Equisetum Arvense – Common Horsetail

The mother tincture is prepared from the fresh, sterile shoots, gathered in late summer, of the plant Equisetum arvense L., a native of Europe, North Africa and North America. N.O. Equisetaceae.

The main indications are:

Cystitis, pyelitis. Copious discharge of mucus in the urine. Dull, raw pain in the bladder. Nephrolithiasis. Gravel in the urine. Nocturnal enuresis, associated with ir- ritation of the bladder.

All varieties of Equisetum act primarily on the connective tissue and the urinary tract. In the symptomatology we find renal pain, extending as far as the bladder and urethra. Urging to urinate with violent pains after urination, and passage of urine drop by drop are typical symptoms; there are also violent burning and cutting pains on urination. Retention of urine and strangury during pregnancy and after parturition are also pointers towards Equisetum. The pains are predominantly in the area of the right kidney and in the right loin, extend to the lower abdomen with urging to uri- nate, and are aggravated by movement, pressure and sitting down, and ameliorated in a lying position.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Equisetum arvense, published the following indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for equisetum arvense: diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract.