04/12/2025
Imagine a flu where every bone in your body feels broken.
Where the aching is so deep and relentless that you can hardly move, and yet lying still brings no relief.
There is great restlessness, you cannot keep still.
You may even moan or cry from the intensity of the pain.
That is the picture of Eupatorium perfoliatum,
the “bone-set” remedy, named because the pains are so severe it feels as though the very bones are breaking.
The muscles ache and feel bruised.
There is a bursting, throbbing headache, and even the eyeballs ache.
The pain is everywhere, in the limbs, the back, the head,
but especially deep in the bones.
You toss and turn, searching for a position of comfort, but none can be found.
You are thirsty, especially for cold drinks, but soon after drinking, nausea or even vomiting of bile may appear.
The influenza of Eupatorium is not subtle, it is heavy, deep, and relentless.
In homeopathy we look at this exact picture:
the bone-deep pain, the chills, the thirst, the restlessness,
and recognise the expression of Eupatorium perfoliatum.
Eupatorium perfoliatum was introduced into the homeopathic Materia Medica
by Dr. Constantine Hering, based on his American provings in the early 19th century.
Its roots however, go further back to Native American herbal medicine, where “Boneset” was traditionally used for fevers and chills long before its systematic proving.
Later in the 19th and early 20th centuries, classical homeopathic texts repeatedly recorded its value during influenza epidemics,
especially in cases with deep bone pain, thirst for cold drinks, and vomiting of bile.
Reports from those eras describe its characteristic picture appearing again and again among epidemic cases, a testament to the consistency of its proving and clinical record.
For more than two centuries, Eupatorium perfoliatum has remained one of the great influenza remedies, illustrating the depth and precision of the Materia Medica, where each remedy reflects the unique expression of illness in the individual.
Have you used Eupatorium perfoliatum in influenza,
or seen its picture appear in practice?
Stay tuned!
Next week we will explore another influenza remedy,
with its own unmistakable character.