Hepar sulphuris calcareum. An impure Sulphide of Calcium prepared by burning in a crucible the white interior of oyster shells with pure flowers of sulphur. Trituration.
Clinical
Abscess. *Amaurosis. Angina pectoris. *Appetite, disordered. Asthma. Axilla, abscess in. *Beard, eruptions of. Blepharitis. Boils. Breast, affections of. Bronchitis. Bubo. Burns. *Carbuncle. Caries. *Chilblains. Chlorosis. Cold. Constipation. *Consumption. Cornea, ulceration of, opacity of. *Cough. Croup. Diaphragmitis. Diarrhoea. *Ear, affections of, polypus of. Eczema.* Emphysema. Erysipelas. *Eyes, affections of. Fester, tendency to. Glandular swellings. Haemoptysis. Haemorrhoids. Headache. Hectic. Herpes preputialis. Hip-joint disease. Hoarseness. Jaundice. *Joints, affections of. Laryngitis.
Leucorrhoea. *Lips, swollen. Liver, affections of. Lungs, affection of. Lupus.* Marasmus. Menorrhagia. Mouth, sore. Nipples, sore. *Ovaries, affections of. Parametritis. Pleurisy. Pneumonia.* Pregnancy, sickness of. Pruritus mercurialis. *Pylorus, affections of. Quinsy. Rhagades. Rheumatism. *Scarlatina. Scrofula. *Skin, affections of. Spinal irritation. *Stye. Suppuration. Syphilis. Tenesmus. Throat, sore. Urticaria. Wens. Whitlow. Whooping-cough.
Characteristics
“Liver of Sulphur” is a name which was given by the old chemists to several sulphur compounds whose colour was supposed to resemble that of liver. Before Hahnemann’s time *Hepar sulphuris calcareum, Sulfuret of lime, was used as an external remedy for itch, rheumatism, gout, goitre and scrofulous swellings. In 1794 Hahnemann proposed to use it internally to arrest mercurial salivation. A few years later it was tried (Teste thinks first by Dr. Busch of Strasbourg) for asthma and pulmonary phthisis. That this was a happy inspiration Hahnemann’s provings and clinical experience has thoroughly borne out. The *Hepar of Hahnemann is not identical with ordinary sulfuret of lime, being prepared with oyster shells, instead of ordinary lime, in a special way. Neither is it identical in composition or properties with *Calcium sulphate (Gypsum) of Schussler. Being a chemical combination of *Calcarea carb. and *Sulph. It has some of the properties of both, but is very different from either, and though it is useful to compare them, *Hepar must be studied as a separate entity. The one feature which more than any other characteristic *Hepar cases is *over-sensitiveness. It runs throughout the remedy. “Any trouble occurring on the skin where there is a *great sensitiveness to the slightest touch, patient can’t bear to have even the clothes touch the part, or have it touched in any way. Exanthema, like nettle-rash, sore to the slightest touch. Skin hard to head, inflammation of, sensitive soreness of,” is Guernsey’s admirable definition of this feature as it affects the skin and touch. But the sensitiveness is not confined to touch, there is excessive sensitiveness to the air, patient can’t bear the least draught, and if a hand accidentally gets outside the bed-clothes it brings on an aggravation, sensitiveness to noise, to odors. The mind is no less “touchy” than the body. *”Dissatisfaction with oneself and others, dreamy, atrabilious mood, a *sort of ferocious spleen, as though one could murder a man in cold blood (even in persons who are generally of a merry and benevolent disposition).” This is from Teste, who says he has removed these symptoms with *Hepar. Irritable and angry, feels inclined to kill any one who offends him. Another instance of the sensitiveness of *Hepar is in relation to pain: the slightest pain causes fainting. There is also irritable heart. The sensitiveness to cold air is more to the *dry cold air of *Aconite and *Bryonia This distinguishes it from *Nat-sulph. In asthma, which has worse from damp cold *(Nat- sulph. Is Grauvogl’s typical *hydrogenoid remedy), and also fixed its applicability in croup. *Hepar croup is accompanied with rather loose cough, with wheezing and rattling. Cough as if mucus would come up but it does not. The time of the *Hepar croup is early morning (*Aconite in evening). The least breath of cold air worse the cough, or any uncovering. Another feature of *Hepar* is the sensation of a splinter or fish-bone in the throat. In quinsy with throbbing pain, where suppuration is imminent, *Hepar is indicted. Throbbing, stabbing pains, with general rigor are characteristic. The relation of *Hepar to the suppuration process is very marked. It meets the hectic condition generally and the process locally. I once cured with *Hepar 6 a case of axillary abscess with a large collection of pus. The whole was absorbed without breaking. In an article published in Minneap. Hom. Mag., ii. 292, left P. Foster distinguishes between *Hepar, Calc-sul., and *Kali-sul., in their action on tissues. *Kali-s. acts on the epidermis, *Hepar on lymphatic glandular system, skin and respiratory mucous membrane, *Calc-s. acts much as *Hepar, only more deeply. Hepar acts on abscesses before they open, *Calc-s. after. Foster cured a lady with *Calc-s., high, of “several large ulcers in the gluteal region 3 in. In diameter and 3/4 in. deep, exposing the bone.” The pain ceased immediately, and the cure was completed in two moths. *Calc-s. is suited to quinsy after it breaks, *Hepar before. In this connection it may be well to speak of the relation of *Hepar to *Mercurius. Hahnemann’s instinct led him to see in *Hepar an antidote to mercurial poisoning, and it remains still the chief antidote, whether to the effects of massive doses or to over-action of the potencies. *Silica. and *Mercurius are inimical, but if *Hepar* is given as an intermediary no unpleasant effects will occur. It follows *Mercurius when this ceases to help, or has aggravated, in rheumatism, quinsy, boils and suppurations. In a case of eczema pudendi in a young girl, 11, three months after puberty, the parts red and itching, *Mercurius was given and the whole body became covered with the rash, *Hepar was then given and removed all immediately. “Sweats day and night without relief.” It antidotes the sensitiveness of *Mercurius to atmospheric conditions. In the old days of mercurialization one of the chief things to be avoided by a patient under the “course” was exposure to chill. *Hepar has this same sensitiveness to chill and liability to take cold from every exposure. Coryza, nose swollen and sore to the touch, especially inside the alae. Boring at root of nose with catarrhal symptoms or headache is characteristic. Croupous inflammations of throat, respiratory organs, bowels and kidneys _ the inner as well as the outer skin, in fact. The ulceration of the skin in peculiar. Guernsey thus describes it: “Ulcers with bloody pus, with sour-smelling pus, stinking pus, putrid ulcers, with redness around, with little pimples around _ ten, twelve, or even as many as fifty may surround the large ulcer, and the ulcer sometimes spreads by the little pimples joining in. Painful, painful at the edge, suppurating, with pain as if sore, difficult to heal, inflamed, itching, looking like a lump of lead with a hole in it, cancerous ulcers.” “Smelling like old cheese” is very characteristic of *Hepar ulcers and discharges. The itching of *Hepar is noteworthy, it occurs in connection with jaundice. It has cured cases of pruritus especially when of mercurial origin. In the respiratory organs there are suffocative attacks of breathing (in croup the child *chokes in its coughing spells and there is much rattling). It meets many cases of asthma and whooping-cough. Respiration with mucous rattle, expiration in the morning, none in the evening, cough with expectoration during the day, none in the night (in croup no expectoration at night but only in the daytime _ with the suffocative coughing spells, low, weak voice (Guernsey). There is a semi-paralytic condition of the rectum and bladder somewhat like that of *Alumina. The stools are passed with great difficulty even when clay-like and soft. Fetid stools with a sour body-smell in children. Sour stools are also very marked in diarrhoea, and this may be noted along with the desire of *Hepar for acid things. Micturition is impeded, obliged to wait awhile before the urine passes, and then it flows slowly for many days. Never able to finish urinating, it seems as if some urine always remains behind in bladder. Urine drops vertically down. The urine is very acrid. There are complaints during micturition and after. Nocturnal emissions. Escape of prostatic fluid at any time, and at stool. Affections of the sexual organs occurring on the right side. *Hepar is one of the great antipsorics. In his “Medicine of Experience ” Hahnemann speaks of the itch-like eruptions caused by *Hepar and its corrective properties in wool-workers’ itch. It is suited to: The psoric, scrofulous, diathesis. Debilitated subjects. Great tendency to suppuration. Strumous, outrageously cross children. Torpid, lymphatic constitutions, persons with light hair and complexion, slow to act, muscles soft and flabby. Slow, torpid constitutions with lax fibre and light hair, great sensitiveness to slightest contact of ulcers, eruptions and parts affected. (These conditions differ from the *Sulph. type: lean, stoop- shouldered, unclean-looking, aversion to warmth.) The symptoms are: worse in the night, on awakening, when blowing the nose, from cold in general, in cold, dry weather, on single parts of the body getting cold, from getting the skin rubbed off, on uncovering the head, from surgical injuries in general, from lying on the painful side, from daylight, from pressure from without, from abuse of Mercury, during sleep, when swallowing, particularly when swallowing food (parts are so tender), while urinating, in clear, fine weather, in dry weather, in the least wind. Symptoms are: better from wrapping up the head, from warmth in general, the air being warm, in damp and wet weather, from wrapping up the body warmly, by eating (a comfortable feeling after eating is very characteristic). There is marked periodicity in *Hepar: every day, every four weeks (attack of paralysis), every four months (scabby eruptions on head), every winter (whitlows), spring and autumn, bilious attacks. The bends of the elbows and popliteal spaces are affected by *Hepar In eye affections patient likes to have them covered lightly. The following case was cured by *Hepar after *Sul. and *Calcarea had failed. Pustular ophthalmia of left eye, better keeping eye closely covered with some soft fabric, worse mornings, better by.
