Podophyllum is one of the essential and valuable remedies in Homoeopathy. Podophyllum 30 and Podophyllum 200 are the most commonly used homeopathic medicines.
It is an effective remedy for gastrointestinal upsets and prolapsing of the rectum or uterus.
This homeopathic medicine also suits types of colitis and inflammatory bowel disorders.
Podophyllum is a plant commonly known as Mayapple.
Parts used for Homoeopathic mother tinctures are fresh roots and underground stem-rhizome of the plant.
Before its use in homeopathy, people used it for various ailments diluted with water or alcohol; some used it orally for yellowed skin (jaundice), gastric ailments, fever, syphilis, hearing loss, and cancer.
Podophyllum was used as a laxative to empty the bowels, kill parasitic worms in the intestine.
Podophyllum Constitution/Personality
The patient is talkative, with uncontrolled emotions. The face looks older than age.
Subject to bilious attack, where the patient is constantly rubbing and shaking the liver region.
It is Adapted to persons of bilious temperament who suffer from gastrointestinal derangement, especially after abuse of mercury; bilious attacks, where there is increased bile formation in the stomach.
Guiding symptoms of Podophyllum
Podophyllum is a homeopathic remedy indicated for various alternating symptoms, such as headaches switching with diarrhea, and constipation alternating with diarrhea.
Notably, it is associated with a thirst for large quantities of cold water and seasonal variations in symptoms, like headaches in winter and diarrhea in summer.
It is particularly effective in treating painless cholera and cholera infantum, characterized by frequent loose motions in infants leading to violent cramps in the lower limbs. Stools are typically watery and easily passed.
In children, Podophyllum addresses digestive disturbances and difficult teething, marked by nighttime teeth grinding and intense gum pressure. Affected children often exhibit a hot head, rolling it from side to side, and sweating during sleep.
It is beneficial for diarrhea during teething, after eating, or while being bathed, with stools soaking through nappies. Diarrhea often presents early in the morning, persists through the forenoon, and may be followed by a natural stool in the evening, accompanied by abdominal weakness.
The remedy is also used for diarrhea characterized by green, watery, fetid, profuse, and gushing stools, sometimes containing undigested food or yellow meal-like sediment, indicating digestive or bile issues.
Additionally, Podophyllum is effective in treating prolapse of the rectum before or with stool, and uterine prolapse caused by strain or after childbirth.
During early pregnancy, it helps with comfort when lying on the stomach. For fevers due to cholera, it is useful, especially with fever paroxysms at seven in the morning, featuring loquacity during the chill and heat phases and sleep during perspiration.
It mainly addresses right-sided body afflictions, such as issues with the throat, right ovary, and right hypochondrium, with pain and numbness radiating from the right ovary down the thigh.
In gastric disorders, patients often rub and shake the liver region. Symptoms generally worsen in summer, early mornings, and improve when bending forward or lying on the abdomen.
Mind Symptoms
Mental symptoms of Podophyllum are troublesome. A sluggish/slow functioning is often associated with a dull, fluctuating state of mind; also, there is a slow, sluggish pulse; sluggish palpitation.
Podophyllum is beneficial for the patient’s mental condition with depression of spirits, melancholia, sadness, and melancholy.
It is helpful in the next stage of depression where everything goes wrong; the clouds are very dark; there is no light; thinks he may die or that he is going to become ill; that his disease will become chronic, he will suffer from the disease for life long.
It is helpful in the mentally disturbed state where he thinks that he has an organic disease of the heart and liver, sinned away his day of grace, and other such delusions.
The mind is quickly exhausted; the person is fidgety and physically restless; he cannot sit still as the whole body is wiggly.
In this mental state where he has jaundice, there is all gone sensation in the stomach, aversion to food, even the thought or smell of food is disturbing; stuffed feeling and distension in the liver region.
Head Symptoms
Podophyllum is useful in Vertigo, with the tendency to fall forward. Rolling of the head from side to side, moaning and vomiting, and eyelids half-closed.
Vertigo with fullness over eyes.
It is helpful in chronic headaches, in periodic headaches, the headache that makes the patient sick.
Podophyllum has headaches, dull pressure, worse morning, a heated face, and a bitter taste, alternating with diarrhea.
Podophyllum is useful in cases where headache and diarrhea alternate with each other, in headache that is congestive, as if all the blood were in the head as if the head would burst, and the pains most violent in the back of the head, snapping, and then on comes diarrhea which relieves the head.
Sometimes when the diarrhea lag up too suddenly, a headache is the result. It is a common feature wherein diarrhea that a headache comes on after the diarrhea is stopped.
Headache alternating with liver disturbances.
The patient lies on the side of the abdomen with rending pains towards the duodenum.
It appears as if the patient has gallstone colic.
Podophyllum is useful in periodic, violent headaches; there is alternating diarrhea and constipation; he rubs the region of the liver from behind forward and in this way gets relief, yet the liver is so sore that he can hardly bear the pressure, the liver is sensitive to touch.
Headache is splitting, dull throbbing, or heaviness in occiput and heat in vertex; is worse on lying down, after eating, rising. Headache is better in the open air, cold bathing.
Eyes Symptoms
Eyes are sunken. Drawing of eyes, as if squint would follow.
The eyes are inflamed, with increased sensitivity to light causing photophobia.
Ulcers in the eyes and opacities of the cornea, there is the narrowing of pupils.
During sleep, the eyes are half-open with the heaviness of lids.
Ears Symptoms
Podophyllum is useful in treating hardness of hearing, partial deafness associated with gastric disturbance, liver disorders.
Nose Symptoms
The nose is as if pinched.
There is a soreness, and tiny pimples appear in the nose.
The inner mucus lining of the nose is inflamed, with itching and burning in the nose.
Mouth symptoms
It is one of the valuable remedies for the foul offensive smell from mouth halitosis.
The tongue is covered with thick slime; pasty, yellow coating as if mustard were spread upon it; the imprint of the teeth upon the tongue; the mouth breath is foul-smelling.
Face Symptoms
The face is pale with jaws areas if fallen down.
The cheeks are red.
The entire face appears as if swollen.
Throat Symptoms
Soreness of throat, extending into ears.
The throat feels rough, dry, and burning.
The sensation of a lump in the throat and the rattling of mucus in the throat and upper respiratory tract.
Worse: Swallowing liquids.
Chest Symptoms
It is helpful for oppression in the chest, with the desire to breathe deeply but hindered by a sense of constriction.
Feeling of suffocation on first lying down during sleep.
There is snapping like a thread breaking in the right lung on a deep inspiration heard by a stethoscope
Heart Symptoms
Podophyllumis useful in heart conditions occurring after prolonged gastric derangement due to cholera, frequent diarrhea, causing palpitation.
Feeling as if the heart were mounting into the throat.
Stomach Symptoms
Podophyllum is helpful in vomiting, greenish, profuse, watery, vomits everything; vomiting of milk, hunger after vomiting, the patient feels deathly after nausea and vomiting as there is overpowering nausea and prostration.
Burning in the stomach like hot steam in it. Spasmodic, wrenching pains in the stomach, which extorts to scream with efforts to vomit, he constantly rubs the stomach region. Coldwater causes oppression and uneasiness in the stomach.
There is heaviness in the stomach and a sickly feeling in the stomach.
Stomach symptoms are worse from motion.
Abdomen Symptoms
Podophyllum is a valuable remedy in soreness about the liver; pain through to the back; dull aching pain, finally jaundice; the patient becomes highly yellow, there is uneasiness and distress after eating, along with jaundice there is horrible nausea causing aversion to food; empty all-gone feeling in the bowels.
Faintness, with a sense of emptiness in the abdomen, after stool.
Heat and pain in the abdomen, with inclination to stool.
Cramp-like colic in the abdomen, with retracted muscles, griping, cutting in the sides of the abdomen.
There is rumbling and pain in ascending and transverse colon.
Sharp pain above the right groin.
Distension of abdominal wall with tenderness. Inflammation and ulceration of duodenum.
A sensation of weakness or sinking.
Can lie comfortably only on the stomach.
The liver region is painful, better rubbing part, doubling up, hard pressure, and warmth after passing stool or flatus.
Worse: Lying on back: the pressure of clothes, touch, motion, eating.
Rectum Symptoms
Podophyllum is helpful in prolapse of rectum and anus during vomiting.; a chronic state of; diarrhea alternating with the headache.
Rectal swelling and congestion, fullness and dragging in the rectum, before stool, sense of weakness in rectum after stool.
Soreness in the anus.
Discharge of mucus from the rectum.
It is helpful in a condition where stools are liquid, profuse, painless, offensive, fast, gushing out, undigested food in stool, frothy, yellow, green, chalk-like or blood-streaked, albuminous, acrid, burning hot, coated with tough yellow mucus, ineffectual urging to pass stool, preceded by retching and vomiting.
Alternate diarrhea and constipation.
Worse: After eating or drinking, in hot weather, during dentition, in the morning, diarrhea from eating acid fruit with milk.
Urinary Symptoms
It is helpful in urinary problems where there is suppression of urine.
Frequent nocturnal urination during pregnancy.
Involuntary discharge of urine during sleep.
Male Genital Symptoms
Podophyllum is used for inflamed scrotum, blemishes on the scrotum.
Sticking above pubes and in the spermatic cord.
There is a falling out feeling during stool without pain in the sacrum, prolapsus of the rectum.
Female Genital Symptoms
It is an invaluable remedy in female disorders of prolapse of the uterus following childbirth, hemorrhoids, with prolapsus anus during pregnancy.
There is inflammation and soreness in the right ovary, which crosses the entire body to the left breast.
Pain shooting up in the uterus.
There is suppression of menses with pelvic tenesmus.
The uterus is extremely sore and enlarged; painful to touch, so light clothing aggravates.
In one or both, much pain in the ovaries extends down the pelvic region and the thigh’s front. Pains in the ovary extend up and drag down in the ovary area, and the ovary is congested. Pain in the ovaries, mainly right; pain in the ovaries during the menstrual period; griping pain in the bowels during the menstrual period.
Numbness in the left ovary, pain in the uterus and right ovary, and shifting noises along the ascending colon.
Significant soreness and sensitiveness of the abdomen before and during the menstrual period.
The only relief is to press on the vulva.
During mense, complaints are not better lying down; she then has pains in the back and hips compelling her to walk, which worsens her condition.
Strong sexual desire. Indicated in copious diarrhea during the menstrual period and significant soreness in the uterus.
Hand Symptoms
Podophyllum helps tingle sensation in hands, weakness of joints of wrist and elbow paralytic weakness of the left arm.
Legs Symptoms
Weakness of legs due to exhaustion after cholera, diarrhea, jaundice.
Pain with cramp in the right leg, paralytic weakness of legs with a tingling sensation.
The patient has pains in extremities that come in sudden shocks, and jerking pains are also observed.
Back Symptoms
It is helpful in stiffness of the neck with soreness of muscles of neck and shoulder.
Back pains, under right scapula, in loins worse from a misstep when walking or sudden jerking steps.
Weakness of spine and left hip making it difficult to stand and walk.
Pain between shoulders, under right scapula, in loins.
Pains in the lumbar region, right inguinal region; shoots down inner thigh to knees.
Paralytic weakness on the left side.
Skin Symptoms
Podophyllum is used in skin conditions with intolerable itching, scratching causes urticarious blotches indicative of excess bile circulating in blood due to underlying liver disorder.
Scabs on the arms and legs.
Podophyllum is used in crude or tincture form on skin warts and corns.
Fever Symptoms
Podophyllum is useful in fever from cholera infection, where there is coldness, with the pain in the bowels.
There are flashes of heat over the face and head during the heat stage.
There is sleep during the sweating stage.
The sweating is so profuse it drops from fingers, cold, on feet .sweating mainly in the evening.
There is a feeling as if a person bathed the body in sweat.
Fever paroxysm at seven a. m. with great loquacity during chill and heat.
Podophylum 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
All complaints are worse after eating or drinking, from eating acid fruit with milk, in hot weather, during dentition, in the morning, lying on back, the pressure of clothes, touch, motion.
Amelioration By
Podophyllum is better by rubbing, doubling up, hard pressure, and warmth after passing stool or flatus.
Relationship with Other Medicine
Complementary Medicines
This remedy completes the process of cure that is started by the first medicine given.
Complementary remedies of Podophyllum is- Natrum Muriaticum.
Similar Remedy
These remedies have many similarities in action but are different in origin, which means the source from which the medicine is prepared is another.
Medicines similar to Podophyllum are Aloe socotrine.
Antidoted by
When there is appearing of new symptoms, the new symptoms combined with the old ones should be studied and a second remedy covering more of these new symptoms is given, this second remedy is the antidote.
Podophyllum mainly does not produce any significant aggravation in any case, still few side effects can be noticed when there is an overdosage. In such instances, Lactuca virosa and, Nux vomica can be used to antidote the result of excessive use of Podophyllum if the case is going in the wrong direction or aggravation.
Follows well
These are medicines that follow the previous medicine in action thus aiding in cure.
Remedies that follow Podophyllum are-Ipecachuana, aloe socotrine.
Podophyllum Dosage & Potencies
The dosage and potency of the medicine depend on the individual case.
Medicine similar to the disease condition is given, the more exact similarity the early the process of cure.
Podophyllum 30 Uses
Lower potency is given when very few symptoms of medicine match to that of the patient of Podophyllum. They require frequent repetition.
They should be given 3-4 times a day till the expected result is seen.30C potency can be used as a specific remedy in cholera and diarrhea, can be repeated until desired results in treatment are obtained.
For acute and self-limiting complaints of diarrhea, loose motions, IBS, take one pill or five drops of the remedy every 1 to 4 hours.
Podophyllum 200 Uses
This is considered as higher potency; its given when most mind symptoms and physical symptoms of Podophyllum and that narrated by patient match.
Higher potencies are advisable to be not repeated very often; they act for a long duration of days, so the second dose is repeated every 7-days or every 15-days once.
On giving 200C potency, it’s advisable to wait for the symptoms to subside, which can be repeated until all signs in totality go.
Podophyllum 1M Uses
Its very high potency. To be given only after careful case analysis, all medicinal symptoms of Podophyllum and that provided by the patient match each other perfectly.
1 M should not be repeated. It is given 30 days once and waiting for symptoms to disappear.
Podophyllum Q (Mother Tincture) Uses
Podophyllum in tincture form, when applied locally, gives a good result in reducing warts, both plantar warts, and genital warts.
It can be used externally on the skin to dissolve warts and corns.
Podophyllum 3X/6X Uses
Its lower potency of Podophyllum works well as a therapeutic dose for worm infestation.
Very useful in the treatment of worms, and repeated intake 3-4 times a day is advised.
Clinical indications of Podophyllum
- Dysentry
- Jaundice
- Depression
- Colic
- Cramps in the abdomen
- Diarrhea
- Weak digestion
- Nausea
- Persistent vomiting
- Worm infestation
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Increased bilirubin levels
- Gall stones
Side Effects
Homoeopathic medicines are prepared by potentization where the dynamic curative power of the crude medicinal substance is aroused.
This process, unique to homeopathy, leads to minimal side effects on the intake of homeopathic medicines.
Podophyllum as such produces no side effects. Still, one should be careful regarding its intake in crude form for a long time.
It increases the tendency to cramps in the abdomen, excess use on skin for warts and corns can cause rashes.
Remember that homeopathic remedies should be prescribed based on individual symptoms and characteristics. It’s crucial to consult with a qualified homeopath for proper evaluation and personalized treatment. Homeopathy focuses on treating the whole person, so a detailed case study is necessary to select the most appropriate remedy.
Homeopathic medicines should be taken only when prescribed by a homeopathic physician. Self-medication may aggravate the original conditions.