Scilla maritima

Scilla maritima is a perennial plant native to Mediterranean coastal regions, characterised by its large bulb and spiky inflorescence. The bulb contains potent cardiac glycosides (e.g. scillaren), similar in action to digitalis. In homeopathy, the remedy is prepared from the fresh bulb and is known for its action on the lungs, heart, bladder, and mucous membranes, particularly where there is mucus accumulation, spasmodic cough, or urinary weakness.

Used in herbal medicine as an expectorant and emetic. In ancient Greece and Egypt, squill was employed in cough syrups and heart tonics, though its toxic profile limits modern usage.

Proved by Hahnemann and introduced in Materia Medica Pura. The toxicological effects of the fresh bulb were well known historically and corroborated by homeopathic proving.

• Lungs and bronchi – spasmodic cough, chronic bronchitis
• Urinary system – bladder weakness, incontinence, dribbling
• Heart and circulation – palpitations, heart failure symptoms
• Serous membranes – dropsical effusions
• Gastrointestinal tract – mucus secretion, nausea
• Right side of the body – right chest, pleura, ribs
• Children and elderly – cough and urinary incontinence

• Sitting upright
• Expectoration of mucus
• Lying on the left side
• Cool open air (initially)
• After urination (temporary relief)

• Lying down, especially on the right side
• Motion, talking, laughing
• Morning, especially on waking
• Cold, damp weather
• Suppression of cough or urination
• Sneezing or taking a deep breath

• Squilla (Red variety) – More burning and restlessness; deeper action on circulation
• Causticum – Incontinence with cough, but more left-sided and associated with paralysis
• Antimonium tart. – Rattling mucus with difficult expectoration, but more weakness and cyanosis
• Drosera – Spasmodic cough, worse after midnight, but more whooping character
• Digitalis – Similar cardiac symptoms, but more fear, sinking sensation, and pulse irregularity
• Senega – Elderly patients with sticky mucus and dyspnoea, but more sternum pain and backache

• Complementary: Digitalis, Kali carb
• Antidotes: Camphora, Nux vomica
• Follows well: Bryonia (in pleuritic states), Spongia
• Inimical: Phosphorus (may interfere in chronic cases with bleeding tendency)

Scilla maritima embodies the tension between pressure and release—mucus not expectorated, urine not retained, breath not fully drawn. It acts on those who are burdened by internal retention and external leakage. The hallmark is a violent cough with pressure symptoms (head, bladder, chest) and paradoxical relief through discharge—vomiting, sweating, urination. It is a remedy of frail constitutions, the elderly, and children, where vital fluids accumulate and overwhelm weakened structures. Right-sided, spasmodic, and aggravating in the morning, Scilla is deeply needed in congestive states with lack of tone and control.

• Effective in spasmodic morning cough with urinary incontinence, especially in the aged
• Use in right-sided pleurisy or bronchitis with difficult expectoration
• Bladder weakness in postpartum or elderly patients with dribbling
• May be useful in cardiac asthma or early congestive heart failure with orthopnoea
• Consider for children with tickling cough and involuntary urination

Cough

• Morning, violent
• Ends in sneezing
• With involuntary urination
• Worse lying on right side
• Deep, spasmodic

Urinary

• Incontinence, cough during
• Dribbling, aged people
• Urine, offensive, cloudy

Chest

• Right side, pain
• Stitching, pleura
• Oppression, must sit up

Generalities

• Right-sided
• Dropsy, cardiac
• Weakness, aged

Mind

• Restlessness
• Anxiety during cough
• Melancholy, health-related

• Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving and symptomatology
• J.H. Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Full symptom development and clinical examples
• C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Confirmed clinical use in elderly and respiratory pathology
• Boericke – Pocket Manual: Practical indications, heart-lung-bladder axis
• Allen – Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica: Pathogenetic details and remedy relationships