Bryonia

White Bryony / Wild Hops

Bryonia alba

Dioscorides, the famous Greek physician of the 1st century CE, advocated bryony for gangrenous wounds, and the ancient Greeks and Romans also used it for epilepsy, vertigo, paralysis, gout, and coughs. In 17th-century England the herbalist Culpeper found bryony useful for phlegm, coughs, and shortness of breath. In 1834 Hahnemann proved the homeopathic remedy, which is used mostly for slow-starting ailments accompanied by pain on the slightest movement.

Bryonia is mainly used for people who are highly irritable when ill. Often clean-living, meticulous individuals, they can be contrary and capricious if ill, wanting things that, when given, are promptly rejected. They may feel tired, taciturn, languid, and angry if disturbed. Anxiety is common, especially about financial security.

The chief physical symptom treated by Bryonia is pain felt on the slightest movement. It is often accompanied by infrequent spells of great thirst, and dry lips, mouth, and eyes. Illness sets in slowly, typically after overexposure to heat or cold. Bryonia is useful for chest inflammation, pneumonia, bad headaches, and rheumatic pains. It may also be taken for some forms of constipation and breast pain.

Uses

The homeopathic remedy of Bryonia is prepared from the root, which is harvested in early spring. An extract pressed from the root pulp is mixed with alcohol into an extremely dilute solution.
Bryonia is used to treat coughs, flu, violent headaches, and other acute conditions that develop slowly, with pain on the slightest movement. This remedy is also effective for inflammation in the lining of the joints, chest, and abdomen, and is given for osteoarthritis, and rheumatism with joints that are painfully hot and swollen.
Other ailments helped by this remedy include: pneumonia and pleurisy with severe chest pain near the rib cage; constipation; and colic. Symptoms include stabbing pain, a heavy feeling in the eyelids, excessive sweating, and a constricted throat.

Dry coughs - great dryness in the mouth, throat, chest, and mucous membranes, with a tickly cough and sharp chest pains. Pressing the chest during a coughing fit may alleviate pain in the head, chest, or rib cage, as may lying still and breathing gently. Coughs may be linked to colds, pleurisy, or bronchitis.

Colds and influenza - red, sore, swollen nose, a hoarse, constricted throat, and a dry cough. The lips are often cracked and itchy, and the mouth is dry, with a white-coated tongue. Sharp, shooting ear pains may develop, as may sore eyes with sensitivity to movement and heavy eyelids. There may be an intense, aching headache, raging thirst, and copious perspiration.

Headaches - bursting, splitting headache over the forehead or left eye, so that even moving the eyeball hurts. Pain extends to the back of the head, then the whole head, often lasting all day. The mouth may be dry, and there may be great thirst.

Joint pain - joints and muscles are hot, swollen, stiff, and prone to stabbing pain, usually due to gout, tenosynovitis, or arthritis, or after an injury.

Constipation - large, hard stools that look black or burned. The rectum may be particularly dry, with burning pain after passing a stool. Rumbly, colicky pains in the abdomen are common.

Breast problems - breasts are pale, hard, and hot, with sharp pains, particularly in women who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Milk supply may be excessive.