NATRUM MURIATICUM

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 MURIATICUM (NATRUM MURIATICUM)
Common Name: Chloride of Sodium

The prolonged taking of excessive salt causes profound nutritive changes to take place in the system, and there arise not only the symptoms of salt retention as evidenced by dropsies and œdemas, but also an alteration in the blood causing a condition of anæmia and leucocytosis. There seems also to be a retention in the tissues of effecte materials giving rise to symptoms loosely described as gouty or rheumatic gout. The provings are full of such symptoms (Dr. Stonham) A great remedy for certain forms of intermittent fever, anæmia, chlorosis, many disturbances of the alimentary tract and skin. Great debility; most weakness felt in the morning in bed. Coldness. Emaciation most notable in neck. Great liability to take cold. Dry mucous membranes. Constrictive sensation throughout the body. Great weakness and weariness. Oversensitive to all sorts of influences. Hyperthyroidism. Goitre. Addison's disease. Diabetes.

Mind.--Psychic causes of disease; ill effects of grief, fright, anger, etc. Depressed, particularly in chronic diseases. Consolation aggravates. Irritable; gets into a passion about trifles. Awkward, hasty. Wants to be alone to cry. Tears with laughter.

Head.--Throbs. Blinding headache. Aches as if a thousand little hammers were knocking on the brain, in the morning on awakening, after menstruation, from sunrise to sunset. Feels too large; cold. Anæmic headache of school-girls; nervous, discouraged, broken down. Chronic headache, semi-lateral, congestive, from sunrise to sunset, with pale face, nausea, vomiting; periodical; from eyestrain; menstrual. Before attack, numbness and tingling in lips, tongue and nose, relieved by sleep. Frontal sinus inflammation.

Eyes.--Feels bruised, with headache in school children. Eyelids heavy. Muscles weak and stiff. Letters run together. Sees sparks. Fiery, zigzag appearance around all objects. Burning in eyes. Give out on reading or writing. Stricture of lachrymal duct with suppuration. Escape of muco-pus when pressing upon sac. Lachrymation, burning and acrid. Lids swollen. Eyes appear wet with tears. Tears stream down face on coughing (Euph). Asthenopia due to insufficiency of internal recti muscles (Gels and Cup acet, when due to external muscles). Pain in eyes when looking down. Cataract incipient (Secale).

Ears.--Noises; roaring and ringing.

Nose.--Violent, fluent coryza, lasting from one to three days, then changing into stoppage of nose, making breathing difficult. Discharge thin and watery, like raw white of egg. Violent sneezing coryza. Infallible for stopping a cold commencing with sneezing. Use thirtieth potency. Loss of smell and taste. Internal soreness of nose. Dryness.

Face.--Oily, shiny, as if greased. Earthy complexion. Fevers-blisters.

Mouth.--Frothy coating on tongue, with bubbles on side. Sense of dryness. Scorbutic gums. Numbness, tingling of tongue, lips, and nose. Vesicles and burning on tongue, as if there was a hair on it. Eruptions around mouth and vesicles like pearls on lips. Lips and corners of mouth dry, ulcerated, and cracked. Deep crack in middle of lower lip. Tongue mapped (Ars; Rhus; Tarax). Loss of taste. Large vesicle on lower lip, which is swollen and burns. Immoderate thirst.

Stomach.--Hungry, yet loose flesh (Iod). Heartburn, with palpitation. Unquenchable thirst. Sweats while eating. Craving for salt. Aversion to bread, to anything slimy, like oysters, fats. Throbbing in pit. Sticking sensation in cardiac orifice.

Abdomen.--Cutting pain in abdomen. Distended. Pain in abdominal ring on coughing.

Rectum.--Burning pains and stitching after stool. Anus contracted, torn, bleeding. Constipation; stool dry, crumbling (Am m; Mag m). Painless and copious diarrhœa, preceded by pinching pain in abdomen.

Urine.--Pain just after urinating (Sars). Increased, involuntary when walking, coughing, etc. Has to wait a long time for it to pass if others are present (Hep; Mur ac).

Male.--Emission, even after coitus. Impotence with retarded emission.

Female.--Menses irregular; usually profuse. Vagina dry. Leucorrhœa acrid, watery. Bearing-down pains; worse in morning (Sep). Prolapsus uteri, with cutting in urethra. Ineffectual labor-pains. Suppressed menses (Follow with Kali carb). Hot during menses.

Respiratory.--Cough from a tickling in the pit of stomach, accompanied by stitches in liver and spurting of urine (Caust; Squilla). Stitches all over chest. Cough, with bursting pain in head. Shortness of breath, especially on going upstairs (Calc). Whooping-cough with flow of tears with cough.

Heart.--Tachycardia. Sensation of coldness of heart. Heart and chest feel constricted. Fluttering, palpitating; intermittent pulse. Heart's pulsations shake body. Intermits on lying down.

Extremities.--Pain in back, with desire for some firm support (Rhus; Sep). Every movement accelerates the circulation. Palms hot and perspiring. Arms and legs, but especially knees, feel weak. Hangnails. Dryness and cracking about finger-nails. Numbness and tingling in fingers and lower extremities. Ankles weak and turn easily. Painful contraction of hamstrings (Caust). Cracking in joints on motion. Coldness of legs with congestion to head, chest, and stomach.

Sleep.--Sleepy in forenoon. Nervous jerking during sleep. Dreams of robbers. Sleepless from grief.

Skin.--Greasy, oily, especially on hairy parts. Dry eruptions, especially on margin of hairy scalp and bends of joints. Fever blisters. Urticaria; itch and burn. Crusty eruptions in bends of limbs, margin of scalp, behind ears (Caust). Warts on palms of hands. Eczema; raw, red, and inflamed; worse, eating salt, at seashore. Affects hair follicles. Alopecia. Hives, itching after exertion. Greasy skin.

Fever.--Chill between 9 and 11 am. Heat; violent thirst, increases with fever. Fever-blisters. Coldness of the body, and continued chilliness very marked. Hydræmia in chronic malarial states with weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, etc. Sweats on every exertion.

Modalities.--Worse, noise, music, warm room, lying down about 10 a m;, at seashore, mental exertion, consolation, heat, talking. Better, open air, cold bathing, going without regular meals, lying on right side; pressure against back, tight clothing.

Relationship.--Complementary to Apis; Sepia; Ign.

Compare: Aqua marina-Isotonic plasma. Marine plasma is a sea water taken some miles from shore and some depth below surface, filtered and diluted with twice as much pure fresh water. It acts primarily on the blood, as in intoxications, scrofulous conditions, enteritis. It disintoxicates in cancer (administered subcutaneously in the treatment of diseases of skin, kidneys and intestines, gastro-enteritis, and tuberculosis). Scrofulous affection of children. Lymphadenitis. Lupus, eczema, varicose ulcers. A great "blood purifier and vitalizer. " Potentized sea-water in weakness, lack of reaction; symptoms worse seaside (Goitre). Sal marinum sea salt, (indicated in chronic enlargements of glands, especially cervical. Suppurating glands. It appears likely to become a most useful remedy as an auxiliary, if not as a principal, in the treatment of diseases in patients of a strumous diathesis. Also useful in constipation). Natrum selenicum (laryngeal phthisis with expectoration of small lumps of bloody mucus and slight hoarseness). Natrum silicum (hæmophilia; scrofulous bone affections; given intravenously every 3 days for senile pruritus); (Dolichos. Fagopyr). Ignat; Sep; Thuja; Graph; Alum.

Antidote: Ars; Phos; Spir nit dulc.

Dose.--Twelfth to thirtieth and higher. The very highest potencies often yield most brilliant results. And in infrequent dosage.