Verbascum Thapsus

Mullein

by William Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory

(VERBASCUM)

Has a pronounced action on the inferior maxillary branch of the fifth pair of the cranial nerves; on the ear; and respiratory tract and bladder. Catarrhs , and colds, with periodical prosopalgia . Quiets nervous, and bronchial, and urinary irritation, and cough.

Face

Neuralgia affecting zygoma, temporo maxillary joint, and ear ( Menyanth ), particularly of left side, with lachrymation, coryza, and sensation as if parts were crushed with tongs . Talking, sneezing, and change of temperature aggravate the pains; also, pressing teeth together. Pains seem to come in flashes, excited by least movement, occurring periodically at same hour in morning and afternoon each day.

Ears

Otalgia, with a sense of obstruction. Deafness. Dry, scaly condition of meatus (use locally).

Abdomen

Pain extends deep down, causing contraction of sphincter ani.

Rectum

Many movements a day, with twisting about navel. Hæmorrhoids, with obstructed, hardened stool. Inflamed and painful piles.

Respiratory

Hoarse ; voice deep, harsh; sounds like a trumpet; "basso profundo". Cough; worse at night. Asthma. Soreness in pharynx, cough during sleep.

Urinary

Constant dribbling. Enuresis . Burning urination. Increase with pressure in bladder.

Extremities

Cramp-like pain in soles, right foot, and knee. Lower extremities feel heavy. Thumb feels numb. Neuralgic pain in left ankle. Stiffness and soreness of joints of lower extremities .

Modalities

Worse , change of temperature, talking, sneezing, biting hard (inferior dental nerve); from 9 am to 4 pm.

Relationship

Compare: Rhus arom; Caust; Platin; Sphingurus (pain in zygoma).

Dose

Mullein oil , (locally, for earache and dry, scaly condition of meatus. Also for teasing cough at night or lying down. Internally, tincture and lower potencies). Enuresis , five-drop doses night and morning.

Verbascum Thapsus across the other classic books

Verbascum Thapsus appears in 9 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.

Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Verbascum thapsus, Linn. Natural order , Scrophulariaceæ. Common names , Mullein; (G.), Königs-kerze; (F.), Molène. Preparation , Tincture of the fresh herb at commencement of flowering. Authorities. (Nos. 1 to 5 , from Hahnemann, R. A. M. L., 5) Excited fantasies, especially of a sensual nature, for several days, 1…”
Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“COMPRESSION, squeezing, pinching, as of a vise, cap, etc. (Comp. Cramp.) LYING, Agg. NERVE PAIN SITTING, AGG. 9 A.M. 12 Noon”
Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“Nerves (facial): Orbits. Ears. Zygomæ. Respiratory tract. Bladder. Left side. Drafts. Change of temperature. With every cold. 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. Twice a day, at same hour. Talking. Deep inspiration (Osm.). Spasmodic catarrhal or neuralgic effects. Earache. Coryza; with tears (Euphr.). Cramping, squeezing, crushing…”
Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“thapsus. Great Mullein. N. O. Scrophulariaceæ. Tincture of fresh plant at the commencement of flowering. ["Mullein Oil" is prepared by placing the crushed yellow blossoms in a bottle, which is corked and allowed to stand in the sun (Cushing); or by steeping the blossoms in oil and keeping in a warm place till the oil…”
Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Mullein. Scrophulariaceæ. A native of Europe, naturalized in North America. Inhabits fields and waste places ; the tall stems and leaves are woolly, flowers yellow on a cylindrical spike. The alcoholic tincture is prepared from the fresh plant, chopped and pounded to a pulp. Proved by Hahnemann, Gross, Hartmann…”
Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Stinging pains in the limbs and neuralgic pain in the left ankle. The pains are generally accompanied by a benumbing sensation. The symptoms are caused and aggravated by a change of temperature, especially when entering from the open air into the room and vice versa. Very violent diarrhoea with griping. A great deal…”
Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Unusual hilarity, with continuous flow of ideas. Vertigo, when leaning the left cheek on the hand. Pressing, stupefying headache when entering a warm room from the cold air, and vice versa. Deep, stupefying stitches in the brain. Pain in the eyes, with the sensation as if the orbits were drawn together, with heat in…”
Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: mullein. This is an ancient and popular remedy for deafness now used mostly locally in the form of an oil. Stinging pains in the limbs and neuralgic pain in the left ankle. The pains are generally accompanied by a benumbing sensation (Kalm.). The symptoms are caused and aggravated by a change of…”

Verbascum Thapsus in Kent's Repertory

Kent's Repertory lists Verbascum Thapsus in 705 rubrics. These are the ones where it carries the highest grade — the symptoms Kent treated as most characteristic. Most of them sit in HEAD (118), GENERALITIES (99), EXTREMITIES (97), FACE (65), MIND (47).

FACE - PAIN - pressing - left
GENERALITIES - PAIN - pinching - bones
HEAD - PAIN, - pinching - Temples
GENERALITIES - CHANGE of - temperature,agg.
FACE - PAIN - pressing
HEAD - PAIN, - sore bruised,sensitive to pressure - Temples
FACE - PAIN - pressing - cheek bones
HEARING - IMPAIRED - leaf or membrane,like,before the ear
FACE - PAIN - left
FACE - PAIN - cheek
GENERALITIES - PAIN - pinching - externally
GENERALITIES - PAIN - benumbing
GENERALITIES - PAIN - pressing - muscles
GENERALITIES - PAIN - pinching - internally
GENERALITIES - SIDE,symptoms on one side
SKIN - DRY
GENERALITIES - TENSION - externally
GENERALITIES - SITTING - while,agg.
FACE - PAIN - aching,prosopalgia,etc.
STOOL - HARD

Search all 7 classical repertories

More remedies in this book

Previous remedy: Verat Next remedy: Verbe-u

Vanad Vanil Vario Verat-v Vesp Vib Vinc Viol-o

Explore the full Similia platform

Access 13 classic materia medica books, 7 classical repertories, AI semantic search, and basic case management — free.

View Pricing