Lycopodium is one of the important deep-acting remedies, useful in progressive chronic diseases. Lycopodium 30 & Lycopodium 200 are the most commonly used homeopathic medicines.
It is commonly known as Club moss belongs to the family Lycopodiaceae and is proved by Dr.Hanemann.
It acts upon the vegetative system especially on the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, digestive system,genital-urinary tract, kidney.
Table of Contents
Constitution
The Constitution of lycopodium is the Carbonitrogenoid constitution.
It is suited to people especially extremes of life, both children and old people.
Lycopodium patients are intellectually keen but physically too weak.
Their body structure is, the upper part of the body is emaciated and the lower part is semi-dropsical.
They have unhealthy complexion, anemic or pale discoloration of the skin is seen, they look older than their real age.
Lycopodium Uses
It is a leading right-sided remedy, suited to deep chronic progressive diseases, all complaints of throat, chest, liver, abdomen, kidney stones -start on the right side and go left, and nearly all diseases are worse in the afternoon from 4 to 8 P.M.
Intolerance to a cold, patient is very sensitive to cold, worse in cold air, from cold drinks and food; craves everything warm.
The sourness of the discharges, everything tastes sour, like eructations, heartburns,water-brash, vomiting is also sour.
Canine hunger, but few mouthfuls, fill up to the throat, with acidity, wind and bloating abdomen especially lower abdomen is affected, there is constipation problem since puberty.
Digestive complaints are mainly in the form of acidity gas formation and constipation; right-sided hernia is treated by Lycopodium.
Lycopodium is useful in conditions of eyes like hemiopia-sees only the left half of the object, half-open conditions of eyes is a very strong indication of Lycopodium.
There are fan-like motions of alae nasi occurring in the cerebral and abdominal complaints, also the right foot is hot and the left foot is cold, with dryness of the parts like the skin of palms.
It is useful in conditions where there is red sand in the urine,right-side kidney stones.
Mind Symptoms
Lycopodium patient has a tired state of mind with, chronic fatigue, ailment from anger, fright, mortification, or vexation with reserved displeasure.
They are intellectually keen persons, dread of appearing in public, often professional men like lawyers and ministers who have to frequently appear in public, there is feeling as if they are incompetent and unable to complete the task, although they have been accustomed to it for many years.
The patient wants to be alone, yet has a dread of loneliness, they dread the presence of new persons, or visitors but want to be surrounded by people who are constantly around them, but does not want company, does not want to be talked to, or forced to do anything.
Lycopodium is useful in people who are having lack confidence, weakness in memory, confused thoughts, greedy and miserly, very much sensitive, even cry when thanked.
Head Symptoms
Lycopodium is useful in periodic headaches, arising from or associated with gastric troubles, headaches if the patient does not eat.
The congestive headache begins on the right side and goes to the left, with the throbbing and pressing type of pain in the head as if it would burst.
Worst from 4-8P.M, from heat and warm room; better by uncovering the head and by eating.
Eyes Symptoms
Lycopodium is useful in eye diseases like Photophobia, Myopia, or presbyopia, in which there is aching, burning, and shooting pains in eyes and lids, mostly in the evening, by candle-light.
Styes on the internal canthus, agglutination of eyelids at night, and lachrymation are worse by day, and in a cold wind; twitching of the eyelids, must wipe the mucus from eye to see, troubled sight, as from feather-down before the eyes.
The letters are confused when reading black spots, glittering, and sparks before eyes, they are dazzled and irritated by candlelight in the evening.
Ears Symptoms
In tinnitus with tinkling and buzzing, roaring, humming, and whizzing in ears, sensation as if hot blood rushed into ears.
Congestion of blood in ears as from boiling water, ringing in right ear; every noise has peculiar echo deep in the ear, hardness of hearing.
Nose Symptoms
There is swelling of the nose, with acrid, fetid, and corrosive, ichorous discharge from the nose begins in the right nostril with a fan-like motion of the nostrils in pneumonia
It is useful in epistaxis bleeding from the nose, on blowing it, in the afternoon from the right nostril.
Coryza, with obstruction of the nose, and dryness of the posterior nares with blockage of nostrils, mostly at night.
Mouth Symptoms
Used for gingivitis -ulcers and swelling in the gums, they bleed on being touched; when cleaning teeth, with tearings, and shooting pain, better by hot drinks.
Soreness of tongue, ulcers on and under the tongue (from tobacco), the tongue is painful and swollen in different places.
The saliva becomes dry on the palate and lips and is converted into tough mucus, on the posterior part of the mouth causing halitosis.
Lycopodium is useful in speech disorders, like stammering due to tension in the mouth and tongue with heaviness; speech indistinct, in talking, all the words of a sentence are spoken completely and distinctly except the last, which is stammered.
Face Symptoms
There is paleness of face, old looking, with yellow and earthy complexion, with deep wrinkles, blue circles around eyes, lips bluish, circ*mscribed redness of the cheeks with a red and bloated face, with red spots.
It is useful in convulsive changes in the face, twitching and convulsive movements in muscles of the face, first left angle of the mouth is drawn outward, then right; muscles of lips and cheeks drawn together making mouth pointed, followed by broad distension of mouth, the lower jaw hangs down.
Throat Symptoms
It is useful in, pharyngitis, goiter, a sensation of constriction in the throat, dryness, burning pain in the throat, with nocturnal thirst.
There is a sensation in the throat as if a ball were ascending from the pit of the stomach, there is inflammation of the throat and palate, with shooting pain, which obstructs deglutition.
It is used to treat tonsillitis, ulcers in the tonsils, there is swelling and suppuration of tonsils, the ulceration of the tonsils begins on the right side.
The pharynx feels contracted, nothing can be swallowed, but hawking of hard greenish-yellow masses; of bloody mucus, there is sticking in the region of right parotid in the throat during cough.
Chest Symptoms
There is treating asthma with short respiration during every effort to breathe, seen in children, mostly during sleep; when breathing, bruising, and shooting in and sides of chest, constant pressure, weight in the chest, it feels raw internally.
Stitches and lancinations in the chest, mainly on the left side, and principally when sneezing or coughing, on laughing, on the slightest movement, with an inability to stay lying on the affected side, and difficult respiration, rattling of mucus and stertorous respiration worse by walking in the open air, pain in the chest, usually after speaking.
Heart Symptoms
It is used to treat enlargement of the heart; hypertrophy in general with palpitation of the heart with the flapping of the wings of the nose; palpitation, especially during digestion, or in bed in the evening,
Hears loud heart sounds, with anxiety and trembling, with accelerated pulse causing beating of temporal arteries and carotids, with cold face and feet.
It is used to treat angina pectoris when sharp pains are shooting in the heart, cramp, and constriction, stitches beneath short ribs, extending to small of back and shoulders, the sensation of stoppage of circulation at night, with fright and then sweat, pulse quick and unsteady in angina pectoris.
Stomach Symptoms
Lycopodium is indicated when there is loss of appetite, sometimes with the first mouthful, sudden satiety.
Aversion to rye-bread; meat; coffee; tobacco, craving for sweet things with an inability to digest heavy food.
After a meal has stomach pains with the abdomen- colics; water-brash and diarrhea after taking milk.
Frequent continued nausea and vomiting, of food and bile, at night, or when fasting in the morning after a meal with salivation or during menses
The vomiting is bitter of greenish matter, of blood, pain in the stomach is gnawing, griping; periodical aching in the stomach, better by the heat of bed, in the evening, and after every meal.
Water brash on an alternate day, with the flow of bitter water, nausea when in a room, which disappears in the open air, and, with a bitter taste in the mouth but the acid moves in the stomach.
It is indicated for compressive pains in the stomach mainly in the morning; in the open air; after a meal; or drinking wine; they are sometimes better in the evening and are often accompanied by cramps in the chest and difficult respiration.
Swelling of epigastrium causes painful sensibility to the touch, the clothes around the stomach lead to uneasiness, stitches in the left side of the pit of the stomach.
Abdomen Symptoms
It is indicated for liver disorders, in which there is tension pressure around the right hypochondria, as from the pressure of a hoop.
After meals;cramp-like pain in the diaphragm, and contusive pain in the liver, on stooping; when walking in the upper part of right hypochondrium, as if the suspensor ligament of the liver would tear.
Used for violent gall-stone colic with sharp pain in dorsal hepatic region, in right shoulder and arm, inflammation and induration of the liver.
Useful in right hernia -Sensation of something heavy, hard in the abdomen, dropsical swelling of the abdomen, contractive cramp-like pains in the abdomen, which is distended leading to drawing, tension, and pinching in and sides of the abdomen with suspended respiration.
In a hernia there are cutting pains above the navel on touching the part; tearing, pulsation, and pressure in the inguinal ring as if the hernia is on the point of protruding,cramp-like pains in abdominal muscles.
Slow digestion causes flatus, imperfect expulsion of flatus, it cannot pass and causes much pain, a great deal of noisy flatulence in the abdomen there seems to be a constant fermentation in the abdomen, which produces a loud croaking sounds, much rumbling of gas in the abdomen, gurgling and borborygmi in the lower abdomen.
Rectum Symptoms
It is indicated in constipation of small and hard stools with ineffectual desire to evacuate, with the sensation as if much remained behind, followed by excessive accumulations of flatulence.
Hemorrhoids/piles that bleed, protrude during soft stool, painful on touch and when sitting with prolapsus recti, itching eruption in anus; Tension, and painful closing of the anus as with protrusion and distension of the veins, of the rectum.
In diarrhea the feces are pale with earthy color with putrid odor; thin brown; pale green mixed with hard lumps; thin yellow or reddish-yellow fluid; hemorrhages with reddish mucus in dysentery; after stool there is flatulent distension.
Lumbrici (worms) cause itching and tension in the anus, incisive pains, shooting pains from excoriation in the rectum.
Urinary Symptoms
It is indicated in right-sided renal stones and renal colic, terrible pain in the course of the right kidney drawing, and aching pains very severe pain is felt in the back every time before urinating; causing the patient to cry out.
Retention of urine; patients will get into a position to urinate, but wait long, before urine comes, accompanied by pain in the back, which ceases when the urine flows; children often cry out with pain before urinating, urine is turbid, milky, with offensive purulent sediment.
Used in haematuria- discharge of blood from the bladder; urine is foamy, hot, deep-colored, with yellow or reddish sediment transparent urine, having a heavy, red, crystallized sediment in the bottom.
Old thickening of the bladder with irritable urethra causes an urgency to urinate, with the discharge of large quantities of pale urine, frequent micturition by night, greasy pellicle on the urine.
Male Symptom
It is used to treat gonorrhea with a deep red and smarting pustule behind the glans with excoriation between the scrotum and thighs.
Used in the impotence of young men with poor excitement, weakness, or absence of sexual desire and erections.
The penis is small, cold, relaxed, emissions are too speedy, tardy during coition, patient falls asleep during coition.
Female Symptoms
Used in treating itching, burning, and gnawing in the vulva, pressure towards the outside, above the vulva, and extending as far as the vagin*, when stooping.
Used to treat menstrual disorders – Menstruation too late; lasts too long; profuse, flow partly black, clotted, partly bright red or partly serum; with labor-like pains followed by swooning; with sadness; suppressed by fright.
Before menses, there is shivering, melancholy; bloatedness of the abdomen.
During menses there is delirium, with tears; headache; sourness in the mouth; pain in loins; swelling of feet; fainting; vomiting of sour matter; abdominal-colic; and pains in the back.
Expulsion of wind from the vagin*, burning pain in the vagin*, during and after coition.
Hand Symptoms
It is used in treating rheumatic complaints of hands with tearings and shootings in the joints of shoulder and elbow, pain in bones of arms at night.
Difficulty in moving arms as if rheumatism is progressing, with nodes on fingers, sprain in right wrist joint causes pain.
Paralytic weakness of arms and fingers easily numbed, even at night, or only when raising them.
Arthritic stiffness of the elbow and wrist, causing involuntary trembling of the hands, contraction, and twitches in the fingers.
Legs Symptoms
Rheumatic tension in left hip as from a sprain in hip there is periodical pains, from hip joint to foot, every fourth day, drawing along sciatic nerves to feet, evening, in bed.
Pain in muscles about joints, on pressure, sitting or lying better walking in the open air, when walking, he must limp, involuntary shaking in legs, or alternate separation and bringing together again of the thighs with curvature and stiffness of the knees, pains which prevent walking, thus indicated in paralysis of the legs.
Used for corns on the feet, sometimes with shooting pain.
Back Symptoms
It is used to treat rigidity of the neck, caused by lifting a weight, stiffness, swelling, and induration of one side of neck weakness and paralysis of muscles of the neck, with swelling of glands of the neck, often accompanied by constrictive pains in abdomen.
There is a pain in the back and right side, from the congestion of the liver and distortion of the spine; pain as of shootings in loins on rising after stooping, drawing, tearing, and shooting pains in back and loins, with difficult respiration, when seated and at night,
Skin Symptoms
Used in treating: chronic eczema with violent itching; fissured eruptions bleed easily, are beneath the skin; worse warm applications.
In Psoriasis skin becomes dry, thick, and indurated, moist scabs on and behind ears with biting, itching,
Useful in treating skin conditions like Warts on the hands and fingers, itching pimples between the fingers, large clusters of red pimples around the neck, violent itching, and hair that become prematurely gray.
Fever Symptoms
In fever, there are chills between 3 and 4 pm, followed by sweat. In the chill stage there is Icy coldness, which feels as if lying on the ice, one chill is followed by another.
Modalities
Modalities are the factors that, increase or decrease the complaints in a patient.
They are categorized as aggravating factors and amelioration factors.
Aggravating factors make the condition of the illness worst, while the amelioration factor makes the condition of the disease better.
It can be time, any part of the day, season, position, or any applications, etc.
Aggravated By-
On the right side, from right to left, from above downward, 4 to 8 pm; from heat or warm room, hot air, bed. Warm applications, except throat and stomach which are better from warm drinks.
Amelioration By-
By motion, after midnight, from warm food and drink, in the open air, on getting cold, from being uncovered.
Relationship with Other Medicine
Complementary Medicines-
This remedy completes the process of cure that is started by the first medicine given.
Complementary to Lycopodium are-Calcarea carbonica and Sulphur
Antidoted by-
When there appear of new symptoms, you should study the new symptoms combined with the old one, and a second remedy covering more of these new symptoms is given. This second remedy is the antidote.
Lycopodium is antidoted by-Camphora; Pulsatilla; Causticum
It antidotes-
Mercurius
Follows well-
Followed well by-
These are medicines given after the first medicine finished its action.
They are Calcarea, Chamomilla, Graphites.
Lycopodium Dosage & Potencies
The dosage and potency of the medicine depend on the individual case.
Lycopodium 30 Uses-
Lower potency is given when very few symptoms match the medicine to that of the patient. These symptoms help diagnose the disease condition only, given frequent repetition, 3-4 times a day, till the expected result is seen
Lycopodium200 Uses-
It is higher potency; it is given when the majority of mental symptoms and physical symptoms match. Higher potencies are not repeated often; they act for a long duration of days, so the second dose is repeated every 7- 15-days once. On giving 200C potency, it’s advisable to wait for the symptoms to subside.
Lycopodium 1M Uses-
One should not repeat 1 M potency. It is given 30 days once only when symptoms perfectly match and wait for symptoms to disappear.
Lycopodium (Mother Tincture) Uses-
They are a crude form of medicine, can be used 3-4 times a day as an external application in skin disorders.
Lycopodium 3X/6X Uses-
It is lower potency works well as a therapeutic dose for fever, repeated intake 3-4 times a day is advised.
Clinical Indications
- Asthma
- Abdomen distension
- Pneumonia
- Headache
- Hernia
- Constipation
- Cancer
- Dysentery
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Gallstone
- Gout
- Impotence
- Urinary troubles
- Worms
Lycopodium Side Effects
Clinically no major side effect of Lycopodium in homeopathic form is observed.
Excess intake, in crude form, can cause nausea, numbness, unpleasant taste in the tongue. In such a case, one should seek medical help. Taking an antidote like Camphora is useful.
