Materia Medica

The Pulsatilla Child

Written by Elaine Lewis

Info about Pulsatilla nigricans homeopathic remedy. Find out about Pulsatilla symptoms and personality in a child.

Elaine and Baby Pulsatilla, I mean, Shana! 

If you have children, you’ll be wanting to keep this remedy near by, because it will cure most of the ailments that children have–measles, chicken pox, mumps, colds, conjunctivitis…it’s because most children “are” Pulsatilla!  By that we mean, they have the Pulsatilla personality, the Pulsatilla mentals and emotionals, which become exaggerated when they’re sick.

Think of the typical sick child: clingy, sad, wanting to be held and reassured; this is the essence of Pulsatilla.  So no matter what the illness is, when you see the neediness, the big sorrowful eyes, the pitiful crying, and the amelioration from being held and reassured, you can be certain that Pulsatilla will do the job.

What is Pulsatilla anyway?  It’s a delicate flower.  It sits on a very fine stem that is tossed and turned whichever way the wind blows and hence, is called the “Wind Flower”.  This tells you all you need to know about the Pulsatilla personality.  This flower lacks strength, just like the small child who must depend on his parents for protection.

The theme of Pulsatilla is to latch on to a strong supportive adult and not let go.

Pulsatilla children will become anxiety-ridden as soon as they can’t see the parent anymore—as soon as the parent is no longer in sight.  They won’t last long in this situation and will start searching to make sure the parent is still there and hasn’t left them alone—Fear Of Abandonment, in short, fear of being forsaken, and so Pulsatilla’s life focus is on the whereabouts of mom, and does mom still love him?  How much?  Is there an interloper stealing the attention and affection of mom?  So, you can gather that these children are jealous, stingy, won’t share (can’t bear to suffer a loss) and may ask, “Do you love me?” over and over again!

Their security is their primary focus, so they are ever-mindful of where the parent is, and that he, the child, is getting the attention and acknowledgment—the love—that will allow him to relax and feel safe.  They can’t tolerate the smallest criticism or reprimand; for them, it means they are no longer loved.  They will persist in some form of attention-seeking behavior until they are satisfied that they are again the center of attention, the sole object of Mom and Dad’s affection.  Some of this behavior might seem quite obnoxious!  Pouting, whining, creating a scene, feeling sorry for themselves, and so on….  They won’t let a slight, snub or rebuff go by.  It won’t be allowed to stand.

As long as Pulsatilla feels loved, she can be perfectly content basking in the serenity of parental affection.  They will be joyful and charming.

If the parents fight, this will be very frightening for the child and he will play peace-maker to try to get them to reconcile.  They cannot bear disharmony.

Strangers will frighten them at first but as soon as they get the idea that the stranger is safe, they will become the stranger’s best friend—bringing toys to show off, showing off dance moves, reciting lines from school plays; Pulsatillas are very sociable and thrive in company!

At night, expect the Pulsatilla child to climb into bed with you.  Being separated at night, for them, is too much!  They fear the dark and ghosts.

You can’t talk about Pulsatilla without mentioning “crying”—pretty much what they’re famous for.  It’s a pathetic cry, not a cross/angry cry like that of Chamomilla.  Their cry says, “Please help me” and “poor me”.  This is what they’re known for; but, here’s the thing to remember about Pulsatilla—he or she is easily reassured!  If you pick the Pulsatilla child up and reassure him, the crying will stop and he’ll feel better; and he won’t dwell on the matter the way other remedies such as Nat-mur will.  He will perk up right away!

This remedy is gentle, yielding, affectionate, eager to please, dependent, emotional and very needy.  Pulsatillas do not hold back their emotions.  When Pulsatilla children are under stress, they will regress.  They may want to nurse again and otherwise act like a baby.

Some physical symptoms of Pulsatilla:

*Warm rooms aggravate!  They’re much better out in the fresh air.  Even if they’re chilly, they will still be worse in a warm stuffy room.

*Usually thirstless, especially when you would expect a person to be thirsty, like during a fever or when the mouth is dry.

*Thick, bland discharges; yellow or green.

*Complaints are worse at twilight/evening.

*Changeable symptoms.  Think of how the Pulsatilla flower is tossed and turned by the wind every which way; hence, Pulsatilla symptoms can appear to be all over the place—the pain is here, now it’s there…the discharge changes colors; the menstrual cycle is irregular, the moods change suddenly, and so on.

*Ailments from fatty foods—the fat of meat, cheese, too much ice cream.

*Hormonal changes make them emotional.

*Walking in open air ameliorates their complaints.

*Cold applications ameliorate, cold food, like popsicles, amel.

*The childhood diseases

*Conjunctivitis

That’s about it!  See you again next time!

__________________

Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom

Elaine takes online cases, write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

33 Comments

  • Hi have been told that Pulsatilla can be used to in children who suffer from Asthma. I have an 18 month old who I have been told is suffering form Asthma has been put on Singulair and inhalers, which I am not too keen on. I am looking for an alternative if there is something out there. Would appreciate your advice. Also in what form is it best to give to a baby. Thank you.

  • Karen, first of all, stop vaccinating! See my article, “Vaccinations: Just Say No”. Secondly, the baby will have to have her or his case taken to find the right remedy; and then case management is something that you cannot do by yourself, you will need the direction of a qualified homeopath going forward; not to mention that having a homeopath, for a parent, is invaluable when you think of all the health issues and injuries that are just a normal part of childhood. If you can tell me where you’re located, I might know of a good homeopath to refer you to; or, a good online homeopath can be just as useful to you if there is no one in your area.

    • It is not easy to say no to vaccination. I am the guardian of my grand child who is five years old now. The school where he goes and even his pediatrician wants his vaccinations to be up to date so he can be admitted to kindergarten. The pediatrician does not agree with me when I say that vaccinations could be harmful. This is a dilemma that is not resolve here in Arizona, obviously.
      A very concerned grand-mother.

      • I’m a guardian of my grandchild and she has zero vaccines not had anything chemical in her tiny little system I urge you not to vaccinate, Elaine the homeopath is talking good sense to you. I wish you and your Grand daughter well.

    • You should not tell people – not to vaccinate!

      That is not good advice. It’s not a perfect fix but vaccinations are what is keeping our kids alive. Vaccinations are keeping the deadly diseases – mumps, measels, whopping cough away from society. These are diseases that killed kids. Do we want to live in a world where kids have whooping cough and measles? Kids that are vaccinated are the ones protecting the kids that are not vacinated. It’s not not fair. If people stop vaccinating and the ratio shifts where more and more people are NOT vaccinated then we will start to see all these killer diseases come back into society. Is that a better option?

      • The choice to vaccinate is for each family to research and decide. I’m sorry, but in the United States, where good nutrition and healthcare are available for most children, vaccines are not “keeping them alive”. In our nation, measles, while a pain, is not usually serious. Plus, by vaccinating children for measles, we have removed the protection that mothers were once able to pass on through breastmilk and have put our infants at higher risk (whereas before they would have been protected to closer to 2 years of age when it is more benign to catch). Whooping cough is not being prevented by the vaccine, and furthermore, the vaccine itself is a toxoid vaccine which means people are still able to spread it. The vaccine only truly, if it takes, protects the individual. Therefore we’ve got a lot of people assuming they are immune and potentially exposing young infants. I say all this to make the point that it is complicated and you cannot use fear to push people into a medical intervention that can have serious side effects. Each family needs to research and come to the best, educated decision that works for their family.

      • Jaime, all the people who are trying to warn others about vaccination were once pro-vaccine like you are and learned the hard way the truth. Please read my article “Vaccinations: Just Say No”. Google it or go to http://www.hpathy.com and type it in the search line and then press “enter”. In any case, homeopathy takes the place of vaccines. There’s not a single “dread” childhood disease that it can’t cure–safely, meaning there is no longer any reason to sacrifice even one child to vaccine side-effects.

      • Those aren’t deadly diseases unless you live in a third world country. Also, just having those as a child brings lifetime immunity.

  • How do I know how much and how to adminster to a 6 month old with frequent ear infections, hacking cough and green/yellow snotty nose?

  • hello– this remedy is definitely helpful for my 4 year old daughter. your description of the pulsatilla personality is right-on. how often should i give it to her? also, i would like to use homeopathy for my 3 month old and am wondering– can i just take a remedy for him, since i’m exclusively breastfeeding? thanks so much!

  • Gina, why give a remedy to yourself (which you may not need or may not be good for you) when you can give it directly to the child? To give a remedy to a baby, drop a pellet in a disosable cup of water and just let the water touch the child’s lips, the child doesn’t have to actually swallow it. You ask how often to give it to her? If you give a dose and the child improves, no need to redose unless there’s a relapse.

    • Dear Ms.Lewis
      My grand daughter is 12 and generally talks in a whining way except when she is
      playing or is with her friends. Can this be cured with Pulsatilla or anyother remedy.
      I will be grateful if you could suggest something

      Adarsh Varma

  • I have just started giving my 15 month old daughter pulsatilla for evening wakefulness and physical agitation. She goes down well for naps during the day, but in the evening she is physically agitated. While I can see that she has a “pulsatilla personality” (she does look for me when I leave the room, and often will cry if I go downstairs or upstairs), I feel like she has an inner stillness, and this agitation is separate, or disparate from that. Will the pulsatilla help with that?
    This is the first time I’ve given her a remedy that wasn’t pre-directed for me, like the Hyland’s teething tablets or cold tablets.

    • I guess people don’t see that my contact information is at the bottom of the article. When you post here with questions, I don’t see them unless I just happen to check back.

  • I have 2 years old child, she can’t digest fatty &heavy food.whenever eats she loose weight .no problem was find in her lab test. She hates being alone and sleep in her bed. I started pulsatilla 30 c 1drop 3times a day.after 2 days she took all the drop accidently so i took her 1cup of mint as an antipoison. Her digestion get a bit better.shall i continue pulsatilla 30c?

    • Once there’s more than 50% improvement, you should stop dosing and wait. Don’t repeat unless you see a relapse or the case stalls–no further improvement takes place.

  • Hi Elaine, may I ask what potency do I give my six year old who’s just got chickenpox? Should I try and get higher potency? Or lower potency will work better during chickenpox? I’m dreading the worst days to come. And we’ve just arrived at our holiday rental 🤦🏻‍♀️ sighs, our timing…

  • Hi Elaine, my daughter fits all the personality traits of a pulsatilla child. Would the pulsatilla tablets improve her mood and separation anxiety? Thankyou

  • I have a 20-month-old daughter, she is definitely pulsatilla, i read the materia medica and there are many similarities, i started using 30 c when she had dayaria for one week whithout other symptoms and it worked then i looked further into pulstella as a remedy and found that it is suitable.
    know i am aiming to use pulestella to ehnance her communication as she doesnt say any word, she used to say a couple of words 6 months ago but she doesnt any more, i suspect there is something in her hearing , although she hears and responds to low tones, she is upset by sharp sounds weather humans or machines.

    what do you think and what potency would you recomend

    • Saeed, when a baby/child loses the milestones she’s reached without reason, usually it’s because of a vaccination. Are you from India? Because if you are, I suggest you make an appointment with Dr. Firuzi Mehta, she will see you online or over the phone if you’re not near her: [email protected]

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