Pulsatilla

Meadow Anemone / Small Pasque Flower / Wind Flower

Pulsatilla pratensis

Small pasque flower has been used medicinally since the age of classical Greece. The name derives from the archaic term for Easter, Pasch, since the plant flowers around the time that the festival occurs. Roman legend says that this plant sprang from the tears of the goddess Venus, and was thus used to treat weepiness. Pulsatilla was proved by Hahnemann in 1805, and is used for a variety of disorders, ranging from colds and coughs to digestive and gynecological conditions.

People who respond best to Pulsatilla are sweet-natured, gentle, and compliant. They will avoid confrontation, but their moods change frequently and rapidly, and they can be stubborn in their demands for attention and sympathy. Their physical symptoms can be equally changeable. Easily moved to laughter or tears, they are highly prone to weepiness when ill, but are soon consoled by hugs. Other common traits are a dislike of stuffy rooms or fatty foods, a lack of thirst, and a preference for fresh air.

Pulsatilla is given for labor, menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy problems. Pulsatilla is used for respiratory illness marked by yellowy-green catarrh, eye complaints, and indigestion with variable symptoms.

Parts Used

Whole plant.

Uses

For homeopathic use the plant is collected when in full bloom and pounded to a pulp. The pulp is steeped in an alcohol-and-water solution and then strained and diluted.
Pulsatilla is given for ailments with a profuse discharge of excess mucus, such as colds with either a runny or blocked nose, sinus congestion, and a loose cough with greenish yellow phlegm. Eye problems, for example, styes and conjunctivitis, and digestive complaints caused by eating rich, fatty foods, such as indigestion, gastroenteritis, nausea, and vomiting are helped by Pulsatilla.
An important remedy for gynecological complaints, Pulsatilla is effective for a range of menstrual and menopausal problems, which are often characterized by depression and tearfulness with a need for comfort and sympathy.
Other conditions that respond well to Pulsatilla include: depression; varicose veins; nosebleeds; toothache; osteoarthritis and rheumatism; low backache, chilblains, acne, migraines and headaches above the eyes; and fever without thirst.

Women's health - short, variable, late, or absent menstrual flow with severe pain. There may be delayed onset of menstruation in puberty. Severe premenstrual syndrome may respond to the remedy, particularly if it is accompanied by indigestion, weepiness, and mood swings. In pregnancy, if the general symptom picture fits, Pulsatilla is given for stress incontinence, fatigue, indigestion, and morning sickness (especially if this is brought on by fatty foods). It may also act on the uterine muscles to help turn a malpresented or breech baby in the uterus during labor.

Colds and coughs - An alternately runny or blocked nose, with smelly, thick, yellowy-green catarrh, and a reduced sense of taste and smell. There may be wet, spasmodic coughing, with yellowy-green mucus and shortness of breath, which is worse for lying on the left side. Violent coughing fits tend to occur in the evening and at night; they may be triggered by lying down, and frequently cause sleep to be disturbed. Pulsatilla may be prescribed for influenza when there is fever with alternate hot and cold flashes and possibly an earache.

Sinusitis - yellowy catarrh, weepiness, and headaches. The sinuses are tender to the touch. Sharp pains may begin on the right side of the face, but tend to move around.

Eye infections - profuse, yellowy-green, foul-smelling discharge from the eye, with sensitivity to light and possible indigestion. Pulsatilla may help conjunctivitis and itchy styes.

Digestive disorders - variable, including indigestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and painful, itchy hemorrhoids. No two stools are alike. The mouth is dry but there is no thirst and craving for, or aversion to, rich foods that exacerbate the symptoms.

Source

Pulsatilla is native to Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, and Russia, and now found across northern and central Europe.

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