Taraxacum officinale
Dandelion · Plant · Asteraceae
Those for whom Taraxacum is considered most appropriate have a tendency to be depressed and mutter to themselves.
Key conditions that may benefit from the remedy include digestive disorders, gallbladder inflammation, and gallstones. The classic symptom picture includes an enlarged, hardened liver, urinary problems, bilious attacks, cramping pains, headaches associated with gastric problems, and jaundiced skin. Acidic saliva tends to build up in the mouth, causing raw patches to develop on the tongue and a sensation of dullness in the teeth.
Key symptoms
- Mapped tongue; white film with red sensitive spots
- Gastric headache with bilious attacks and jaundiced skin
- Liver enlarged and indurated; sharp stitches in left side
- Tympanites; sensation of bubbles bursting in bowels
- Chilliness after eating; finger tips cold
- Profuse night-sweats
- Neuralgia of knee better by pressure
- Restless limbs painful to touch; worse resting or lying down
Worse (aggravation)
Better (amelioration)
Dandelion
For gastric headaches, bilious attacks, with characteristically mapped tongue and jaundiced skin. Cancer of bladder. Flatulence. Hysterical tympanites.
Head
Sensation of great heat on top of head. Sterno-mastoid muscle very painful to touch.
Mouth
Mapped tongue. Tongue covered with a white film; feels raw; comes off in patches, leaving red, sensitive spots. Loss of appetite. Bitter taste and eructations. Salivation.
Abdomen
Liver enlarged and indurated. Sharp stitches in left side. Sensation of bubbles bursting in bowels. Tympanites. Evacuation difficult.
Extremities
Very restless limbs. Neuralgia of knee; better, pressure. Limbs painful to touch.
Fever
Chilliness after eating, worse drinking; finger tips cold. Bitter taste. Heat without thirst, in face, in toes. Sweat on falling asleep.
Skin
Profuse night-sweats.
Modalities
Worse, resting, lying down, sitting. Better, touch.
Relationship
Compare: Choline, a constituent of Taraxacum root, has given encouraging results in the treatment of cancer. Choline is closely related to Neurin, it is the "Cancronie" of Prof. Adamkiewicz (E. Schlegel). Bry; Hydrast; Nux. Tela aranea (nervous asthma and sleeplessness).
Dose
Tincture, to third potency. In cancer 1-2 drams fluid extract.
Leontodum taraxacum. Taraxacum Dens-leonis. N. O. Compositæ. Tincture of whole plant just before the perfection of the flower.
Clinical
Ague. Bilious attacks. Debility. Diabetes. Gall-stones. Headache, gastric. Jaundice. Liver, affections of. Neuralgia. Night-sweats. Rheumatism. Tongue, mapped. Typhoid fever.
Characteristics
The young leaves of the Dandelion are sometimes eaten in salads. They have a bitter chicory-like taste, as also has the root. Children eat the flowers, although they are supposed by them to cause bed-wetting. This has given rise to one of the popular names of the plant. Its chief traditional uses are as a remedy for jaundice, liver obstruction, in dysentery, involuntary emissions, and in difficulties in passing water. Hahnemann's provings brought out these leading symptoms: "Painless urging to urinate;" and "frequent urging to urinate with copious discharge of urine." Hahnemann points out that this, with the thirst, may indicate Trx. in some cases of diabetes. Trx. has caused pains in …
Dandelion. (Compositae.)
For gastric and bilious attacks, especially gastric headaches. Mapped tongue (Lach., Mer., Nat. m.); covered with a white film with sensation of rawness. This film comes off in patches, leaving dark red, tender, very sensitive spots (Ran. s.). Jaundice with enlargment and induration of liver (mapped tongue). Debility, loss of appetite, profuse night sweats, especially when convalescing from bilious or typhoid fever. Restlessness of limbs in typhoid (Rhus, Zinc.).
Relations
. - Compare: Bry., Hydr., Nux, in gastric and bilious affections.
Aggravation
. - Almost all symptoms appear when sitting; lying down; resting.
Mouth and Throat
Tongue covered with a white coating, which peels off in patches, leaving dark, red, tender, very sensitive spots.
Phatak's chapter on Taraxacum officinale is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
