• Secretions are thick, yellow and ropy
• Stomatitis of nursing mothers or weak children
• Loss of appetite with a sensation of emptiness or goneness in region of stomach, worse after eating 
• Leucorrhoea, worse after menses. Leucorrhoea acrid, corroding, shreddy, tenacious, hanging from the os in long strings

Source: Vegetable kingdom
Synonyms: Golden seal, Orange-root, Yellow puccoon
Family: Ranunculaceae
Prover: Dr E. M. Hale
Duration of Action: Short acting medicine
Diathesis: Cancerous

Introduction and History: Hydrastis, the Golden seal plant is the only specimen of its genus among the Ranunculaceae. It grows in shady woods in rich soil and damp meadows. The fruit is like raspberry and the plant is sometimes called Ground raspberry in consequence. The medicinal properties of Hydrastis were known to the native Americans. The root of Hydrastis from which the tincture is made is really a perennial underground stem – thick, knotty and yellow.

Preparation and Parts Used: It is prepared from the tincture of the fresh rhizome.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is especially suited to old, easily tired people, cachectic individuals with great debility. It produces atonic, cachectic, degenerative conditions.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): It mainly acts on the ganglionic system, mucous membranes of the outlets of the body like mouth, nose, eyes, throat, rectum, vagina, uterine cervix and urinary organs, and the lymphatic glandular system.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. Through the ganglionic system it especially acts upon the mucous membranes of the outlets of the body and causes ulcerations.
2. It also affects the lymphatic glandular system producing smallpox.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Patient is forgetful, cannot remember what he is reading or talking about.
2. Irritable, disposed to be spiteful.
3. Gloomy, taciturn, disagreeable.
4. Moaning with occasional outcries from pain.
5. Depression, sure of death and desires it.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Constitution: It is suited debilitated people, with viscid mucous discharges.

Dyscrasia: Cachectic or malignant dyscrasia; there is a cancerous tendency with marked derangement of gastric and hepatic functions which are broken down by excessive use of alcohol.

Discharges: Profuse discharge of thick, yellow, stringy mucous.

Pains: Pains of cancer before ulceration sets in.

Stomatitis: Nursing sore mouth, tongue is large and shows imprint of teeth.

Respiratory: Patient hawks thick yellow viscid mucous which can be drawn into strings from posterior nares and fauces.

Leucorrhoea: Ropy, thick, viscid, yellow, hanging from the os in long Strings.

Breast cancer: Breast is hard, adherent; skin is mottled, puckered. Pains are knife-like, sharp, cutting in nature.

Nipples: They are retracted.

Important Characteristic Features

Gastrointestinal affections: It is a very useful remedy for gastrointestinal affections. No appetite, no thirst, loathing of food. Spitting up food by the mouthful. Vomits all food. Retains only water and milk. Sour vomiting. Eructations-sour, putrid, of food eaten.Empty, faint feeling in stomach with loathing of food and obstinate constipation with no desire for stool. Pulsations in the stomach. Ulceration of the stomach with burning. It is a very useful remedy for a suspicious lump in the region of stomach. Weight in stomach after eating. Fullness after eating, lasting a long time. Chronic gastric catarrh.. Slow digestion.

General Modalities

Aggravation: From inhaling air, cool air, dry winds, slight bleeding, washing, touch, motion, open air.

Amelioration: From pressure and rest.

Remedy Relationships

Antidotes: Sulph.

Follows well: Tub.

Comparison

Empty feeling in stomach not relieved by eating: Ign, Hydr, Sep.

After haemorrhage from piles, prostration out of all proportion to the amount of blood lost: Ham, Hydr.

Ropy discharges: Hydr, Kali-bi, Lyss.

Throat constantly filled with thick gray mucous from posterior nares: Hydr, Med, Spig.

Dosage: Mother tincture and low dilutions. Aquous solutions for external application on smallpox.

Repetition: Bears repetition well.

Therapeutic Value: Alcoholism, Asthma, Cancer; Catarrh, Chancroids, Constipation, Corns, Dyspepsia, Eczema, Fistula, Lumbago, Lupus, Menorrhagia, Post-nasal catarrh, Sciatica, Seborrhoea, Sinusitis, Syphilis, Typhus, Ulcers.