by Matthew Wood
Mittelschmerz: (pain in the middle of the cycle, from ovulation): • Cimicifuga (with colon cramp or diarrhea) • Dioscorea • Paeonia • Viburnum.
Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS): • ANGELICA SINENSIS (chronic; cramping and clotting menses, pain, headache, mood swings, insomnia, low energy) • Avena (easily startled, jumpy; adrenaline discharges) • Bupleurum (congested liver; drug and alcohol abuse; bloating, nausea, breast swelling, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, overstimulation, tension, anger, irritability), Chamomilla (whining, regressing) • CIMICIFUGA (black state of mind, brooding; delayed menses; headache, water weight) • DIOSCOREA (neuromuscular relaxant; administer during last half of cycle) • Glycyrrhiza (anxiety, stress, headaches, exhaustion) • Leonurus (muscular rigidity, nervous tension, pain in chest) • Lepidium (normalizer; acne, infertility, low libido) • Mahonia (“catabolic-dominant” thin people with efficient detoxification abilities, but prone to drying out and malnutrition—M. Moore) • NEPETA (nervous agitation; light and tardy flow; in feeble, excitable women) • Ocimum • Passiflora (insomnia; restless in evening) • Populus tremuloides (chronic, every month, without insomnia; take for 3 days before onset—M. Moore) • PULSATILLA (emotional lability; gloomy, tearful, happy, nervous; irregular menses) • Scutellaria (nervous irritability, depression, sensitivity, mood swings, sleeplessness, anxiety) • Smilax • TARAXACUM (water weight, bloating) • VERBENA (food cravings, overactive mind, tension headache; driven) • Viburnum opulus (PMS cramps) • VITEX (menstrual and hormonal headaches; anxiety, irritability, insomnia, mood changes, tension, breast tenderness, water weight, bloating, sugar craving).
Menopause: • Achillea (hot flashes and night sweats; stuffy, hot feeling—Treben) • Alchemilla (night sweats) • Althaea (thin, dry, atrophic, infertile) • Amygdalus (hot and dry) • Angelica archangelica (poor circulation, pelvic congestion, cold hands and feet, hot flashes; with Glycyrrhiza for adrenocortical strength) • Angelica sinensis (naturally occurring and surgically induced; flushing, sweats, insomnia, bladder weakness, bloating, water retention, vaginal dryness and spasm, fatigue) • Arctium (leaf or root) • ASPARAGUS RACEMOSA (“she of a thousand husbands”; restores fluids) • Avena (insomnia; melancholia after hot flashes; “sense of pressure and pain in ovaries, uterus, sacrum, bladder, with nervousness and sense of confusion”—M. Moore) • Betonica (uncentered) • Borago (overworked; exhausted, nervous) • Calendula (fibroids) • Capsella bursa-pastoris • Caulophyllum (hot flashes; pressure and pain in pelvis, discomfort refers down legs from pelvis) • CIMICIFUGA (muscle pain, nervous irritability, depression, headache, dizziness, poor sleep; flustered feeling with hot flashes; osteoarthritis in wrists, hands, fingers; pain on movement; low estrogen) • Cnicus • Equisetum (early-onset osteoporosis) • Glycyrrhiza (pituitary balance; adjuvant) • Helonias (hot flashes; heavy, bloated abdomen; headache, depression; for surgically induced menopause) • Humulus • Hypericum (helps the liver process hormones; “menopausal neurosis,” easily excited—BHP) • Juniperus (with recurring dysuria but no inflammation) • LEONURUS (lumbar and pelvic pain and cramping, vaginal dryness; palpitations, hot flashes, insomnia, nervousness; unrest, irritability, freaked-out appearance) • Lepidium (low hormones) • Medicago (osteoporosis) • Nuphar (pain refers down legs from pelvis) • Ocimum (brain fog) • Osmunda (osteoporosis) • Paeonia (hot flashes, night sweats) • Panax quinquefolius (dryness; “cloudy thinking”—Kuhn and Winston) • Passiflora (insomnia) • Polygonum multiflorum (increases libido and stamina) • Pulsatilla (night sweats, anxiety, heart palpitations) • Rheum • SALVIA (night sweats; drying out of skin, mucosa, vagina) • Selenicereus (anxiety; asthenia) • Senecio aureus (hot flashes, nervous instability, hemorrhage) • Scutellaria • Smilacina racemosa (“PMS psychobitch from hell”—Crow) • Taraxacum (hot flashes) • Tilia (anxiety) • Trigonella (hot flashes, vaginal dryness) • Valeriana (insomnia) • VERBENA (hot flashes, night sweats, tension, anxiety) • Viburnum prunifolium (nutritive tonic for debility) • Viscum • VITEX (perimenopausal menstrual irregularity, heavy bleeding, hot flashes, night sweats; “lack of spiciness and libido later in life”—Donahue) • Withania (hot flashes, night sweats).
Note: Also refer to Susun Weed’s New Menopausal Years (2002).
Female Organs
Vagina: • Achillea (heat, fever) • Alchemilla (relaxed, atonic mucosa, vaginal prolapse; torn or stretched tissue from rape or obstetric medical injury) • Allium sativa (douche) • Althaea (dryness, vaginitis) • Anemopsis (relaxed, boggy mucosa; sub-acute vaginitis; sitz bath, internal) • Angelica sinensis (vaginal dryness) • Arctostaphylos (vaginitis, often bacterial; prolapse) • Asparagus racemosa (dryness; restores fluids) • Berberis (bacterial infection) • Calendula (abrasions; fungal, bacterial, or HPV infection; sitz bath, external) • Caulophyllum (vaginitis; internal) • Cimicifuga (large, dragging uterus causes vaginal pain, worse from movement; vaginal atrophy in menopause) • Collinsonia • Commiphora myrrha (vaginitis) • Coptis • Cornus florida (weakness) • Echinacea (vaginitis; douche) • Geranium (bleeding; prolapse—needs confirmation) • Gossypium (vaginitis; internal) • Helonias (relaxed tissue; vaginitis) • HYDRASTIS (mucosal tonic; discharge thick, yellow, due to staph, strep, etc.; douche) • Inula (vaginal catarrh) • Krameria (prolapse; douche) • Leonurus (restores elasticity, lubrication) • Lipedium (low hormones, vaginal dryness, libido) • Mitchella (relaxed tissue) • MAHONIA (dry, inflamed) • Monarda fistulosa (draws out heat; cf. Origanum) • Nymphaea (vaginitis) • Origanum (oil of wild oregano; douche, external wash) • Staphysagria (homeopathic; tearing, violation) • TRIGONELLA (dryness, soreness, inflammation; dry skin in general; low hormones, menopause) • Ulmus (chronic inflamed mucosa, itching, irritation; douche).
Vaginal Secretion: • Aletris (dry, atrophic; infertility) • Leonurus • MONARDA FISTULOSA (vaginal dryness, burning sensations, with “lack of passionate steam”—Flint) • Panax quinquefolius (dryness, menopause) • Salvia (dryness, withering, menopause) • Ulmus (dryness).
Vulvitis: • Aconitum (homeopathic; acute, with fever) • Alchemilla (pruritus vulvae; douche) • Anemopsis (with or without Bartholin-gland cyst inflammation) • Berberis (itching) • Collinsonia (with chronic pelvic congestion) • Coptis • Gossypium (acute, with incontinence) • Myrica (sub-acute) • Piper cubeba (acute, with irritation and burning) • Tabebuia (sub-acute; internal) • Thuja (small dose, internally).
Yeast Infection, Vaginitis, Leucorrhea, Discharge, Candida: • Acacia (douche) • Acetum acidum (local spray; vehicle for other agents) • Achillea (sitz bath) • Agrimonia (trichomonas) • Alcea rosea (anti-inflammatory mucilage) • ALCHEMILLA (topical) • Aletris (asthenia) • Allium sativa • Althaea officinalis (anti-inflammatory mucilage) • Anemopsis (local, for itch) • Angelica sinensis (viscous, fetid) • Baptisia (antiseptic stimulant for putrid discharge) • Berberis (chronic, low-grade infection) • Bidens • Calendula • Chelidonium • Chimaphila (internal) • Collinsonia • Commiphora myrrha (infection) • Dicentra (viscous, but without smell, with pelvic atony and hemorrhoids) • Echinacea (fetid) • Equisetum (sitz bath) • Gentiana (with Hydrastis and Chelone) • Geranium • Geum urbanum • Grifola • Hamamelis (chronic leucorrhea; viscid, fetid) • HELONIAS (abdomen feels bloated, heavy, swollen; anemia and leucorrhea; viscid, fetid) • Hydrastis (hypersecretion; 1-drop doses as a mucosal tonic) • Inula (chronic bacterial infection) • Juglans nigra (leaf douche) • Larix (tamarack) • Larrea (for unusual and difficult-to-treat microorganisms; sitz bath for local itching and pain) • Mahonia (dryness) • Mitchella • MONARDA FISTULOSA (specific when skin is clammy and cool) • Myrica (atonic) • NYMPHAEA (tongue pale, coated white) • Ocimum • OLEA (leaf) • ORIGANUM (oil of wild oregano) • Polygonum aviculare (knotgrass tea) • Polygonum bistorta (stimulating astringent) • Pulsatilla (free, thick, milky, yellow, bland discharge) • Quercus alba (Q. rubra may also be used) • Rosmarinus (warming and drying) • Rubus canadensis • RUMEX CRISPUS (spe
cific when tongue is carmine-red, pointed, coated) • Senecio aureus (irregular periods with yeast infection; tenderness of inguinal glands; small dose) • Smilacina (berries in brandy) • Tabebuia (viscid, fetid) • Taraxacum • Trillium • TSUGA (cold, painful lower back) • Usnea • Vaccinium marcrocarpon • Vaccinium myrtillus • Viburnum spp. (poor mucosal tone) • Vinca major.
Note: Try to take a constitutional approach for vaginitis, rather than using “natural antibiotics.” In my experience, Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot (or Origanum, oil of wild oregano), Nymphaea odorata, and Rumex crispus cover most cases.
Cervix: • Aesculus hip. (engorgement) • Althaea (dysplasia) • Angelica sinensis (cervicitis with blood congestion in pelvis) • Baptisia (erosions, discharges) • Calendula (infection, erosion) • Caulophyllum (chronic inflammation and debility) • Cimicifuga (spasm) • Echinacea (dysplasia) • Fouquieria (cervicitis with hemorrhoids, varicose veins, pelvic stagnation) • Hamamelis (congested, flabby, atonic) • Hydrastis (inflammation, erosion, polyps) • Lilium longiflorum (dysplasia, neoplasia) • Lobelia (rigid spasm) • Mitchella (cervicitis) • Oenothera (oil on cervical opening) • Rubus canadensis (raspberry leaf; cervicitis, dysplasia) • Thuja (dysplasia).
Ovaries: • Apis (homeopathic or mother tincture) • Asparagus racemosa • Echinacea (salpingitis) • Hamamelis (dull pain) • Helonias (inflamed Fallopian tubes; ovarian neuralgia) • Lilium longiflorum, L. candidum (soft, moveable cysts; mucus in menses, brown and stringy discharge) • Lilium tigrinum (ovaritis) • Melilotus (ovarian neuralgia) • Paeonia (congestion, heat at midcycle) • Phytolacca (dragging pains in) • Salvia (atrophy) • Senecio aureus (atrophy, pain; Fallopian tubes) • Smilax • Stellaria (cysts) • Trifolium.
Cysts: • Achillea (blood-filled ovarian cysts) • Anthriscus (breast) • Arctium • Bupleurum (breast) • Ceanothus • Cimicifuga • Equisetum (external) • GALIUM (fibrous breast tissue, numerous cysts) • Glechoma (fibrocystic breasts) • Glycyrrhiza • Humulus • Iris • LILIUM LONGIFLORUM (breast, ovarian cysts; one or two at a time, swelling with the period) • Oenothera (evening primrose oil) • Phytolacca (breast; external) • Prunella • Scrophularia • STELLARIA (fatty tumor, lipoma) • Trifolium (breast, hard cysts; have the cysts checked) • Vitex (breast).
Note: Dietary recommendations for cysts include the juice of fresh beetroots and carrots, with a tablespoonful of blackstrap molasses (traditional/confirmed—Patel).
Uterus (Fibroids, Polyps): • ACHILLEA (with bright-red blood, fibroids in wall of uterus; sitz bath—Treben; often confirmed—Wood) • CAPSELLA (dark, oozing bleeding; asthenia; myoma with oozing—Weiss; confirmed—Wood) • Calendula (menopausal) • Cimicifuga • Daucus (bleeding uterine polyps) • Fraxinus • GALIUM • Helonias • Hydrastis • Leonurus • Mitchella (polyps) • Myrica (polyps—needs confirmation) • Nymphaea • Oplopanax • Quercus • Rubus canadensis (polyps—Light) • Thuja • Trillium (with cyclic bleeding) • Viola • Vitex.
Note: Fibroids are often assumed when polyps are present; polyps are the number-one cause of bleeding in postmenopausal women.
Uterus (Congestion, Prolapse, Displacement): • Achillea (sitz bath) • Alchemilla (soggy muscles) • Aletris (weak or displaced uterus; infertility, anemia, poor nutrition; backache) • Agrimonia • Angelica sinensis (atonic) • Arctium (pain, congestion in pelvis, worse from standing; prolapse) • Artemisia vulgaris (scar tissue from abortion, miscarriage) • Astragalus • Capsella (weak muscles; dark, oozing, spotting) • Caulophyllum (chronic uterine inflammation with related arthritis in small joints) • Cimicifuga (prolapse) • Collinsonia (congestion, with hemorrhoids or dull, aching urination; portal stagnation) • Crocus (spotting; stimulant) • Erigeron (acute hemorrhage) • Eryngium maritimum (prolapse and irritability) • EUPATORIUM PURPUREUM (inflammation, displacement, during and after pregnancy) • Fouquieria (pelvic congestion) • Fraxinus (astringent; severe; with hemorrhaging) • Gossypium (congestion, prolapse) • Hamamelis (general pelvic engorgement and congestion, fullness and dragging, enlarged veins) • HELONIAS (uterine weakness, prolapse, atony; back pain) • Mitchella • Myrica • Petroselinum (parsley) • Polygonatum (weak uterine ligaments) • Senecio aureus (relaxed tissue; pallor, blood loss, prolapse, infertility, feeble appetite, backache; small or homeopathic dose) • Tsuga (stimulating astringent; cold lower back; prolapse—BHP).
Uterine Inflammation: • Calendula • Caulophyllum • Cimicifuga • Dioscorea (with cramps) • EUPATORIUM PURPUREUM (inflammation, displacement, during or after pregnancy) • Gossypium • Nuphar • Piper cubeba • Trillium • Viburnum opulus, V. trilobum.
Endometriosis: • Achillea • Angelica archangelica (pain) • Angelica sinensis • Caulophyllum • Daucus (with mucus) • Dipsacus • Galium (cysts) • Helonias • Lilium longiflorum (with mucus—Wood) • Phytolacca • SAMBUCUS (with Phytolacca—Wolff) • Scrophularia (cysts) • TRILLIUM (often confirmed—Wood) • Vitex.
Metritis: • Baptisia (septic tendency) • Collinsonia (relaxed tissue; chronic recurrent endometritis with inflammatory episodes) • Commiphora myrrha (septic tendency) • Echinacea (septic tendency) • Myrica (needs confirmation).
Pelvic Floor: • ALCHEMILLA (relaxation) • CAPSELLA (atrophic muscles) • POLYGONUM PERSICARIA (pelvic relaxant) • SMILACINA (unequal tensions).
Fertility and Pregnancy
Infertility: • Achillea (fibroids, bleeding, congestion) • Alchemilla (sensitive, weak, pale, anemic) • ALETRIS (thin, poorly nourished; “if you don’t want to get pregnant, don’t go anywhere near this plant”—Christopher; may have to use homeopathic, because now endangered and rare) • Angelica (blood congestion) • ANGELICA SINENSIS (blood congestion) • Aralia racemosa (needs confirmation) • Arctium (lipid digestion and metabolism, to build steroids; weak lower back, tired feet—Hall) • ARTEMISIA VULGARIS (cold uterus; after abortion, miscarriage, setback; infertility from scar tissue has been resolved by this; stiff lower back—Bernard) • ASPARAGUS RACEMOSA (increase libido and fertility) • Caulophyllum (in older women; increases pelvic circulation—Keewaydinoquay) • Cichorium (anemia, atrophy, weakness) • CIMICIFUGA (amenorrhea) • Cordyceps • Daucus (take until cycles are regular, then discontinue to get pregnant) • Dioscorea (nutritive tonic) • Eleutherococcus (adrenal exhaustion) • Glycyrrhiza • HELONIAS (thickens endometrium, improves implantation) • LACTUCA (tight lower back, cold uterus; has worked many times—Wood) • LEPIDIUM (increases fertility, birth weight, number of offspring) • Leonurus • LILIUM LONGIFLORUM (polycystic ovarian syndrome; mucus in Fallopian tubes, womb; has worked many times—Wood) • Marrubium (mucus in tubes and womb) • Mitchella (amenorrhea, exhaustion, edema) • Panax quinquefolius • Panax ginseng • Petroselinum (corpus luteum) • POLYGONUM MULTIFLORUM (good for older men and women) • POLYGONUM PERSICARIA (infertility, tonic for uterine mucus—Turner; confirmed many times by Wolff and her students; this is really an exceptional remedy) • PULSATILLA (irregular cycles, pituitary dysregulation) • Rubus canadensis (nutritive, sweet, astringent tonic) • Sabal (if vata) • Salvia (dose everyday in first half of cycle) • Senecio aureus (“women do not cycle well or at all”—Sedlacek) • Smilax (androgen normalizer) • Trifolium • Veronica • Viscum (tincture) • VITEX (irregular periods; wants to conceive but unready—Welliver; polycystic ovarian syndrome—Chevallier).
Miscarriage, to Prevent: • ALETRIS (asthenia; habitual) • Capsella (poor uterine muscle tone, displacement) • Dioscorea (impending, with cramps as main symptom) • Helonias • MITCHELLA (history of miscarriage; in first and second trimesters) • RUBUS CANADENSIS • Viburnum • VIBURNUM PRUNIFOLIUM (high blood pressure, history of miscarriage).
Note: William Cook recommends stimulants and astringents as the general treatment plan.
Miscarriage and Abortion, Side Effects: • Achillea (hemorrhage) • Artemisia vulgaris (seems to lessen scar tissue, re-establish fertility) • Polygonum hydropiperoides (atonic hemorrhage). Also see “Pregnanc
y, Postpartum,” below.
Cesarean (following): • Achillea (pelvic blood stagnation) • Angelica sinensis (pelvic blood stagnation) • Dipsacus (scar tissue; tonic). Also see “Pregnancy, to Prevent Cesarean,” below.
Varicosities, to Prevent or Reduce (for external use): • Achillea (fresh plant poultice is best) • Hamamelis (poultice) • Potentilla • QUERCUS (large, knobby, corrugated, blue/black and yellow varicosities of pregnancy). Also see “Varicose Veins” under “Heart/Vasculature.”
Pregnancy: • Aesculus hip. (hemorrhoids) • ALETRIS (weakness; threatened miscarriage; low progesterone; undernourished) • Aralia racemosa (in last trimester for irritability, nervousness, stress) • Ballota (nausea) • Capsicum (poor muscle tone; flabby; heart murmurs; small dose) • Cimicifuga (traditionally used in small doses, in last month, for ease of delivery; now disqualified as an emmenagogue) • Dipsacus (restless fetus; muscular pain) • Eupatorium purpureum (supports kidneys during late pregnancy) • Helonias (nausea, vomiting) • Leonurus (nervousness; albuminuria; tea, not tincture; small dose) • MITCHELLA (in last 2–6 months of pregnancy) • Monarda fistulosa (nerve relaxant, nutritive) • Polygonatum (nutritive; tones tight or loose ligaments) • Quercus (varicose veins, loose teeth, decalcification of teeth—Christopher; often proven—Wood; this strong astringent should always be used in small doses) • RUBUS CANADENSIS (astringent, nutritive; tones uterus, mother and fetus; reduces nausea, tones bowels; tea, last 2 trimesters, several days a week) • Rumex crispus (anemia; thrush) • SCUTELLARIA (restless fetus; gestational diabetes) • URTICA (nutritive; anemia, strengthens muscles) • VACCINIUM MACROCARPON (prevents or reduces urinary tract infection in pregnancy) • Viburnum spp. • VIBURNUM PRUNIFOLIUM (to prevent abortion, lower blood pressure, nourish fetus and mother).