The homeopathic medicine iris is prepared from a perennial herb called blue flag, which usually grows up to a height of anything between 10 cm and 80 cm. This plant has a tendency to grow into huge thickets rising from fleshy, creeping rhizomes. The stems of blue flag are erect and unwinged, usually having basal leaves measuring over 1 cm in width.
Blue flag bears leaves that are creased on the midribs making them resemble an overlapping flat fan. The flowers of this herb are well developed having six petals each, while the outstretched sepals are almost flat. The sepals are found in two shapes. The longer sepals possess a greenish-yellow mark at the foundation, but do not have any bristles.
As the name suggests, the color of the blue flag flowers generally varies from pale to dark blue, while purple and violet flowers are not rare. They blossom during the period between May and July. The fruit of the blue flag herb has the shape of a capsule that is three celled and bluntly angled. The fruits enclose large seeds that may be seen floating during fall.
The homeopathic remedy iris is effective in treating vital symptoms, such as migraines and headaches that are accompanied by digestive problems, including acute diarrhea, nausea and/ or cholera. People who need this homeopathic medicine often endure blurred or loss of vision and extreme exhaustion prior to a migraine attack.
The migraines generally occur in the temple or in the region of the eyes and are accompanied by thumping pain, vomiting, acute nausea and plenty of salivation. The headaches usually deteriorate when there is vomiting and normally occur once in a week.
The homeopathic remedy Iris versicolor is also beneficial for patients who suffer from buzzing and/ or clatters in the ears, burning sensation in the throat with excessive secretion of saliva, facial neuralgia (raging darting pain and muscular trembling in the face), a burning sensation in the alimentary canal, constipation, vomiting and pains that shift from one place to another.
People requiring Iris versicolor feel better when they are in constant motion, while their problems deteriorate during the evening and night and also when they take rest. People who respond best to this homeopathic medicine usually have a low mood. In addition, such people also frequently feel restive and discouraged.
Practitioners of homeopathic medicine recommend Iris versicolor for treating shingles wherein the rashes appear profusely on the right part of the abdomen. Homeopathic doctors particularly prescribe Iris versicolor for patients who suffer from symptoms of shingles accompanied by stomach disorders.
The fresh root, dug up and chopped in summer, is steeped in alcohol.
The North American Indians used the blue flag herb to cure stomach disorders, wounds and aches, including earaches, and colds. In addition, the Native Americans also used Iris versicolor as a diuretic. Present day herbal medicine practitioners use this herb as an element in detoxification treatments.
Iris versicolor has a pungent and sickening taste. In fact, the natives of North America valued this herb highly and used it to cure stomach problems. The indigenous people of North America, where this plant is found growing in the wild, highly esteemed Iris versicolor for its cathartic (purgative) properties and they passed on the details regarding the attributes of this herb to the early European settlers in the region.
Herbalists picked up the virtues of the plant from the early pioneers and subsequently it was used by eclectics (people practicing various systems of medicine). Eventually, the homeopaths adopted Iris versicolor and made the herb dignified in medical science. In fact, Dr. J. G. Rowland was the first to establish the medicinal properties of Iris versicolor or the blue flag herb in 1852.
While the blue flag herb or Iris versicolor results in vomiting and nausea, the homeopathic remedy by the same name - Iris versicolor possesses diuretic and cathartic properties and invigorates the liver and the pancreas. One important indication for using the homeopathic medicine Iris versicolor is acid diathesis or any tartness in the secretions, especially by the gastric glands and pancreas.
It is possible that the homeopathic remedy Iris versicolor is highly reputed owing to its potential to treat sick-headache - a frontal headache that is accompanied by nausea. Such headaches may be caused by neuralgia or gastric problems. This homeopathic remedy is extremely effective in treating one-sided, especially the right side, headaches and neuralgic headaches that are related to some kind of gastric symptoms.
These headaches occur intermittently, usually after a few days or a week, and the soreness starts from one eye - generally the right eye. In almost all such cases, nausea, vomiting and blurred vision precede or accompany the headaches. In addition, Iris versicolor is also useful in curing infraorbital neuralgia also called exeresis of the right side.
Infraorbital neuralgia usually starts when the patient has taken his/ her breakfast. In such conditions, the most prominent symptoms include nausea and vomiting, and the substance vomited is sour and acidic causing a burning sensation in the mouth and esophagus.
In homeopathy, Iris versicolor is considered to be an effective remedy for treating vomiting and nausea. In addition, this homeopathic remedy is also beneficial for curing salivation of pregnancy.
Iris versicolor is also considered to be a very useful homeopathic remedy for treating liver disorders, imbalances of bilious colic and other derangements accompanied by jaundice, pain in the region of the liver, headache and vomiting of bile - something caustic and causes a burning sensation throughout the length of the esophagus.
Iris versicolor is also an effective cure for constipation that is accompanied by a burning sensation in the anus following any movement, particularly when the symptom is related to chronic sick headache and vomiting.
In homeopathy, the other medicinal uses of Iris versicolor include treating flatulence accompanied by colic (a convulsive soreness in the abdomen or bowels), particularly in children. Iris is also a useful remedy for diarrhea, especially when the movements are recurrent, thin and lead by colic.
The stool passed by people suffering from this type of diarrhea is generally acidic and causes a burning sensation in the anus - a feeling like the part of the body is on fire! Homeopaths also prescribe Iris versicolor for treating sciatica pains that are of burning in nature - the symptoms are worse on the left portion of the body and deteriorate when the patient walks or is in motion.
The herb Iris versicolor that is also generally known as the harlequin blue flag, the northern blue flag and several other deviations of these names, belongs to a species of Iris. This herb is indigenous to North America where it is found growing in the wild in marshes, meadows and in sedge. In addition, this herb is also found growing in abundance beside the shores and stream banks in various regions of North America.
