Materia Medica of Hypericum Perforatum

Today, I’ll be discussing the Materia Medica of Hypericum Perforatum, derived from a plant commonly known as St. John’s Wort. The potentized version of this substance is simply referred to as Hypericum. Botanically, it is classified as a member of the Hypericaceae family, formerly considered a subfamily of the Clusiaceae family.

• Check the full Materia Medica A–Z of homeopathic remedies

Hypericum is a commonly indicated remedy used mostly for acute conditions and has a relatively narrow therapeutic range of action.

Overview of Hypericum Perforatum

All right. Let’s talk about Hypericum Perforatum. Okay, I’m going to begin with this summary of Hypericum as a remedy for nerve pains and nerve-related symptoms caused by nerve injuries, especially puncture wound injuries. There’s certainly more to it, but that’s Hypericum in a nutshell.

Before we go any further, I think it will be useful to identify the areas of the body where we find the highest concentrations of nerve endings, in addition to locations where the nerves are most vulnerable to injury.

Nerve-Rich Areas of the Body

As you may know, the highest concentrations of nerve endings in the human body are located at the fingertips and on the face. More generally speaking, we can say that the hands, face, and feet are the most nerve-rich areas on the exterior of the body.

Fingertips

We all know from experience that the fingertips, in addition to the rest of the fingers, the palms, and the hands as a whole, are highly sensitive to touch. The nail beds under the fingernails are also very sensitive.

Face, Lips & Eyes

The same applies to the face, especially the lips and the eyes.

Mouth

Inside the mouth, the gums and tongue are also rich in nerve endings. In addition, there are nerves at the roots of the teeth.

Feet

Although less sensitive than the hands, the feet also have many nerve endings, especially on the soles, on the toes, and in the nail beds under the nails.

Genitalia

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that both male and female genitalia are also highly innervated and therefore very sensitive to touch.

Nerves Protected by Bone: Head, Neck, Spine

That leaves the head, neck, and spine, which aren’t as rich in nerve endings, but they do contain a tremendous number of nerves that are protected by bone. We also know from experience that the head, neck, and back can be quite vulnerable to injury.

The two far ends of the spine are most vulnerable. Although protected by a large mass of muscle, the neck can be easily injured. At the other end of the spine, both the sacrum and especially the tailbone, also known as the coccyx, are susceptible to trauma.

Many a person has slipped and landed on their rear end, resulting in a tailbone injury, which is oftentimes quite painful. Of course, head injuries can sometimes involve brain trauma, which we also consider a category of nerve injury.

Two Highly Vulnerable Nerves

The Sciatic Nerve

The sciatic nerve emerges from the base of the spine in the lower back, where it runs through the gluteus muscles and down the back of the leg to the heel.

The Ulnar Nerve

The other nerve is the ulnar nerve, which travels down the inside of the forearm, extending from the elbow to the hand. The particular spot at the elbow where the ulnar nerve is most exposed and therefore vulnerable to injury is known in the vernacular as the “funny bone”.

It’s hard to imagine a person going through life without at least once hitting their funny bone hard enough to generate nerve pain, along with that very uncomfortable pins and needles sensation.

Hypericum’s Relationship to Nerve-Rich Areas

All right. Now that we’ve located the nerve-rich areas of the body and the parts most vulnerable to nerve injury, let’s discuss Hypericum and its relationship to these parts.

Indications and Selection of Hypericum

The choice of Hypericum is based primarily upon etiology (causes). As noted earlier, it is the first remedy that we think of when the etiology of a condition involves an injury to the nerves.

The specific nature of the injury—whether it’s a blow or a fall or a laceration, or whatever—matters less than the actual location of an injury and whether it affected a nerve or nerves or nerve nerve-rich part of the body.

When to Choose Hypericum?

If the symptoms began with a painful cut to a fingertip or a blow to the eyeball, or a whiplash to the neck, the first choice of remedy to consider is Hypericum. After we have established an etiology, the next thing to consider is the nature of the resulting symptomatology. With Hypericum, we expect to see symptoms associated with nerves or the parts of the body innervated by those nerves.

Of course, symptoms associated with nerves tend to include:

• Pain
• Tingling
• Crawling
• Numbness

Most nerve-related pains tend to be:

• Quick
• Sharp
• Darting
• Shooting
• Violent
• Neuralgic in nature
• Severe or intense
• Pains that travel along the course of a nerve.

Pain Extending Outward From Othe Original Site of Injury

Hypericum pains tend to shoot suddenly, extending outward from the original site of the wound or nerve injury. Injuries to the hands or feet produce pains that shoot up the limbs. Pain may travel up or down the spine from the site of an injury.

Other Symptoms

Other symptoms associated with nerve injuries can also include:

• Jerking,
• Twitching,
• Spasms,
• And convulsions.

In addition, there may be:

• Weakness or paresis,
• Or even partial or complete paralysis.
• We may also see burning sensations or inflammation.

The most common symptoms that point to Hypericum are:

• Quick, darting, lightning-like sharp pains that extend from the site of a nerve injury.

Three Factors (Symptoms) Confirming Hypericum Prescription

So when the situation at hand combines these three factors it makes a very strong case for Hypericum. These are:

1. Injury as an etiology
2. Involvement of a nerve or nerve-rich area of the body
3. Nerve-related symptoms

Mental Symptoms of Hypericum Perforatum

All right, let’s talk briefly about some Hypericum mentals.

Depression/Mental Symptoms Associated With An Injury Or Surgery

Although St. John’s Wort has a well-known reputation as an herbal treatment for symptoms of mild depression, homeopathic Hypericum can be, but is not typically, prescribed according to this indication. Nevertheless, we consider Hypericum when we see depression and/or other mental symptoms associated with an injury or a surgery.

There may be depression, melancholy, or weepiness. There can be mental dullness, forgetfulness, weakness of memory or brain, especially after brain or spinal trauma.

Mistakes in Speaking or Writing

There may be mistakes in speaking or writing, like using the wrong words or saying “right” instead of “left.” Sometimes the person forgets what he or she was about to say.

Delusion Floating High in Air Along With Fear of Falling

There is one additional peculiar mental symptom that should immediately alert us to Hypericum, and that is a delusion of floating high in the air along with a fear of falling. We usually see this associated with a head injury, headaches, or vertigo.

General Symptoms of Hypericum Perforatum

Other than the fact that Hypericum is generally a remedy for nerve injuries and, as we shall see, generally a remedy for puncture wounds, there aren’t many Hypericum generals worth noting. I’ve not personally had the chance to confirm this, but Hypericum does list prominently in repertories under:

• Desire for wine
• Desire for pickles
• Desire for warm drinks and warm food

Furthermore, we can say that Hypericum is generally aggravated by cold.

Modalities of Hypericum Perf

As I said, Hypericum symptoms are:

• Worse from cold.
• In general, they are aggravated by cold damp
• Worse from changes of the weather,
• Worse before storms,
• Worse before thunderstorms.

Interestingly, Hypericum symptoms can be:

• Aggravated by fog,
• They can be worse from touch,
• Worse from pressure,
• Worse from exertion.
• Some Hypericum symptoms may be ameliorated by lying quietly.

Injuries and Conditions Requiring Hypericum

Okay, now let’s talk about the wide variety of circumstances that make us think of Hypericum as the remedy of choice.

Injuries & Trauma To Nerves and Nervous System

Hypericum can be indicated for all kinds of injuries and trauma to nerves and the nervous system. This includes neck and back injuries and cases of whiplash. In such cases, we’re likely to see a stiff neck and sharp shooting pains.

Head Injuries, Concussions, Spinal Injuries

Likewise, Hypericum is a remedy for head injuries, concussions, and spinal cord injuries. Common symptoms include shooting nerve pains, muscle spasms, and even convulsions.

Tailbone Injuries

Hypericum is almost a specific for tailbone injuries (coccydynia). The sacrum and coccyx are transition points where nerves travel from the spinal cord to the pelvis, pelvic organs, and lower limbs. The passage of an infant through the birth canal during labor and delivery not infrequently causes injury to the tailbone, and a bad fall on the tailbone can produce debilitatingly, violent pains.

Case 1: A Cured Case of Tailbone Injury

I once saw a middle-aged man who had fallen backwards while carrying a large rock. His tailbone had taken the full impact of all the weight. For years, he suffered from violent pains that would shoot down both legs from his tailbone. He was largely incapacitated and could barely walk. A few doses of Hypericum initiated a healing response and a miraculous recovery.

Case 2: Injured Funny Bone Treatment With Hypericum

In another case, a young woman had been forced to give up her promising musical career after having badly injured her funny bone. The resulting pain, numbness, and tingling made it nearly impossible for her to play the guitar.

A surgical procedure called an ulnar transposition, whereby the ulnar nerve is moved in order to relieve pressure on the nerve, failed to bring any relief. A couple of doses of Hypericum produced a 75% reduction in symptoms over the course of just a few weeks, and she was able to resume playing guitar again.

Use of Hypericum in Dental Issues

Of course, Hypericum is our number one go-to remedy for dental extractions and root canals. In such cases, the tooth is literally severed (completely cut) from the nerves that innervate it.

Eyeball Injuries and Hypericum

Eye injuries that directly involve the eyeball—which is a direct extension of the central nervous system itself—may benefit from Hypericum.

Facial Paralysis in Infants

We also think of Hypericum in infants with facial paralysis after forceps delivery.

Phantom Limb Pain

Hypericum is one of the main remedies for phantom limb pain after amputation of a limb or a digit.

Burns, Cuts Over Nerve-Rich Areas

Even painful burns can require Hypericum, especially if the burn took place over a nerve-rich area of the skin. The same is true of cuts and lacerations to nerve-rich areas like fingertips, hands, nails, toes, and feet. Hypericum can help with the pain produced by such injuries.

Painful Surgical Incisions

Think of this remedy after painful surgical incisions, especially if the pains are sharp and shooting.

Old Sensitive and Painful Scars

Even old scars—whether surgical or otherwise—that are still sensitive and painful to touch may respond to Hypericum.

How to Find Scar-Related Terms in Repertory and Materia Medica

By the way, if you can’t find the word scar in your homeopathic references, that’s because it’s probably listed under the old medical term cicatrix, which is the singular, or cicatrices, which is the plural.

Use of Hypericum in Puncture Wounds

Now we come to a special category of injuries: puncture wounds. Hypericum and Ledum Pal are the two main remedies that we think of in all cases of puncture wounds.

Broadly speaking, there are two main types of puncture wounds: intentional and unintentional. Most intentional puncture wounds are medically induced. Unintentional puncture wounds include things like stepping on a nail, a deep splinter, or being stabbed by a knife.

We think of Hypericum especially when these wounds occur to the hands or feet. Even gunshot wounds can be considered a type of penetrating puncture wound. Likewise, animal bites and insect stings can be thought of as puncture wounds.

When any of these penetrating wounds result in sharp shooting pains, great sensitivity to touch, or neuralgic pains that extend out from the source of the wound, the remedy of choice is Hypericum.

In addition to treating pain, Hypericum can also be used to prevent infection and to prevent tetanus or lockjaw, which is a rare but dangerous complication that can follow a puncture wound.

Medically Administered Puncture Wounds

Adverse events resulting from intentionally medically administered puncture wounds are much more common than you’d think. Many a dental patient will complain of long-lasting or even chronic neuralgic pains, numbness, or tingling after having been administered anesthesia via injection to the nerve roots. If you think about it, this is an example of a puncture wound that inadvertently injures a nerve or nerves deep under the skin in a very sensitive part of the body. This makes it a perfect situation for the timely administration of a few doses of Hypericum.

Examples of similar and potentially more dangerous medically administered puncture wounds include diagnostic spinal taps—also known as lumbar punctures—in addition to nerve block, spinal anesthesia, and epidurals, which constitute the method of pain relief commonly administered during labor and delivery. Again, in such cases a puncture wound produced by a sharp needle can inadvertently injure spinal nerves or even the spinal cord itself.

A Case Related to Multiple Sclerosis Due to Epidural Anesthesia

I’ll always remember the case of a young woman who consulted me for treatment of her multiple sclerosis. There was no doubt in her mind that her symptoms had begun years earlier, immediately after administration of epidural anesthesia during the delivery of her child. Her MS symptoms resolved dramatically after several rounds of Hypericum given over the course of a few months.

Additional Indications of Hypericum

A few additional indications for Hypericum include:

• Sciatica triggered by an injury
• Toothache that is ameliorated by lying quietly on the affected side
• Hemorrhoids concomitant with mania
• Vertigo with a sensation as if floating in the air, that gets worse upon urging to urinate
• Asthma induced by a spinal injury that is worse in fog, worse from changes of weather, worse from cold dampness, and better from expectoration

Remedy Relationships

Remedies we want to compare to Hypericum include:

• Arnica – our number one overall homeopathic injury remedy, but Arnica is for soft tissue injuries; Hypericum is for nerve injuries.
• Ledum – the other main remedy for puncture wounds. Hypericum has sharp shooting pains worse from touch and cold; Ledum is better from cold.
• Natrum sulfuricum – indicated for head, neck, and spine injuries.
• Staphisagria – fits painful scars and surgical incisions, and phantom limb pain.
• Agaricus muscarius (Agaricus) – another remedy for phantom limb pain.
• Calendula – a general remedy for wounds that break the skin.

Closing Lines

Okay, that’s it for Hypericum. Thanks for reading. I always appreciate your likes, shares, questions, and comments.

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