Genus: Bryonia
Common name: Wild hops. English mandrake. Devil’s turnip.
Family: Cucurbitaceae (Gourds – cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, squash)
Native to Europe, Bryonia alba, with its curling tendrils and fast growing habit, is considered an invasive vining weed in some northwestern states of the United States. This member of the cucumber family can growth up to 6 inches a day, and rivals that bane of Southern landscapes, kudzu, with its dense upward climbing growth pattern that can quickly cover trees, buildings, fences, and walls. All parts of the plant are toxic, but the roots of the Bryonia plant have been used medicinally for centuries. The flowers are greenish white, and the berries turn from green to black when ripe. Bryonia has an unpleasant smell, but birds consume the berries and spread the seeds.
Homeopathic Bryonia is frequently used for acute headaches, joint pain, colds and flu, dry coughs, and constipation. The characteristic symptom is that the person feels worse from movement. The least motion aggravates the condition. Unlike the remedies Aconite and Belladonna, the complaints that respond to Bryonia come on slowly and are often the result of becoming chilled after being overheated. There is also marked dryness – dry mouth, dry lips, dry eyes, dry cough, dry stool. The person needing Bryonia when sick is very thirsty for large quantities of cold water, is warm blooded, and wants fresh air, while keeping covered and warm. The stereotypical description of Bryonia is one who when disturbed is irritable like a grumpy bear that wants to be left alone and keeps perfectly still. This remedy is also used as a constitutional remedy for someone who has a strong desire for financial security and support, who works hard and worries about money, who fears poverty, and is business oriented.
Keynotes:
- Worse from any movement
- Irritable, wants to be left alone, averse to being disturbed or questioned
- Fear of poverty and financial ruin, anxiety about the future, worries about money
- Business oriented
- Worse from over-heating after being chilled or exposed to cold
- Worse at 9 pm and in the morning when rising
- Extreme exhaustion, worse from slight exertion
- Bursting headache in forehead or behind eyeballs, left-sided, better for pressure
- Dryness of mucous membranes
- Dry mouth with great thirst for large quantities of cold water
- Dry hard painful cough, must hold chest to cough, cough worse eating, worse motion
- Dry hard stool, constipation
- Stitching pains in lower back, in chest when coughing, in swollen joints, in sore throat
- Mastitis, breasts pale, hard, hot, painfully engorged with stitching pains
- Broken bones/ribs with stitching pain, worse movement
- Bronchitis, pneumonia, chest cold
- Rheumatism, arthritis, joint stiffness, gout
- Gastritis, stomach flu, with nausea and vomiting, mouth tastes bitter
- A top remedy for appendicitis
Information contained on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be used to prescribe, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any information provided is not intended to replace medical advice offered by a physician. If you desire or need such advice, you should consult a professional healthcare provider.