Know Your Remedies: Hamamelis Virginiana (Ham.)

Common Names: Witch hazel.

General Information

Hamamelis Virginiana is a useful remedy for fragile veins, venous congestion and bleeding. Veins are enlarged and feel bruised or sore, especially when touched or pressed. Bleeding (haemorrhage) from veins is passive rather than rapid or profuse. An internal pressing pain may be present, and any weakness is out of proportion for the amount of blood lost. (especially with haemorrhoids).

Mental-Emotional Symptoms

• May easily become haughty or discontented.
• Easily offended when others don’t pay attention to their opinions.

Eye

• Black eye.

Dental

• Passive and prolonged bleeding after dental work.

Ear, Nose and Throat

• Passive or active nosebleeds (epistaxis).
• Nosebleeds that occur instead of menstruation.
• Tendency to nosebleeds when varicose veins and haemorrhoids are also present.

Circulatory System

• Varicose veins.
• Distended, congested and fragile veins that rupture and bleed easily.
• Sore or stinging veins.
• Phlebitis (inflammation of the veins).

Gastrointestinal

• Bleeding haemorrhoids.

Limbs

• Varicose veins.
• Painful varicose ulcers.

Female

• Vicarious menstruation, especially with nosebleed.
• Varicose veins of the vulva.
• Passive and dark menstrual flow.

Male

• Variocoele (enlarged veins within the scrotum).

Where do I find it?

Hamamelis Virginica (Ham.) is available from our online store as a single remedy, and as part of the following Complexes (combination remedies): Bruises; Haemorrhoids (Piles).

Important

While above self-limiting or acute complaints are suitable for home treatment also contact your healthcare provider during emergency situations or if symptoms worsen or fail to improve. Chronic or persistent complaints, which may or may not be mentioned above, require a different treatment and dosage protocol so are best managed by a qualified homeopath for good results.

Dosage Instructions (suitable for babies to adults)

For the home treatment of acute and self-limiting complaints take one pill or five drops of the remedy every 1 minute to 4 hours (1 minute for intense or emergency symptoms (plus seek emergency help), 4 hours for milder ones). Once an improvement is noticed, stop dosing and repeat the remedy only if symptoms return. If there is no improvement at all by three doses, choose a different remedy or seek professional guidance.

Note: Chronic symptoms or complaints require a course of professional treatment by a qualified homeopath to manage the changes in potencies and remedies that may be required.

More Information

Guidelines on which potency to use

From Past Masters

Homeopathy is a 200-year system of medicine. Early medical homeopaths recorded initial provings, remedy relationships, and experiences with each remedy in great detail.

These writings were then shared with others to advance homeopathic knowledge and practice as its use spread.

Today, these same writings give a fascinating insight into the symptoms and clinical conditions for which each remedy was used.

The following extract, with minor editing, is one example.

Leaders In Homoeopathic Therapeutics by E. B. NASH M.D.

Hamamelis Virginiana (Ham.)

Venous hæmorrhages (very dark and clotted); veins full, enlarged and sore to touch.

* * * * *

Hamamelis Virginica is another remedy having the symptom “soreness as if bruised” in a marked degree, and which I did not mention when writing of Arnica. This soreness is sometimes found in rheumatism and Hamamelis has cured when Arnica failed.

But one of the chief distinctions between these two remedies is that Arnica acts more upon the capillaries, causing their relaxation, whereby suggillations take place, while Hamamelis acts more upon the veins, which are very full, enlarged and sore. One author says:

“It is the Aconite of the veins.”

From clinical use we know enough of the remedy to value it highly in varicosities of almost all kinds. (Fluoric acid.) It is here a powerful rival of Pulsatilla, but except the soreness of the veins we do not know of guiding symptoms for its use.

It has produced, in provings, severe hæmorrhages, and clinical use has defined the bleeding to be of very dark clotted, venous blood. There is no doubt of its power over such hæmorrhages, whether occurring from the nose, bowels, uterus, lungs or bladder. I have used it in every place with satisfaction. It is not a powerful poison and can be used low without bad effects.

One of its best uses is in orchitis and inflammation of the spermatic veins, the provings markedly indicating its homœopathicity here.

In hæmorrhages from the anus, whether from piles or typhoid fever, if the blood is of the above described appearance, Hamamelis is excellent.

Like Arnica and Calendula, Hamamelis has often seemed to act well as a local application. I am not in favor, generally, of using remedies in this way, unless it be for external injuries, which are not diseases.