Acid Remedies in Homeopathy

Dr P Sumesh 

Homoeopathic Medicines made out of Acids and their preparation, properties and clinical indications

General chemical and physical character:
They are electronegative. They combine with Electro- positive substances like sodium and potassium . Most of them redden litmus paper. Most of them are sour.

Origin:
Acids are derived from the mineral and vegetable kingdoms.

ACIDS

1. Arsenious acid (As 2 O 3)
2. Acetic acid ( Glacial acetic acid -HC 2 H 3 O 2)
3. Benzoic acid ( C 6 H 5 CO. OH )
4. Boricum acidum ( H 3 BO 3 )
5. Butyric acid
6. Carbolic acid ( Phenol- C 6 H 5 OH )
7. Chromic acid ( Cr 2 O 3 )
8. Flouric acid ( Hydrofluoric acid-HF )
9. Formic acid
10. Gallic acid ( C 7 H 6 O 5 )
11. Hippuric acid
12. Hydrobromic acid
13. Hydrocyanic acid ( Prussic acid- HCN)
14. Lactic acid ( Milk acid- HC 3 H 5 O )
15. Malic acid
16. Muriatic acid ( Hydrochloric acid- HCl )
17. Nitroso-muriatic acid ( Aqua Regia N 2 O 2 Cl 4 + H 2 O + Cl 2 + NOCl)
18. Nitric acid ( HNO 3)
19. Oxalic acid ( Hydrogen Oxalate-C 2 H 2 O 4 2 H 2 O )
20. Phosphoric acid ( H 3 PO 4)
21. Picric acid ( Tri-nitro-carbolic acid- C 6 H 2 ( NO 2 ) 3 OH)
22. Salicylicum acid ( C 6 H 4 ( OH) . CO. OH)
23. Sarcolactic acid
24. Silicic acid ( SiO 2 )
25. Sulphurous acid ( H 2 SO 3)
26. Sulphuric acid ( H 2 SO 4)
27. Tannic acid ( C 14 H 10 O 9 , 2 H 2 O )
28. Tartaric acid ( C 4 H 6 O 6)
29. Uric acid.( Lithic acid – C 5 N 4 H 4 O 3 )

Acids derived from the mineral kingdom: (Mineral acids)

1. Arsenious acid
2. Flouric acid ( from distillation of fluorospar- calcium fluoride)
3. Muriatic acid
4. Nitric acid
5. Phosphoric acid
6. Silica or silicic acid
7. Sulphuric acid

Acids derived from vegetable kingdom ( Organic acids)

1. Acetic acid ( principal ingredient of vinegar)
2. Benzoic acid ( obtained by sublimation of gum resin)
3. Butyric acid ( acid obtained from butter)
4. Citric acid ( found in Oranges and lemons)
5. Hydrocyanic acid ( or prussic acid contained in great number of plants )
6. Lactic acid ( source sour milk)
7. Malic acid ( source apples, pears, raspberries )
8. Oxalic acid (source rhubarb )
9. Salicylic acid ( found in Spiraea blossoms&Gaultheria)

General features of acids (physiological and medicinal effects )
1. They decrease the acid secretions in the body and increase the alkaline secretions of the body. For example; if a quantity of citric acid is taken into the stomach it will diminish the secretion of gastric juice. On other hand it will increase the secretion of saliva which is alkaline in nature.

2. Antidotal and complimentary action to certain drugs. Example;
a) Vinegar retards the action of Belladonna, but lemonade aids the action of the remedy.
b) Antimonium crudum will not tolerate acids but you may use tamarind water.

3. Dyspepsia :
Vegetable acids are useful in dyspepsia.
Example; Allow the patient to drink lemonade before meals and we can find that the usual heart burn and sour rising after eating are diminished. Some persons are greatly relieved by drinking sour milk ( Lactic acid). Muriatic acid and Hydrocyanic acid favor digestion. Some persons have been cured of dyspepsia by eating peach kernels which contain these acids.

4. Antidote for intoxication.
Vinegar ( acetic acid) has been used as an antidote for intoxication.

5. Corrosive action:
Discharges are acrid and excoriating .
Example; Lactic acid: It will eat into every tissues of the body . It will dissolve enamel of teeth. Dr. Hering was in the habit of recommending that the teeth be washed occasionally with milk cream that had become sour by keeping 24 hours.

6. Weakness:
Mineral acids produce irritability of fiber with weakness and prostration.
Vegetable acids produce weakness without irritability.

7.They produce and check hemorrhages.
Example: Acetic acid, Phosphoric acid, Sulphuric acid, Arsenious acid.

8.They produce pseudo membranes:
Hence they are indicated in the treatment of diphtheria. Example: Muriatic acid, Phosphoric acid, Sulphuric acid, and Nitric acid. So do not permit a child, convalescing from croup to partake of acid fruits, because any one of these acids may tend to produce this disease again.

9.Debility resulting from defective nutrition especially blood disease, blood poisoning etc.
Example: Sulphuric acid, Phosphoric acid and Arsenious acid,

10. Useful for treatment of drunkards:
Example: Sulphuric acid.

11. Indicated in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus.
Example: Phosphoric acid and Lactic acid.

12. Many of the acids are useful in the treatment of scurvy resulting from a diet of salty food with deprivation of vegetables.

Common features of Acids in detail:
1. Antidotal action:
a) Acetic acid: antidote anesthetics and sausage – poisoning.
b) Muriatic acid: It is a powerful antidote to mercury and opium.
c) Nitric acid : Antidotes mercury ( after its abuse in syphilis) and kali iodide (in syphilis or non syphilitic cases)
d) Sulphuricum acidum: Antidotes Lead poisoning.

2. Corrosive action:
a) Arsenicum album:   Fluent coryza which is corrosive, reddening the upper lip with burning.
b) Carbolic acid:   Foetid, acrid discharge from erosion of cervix. Irritating leucorrhoea causing itching and burning.
c) Chromic acid:   Corrosive discharge from nose with ulceration scab.
d) Fluoricum acidum:  It acts on long bones causing necrosis and caries and favors the expulsion of the necrosed part.   It produces acrid leucorrhoea.
e) Muriatic acid:  Coryza with thick yellow or serous and corrosive mucus.
f) Nitric acid :  Discharges are offensive, thin, excoriating. Discharge of  thick and corrosive mucus from the nose.

3. Dyspepsia:
a) Acetic acid:
Burning in throat, nausea, retching and sour rising. This is found in cancer stomach. There are gnawing ulcerative pains in stomach. Pain and burning in stomach. Profuse exhausting diarrhea with colic pains and tenderness of abdomen. Insatiable burning thirst. Disgust for salted things and cold. Cold drinks lie heavy. Vegetables except potatoes disagree.

b) Ars alb:
Cold food and drinks < stomach irritation. Complaint from drinking ice water and eating ices and fruits. The lips are so dry and parched and cracked that the patient often licks them to moisten them. Least food or drink causes distress or vomiting or stool or both together. Thirst for little and often. Unquenchable thirst. Want of appetite. Colic pains in stomach, nausea, vomiting, and eructation after a meal.

c) Benzoic acid:
Hiccough, pressure in stomach and eructation, weak digestion.

d) Butyric acid:
Poor appetite. Much gas in stomach and bowels. Stomach feels heavy and overloaded. Bowels irregular.

e) Carbolic acid:
Burning in mouth to stomach. Constant belching, nausea, vomiting, dark olive green in color. Painful flatulent distention of stomach and abdomen. Fermentative dyspepsia with bad taste and breath.

f) Flouric acid:
Frequent eructation and discharge of flatus, which gives relief. Nausea with lassitude. Fullness and pressure in epigastrium – pressure as from weight in stomach between meals. Heat in stomach before meal. Bilious vomiting after slight errors in diet with increased alvine discharges. Increased thirst. Craves refreshing drinks. Tongue deeply and widely fissured in all directions.

g) Gallic acid:
Appetite lessened with nausea. Faint, sick, gnawing sensation in bowels; extending to stomach with an astringent taste in mouth . Pyrosis.

h) Hydrocyanic acid:
Anorexia, repugnance to food. Vomiting of a black liquid. Burning pain in stomach. Fluids enter stomach with gurgling noise. Taste sweetish, fetid, acrid and irritating. Tongue coated white , afterwards dark and dingy. Hiccough and great prostration. Sudden cessation of all discharges -cholera sicca.

i) Hippuric acid:
Acid rising. Soreness and pressure over liver.

j) Lactic acid:
Eructations of hot acrid fluid, which burns from stomach to throat which must be constantly hawked up; < smoking tobacco. Constant nausea with waterbrash or vomiting persisting for days < on rising in the morning; after breakfast. Tongue coated thick white or yellow coating with bad taste in the morning. Increased salivation tasting salt.

k) Muriatic acid:
Putrid or bitter rising ; hiccough before and after dinner. Vomiting of bile at night with and eructation . Sensation of emptiness in stomach as if it were retracted. Cannot bear the sight or thought of meat, it is so distasteful.

l) Nitroso-muriaticum-acidum:
Evacuation of flatus and eructation. Food took longer to digest than usual. Sudden increase in secretions of bile. Free, loose, yellowish, pappy stool after breakfast. Constipation, with desire for stool.

m) Nitric acid:
loss of appetite. Milk is not digested. Bitter taste in mouth especially after eating. Complaint< while eating. Dislike meat, and sugar. Vomiting from eating bread. Craving for fat food, earth, chalk, lime, and herring. Waterbrash after drinking quickly. Borborygmus.

n) Oxalic acid:
Pain in stomach < by thinking the complaint, and > by eating. Eructation, nausea, rumbling in abdomen, and urging for stool after eating. Eructation with hiccough. Unquenchable thirst. Morning diarrhea. Pain in back > after stool. Diarrhea after coffee.

p) Phosphoric acid:
Aversion to coffee. Violent thirst for cold milk or for beer. Insatiable thirst excited by a sensation of dryness in whole body. Pressure in stomach after a meal; with confusion of head , uneasiness, fullness and disposition to sleep , or dejection as if about to faint. Nausea at sight of food. Sour vomiting. Painless, fetid, yellowish diarrhea.

q) Picricum acidum:
Eructation ; empty, sour, of gas and ingesta. Waterbrash. Nausea on retiring . Weight in pit of stomach with ineffectual desire to eructate. Jaundice.

r) Salicylicum acidum:
Nausea, gagging, waterbrash, frequent vomiting – erosions and ulcer in stomach and bowels. Burning in epigastric region. Fermentative dyspepsia. Putrid belching. Constipated bowels. Cholera infantum. Caused expulsion of tape worms.

s) Sarcolactic acidum:
Nausea. Uncontrollable vomiting even of water, followed by extreme weakness; especially in case of influenza.

t) Sulphuric acid:
vomiting in morning. Burning in chest and stomach. Sour, acid or foul eructation. Water is not tolerated, unless qualified with alcohol it chills the stomach. Rumbling and borborygmi in abdomen. After eating, pain in stomach and rising of food by mouthful. Lassitude and flatulence after drinking milk.

u) Sulphurosum acidum:
Ulcerative stomatitis. Headache relieved by vomiting. Loss of appetite. Obstinate constipation.

v) Tannic acid:
Loss of appetite. Obstinate vomiting of bilious substance. Violent pain in stomach. Obstinate constipation.

w) Tartaricum acidum:
Pasty taste in morning, ceases in eating. Nausea and eructaions, continuous vomiting. Vomited matter deep green. Pain in umbilical region. Coffee ground colored stool.

4. Pseudomembranes:
a) Acetic acid: White false membranes in throat. Children thirsty, but swallow with difficulty even a teaspoonful of water. Lining membrane of larynx and trachea covered with a fibrinous exudation as in true croup.
b) Arsenic album: Burning in throat> by eating or drinking hot things. Inflammation and gangrene of the throat. Spasmodic constriction of throat and of the esophagus, with inability to swallow.
c) Carbolic acid:  Diphtheria with fetid breath, regurgitation on swallowing liquids; but little pain. Fauces are red, covered with exudation.
e) Chromic acid: Diphtheria; sore throat. Tough mucus with inclination to swallow it.
c) Muriatic acid:Mucus lining of throat and fauces deep dark red, swollen and burning, covered with grayish-white diphtheretic membrane like deposits. Attempting to swallow produces violent spasms and choking.
d) Sulphuric acid:  Thick yellow membrane on fauces, sticks like glue. Stringy, lemon – yellow mucus hangs from posterior nares in diphtheria.

5.Debility:
a) Acetic acid:Excessive wasting and debility. Anaemia with waxy pallor of face.
b) Ars. Alb: Prostration with desire to move or be moved constantly. The patient is exhausted from slightest exertion. Anemia, chlorosis, pyaemia. Rapid failure of strength wishes to lie down. Emaciation and atrophy of the whole body with colliquative sweats < during night. Earthy face eyes sunken with dark ring surrounding them.
c) Benzoic acid: Great weakness, weariness and lassitude with increased perspiration.
d) Boracicum acidum: Collapse.
e) Flouric acid: Lassitude – Loss of strength, limbs go to sleep.
f) Gallic acid: Weakness with irritability. Profuse night sweats.
g) Hydrocyanicum acid:  Speedy failing and weakness of limbs; especially thighs. Extreme weakness and weariness. Nervous weakness. Diminution of vital heat. Continued inclination to sleep coma vigil.
h) Lacticum acidum: Weakness as if from exercise with rheumatic pains in the bones. Debility with weariness of limbs.
i) Muriaticum acidum:  Muscular poisoning from blood – poisoning; going on to paralysis; finally of brain or heart. Excessive depression on sitting down, the eyelids close, the lower jaw hangs down, he slides down in bed. Tottering gait, from weakness of thighs and knees. Paralysis of tongue and sphincter ani.
j) Nitroso- muriaticum acidum: Weak, physically and mentally depressed.
k) Nitric acid:
Great weakness and general lassitude, with trembling, heaviness of legs and desire to remain lying down, especially in evening or morning. Inclination to sleep during day from weakness with vertigo.
l) Phosphoric acid:
Mental weakness. Marked action on emotional and sensorial faculties, a drowsy, depressed, apathetic state is produced. Stupor, from which he is easily aroused and is then fully conscious. Indifference prostrated and stupefied with grief, effects of disappointed love. Confused mind. The legs tremble in walking and limbs are as difficult to control as the thoughts. Though the weakness is very great the patient is rested by a short sleep. It is suited to persons of originally strong constitution, weakened by loss of fluids, excesses, violent acute diseases; chagrin; or a long succession of moral emotions. Weakness of sexual organs with onanism and little sexual desire. Exhaustion after coition. Scanty milk with debility and great apathy. Great weakness after walking.
m) Picric acid: Anemia, brain fag. Cancerous cachexia. Spinal exhaustion. Mental prostration after reading a little, after writing a little. Weakness from a short walk.
n) Salicylicum acidum: Weakness and faintness. Prostration after influenza.
o) Sarcolactic acidum:
Violent retching and great prostration in epidemic influenza after Arsenic alb had failed. Muscular prostration with tired feeling , worse any exertion. Tired feeling in morning on getting up. Paralytic weakness. Wrist tires easily from writing . extreme weakness from climbing stairs. Arms feel as if no strength in them.
p) Sulphuricum acidum:
Sulphuric acid is suited to cases where the weakness is out of proportion to the disease. Weakness seems to come from deep seated dyscrasia. Useful for inebriates. Nervous fatigue. Weakness with trembling of the body.
q) Tannic acid: Weakness with Palpitation.
r) Tartaricum acidum:
Paralysis of thighs and legs. Extreme weakness in evening. Feels very tired can scarcely drag himself along. Paralytic debility. Frequent yawning.

6.Haemorrhage:
a) Acetic acid:
Hemorrhage from bowel. Metrorrhagia after parturition with great thirst. Haemoptysis.
b) Ars. Alb:
Metrorrhagia, Haemoptysis, resulting in anemia or chlorosis. Violent bleeding of nose. Swelling and bleeding of gums. Catamenia too early too copious, attended by much suffering.
c) Benzoic acid: Epistaxis
d) Carbolic acid: Bloody stool like scrapings of intestine.
d) Chromic acid: Haemorrhoids- bleeding . Bloody foul smelling lochia.
e) Gallicum acidum: Pulmonary hemorrhage in phthisis. Excessive menstruation. Nose bleed. Hemophilia.
f) Hippuric acid:Menstrual flow for three days with complete relief of muscular and joint pains.
g) Hydrocyanicum acidum:Haemoptysis with sharp pains in chest.
h) Lactic acid: Nose bleed – every morning.
i) Muriatic acid:
Continuous discharge from nose. Scorbutic gums, swollen, easily bleeding ulcerating. Discharge of blood during stools- bleeding hemorrhoids. Scurvy.
j) Nitric acid:
Ulcers are easily bleeding. The dressing causes bleeding and every touch causes splinter like pains. Frequent hemorrhages, bright red, profuse. Hemorrhage from bowels with pain after stool. In pthisical cases there is frequent hemorrhages, bright red, profuse with sharp stitches through right chest to scapula. Haematuria, bright red, profuse with strangury and strong odor like horse’s urine. Hemorrhages occurring in cachetic women after confinement or abortion. Epistaxis < morning, excited by weeping . Blood is black. Gums bleed, are white and swollen.
Hemorrhoids- bleeding after every evacuation.

k) Oxalicum acid:
Gums bleed and are painful in spots. Blood coagulate very slowly. Petechiae appearing on face, head, chest and nates.
l) Phosphoric acidum:
Scurvy- gums bleeding easily, swollen, stand off from teeth. Hemorrhage is passive, profuse and dark. Nose bleed at the beginning of typhus. Uterine ulcer with copious, putrid, bloody discharge. Too copious menses.
m) Picric acid:  Haemoglobinuria
n) Salicylicum acidum: Retinal hemorrhage. Haematuria.
o) Sulphuric acid: Scurvy. Epistaxis in evening. Swelling and easy bleeding of gums. Discharge of blood during evacuation. Long continued Haemoptysis.
p) Tannic acid: Haemorrhagic pharyngitis. Painless bloody discharge from bowels.

7. Diabetes:
a) Acetic acid: Urine increased in quantity , pale, phosphatic. Diabetes with burning, unending and unquenchable thirst and great debility.
b) Ars alb: Frequent inclination to urinate with excessive exhaustion from least exertion.
c) Benzoicum acidum: Nocturnal enuresis with strong smelling dark urine, urinous odor is highly intensifid.
d) Boric acid: Frequent and urgent desire to urinate. Quantity of urine double. Albumen in urine.
e) Carbolic acid: Diabetes with almost black urine. Irritable bladder with frequent urination at night.
f) Flouric acid: Indicated after phosphoric acid. Free discharge of light colored urine. Whitish purple colored sediment in urine.
g) Gallic acid: Excessive dryness of mouth and throat with increased urine.
h) Hydrocyanic acid:Frequent emission of aqueous urine or pale or pale yellow urine, depositing a turbid cloud.
i) Lacticum acidum:Frequent desire to urinate large quantities. Urinate frequently day and night, the attempt to retain it causes pain.
j) Muriatic acid:
Frequent desire to urinate with abundant emission-immoderate emission of aqueous urine- both day and night.
Patient cannot urinate without having the bowels moved at the same time.
k) Nitric acid:Frequent want to urinate which is fetid; offensive.
l) Oxalic acid:
Thinking of urinating produce desire for urination. Frequent and copious urination; which is clear, straw-colored. Oxaluria and albuminuria.
m) Phosphoric acid:
The child passes a great quantity of urine. Polyuria with dry mouth and throat; with history of sexual excess or severe mental or emotional overstrain. White, milky urine. The urine may be passed clear but, turns milky at once and is very offensive. Frequent and profuse emission of aqueous urine which immediately deposits a thick white cloud.
n) Picric acid:
Frequent micturition in morning . Urine dark yellow with strong odor . specific gravity increased. Urine contained much indican , numerous granular and fatty degenerated epithelium.
o) Salicylicum acidum:
Diabetes Mellitus- albuminuria. Urine – clear, brown; three hours after passage has a green tinge and a feathery deposit of crystals of Salicylic acid.
p) Sulfuric acid: Diabetes with lassitude, despondency. Emission of urine at night. Urine watery and as if it contained casts.

Individual study of Acids
Prescribing symptoms of individual Acids:
Arsenious acid:

• Mental restlessness with physical weakness.
• Burning pain relieved by heat except in head.
• Fear of death
• Complaints return periodically
• Discharges are acrid, scanty, offensive, putrid, cadaverous smelling
• Thirst for small quantity of water at short intervals in acute conditions but in chronic conditions there is no thirst
• Excessive exhaustion from least exertion
• All symptoms are aggravated at mid day and mid night
• Chilly patient
• Fastidious
• Ailments from ice cream, cold fruits, decayed food or animal matter, ptomaine poisoning, tobacco, sea bathing.

Acetic acid:

• Great prostration after injuries, anesthetics and surgical Shock
• Great burning thirst, insatiable even for large quantities but no thirst in fever
• Hemorrhage from every mucus outlets – nose, throat, lungs, stomach, bowels and uterus
• Chlorosis with waxy pallor of the face
• Chilly patient with lax, flabby muscles
• Cannot sleep lying on the back, rests better lying on belly
• Copious exhausting diarrhea with great thirst- in dropsy, typhus, phthisis with night sweats
• Bad effects of surgical shock , sausage poisoning, insects stings and bites.

Benzoic acid:

• Rheumatic or gouty complaints with gonorrheal or syphilitic base
• Urine dark brown and the urinous odor highly intensified
• Nocturnal enuresis in delicate children with strong characteristic odor of urine
• Exhausting diarrhea of children- stool is white, liquid –running right through the diaper, very offensive
• Left sided complaints
• Chilly patient

Boric acid:

• Climacteric flushing (3x potency- Cooper)
• Renal colic with frequent urging to urinate
• Formication of hands and feet
• Headache with noises in ears and vertigo

Butyric acid:

• Impulsive thoughts of suicide
• Headache worse going upstairs and rapid motion
• Cramps in pit of stomach worse at night
• Pronounced sleeplessness
• Profuse , offensive foot sweat

Carbolic acid:

• Pains come suddenly last for a short time and disappear suddenly
• The whole of the body is bathed in cold sweat with prostration and collapse
• Sensation of band around the forehead with dull heavy frontal headache
• Great longing for whisky and tobacco
• Ulceration all over the body with very offensive and putrid discharge
• Constipation with horribly offensive breath
• Dysentery with stool containing substances like scrapings of intestines
• Vomiting of drunkards or in pregnancy, in sea sickness or in cancerous condition of stomach
• General aggravation from cold

Chromic acid:

• Symptoms come and go suddenly, and return periodically
• Offensive discharges
• Foul smelling sanious lochia
• Disagreeable pricking and itching here and there , with uneasiness in limbs
• On turning to right side pain in left side goes off
• Sensation of a vacuum at heart; of emptiness in chest
• Rheumatism aggravated by least draught of air and by cold water

Flouric acid:

• Profound weakness and debility
• Pain in small spots with lightening like sensation; come suddenly , lasts for a short time and disappears quickly
• Increased ability to exercise without danger
• Less effected by excessive heat of summer or cold of winter
• Premature old looking persons
• Discharges are acrid and excoriating
• Sensation of wind blowing through the eyes
• Itching especially of the orifices
• Desire for highly seasoned food, craves cold water
• Indifference to those who loved best
• Suitable for chronic disease with syphilitic and mercurial history

Formic acid:

• Chronic myalgia, muscular pains and soreness
• Gout and articular rheumatism which appear suddenly
• Pains worse on right side, motion and better from pressure
• Failing vision
• Tremor

Gallic acid:

• Delirium at night, restless, jumps out of bed
• Pulmonary hemorrhage in Phthisis
• Painful distress along ureters into the bladder with cream colored urine
• Passive hemorrhage when pulse feeble and capillaries relaxed, cold skin
• Pyrosis

Hippuric acid:

• Right side is mainly affected
• General muscular soreness relieved menstrual flow
• Constant, dull pain in right eye worse in warm room
• Dryness, soreness and rawness in throat with difficulty in swallowing
• Acid rising with soreness and pressure over liver

Hydrobromic acid:

• Throat dry and puckering
• Constriction in pharynx and chest
• Waves of heat over face and neck
• Pulsating tinnitus with nervous irritability
• Heaviness of arms – seemed as if parts did not belong to them

Hydrocyanic acid:

• Convulsions and paralysis expresses the action of the remedy
• Suddenness of the attacks and prostration are leading indications
• Sinking sensation at the epigastrium
• Drinks rumbles through throat and stomach
• Fears everything and fear of imaginary troubles
• Stage of collapse especially in cholera

Lactic acid:

• Copious salivation water-brash and morning sickness especially in pale anemic women
• Nausea better by eating
• Burning pain in stomach worse from smoking
• Pain in breasts with enlargement of axillary glands and pain extends into hand

Muriatic acid:

• Patient becomes so weak he slides down in bed, lower jaw hangs down
• Offensive secretions and offensive breath from mouth in fevers of all kinds
• Patient cannot bear the sight or thought of meat
• Tongue is coated at edges; shrunken, dry, leather like and paralyzed; beefy tongue
• Pulse intermits every third beat
• Haemorrhoids protrude while the person urinates and involuntary stools while passing urine
• Cannot bear the least touch not even of the bed sheet on the rectum
• Vertigo when lying on the right side.

Nitromuriatic acid:

• Oxalulria
• Constant drooling (salivation) at night
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Sour eructations with empty hungry feeling in stomach

Nitric acid:

• Extreme sensitiveness ; nervous trembling and Irritability
• Urine is very pungent and strong smelling like horse’s urine
• Splinter like pain ; comes suddenly and goes suddenly
• Ailments from loss of sleep, over exertion of body and mind, from loss of a dearest friend
• Tendency to take cold easily
• Great anxiety about disease, morbid fear of cholera

Oxalic acid:

• Pain in small spots, pain is aggravated by thinking of them
• Acts especially on the left side of the body
• Ailments from coffee, wine, sour fruit and sugar
• Nervous aphonia alternates with heart symptoms
• Sharp lancinating pains through the lower lobe of the left lung

Phosphoric acid:

• Patient is listless, apathetic and indifferent to the affairs of his own life; prostrated and stupefied with grief
• Ailments from loss of vital fluids, sexual excess, violent acute diseases, chagrin or long continued mental emotions like disappointed love
• Frequent, profuse and debilitating emissions
• Painless non debilitating diarrhea
• Phosphaturia

Picric acid:

• Burning pain along the spine and great weakness of spine and back with softening of cord
• Heaviness, numbness, Formication and weakness are the keynotes
• Burns of first and second degree
• Headaches and brain fag of students, teachers and overworked business men, from grief or depressing emotions
• Priapism from spinal diseases
• Pernicious anemia

Salicylic acid:

• Meniere’s disease with roaring and ringing in ears
• Fermentative dyspepsia with hot, sour belching
• Complaints from suppressed foot sweat
• Gastro- intestinal disturbances in children with frog’s spawn like stools

Sarcolactic acid:

• Epidemic influenza with violent retching and great prostration
• Dyspnoea with myocardial weakness

Silicic acid:

• Bad effects of vaccination especially convulsions and suppuration
• Every little injury suppurates
• Scrofulous rachitic children with large head and open fontanel’s and sutures, much sweating about the head
• Obstinate constipation , stool recedes back after being partially expelled, constipation before, during after menses
• Desires cold food and drinks
• Very offensive sweat of hands, toes, feet and axilla and there is complaints from suppressed foot sweat
• Chilly patient

Sulphurous acid:

• Headache better from vomiting
• Ulcerative stomatitis
• Persistent cough with copious expectoration

Sulphuric acid:

• Hot flushes followed by perspiration with trembling
• Tendency to gangrene following mechanical injuries
• Sour eructations; sets teeth on edge
• Craving for alcohol, water causes coldness of stomach ; must be mixed with liquors
• Sensation as if hernia would protrude, especially in the left side of abdomen
• Pupura hemorrhagica
• Cicatrices turn red and blue and become painful
• Worse from excess of heat and cold; better from warmth and lying on affected side

Tannic acid:

• Obstinate nervous cough
• Obstinate constipation
• Intestines can be felt like cylindrical enlargements
• Offensive perspiration

Tartaric acid:

• Coffee ground colored diarrhea with dry and brown tongue
• Dark – green vomiting with burning in throat and stomach
• Pain around umbilicus and region of loins

Uric acid:

• Gout and gouty eczema( the cutaneous outlet for the constitution)
• Lipoma

References

1. Clarke: A dictionary of practical Materia Medica
2. William Boericke: Materia Medica with Repertory
3. E.A. Farrington: Clinical Materia Medica

Dr P Sumesh  BHMS,MD(Hom)
Medical Officer,Dept. of Homoeopathy, Govt. of Kerala
Email : drsumeshp@yahoo.co.in