Millefolium
Made from yarrow — the battlefield herb of Achilles, whose achilleine is a genuine haemostatic chemistry, and the classical remedy of bleeding and blood-congestion after injury.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of blood that won't behave after knocks: bright red bleeding from wounds or orifices after the least injury, blood that rushes to the head with throbbing, nosebleeds from exertion, and a general sense that the blood has been stirred and will not settle. Bleeding after injury, congested throbbing blood: that is Millefolium.
The substance, in plain words
Yarrow is the white-flowered wayside herb of European fields — the plant legend says Achilles used to staunch his soldiers' wounds, and the science agrees: its alkaloid achilleine and flavonoid chemistry genuinely promote clotting. A working haemostatic herb of the old battlefield and the modern herbal dispensary alike.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Dullness after bleeding. Foggy, heavy-headed after the loss of blood or the congestion.
- Irritability. Cross, worse after injuries and their consequences.
- Anxiety. Worry with the throbbing and the bleeding episodes.
The body
- Bleeding after the least injury. The keynote: bright-red haemorrhage from small wounds, nosebleeds after exertion or washing.
- Blood rushing to the head. Throbbing, fullness, flushing — the books' 'blood-congestion' portrait after trauma.
- Nosebleeds of exertion. Epistaxis from lifting, straining, hot baths, the morning wash.
- Wounds slow to stop. A cut that keeps weeping bright red long after it should have closed.
- Better after the flow. Relief and dullness as the bleeding stops — then the congestion fades.
- Worse exertion and heat. Effort and hot water restart the bleeding; cool and stillness calm it.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| exertion; heat and hot water; jarring; washing the face | cool applications; lying down; rest. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Blood and clotting, wounds, head and congestion, nose.
Where the classical picture comes from
The battlefield herb's haemostatic chemistry gave the proving its base; the remedy became the classical portrait of the bruised-and-bleeding constitution — every knock costs blood, every exertion floods the head.
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.
Yarrow is a genuine haemostatic herb with laboratory-documented clot-promoting chemistry; it has been used from Homer's battlefields to modern herbal first-aid, and its extracts are studied as anti-inflammatory leads. Achilles' plant keeps its reputation better than most legends.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Arnica montana | Injury, bruising | Arnica is the bruise-and-denial remedy for unbroken skin; Millefolium the bleeder whose blood won't settle. |
| Trillium pendulum | Bright bleeding | Trillium's flooding sinks the patient instantly; Millefolium's follows injury and congestion. |
| Phosphorus | Easy bleeding | Phosphorus bleeds bright from every orifice with sympathy and thirst; Millefolium after knocks and effort. |
| Hamamelis virginiana | Bleeding, veins | Hamamelis is the dark venous ooze of bruised veins; Millefolium the bright bleed after injury. |