Asclepias tuberosa
Made from pleurisy root — the orange milkweed of the American meadows, a genuine Eclectic drug of the pleurisy wards, and the classical remedy of the chest-wall pain.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a chest that hurts with every breath: sharp, stitching pains of the chest wall, worse for the deep breath and the cough, the dry cough and the fever of the pleuritic chapter, and the books' great pleurisy root. The breathing-hurts remedy: that is Asclepias tuberosa.
The substance, in plain words
Pleurisy root is the orange-flowered milkweed of the American meadows, its root a genuine, official drug of the Eclectic school — prescribed for pleurisy and the painful chest through the pre-antibiotic century, its chemistry genuinely expectorant and anti-inflammatory. The proving gave the root the chest-wall portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety of the painful breathing. The dread of every breath and cough, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant, breath-catching pain.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the lingering, painful states.
The body
- Stitching chest-wall pain. The keynote: sharp, stitching pains of the chest and pleura, worse for the deep breath, the cough and the motion of the trunk.
- Dry cough and fever. The books' pleuritic chapter — the dry, painful cough with the feverish state.
- Worse breathing and motion. The deep inspiration, the cough and the motion of the trunk renew the stitching.
- Held-breath posture. The sufferer takes shallow, guarded breaths to spare the wall.
- Worse cold damp and night. Wet weather and night deepen the pain.
- Better for rest and warmth. Rest of the trunk and warmth ease the pleuritic wall.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| deep breathing; coughing; motion of the trunk; cold damp weather. | rest; warmth; quiet breathing. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Pleura and chest wall, respiratory tract, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The Eclectic pleurisy drug's proving gave the chest-wall portrait; Asclepias became the classical remedy of the breathing-hurts chapter — the orange milkweed of the meadows serving the chest its root was dug for.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Pleurisy root was a genuine, working drug of the Eclectic school — prescribed across the pre-antibiotic century for the painful chest, its chemistry documented. The pleurisy it treated is now antibiotics and imaging's territory: diagnosed by scan, treated to cure. The root's career is the record of a century of painful chests relieved by whatever honest means existed.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Bryonia alba | Breathing and motion | Bryonia is the dry, still, whole-frame stitching; Asclepias is the chest wall itself, every breath a stitch. |
| Ranunculus bulbosus | Chest-wall pains | Ran-bulb stitches between the ribs with the zona; Asclepias pleuritic with every breath. |
| Kali carbonicum | Stitching pains | Kali-carb stitches in the back at 2 a.m.; Asclepias in the chest wall with the breath. |
| Justicia adhatoda | Painful chest cough | Justicia is the tight-to-loose bronchitic chest; Asclepias the pleuritic wall. |