Melancholy, depressed, sad and weeping;consolation worse. Great emaciation, even while living well;shows most in the neck.
Anaemia with bursting headaches, especially at the menses;also school girl’s headache.
Great dryness of mucous membranes from lips to anus;lips dry and CRACKED, especially in the middle;anus dry, cracked, fissured; constipation.
Heart palpitates, flutters, intermits, pulsates violently, shaking the whole body;worse lying on left side.
Itching eruptions, dry or moist;worse at the margins of the hair.
Modalities: worse 10 to 11 A.M. (many complaints), especially malarial affections;lying down, especially on left side;heat of sun or heat in general;abuse of Quinine, relieved by sweat. Tongue;mapped with red insular patches.
For bad effects;of anger, nitrate of silver;too much salt;craves salt and salty things. Hang nails;skin around the nails dry and cracked;herpes about the anus, in border of hair.
Warts on palms of hands (sore to touch, nAT.)
Now that we have introduced the NATRUMS., we will continue them. Common salt A gentlemen once said to me when I prescribed a dose of SULPH 30th,”Pshaw, i get more sulphur than that in every egg I eat. How can that do me any good?” My answer was, wait and see. And he was cured of both doubts and disease. There is no remedy in Materia Medica. I think, that so disgusts the advocates of the low potency, and low only, as this one. The unquestionable cure of the most obstinate cases of intermittent fever with the 200th and higher potencies demoralizes them. That people eating salt in appreciable quantities right along and can’t live without it, don’t get well on it, and DO get well on the same thing when potentized, does not hold to reason, the microscope molecular theory, spectrum analysis, our anything else scientific so called not being able to discover any material in the dose. But there stand the cures, like the blind men whom Jesus healed. It is a hard thing to be confronted by such facts against or prejudices.”oh, well,” said one of these doubters,”people sometimes get well without medicine.”So they do with, i replied. Isn’t it curious how some physicians will hoot at a potency and fly like a frightened crow from a bacillus varying in size from 0.004 millimeters to 0.006 m.m. They can hardly eat, drink or sleep for fear a little microbe of the fifteenth culture will light on them somewhere, but there is nothing in a potency above the 12th. oh, consistency! when prejudice gives way to honest, earnest investigation for truth, the world may be better for it. NAT-M., is one of our best remedies for anaemia. It does not seem to make much difference whether the anaemia is caused by loss of fluids(CHINA., kALI-C.,) menstrual irregularities (PULS.,) loss of semen(PHOS.,ACID.,CHINA), grief or other mental disease. In these cases of anaemia, to which NAT., is adapted, we may in addition to general paleness, have emaciation not withstanding the patient eats well. Severe attacks of throbbing headache;;shortness of breath, especially on going upstairs, or other physical exertion;scanty menstruation;more or less constipation and generally great depression of spirits. In fact, depression of spirits is characteristic of this drug;th patient weeps much, like PULS., the difference being that the PULS., patient is smoothed and comforted by consolation, while the NAT-M., patient is worse.
There is almost always in this anaemic cases of great deal of fluttering, palpitation and even intermittent action of the Heart. I have helped many such cases with this remedy high, in single doses, only repeating when improvement legged. I have seen a patient who had lost 40 pounds of flesh (weight,160 lbs.,) though eating well all of the time, under one dose of NAT-M., tip the scales at 200 lbs. within three months from the time of taking. He was very hypochondriac at the time of the beginning of treatment. I cannot speak too highly of NAT-M., in these affections. NAT-M., is one of the best remedies for chronic headaches. They come in paroxysms and would, by their intense throbbing nature, cause one to think of BELL., only that they occur mostly in the anaemic, and the face is pale, or at least slightly flushed. If the face is red and burning, eyes injected, and pain of beating or throbbing nature, we would immediately think of such remedies as MELL., bell., or NUX-V., and then look for concomitant symptoms to decide between them. The headaches of NAT-M., are very apt to occur after the menstrual period, as if caused by loss of blood, and you know that CHINA., also has throbbing headache in such cases. With NATRUM the headache occurs whether the menses be scanty or profuse. NAT-M., also cures the headaches of school girls, and here it may be difficult to choose between it and CALC-P., both remedies also being adapted to anaemic states. Indeed, i have sometimes missed and had to give CALC-P., when NAT., failed and vice-versa, because I could not make the choice. These headaches are often brought on by eye strain, as in long-continued study, close sewing etc., then we have asthenopia with the headache, and must study also ARG-N., and RUTA., In actual practice such cases do sometimes occur, where the case in hand is not far enough developed in symptomatic indications to enable one to choose between two about equally indicated remedies. If a man hits it well without ever having to try but twice I can forgive him for failing the first time, and am willing to be forgiven myself. In these cases, however, let the physician be blamed, and not Homoeopathy for that never fails. So called sick headaches often find their simillimum in NAT-M., for want of space we cannot give all of the symptoms which might indicate it. NAT- M., acts upon the whole alimentary tract, from mouth to anus, and has very characteristic symptoms guiding to its administration. The lips and corners of the mouth are dry, ulcerated, or cracked (CONDURANGO).In this it resembles NIT-AC., as it also does at the other end of the alimentary canal;for with both remedies the anus is fissured, sore, painful and sometimes bleeding. ANT-C., and GRAPH., are also to be remembered in this connection;but while GRAPH., has the affection of both mouth and anus, it is more of an eczematous or eruptive character than either of the other remedies. NATRUM has great SENSE of dryness in the mouth without actual dryness. Now MERCURY has thirst with moist mouth, but there is with this remedy swollen tongue, or flabby tongue, with indentations or prints of teeth upon it, and very offensive breath, all of which is not markedly so of NAT-M., so there is no danger of confounding the two. You will remember that although alike or similar in their mind symptoms PULS., has the exact opposite as regards this symptom, viz., dRY MOUTH WITH NO THIRST, furnishing a very marked contrast where a choice is necessary. NAT has another similarity to PULS., in that it has bitter taste, and loss of taste. Again NAT has a sensation upon the tongue similar to SIL., viz., sensation of hair upon the tongue (also KALI-B.,).Deep painful fissure in middle upper lip is given in Guiding Symptoms, but I have found it in the lower lip and believe it to be just as characteristic. I made a splendid cure, being led to examination of the remedy by this symptom.
Blisters like pearls around the mouth are found in NAT-M., especially in intermittents. If the upper lip is much thickened or swollen, not of an erysipelatous character, we would think of three remedies, all of which have it,BELL.,CALC., nAT- M.,Alone of course, this symptom would not amount to much but is strongly corroborative if found in connection with other symptoms of any of these remedies. The symptoms of the gums may be summed up in one word, scorbutic. Now study also MERC.,CARB- V., mUR-AC., eTC.,
There is another curious symptom in which I was helped by the elder Lippe to prescribe NAT-M., with success in a case that had baffled me for a long time, viz., numbness and tingling of tongue, lips and nose. This came in connection with a chronic soreness of the liver, derangement of digestion, such as is often found in a condition which is popularly termed biliousness. This condition NAT-M., given very high (said Lippe) c.m., clears up the case in a very short time. MAP TONGUE is found under NAT- M.,ARS., LACH., nIT-AC., and TARAX., i have used NATRUM with success oftener than the others. I have not found NAT-M better, a great throat remedy, except in follicular pharyngitis, which had been abused with local applications of nitrate of Silver. In post-diphtheritic paralysis of the muscles of deglutition LACH., or CAUST., have served me much better. Salivation profuse, watery and salty, is the reactionary or secondary action of NAT and may find its remedy here. But this is not so often found as the other condition of dryness. NAT-M., has some strong characteristics under the head of appetite, thirst, desires and aversions. No remedy is more hungry, yet he loses flesh while eating well.(ACET-AC.,ABROT., sANIC., and TUB.,) IOD., has this canine hunger with emaciation;but after eating the NAT patient feels weary and sleepy, while the IOD., one feels better. The NAT., patient after eating feels dull, with heavy aching and sense of fullness and discomfort in the region of stomach and liver, which is relieved as digestion advances(see CHINA);but the IOD., patient wishes to eat all of the time and feels comfortable only when the stomach is full or being filled. There are several remedies which are either hungry or relieved by eating, notably ANAC., chel., pETR., as well as NAT- M., and IOD., one might add also as hungry remedies CHIN., and LYC., the ANAC., has pain in the stomach which extends to the spine, and an all gone sensation which must be relieved by eating, and after two hours., returns and he must eat again. chel., hunger is accompanied with the characteristic liver symptoms.( see chel.,) In CHINA., nAT-M., and LYC., hunger, patient FEEL UP QUICKLY and FULLNESS, flatulence and distress follow until the process of digestion is well advanced, when they are relieved. Again NAT-M., is a very useful remedy for an abnormal craving for salt. Patient salts every thing he eats. A dose of the c.m. corrects this craving and often cures other symptoms and accompanying. CAUST., also has this symptom, and if the other symptoms indicate must take the preference. Of course the intense thirst of salt is well known, and keeps pace with the hunger. Now this is the case with diabetes, for which NATRUM is curative if otherwise indicated. In all of this cases of course, it must be used high, for we get the low in our food.
