Urtica Urens
Overview:
U
R
T
I
C
A
U
U – Urticaria
Description: The foremost indication is for urticaria or hives. These skin eruptions are characterized by raised, red wheals that burn, sting, and itch violently. Symptoms are often triggered by allergies (especially shellfish), bee stings, or exposure to cool, moist air. The condition is marked by its sudden onset and intensity.
Reference: [Boericke, W. (1927). Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory]
R
R – Rheumatic pain
Description: Gouty and rheumatic pains, particularly affecting the deltoid muscles, wrists, and ankles. The pain is typically stinging and burning in character. These pains often have a distinct relationship with the skin symptoms.
Reference: [Clarke, J.H. (1902). A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica]
T
T – Too less milk
Description: Indicated for issues with lactation, specifically the absence or diminished secretion of breast milk following childbirth (agalactia). It can also be used when the mother’s milk is acrid or thick, causing problems for the infant. The breasts may be swollen and painful, yet produce little to no milk.
Reference: [Clarke, J.H. (1902). A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica]
I
I – Intolerable itch
Description: An intense, almost unbearable itching is a hallmark of the remedy. The itching is accompanied by burning and stinging sensations, compelling the patient to scratch constantly. This itching is often worse from warmth, bathing, and at night.
Reference: [Nash, E.B. (1908). Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics]
C
C – Causation
Description: Addresses ill effects from specific causes. It is a primary remedy for first-degree burns and scalds, providing immediate relief from the burning pain. It is also highly effective for ailments arising from suppressed nettle-rash or after eating shellfish.
Reference: [Concise Materia Medica Of Hom. Remedies By S.R. Phatak]
A
A – Alternate states
Description: A peculiar characteristic is the alternation of symptoms. Most notably, the rheumatic pains will disappear when the urticarial rash appears, and conversely, the rheumatism returns when the rash fades. This clear alternation is a strong guiding symptom.
Reference: [Farrington, E.A. (1887). A Clinical Materia Medica]
Introduction
Constitution
Clinical
Mental Symptoms
Guiding Symptoms
Characteristic
Therapeutic Value
Modality
Remedy Relationship
Dose
Teerminologies
Reference
Also Search As
Introduction
Introduction of Urtica Urens
Common name:
Stinging-nettle [1]
Synonyms
Dwarf nettle
Family / Group / Class / Order
Urticaceae
Habit and habitat / Description
Urtica urens, commonly known as the dwarf or annual nettle, is an herbaceous annual plant found worldwide. It typically grows upright to a height of 10 to 60 centimeters, distinguished by its oppositely arranged, oval-shaped leaves with deeply toothed edges. The entire plant, including its stem and leaves, is covered in fine, stinging hairs (trichomes) that inject irritants upon contact, causing a characteristic burning rash. This resilient plant thrives as a common weed in temperate climates, preferring the nitrogen-rich, disturbed soils of gardens, farmlands, and roadsides.
Formula / Symbols
–
Name of prover
Introduced by Fiard and proved by Coxe
Introduction and history
Urtica has long since been used as a remedy for anaemia, rheumatism (when applied locally), and for provoking increased urine and expelling stones from the kidneys.
Doctrine of signature
–
Parts used
Fresh plant
Active principles
–
Preparation
Mother tincture of the entire fresh plant; and dilutions. [2]
Constitution
Constitution of Urtica Urens
Gouty
Physical make up
No particular
Temperament
Irritable
Diathesis
Gout and uric acid diathesis
Relation with heat & cold
Ambithermal
Miasm
Sycotic, Tubercular
Clinical
Clinical conditions of Urtica Urens
Agalactia. Ague. Allergic, reactions. Anemia. Arthritis. Bee, stings. Breastfeeding, disorders. Burns. Deltoid, rheumatism. Diarrhea. Dysentery. Edema. Erysipelas. Erythema. Gout. Gravel. Hemorrhages. Hemoptysis. Hives. Intermittents. Itching. Leucorrhea. Malaria. Menorrhagia. Phlegmasia dolens. Kidney, colic. Kidney, stones. Neuritis. Rheumatism. Shellfish, allergy. Spleen, disorders. Throat, sore. Uremia. Uric acid, diathesis. Urticaria, nodosa. Vertigo. Whooping cough. Worms.[3]
Sites of action / Pharmacodynamics
MAMMAE
Genito-urinary organs
Liver
Spleen[4]
Causation (Causes / Ailments from)
Burns
-Bee stings
-Eating shellfish
-Suppressed milk
-Suppressed nettle rash
Physiological action
Patho-physiological changes / Pathogenesis
This agent produces burning, stinging, pains, and inflammations with formications of the skin which are followed by vesicular eruptions containing bloody serum.[5]
Mental Symptoms
Characteristic Mental Symptoms (psychology) of Urtica Urens
–
Guiding Symptoms
Urtica Urens Guiding Symptoms
Generalities
As its common name stinging nettle implies, it produces stinging or *stinging-burning pains. Affects the ***MAMMARY GLANDS; *genito-urinary organs; liver and spleen. Urinous odour of the body. Uric acid diathesis. *Urticaria; associated or alternating, with rheumatism. Haemorrhages. Ill effects of *burns; bee-stings, eating shell fish; suppressed milk; urticaria. Angio-oedema.[6]
Head
Headache, with stitches in spleen.
Eye
Pain: in right eye, in left at 3 p.m. Pain in eyeballs as from a blow, with feeling as if sand were in eyes. Eyes feel weak and sore.[7]
Throat
Burning in throat, with frequent hawking of frothy mucus, causing cough, expectoration scanty, frothy.
Stomach
Nausea, with burning in throat. Vomiting from suppression of nettle-rash.
Abdomen
Stools; small, painful, mucous mixed with white matter like boiled white of an egg. Intense itching of anus; from pinworms. Vomiting, from suppression of urticaria.
Urinary Organ
Acrid urine causing itching. Gravel. *Uric acid toxaemia. Urine suppressed.
Sexual Organ
Itching, burning of genitals; of scrotum; keeps him awake.*Pruritus vulvae; itching, stinging; and oedema of the parts. *Diminished secretion of milk; after parturition. Swelling of the breast; with stinging, burning pains. Arrests the flow of milk after weaning.
Respiratory System
Haemoptysis; after violent exertion.
Heart & Pulse
Pulse accelerated.
Extremities
Continuous pain in deltoid (right) worse : rotating arm inwards; could not put on the coat. Acute gout.
Skin
Itching, raised, red blotches. Nettle rash; worse every year same season. Prickly heat. *Hives;* elevated; with rheumatism; after shell fish; with pinworms. Vesicles. Burns and scalds of the first degree; with intense burning, itching; apply locally.
Fever
Sweatiness; at night; with vertigo, with throbbing all over the body.
Characteristic
Important characteristic features of Urtica Urens
Keynotes / Redline
1. Gout with rheumatic pain in right deltoid muscle.
2. Rheumatism with urticaria like eruptions which alternate with each other.
3. Complaints from eating shellfish.
4. Diminished secretion of milk, also to arrest the flow of milk after weaning.
5. Symptoms return at the same time every day.
6. Urticaria and itching disappears while lying down and reappears immediately after rising.
7. Urinous odour of the body (Phatak).
8. Diarrhoea after suppressed eruptions.
Guiding
–Gout. Uric acid diathesis.
-Rheumatism with urticaria-like eruptions.
-Pain in right deltoid muscle with great soreness, lameness of muscles. Weakness in general, restlessness. Afraid to go to sleep, due to intense burning after sleep with continued fever (Clarke).
–Fever in gout, tropical. Pulsation all over the body, giddiness, sensation of falling down (forwards) with spleen pain, headache, mainly at night (Clarke).
-Lump in left breast. Entire absence of milk after confinement without apparent cause.
-Angio-oedema. Urticaria. Itching blotches with central white spot and red areola with burning and stinging pains.
PQRS
Rheumatism alternates with Urticarial Eruptions
Complaints Return at the Same Time Every Year
Urticaria is Aggravated by Bathing or Water
Deltoid Rheumatism (Right Sided)
Profuse Perspiration at Night Without any Relief
Confirmatory
1. Burning, stinging pain.
2. Complaints return at the same time every year.
3. Urinous odour of the body.
Nucleus symptoms
-Urticaria alternates with joint complaints.
Therapeutic Value
Therapeutic Value of Urtica Urens
Agalactia, Angioneurotic oedema, Ascarides, Bee stings,
Burns, Deltoid rheumatism, Enteritis, Enuresis, Fevers especially at night, Gout
(acute) with fever, Haemorrhages, Lithiasis, Neuritis, Peritonitis followed by
effusion, Prevention of calculus, Spleen affections, Uremia, Uric acid diathesis,
Urticaria nodosa, Worms – pin worms.
Modality
Modality of Urtica Urens
Aggravation
Snow air
Cold moist air
Cool bathing
Lying on arm
Touch
Yearly, after sleep
Amelioration
Lying down
Remedy Relationship
Remedy Relationship of Urtica Urens
It Antidotes
Apis
Comparison
Apis, Astac, Cean, Hom, Medus, Nat-m, Pariet, Puls, Querc, Ric, Sang, Ur-ac, Urea, Urine
Dose
Dose of Urtica Urens
Tincture and lower potencies.
Potency
Should be repeated.
Duration of Action
Indefinite time
Teerminologies
Teerminologies of Urtica Urens
Core Concepts
Materia Medica:
A reference book detailing the substances used in homeopathy, called remedies. It lists the symptoms a substance is known to cause in healthy individuals, which in turn indicates what it can treat.
Repertory:
An index of symptoms. A homeopath uses a repertory to find all the remedies associated with a patient’s specific symptoms, helping to narrow down the choices.
Provings (Homoeopathic Pathogenetic Trials):
A systematic process where healthy volunteers take a substance to determine the specific symptoms it produces. These recorded symptoms form the basis of its entry in the Materia Medica.
Keynote Symptom:
A unique, peculiar, or characteristic symptom that strongly points to a specific remedy. For Urtica urens, a keynote is urticaria with violent itching and stinging pains.
Doctrine of Signatures:
An old belief that a plant’s appearance indicates its medicinal use. The stinging nettle plant (Urtica urens) causes a rash, so it’s used to treat similar rashes.
Symptom & Condition Terms
Urticaria:
The medical term for hives—raised, itchy welts (wheals) on the skin. This is the primary sphere of action for Urtica urens.
Diathesis:
A constitutional predisposition to a particular disease or group of diseases. Urtica urens is often linked to a "uric acid diathesis," meaning a tendency towards conditions like gout and kidney stones.
Agalactia:
The absence or failure of milk secretion after childbirth. This is a specific and well-known indication for Urtica urens.
Oedema / Edema:
Swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in the body’s tissues. The welts in Urtica urens are often oedematous.
Modality:
A circumstance or condition that makes a patient’s symptoms better (amelioration) or worse (aggravation). For Urtica urens, a key modality is "worse from bathing/water."
Periodicity:
The tendency for symptoms to recur at regular intervals. Urtica urens is known for complaints that return at the same time every year.
Alternating Symptoms:
When two different sets of symptoms appear and disappear in turn, but are never present at the same time. A classic example for Urtica urens is rheumatic pains alternating with urticaria.
Remedy Preparation & Dosage
Mother Tincture (Q or ø):
The original, undiluted extract of a substance, usually in an alcohol-water base. Urtica urens mother tincture is often applied externally on burns or stings.
Potency:
The level of dilution and energization of a remedy (e.g., 6C, 30C, 200C). Higher numbers indicate greater dilution and succussion.
Succussion:
The process of vigorously shaking the diluted remedy at each stage of potentization, believed to release its medicinal energy.
Symptom Analysis
Causation (Aetiology):
The specific cause or trigger of the symptoms. For Urtica urens, key causations include burns, insect stings, eating shellfish, and suppressed eruptions.
Concomitant:
A symptom that occurs alongside the main complaint but has no obvious pathological connection. For example, splenic pain appearing with a skin rash.
Sensation:
The patient’s subjective description of their experience. For Urtica urens, the characteristic sensations are burning, stinging, and pricking.
Remedy Action & Selection
Sphere of Action:
The specific organs, tissues, or systems on which a remedy has a pronounced effect. The sphere of action for Urtica urens includes the skin, urinary tract, joints, and mammary glands.
Totality of Symptoms:
The complete and unique set of a patient’s physical, mental, and emotional symptoms, which is used to select the most similar remedy (simillimum).
Miasm:
A concept of an underlying, inherited or acquired disease predisposition. Urtica urens is often associated with the Sycotic miasm due to its link with swellings, oedema, and conditions related to water retention.
Clinical Application
Acute Prescribing:
Using a remedy to treat a condition with a sudden onset and short duration, such as a sudden allergic reaction causing hives.
Chronic Prescribing:
Using a remedy to treat a long-standing or recurring health issue, like the annual recurrence of rheumatic pains treated by Urtica urens.
Reference
Reference of Urtica Urens
[1] Zomeo
[2] A Manual Of Materia Medica, Therapeutics And Pharmacology By Blackwood, Alexander Leslie
[3] Nature’s Materia Medica By Robin Murphy, Md
[4] A Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica by Cyrus Maxwell Boger
[5] A Manual Of Materia Medica, Therapeutics And Pharmacology By Blackwood, Alexander Leslie
[6] Materia Medica By Boericke W.
[7] Dictionary Of Practical Materia Medica (All 3 Vol.) By Clarke J. H.
Also Search As
Also Search As of Urtica Urens
1. For Homeopathic Information (As a Remedy)
This is the most common search context within homeopathy.
Materia Medica Profile:
To understand its complete symptom picture.
Search: Urtica urens materia medica, Urtica urens homeopathic drug picture, Urtica urens Boericke.
Specific Ailment:
To find its use for a particular condition.
Search: Urtica urens for hives, Urtica urens for gout, Urtica urens for burns.
By Keynote Symptoms:
To find its most characteristic indicators.
Search: "stinging burning pains" homeopathy, "rheumatism alternates with rash".
Comparison:
To differentiate it from similar remedies.
Search: Compare Urtica urens and Apis mellifica, Urtica urens vs Formica rufa.
2. Searching on Specific Websites
Go directly to reliable sources for more professional and academic articles.
Online Materia Medicas:
Websites that have digitized the classic homeopathic texts.
Homeopathy 360
Websites offering Boericke’s, Kent’s, or Allen’s Materia Medica.
Research and Academic Databases:
For scientific studies and clinical trials.
PubMed / PMC:
Search for clinical research, e.g., Urtica urens hyperuricemia.
Google Scholar:
Finds academic papers and articles from various sources.
ResearchGate:
Connects to research papers, often with author commentary.
Homeopathic Journals:
For articles written by homeopathic professionals.
Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy (IJRH)
The Homoeopathic Heritage International
International Journal of Homoeopathic Sciences
3. Advanced Search Techniques
Use search engine operators to refine results.
Exact Phrase:
Use quotation marks to find a specific phrase.
Example: "rheumatism alternating with urticaria"
Find a File Type:
Add filetype:pdf to find downloadable documents and research papers.
Example: "Urtica urens clinical study" filetype:pdf
Search a Specific Site:
Limit your search to a single trusted website.
Example: urticaria site:homeopathy360.com
Other ways
1. For Botanical Information (As a Plant)
This search focuses on the plant itself, commonly known as dwarf nettle or stinging nettle.
By Identification: To learn what the plant looks like and where it grows.
Search: Urtica urens plant identification, dwarf nettle images, Urtica urens habitat.
Taxonomy: For scientific classification.
Search: Urtica urens family, Urticaceae family plants.
2. For Herbal/Naturopathic Information (As a Supplement)
This explores its use as a non-homeopathic herbal remedy.
By Health Benefits: To understand its general uses.
Search: stinging nettle tea benefits, Urtica urens herbal uses, nettle leaf for allergies.
Preparation: To find how it’s prepared and used.
Search: how to make nettle tincture, Urtica urens supplement dosage.
3. For Scientific Research (For Evidence)
This method is for finding academic studies and clinical data.
By Pharmacological Action: To understand its chemical effects.
Search: Urtica urens pharmacology, Urtica urens chemical constituents.
Clinical Trials: To look for evidence-based studies.
Search: "Urtica urens" clinical trial, "Urtica urens" research study filetype:pdf.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the homeopathic remedy Urtica urens?
Urtica urens
is a homeopathic medicine prepared from the fresh, flowering dwarf nettle plant. In homeopathy, it is renowned for treating conditions with violent itching, stinging, and burning sensations, closely mirroring the effects of the plant itself.
What are the main clinical uses of Urtica urens?
Uses
Urticaria (Hives): Especially with violent itching, often triggered by allergies to shellfish.
Rheumatism and Gout: Joint pains, particularly when they alternate with skin rashes.
First-Degree Burns: To relieve the intense stinging and burning pain.
Lactation Issues: For diminished or absent milk supply after childbirth (agalactia).
What is the primary sphere of action for Urtica urens?
Primary sphere of action
is on the skin, causing eruptions like hives. It also strongly affects the urinary system (in relation to uric acid and gout) and the musculoskeletal system (rheumatic pains).
How is Urtica urens different from Apis mellifica?
Difference
Both remedies treat stinging pains and hives. However, Apis typically presents with more rosy, puffy swelling (oedema) that is better from cold. Urtica urens features more blotchy, violently itching rashes that can be worse from cool air or water, and the swelling is less pronounced than in Apis.
What specific triggers suggest the need for Urtica urens?
What is the common name for Urtica urens?
The common name
for the plant that we source Urtica urens from is stinging nettle or dwarf nettle. For this reason, the remedy’s symptoms—like stinging, burning, and itching—perfectly mirror the sensation of touching the raw plant, following the homeopathic principle of "like cures like."
How do homeopaths connect Urtica urens to gout and uric acid?
Gout
Homeopaths identify a strong link between Urtica urens and the uric acid diathesis, which is a tendency to develop conditions like gout. The remedy is particularly useful when sharp, stinging gouty pains in the joints appear. Consequently, people often find their skin rashes, like hives, clear up as their rheumatic or gouty pains begin.
What makes the symptoms of Urtica urens better or worse?
Agg./Amel.
Understanding what changes the symptoms (modalities) is key. For instance, people needing Urtica urens often find their symptoms are:
Worse (Aggravation): From touch, bathing or washing, cool moist air, and after sleeping.
Better (Amelioration): From lying down or sometimes from gentle rubbing.
