Pulsatilla

One of the guiding symptoms is the changeable nature of the symptoms.

Pulsatilla is used for a number of presentations. One of the guiding symptoms is the changeable nature of the symptoms. The pain is here one minute and there the next. No two stools seem to look alike.

It is a very useful children's remedy. The child is very clingy, won’t leave his mother at all. The baby that seems to need constant breast feeding may be helped with this remedy. They are often very tearful, become overwhelmed but can also be irritable and hard to please. Pulsatilla children seem impervious to the cold and will run around in a thin dress or t-shirt when adults are rugged up.

A common presentation is lots of mucus which is thick and greenish. The child with a snotty nose and chronic snuffles. New born babies with snuffles or eye discharge may be helped with this remedy.

It is a useful remedy in ear ache, especially if there is thick discharge, most frequently this is a left sided ear ache.

The remedy may be useful in coughs where there is thick mucus difficult to raise. It may be a dry cough during the day and a wet, loose cough during the night. The cough characteristically gets worse at night, after midnight, requiring the patient to sit up. This symptom led to a successful acute prescription when the parents had told me that they had to get up in the night and sit their child in a chair to relieve the coughing.

Not seen so frequently these days, but Pulsatillia is useful for aiding recovery from measles or if other symptoms have occurred since then.

• The Keynotes are:

  • Thirstless with all complaints

  • Desires cold

  • Better in fresh air

  • Worse in warm room

  • Teary

  • Clingy

  • Changeable

Disclaimer: This information is supplied for educational purposes only. Sources include published literature and anecdotal experiences of myself and other men, women and animals. The information is not intended for the treatment of any particular individual person or disease. If you are suffering any particular complaint please consult professional help.