Salix. Salix alba.

Related entry: Salix nigra

Synonym—White Willow.

CONSTITUENTS—

Salicin, wax, fat, gum.

Specific Symptomatology—Sexual irritability with lascivious dreams, sexual erethrism, libidinous thoughts, extreme sexual excitability with uncontrollable desire; erotomania, nymphomania, and satyriasis, prostatitis, with cystic irritation; acute prostatic enlargement, with cystitis, ovaritis, orchitis and other sexual disorders resulting from excess and abuse.

Therapy—This to an extent is antimalarial and like the other agents of this class it improves the tone of the gastro-intestinal tract and the glandular organs. It corrects impaired conditions of all mucous membranes and is thus of value in excessive catarrhal discharges from these membranes, being freely given in bronchorrhea, gastric catarrh, catarrhal diarrhea and in leucorrhea, in all cases acting more promptly if malarial conditions have caused the existing debility. It has antiseptic properties, of course, if antimalarial, and is a good remedy in protracted fevers.

It has a mild influence in controlling passive hemorrhages, but cannot be depended upon if they are severe.

Its antiseptic properties are apparent in its ability to correct the fetor of wounds and offensive discharges when locally applied.

Felter and Lloyd, in the American Dispensatory, make the following statement concerning the action of this remedy, which is important. Its field of action in those functional wrongs of the reproductive organs is due most largely to undue irritability of the parts and thought to be less due to mental or emotional causes. However, sexual passion from any functional cause is moderated by it, and it is especially adapted to the disorders of the sexually intemperate male or female and of the youth, subject day or night to libidinous suggestions and lascivious dreams terminating in pollutions, while for those extreme forms of sexual perversion, satyriasis, erotomania, and nymphomania, it is more nearly specific than any other agent. Not only does salix nigra act as a check to sexual passion and misuse, but it proves a useful tonic and sedative to many conditions following in the wake of sexual intemperance, among which may be mentioned spermatorrhea, in its varied forms, prostatitis, cystitis and ovaritis.

The American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy, 1919, was written by Finley Ellingwood, M.D.
It was scanned by Michael Moore for the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine.