What is Sticta pulmonaria?

Sticta pulmonaria is a remedy used in homeopathy. It is made from lungwort lichen, a leafy lichen that grows on old trees. Its Latin name is Lobaria pulmonaria.

Homeopaths reach for it most often for a dry, tickly cough. It is also used for a blocked head cold and for hay fever.

The remedy is made by serial dilution. The lichen is shaken and thinned, then shaken and thinned again. At 30C, none of the source lichen is left.

What about proof? Trials have not shown that it works better than a dummy pill. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works.

How does Sticta pulmonaria work?

The honest answer is that no one has shown how it could work.

Homeopathy rests on two old ideas. First, a substance that causes symptoms in a well person may ease like symptoms in a sick one. Second, shaking and thinning a substance makes it act more strongly, not less.

Chemistry does not support the second idea. At 30C the dose holds no source lichen at all. What you take is water, alcohol or a sugar pill.

So if you feel better, the likely reasons are simple. Coughs and colds pass on their own. Rest, time and belief all play a part.

What forms does Sticta pulmonaria come in?

Sticta comes in a few forms. Sugar pills or small pellets are the most common. Drops in alcohol and water are also sold.

Strengths are marked 6C, 12C or 30C. The higher the number, the more times it was thinned.

Mother tincture and low strengths such as 1X still hold real lichen material. Read the label so you know which one you have.

Where it comes from:

Lungwort lichen has a long folk record in Europe. Herbalists brewed it as a tea for coughs and chest trouble.

Its name comes from its look. The lichen is pitted and lobed, a bit like lung tissue. Old healers took that shape as a hint about its use.

Homeopathy took it up later. Doctors in the United States tested it on healthy people in the mid-1800s. Their notes shaped the way it is used today.

What does Sticta pulmonaria help with?

• Dry, tickly cough: This is the best known use. Homeopathic texts point to a hard, dry cough that will not settle, often worse at night. No human trial has tested Sticta for cough. Most coughs from a cold clear up in one to three weeks on their own.
• Head cold with a blocked nose: Tradition picks it for a nose that feels blocked but stays dry, with little or nothing coming out. There is no trial support for this use. A blocked nose from a cold usually eases within a week.
• Hay fever with sneezing: Old texts list sneezing fits, itchy eyes and a stuffy nose. Some over-the-counter hay fever mixes include Sticta. We found no trial of Sticta alone for hay fever. Proven treatments exist, so speak to a pharmacist first.
• Full, heavy feeling in the face and forehead: Homeopaths describe a sense that the head is too big or floating. This picture comes from 19th century testing on healthy people. It is a symptom pattern, not a diagnosis. Face pain with fever needs a doctor, not a remedy.
• Stiff, aching neck and shoulders: Some texts use Sticta for stiff joints that ache and for restless legs at night. This use is thin even inside homeopathy, and no human trial backs it.

Which foods are rich in Sticta pulmonaria?

1. Lungwort lichen: the source organism; it is rarely eaten and is protected by law in many countries

What are the side effects of Sticta pulmonaria?

• No side effects in most people at 30C, since no source lichen remains
• A brief flare of symptoms in the first day, which homeopaths expect but trials have not shown
• Rash, itching or swelling in people who react to lichens, from drops and low strengths
• Mouth or stomach burning from the alcohol in liquid drops
• Stomach upset in people who cannot handle lactose (milk sugar) in the pills
• Delay in getting real treatment, which is the biggest risk of all

Good to know:

Direct harm from a 30C pill is very unlikely. It holds sugar, water or alcohol and nothing else.

The real risks sit elsewhere. Drops and mother tincture hold lichen material, which can trigger allergy and has not been tested for safety.

The main danger is delay. Using Sticta instead of an inhaler, an antibiotic or a check-up can let a serious problem grow.

How much Sticta pulmonaria should you take?

• Recommended daily: There is no proven dose. No health body has set one, because the remedy has not been shown to work. Common homeopathic practice uses 30C. A typical label says three to five pills, two or three times a day. Drops are usually a few drops in water. Follow the label on the pack you bought, and do not take more in the hope of a stronger effect.
• Best time of day: Any time of day. Many people take a dose at bedtime when a dry cough keeps them awake.
• With or without food: Away from food. The usual advice is to take it fifteen minutes before or after eating, drinking or brushing your teeth.
• Time to effect: Homeopaths expect a change within hours to a few days for a short-term cough. There is no trial evidence to support that timing, so treat it as tradition, not fact.
• How long to take it: Homeopaths treat short-term coughs and colds for a few days only. Stop once you feel better. Reassess after three days. If your cough or cold is no better after a week, or is getting worse, see a doctor. Do not take it for weeks on end for a lasting cough. A cough over three weeks needs to be checked.