What is Mezereum?
Mezereum is a homeopathic remedy. It is made from the bark and fresh twigs of a shrub. The shrub is Daphne mezereum, also called spurge olive.
It is a single drug remedy. That means it comes from one plant, not a blend. Homeopaths pick it most often for skin rashes that ooze and then crust over.
It is also used for nerve pain that stays after shingles. Some books list it for bone pain and tooth pain too.
The raw plant is a poison. It burns skin and mouth, and the berries have killed children. Bought pellets are watered down far past that point, so they hold no plant at all.
No human trial has tested Mezereum for any illness. Long use in homeopathy is not proof that a remedy works.
How does Mezereum work?
Homeopathy rests on two ideas. Modern science backs neither one.
The first idea is "like cures like". The raw plant blisters and burns skin. So it is thought to treat rashes that blister and burn.
The second idea is that shaking and watering down a plant leaves its "action" behind. At 30C, the mix has been watered down one part in a hundred, thirty times in a row. No plant matter is left in the pellet.
Because nothing of the plant remains, there is no known way for it to act in your body. Trials of homeopathic pills do not tell them apart from placebo (a dummy pill). Any change you notice most likely comes from time, care and belief.
What forms does Mezereum come in?
You will most often see 6C, 30C and 200C pellets or small tablets. Liquid drops in alcohol are also sold. Mezereum is blended into some skin creams and mixed remedies as well.
Avoid the mother tincture and very low dilutions such as 1X to 3X. These can still hold plant matter and can burn skin and mouth. Use them only if a trained prescriber has chosen them for you.
Where it comes from:
Daphne mezereum grows in woods across Europe. Country healers once laid the bark on skin to raise a blister. They also used it to try to clear old sores.
It was used as a harsh purgative (a drug that forces the bowels to empty). That use harmed people, and it was dropped.
Samuel Hahnemann brought the plant into homeopathy in the early 1800s. It has stayed in homeopathic books since then, mostly for crusting rashes and shingles pain.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Mezereum need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.
Who should avoid Mezereum?
- Never eat the berries, bark, leaves or twigs of Daphne mezereum. They are poisonous and have killed children.
- Do not handle the fresh plant with bare hands. The sap blisters skin.
- Do not use the mother tincture (the first alcohol extract) or very low dilutions such as 1X to 3X unless a trained prescriber has chosen them for you.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. There is no safety data, and the raw plant is toxic.
- Do not use if you want to give it to a baby or child, unless a doctor has said it is fine.
- Do not use if you take warfarin or another blood thinner and are offered the raw plant, the tincture or a low dilution.
- Do not use if you have a rash that is spreading fast, weeping pus, or comes with a fever. See a doctor instead.
- Do not use if you have a shingles rash near an eye. That needs urgent medical care.
- Do not use it in place of a medicine your doctor has prescribed.
- Do not use if you have kidney disease or liver disease and are thinking about anything stronger than a 6C pellet.
- Do not use if you react badly to lactose (milk sugar). Ask for a lactose-free pellet.
When should you see a doctor?
Call emergency services at once if anyone has swallowed any part of this plant. Do the same for mouth or throat burns, being sick again and again, bloody diarrhoea, or trouble breathing.
See a doctor within a day if you think you have shingles. Drugs that fight the virus work best when started early.
See a doctor if a rash spreads, weeps pus, or comes with a fever or a sick feeling all over. Also go if pain after shingles lasts more than a few weeks, or if bone pain or tooth pain keeps coming back.
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