Teucrium marum verum
Made from cat thyme — the pungent little shrub of Italian gardens, and the classical remedy of the nasal polyp and the chronic dry nose.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a nose chronically wrong: a polyp in the nostril growing and obstructing, the chronic dry coryza of the old books, the sense of smell distorted or lost, and the pungent little shrub the ancients set at their doorways. The polyp remedy: that is Teucrium marum.
The substance, in plain words
Cat thyme is the pungent little shrub of Italian and Mediterranean gardens, its smell sharp and its chemistry genuinely aromatic and antiseptic — the ancients planted it at doorways against the airs. The proving gave the shrub its nose portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the obstruction, the smell, the chronicity.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant nasal discomfort.
- Dullness. Heavy mind with the chronic obstruction.
The body
- Nasal polyp. The keynote: the polyp of the nostril — growing, obstructing, returning — the books' great polyp remedy.
- Chronic dry coryza. The dry, chronic, obstructive coryza of the same chapter.
- Distorted sense of smell. Smells distorted or lost — the books' confirmatory note.
- Offensive ozaena tendency. The books add the offensive chronic nasal states of the same shelf.
- Worse cold damp. Wet weather aggravates the nose.
- Better for open air. Fresh air eases the obstruction.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; warm rooms; night. | open air; cool air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Nose and nasal mucosa, sense of smell, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The doorway shrub's proving gave the nose portrait; Teucrium marum became the classical remedy of the nasal polyp and the chronic dry nose — the pungent little plant of the doorstep serving the nostril it guarded.
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.
Cat thyme's aromatic chemistry is genuinely antiseptic — the reason it guarded the ancients' doorways — and its essential oils are documented. The polyps it portrayed are now ENT's: examined with the endoscope, removed in minutes, and the chronic coryza managed with real sprays and washes. The shrub's chemistry is real; its portrait's answers are modern.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Kali bichromicum | Chronic sinus states | Kali-bich's are the ropy sinuses and punched ulcers; Teucrium's the polyp and the dry nose. |
| Sanguinaria | Chronic nasal states | Cistus serves the chronic cold nose of the old books; Teucrium the polyp. |
| Allium cepa | Coryza | Allium's streams and burns; Teucrium's is dry, obstructed and polypous. |
| Psorinum | Offensive chronic states | Psorinum is filthy, freezing and scabby; Teucrium's is the dry polyp nose. |