What is Bovista?
Bovista is a remedy used in homeopathy. It is made from the puff-ball, a round white fungus that puffs out brown dust when ripe.
Its Latin name is Bovista lycoperdon, also written Lycoperdon bovista. Many packs simply call it Puff-ball.
It is given on its own as a single drug, not blended with other remedies. Home users reach for it for easy bruising, small nose bleeds, itchy skin and bloating before a period. These are traditional uses within homeopathy only.
The puff-ball is diluted over and over to make the remedy. At the common 30C strength, in effect none of the source fungus is left in the pill. Trials do not tell such pills apart from sugar pills.
Long use in a tradition is not proof that a thing works. That point is made here once and holds for every section below.
How does Bovista work?
There is no known way for it to act on the body, since no source material is left in the pill.
Homeopathy rests on an old idea. A thing that brings on signs in a well person is said to clear like signs in a sick one. The maker dilutes that thing again and again, shaking it hard at each step.
Users say the shaking leaves a trace or imprint in the water. Science has not found such a trace. Any relief people feel fits best with a placebo effect, which means feeling better from the act of care itself.
What forms does Bovista come in?
Bovista comes as small sugar pellets, small pills, or liquid drops.
Common strengths on shop shelves are 6C, 30C and 200C. The higher the number, the more dilution steps were used, and the less source material remains. Some makers also sell a mother tincture, which is the first strong extract before dilution.
Pellets are meant to melt under the tongue. Drops are dripped into a little water or straight onto the tongue. Creams and sprays with this name are rare.
Where it comes from:
The puff-ball has been picked in Europe for centuries. Country people dusted its brown spores on cuts to help stop bleeding, and some kinds were eaten while still young and white.
Bovista came into homeopathy in the 1800s in German-speaking Europe. It was tested on healthy people, a step homeopaths call a proving. Its notes for bruising, itchy skin and period complaints come from those old notes, not from trials.
Who should avoid Bovista?
- Do not use Bovista in place of urgent care for a nose bleed that will not stop after 15 minutes of pinching your nose
- Do not use it to treat bruising or bleeding that you cannot explain, as this can be a sign of a blood disorder
- Do not use it instead of the medicine you were given for a bleeding or clotting problem, such as haemophilia (an inherited bleeding disorder) or a low platelet count (too few of the blood cells that help clotting)
- Do not use it to manage bleeding while you take a blood thinner such as warfarin or apixaban; speak to your doctor instead
- Never breathe in the dust from a ripe wild puff-ball, as the spores can inflame the lungs
- Never eat a wild fungus you have picked yourself unless an expert has named it as safe
- Do not use the liquid drops if you avoid alcohol, if they are for a young child, or if you take disulfiram or metronidazole
- Do not take the pellets if milk sugar (lactose) upsets you; ask for a sugar-free form
- Avoid it in pregnancy and while breastfeeding unless your midwife or doctor says it is fine
- Do not use it for a baby or young child without asking a doctor first
- Do not use it for heavy period bleeding that soaks through pads, or for bleeding between periods, until a doctor has checked you
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor soon if you bruise easily for no clear reason, get frequent nose bleeds, or bleed from the gums. Get checked if your periods are heavy enough to soak pads, if you bleed between periods, or if you feel tired, breathless or pale.
Get help the same day for a nose bleed that keeps going after 15 minutes of firm pinching, for bleeding after a head injury, or for blood in your urine or stool.
Call emergency services for a swollen face, lips or tongue, trouble breathing, or a sudden widespread rash with feeling faint. Also get urgent help if you breathed in puff-ball dust and then get a cough, fever or shortness of breath.
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