Erigeron canadense
Made from Canada fleabane — the wayside weed whose extract was an official haemostatic of the old United States Pharmacopeia, and the classical remedy of bleeding with burning.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of bleeding with burning: bright-red blood from the bladder with smarting and burning, bleeding piles that sting, flooding menses, and — the books' signature — haemorrhage after exertion or injury, with the part feeling burned. Bright bleeding with burning: that is Erigeron.
The substance, in plain words
Canada fleabane is the tall wayside weed of North American roadsides, its oil-rich herb an official haemostatic and urinary drug of the old USP — a genuine working remedy for bleeding and bladder irritation, retired when modern urology and hemostatics arrived.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety with the bleeding. Fear at every passage of blood, worse night.
- Irritability. Cross, worse from the constant burning and tenesmus.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the recurrent haemorrhagic states.
The body
- Bright bleeding with burning. The keynote: scarlet blood — from bladder, rectum, uterus — with a smarting, burning sensation at the part.
- Urinary bleeding. Haematuria with burning and tenesmus; the books' chief bladder-bleeding remedy.
- Bleeding piles. Piles that bleed bright and sting.
- Flooding after exertion. Menorrhagia brought on by lifting, jarring, the least strain.
- Worse exertion and jarring. Every knock and effort restarts the flow.
- Better rest. Lying quiet, cool applications, and the flow's own cessation bring ease.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| exertion and jarring; heat; motion; urination in the bladder states. | rest; cool applications; lying down. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Bladder and urinary tract, rectum and piles, uterus (flooding), blood.
Where the classical picture comes from
The official USP haemostatic gave the remedy its raw material; the proving added the burning signature, and Erigeron entered the classical library as the bright-bleeding-with-burning remedy of the bladder and bowel.
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.
Fleabane was a genuine official drug — the United States Pharmacopeia listed its fluid extract as a haemostatic and urinary astringent for decades. Its oil chemistry (including compounds studied as anticancer leads) is real; its medical career, like Trillium's, was honourable and is now history.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Trillium pendulum | Bright bleeding | Trillium's bright bleeding sinks the patient at once; Erigeron's burns and stings. |
| Cantharis vesicatoria | Bladder burning | Cantharis scalds with cutting pain and constant urging; Erigeron bleeds bright with burning. |
| Hamamelis virginiana | Bleeding piles | Hamamelis' piles are bruised, dark and venous; Erigeron's bright and burning. |
| Millifolium | Bleeding, wounds | Millifolium is the wound-and-congestion bleeder; Erigeron the burning bladder one. |