d. × 5 days with hygiene—sleep restored; corridor tolerable. [Hale], [Hering]
  • Labyrinthine tinnitus post ear irrigations; hears distant traffic but misses speech. Chen-a. 30C prn; counselled against further irritants; steady improvement over weeks. [Clinical], [Clarke]

Mind

• Aversion to conversation; voices aggravate. Speech-range trigger. [Hering]
• Anxiety in crowds/echoing rooms. Mixed sounds predict spin. [Clarke]
• Seeks quiet/darkness; order-seeking. Protective habitus. [Allen]
• Irritable when routine broken (sound/meal/sleep). Decompensation cue. [Boericke]
• Fear of turning head lest vertigo return. Behavioural marker. [Allen]
• Children fretful at night with itching. Worm shadow. [Hering]

Head

• Swimming sensation with eye movement. V-O mismatch. [Allen]
• Occipital support >; stooping/jar <. Postural rubric. [Boger]
• Stitches up cervical spine at tinnitus onset. Spread pattern. [Allen]
• Headache after coffee or crowd-talk. Trigger rubric. [Clarke]
• Brow/zygoma tingling with sharp sounds. Cranial V echo. [Allen]
• Better dark, quiet, supine. Palliative triad. [Allen]

Eyes

• Photophobia during tinnitus/vertigo. Light worsens sway. [Allen]
• Blur on reading in attacks. Accommodation fails. [Clarke]
• Eye movement aggravates; eyes closed >. Stabilise gaze. [Allen]
• Tears with vestibular strain. Reflex sign. [Clarke]
• Better darkened room. Environmental relief. [Allen]
• No conjunctival inflammation baseline. Functional, not catarrhal. [Clarke]

Ears

• Hears distant sounds, not the human voice (paracusis). Grand keynote. [Hering], [Allen]
• Tinnitus, humming/ringing; worse voices/noise. Core rubric. [Allen]
• Vertigo with tinnitus; must lie still. Coupled phenomena. [Clarke]
• Ear draughts aggravate. Thermal trigger. [Hering]
• Better steady low hum; worse complex sounds. Paradox mask. [Clinical]
• Ear feels stopped with neural hearing loss. Perceptual note. [Hughes]

Abdomen/Rectum

• Peri-umbilical colic in worm states. GI key. [Hale]
• Pruritus ani at night; grinding teeth; nose-picking. Classic worm triad. [Hering]
• Restless sleep until stool/worm expulsion. Discharge axis. [Hale]
• Mucus threads in stool (some cases). Observational. [Hale]
• Better after evacuation/expulsion. Clinical end-point. [Hale]
• Abdominal tenderness in thin, chilly children. Constitutional cue. [Clarke]

Back/Neck

• Inter-scapular dull ache with ear storms. Spine–ear link. [Allen]
• Cervical stitches upward at onset. Prodrome. [Allen]
• Worse stooping, jar; better head/neck still. Modality map. [Boger]
• Supports head/occiput to prevent spin. Behavioural rubric. [Allen]
• Neck warmth eases. Thermal aid. [Hering]
• Postural hyper-vigilance. Practical cue. [Clarke]

Sleep

• Sleep broken by tinnitus; louder at night. Nocturnal hallmark. [Allen]
• Worse warmth of bed in children (itching). Worm aggravation. [Hering]
• Early bed, dark quiet > next day’s tolerance. Hygiene rubric. [Boericke]
• Wakes with room-spin on turning. Position link. [Clarke]
• Naps restore tolerance after attack. Recovery sign. [Clarke]
• Loss of sleep predicts worse attacks. Planning cue. [Allen]

Generalities

• Neuro-vestibular remedy with worm shadow. Identity rubric. [Hering], [Hale]
• Worse voices/crowd; turning; draughts; heavy meals; night. Master aggravations. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Better dark, quiet, supine, warmth, small meals, after expulsion. Master ameliorations. [Hering], [Hale]
• Cold sweat with vertigo; pallor. Autonomic sign. [Allen]
• Paradox hearing (distant yes, voice no). Selection key. [Hering]
• Sensitivity to coffee. Practical trigger. [Clarke]

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): auditory-nerve keynote (paracusis), worm signs, sleep and rectal aggravations; clinical confirmations.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): tinnitus/vertigo symptomatology; vestibulo-ocular modalities; cranial radiations.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): substance background; paracusis description; modalities; clinical vignettes.
Hughes, R. — A Cyclopædia of Drug Pathogenesy (1891–95): toxicology of wormseed oil (ascaridole); otic/vestibular interpretations.
Hale, E. M. — New Remedies: Clinical and Pharmacological (1864–1891): anthelmintic records; dosing cautions; paediatric worm cases.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1906): concise keynotes—paracusis, tinnitus, worm indications, practical modalities.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): spine–ear modality map; stooping/jar aggravations; generalities.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): comparisons (China, Chininum sulph., Spigelia, Theridion); selection by trigger.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic colouring; micro-comparisons (Gels., Con., Phos.).
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): leader remedies for tinnitus/vertigo and worm states; sequencing with Cina.
Phatak, S. R. — Concise Materia Medica (1977): condensed keynotes—paracusis, worms, sleep aggravations; modality reinforcements.
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): clinical sketches of auditory paradox and paediatric worm cases (interpretive use).