NATRUM CARBONICUM

Every homeopathic remedy is explained in detail by William Boericke, M.D. in the Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory, a book which is highly respected by the homeopathy profession. The following text is excerpted from that book and explains the symptoms covered by this remedy:

NATRIUM CARBONICUM
Common name: Carbonate of Sodium,NATRUM CARBONICUM

All the Natrums stimulate cellular activity and increase oxidation and metabolish. Great debility caused by summer heat; chronic effects of sunstroke; exhaustion; anæmic; milky, watery skin; very weak ankles, are all peculiar Natrum carbonicum conditions.

Mind: Unable to think; difficult, slow comprehension. Mental weakness and depression; worries; very sensitive to noise; colds, change of weather. Anxious and restless during thunderstorm; worse from music (Ambra). Marked gayety. Sensitive to presence of certain individuals.

Head: Aches from slightest mental exertion, worse from sun or working under gas-light (Glon) Feels too large. Oversensitive of hearing. Head aches with return of hot weather. Vertigo from exposure to sun.

Nose: All troubles of external nose which may attain a morbid size-pimples and puffiness. Constant coryza; obstruction of nose. Catarrh; bad smell of nasal secretion. Many troubles of external nose (Caust). Posterior nasal catarrh. Hawking much mucus from throat; worse, slightest draught.

Face: Freckles, yellow spots, pimples. Swelling of upper lip. Pale, with blue rings around eyes and swollen lids.

Stomach: Feels swollen and sensitive. Ill effects of drinking cold water when overheated. Water-brash. Hungry at 5 am. Very weak digestion, caused by slightest error of diet. Averse to milk. Depressed after eating. Bitter taste. Old dyspeptics, always belching, have sour stomach and rheumatism. Dyspepsia relieved by soda biscuits.

Bowels: Sudden call to stool. Escapes with haste and noise. Yellow substance like pulp of orange in discharge. Diarrhœa from milk.

Female: Induration of cervix. Pudenda sore. Bearing-down sensation (Sep; Murex). Heaviness; worse, sitting; better by moving. Menses late, scanty like meat-washings (Nitric ac). Leucorrhœal discharge, offensive, irritating preceded by colic.

Respiratory: Dry cough, when coming into warm room from out of doors. Cough with coldness of left side of breast.

Sleep: Wakes too early in morning. Amorous dreams. Drowsy during day.

Extremities: Old sprains. Great weakness of limbs, especially in morning. Easy dislocation and spraining of ankles. Foot bends under (Caust). Soreness between toes and fingers. Heel and tendo-Achilles affected. Capped hands. The hollow of the knee is painful on motion. Icy cold up to knees.

Skin: Inclination to perspire easily, or dry, rough, cracked skin. Eruption on finger-tips, knuckles and toes. Vesicular eruption in patches and circles. Veins full. Soles of feet raw and sore.

Modalities: Worse, sitting, from music, summer heat, mental exertion, thunderstorm. Least draught, changes of weather, sun. Better, by moving, by boring in ears and nose.

Relationship: Compare: Sodii bicarbonas (in vomiting of pregnancy with acetonuria, 30 grains in water spread over twenty-four hours); Nat sulph; Caust; Natr cacodyl (Foul breath and mouth with bad odor. Dry dermatitis of the skin of abdomen. Malignant growths. In phthisis, 5 centigrammes hypodermically, daily. Increase number of red blood corpuscles to double. Also in malignant disease). Arsynal--(Disodium methylarsenate). Introduced by M. A. Gautier, for phthisis in the second stage 4 to 6 centigrammes per day for one week followed by a week's intermission. But much smaller doses, i.e, 1x to 3x are followed by improvement, lessened fever, night sweat and hæmoptysis ceasing.

Antidote: Ars. Camph.