Cuprum metallicum

Prepared by potentising pure metallic copper (trituration to 3C, then serial dilutions with succussion). Toxicology and provings centre on spasm, cramp, and convulsion: violent clonic spasms, thumbs clenched in palms, opisthotonos, cyanosis, suffocative constriction of larynx/chest, crampy colic, and violent vomiting. Clinically cardinal in whooping-cough with cyanosis and spasm, laryngismus, asthma spasmodicum, epilepsy/convulsions (aura rising from knees/legs upward), cholera with cramps of calves/soles/abdomen, spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, and spasm after suppression of eruptions/ discharges [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

Provings and poisonings agree on: violent cramps (calves, toes, fingers), convulsions with blue face, thumbs drawn in, spasm of chest and larynx, gagging–vomiting, colic about the navel > hard pressure, oppression with inability to breathe, great prostration after spasms, insatiable thirst for cold at crisis, aura beginning in legs/knees and ascending to epigastrium/brain, and many ailments after suppressed eruptions (scarletina, scabies), suppressed menses/lochia, or checked perspiration [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington], [Dunham].

Essence: Explosive spasmodic remedy. Think Cuprum metallicum when a case is organised by spasm—cramps (calves/soles/hands/gut), convulsions with blue face and thumbs clenched, laryngeal/chest constriction, whoop with rigidity and cyanosis, or cholera with vomit–cramp alternation—especially after suppression (eruption, perspiration, menses/lochia) or suppressed emotion (fright, vexation). Auras climb from legs/knees upward; hard pressure/rubbing, cold water in sips, cool air, and return of discharges relieve; night, touch of larynx, damp cold after heat, and suppression provoke. Use Cuprum to unlock the spasm, restore outlets, and avert collapse [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Nash], [Tyler], [Farrington].

• Nervous system (motor centres). Clonic spasms, convulsions, epilepsy; aura rises from knees/legs upward to epigastrium and brain; thumbs clenched, face blue, jaw set, eyes upturned [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke].
• Muscles & fascia. Cramps of calves, soles, toes, fingers, abdomen; writer’s cramp; spasm from over-exertion; night cramps [Boericke], [Boger].
• Respiratory tract. Laryngismus, whooping-cough (child stiff, blue, ends with vomiting), asthma spasmodicum with tight band across chest; cough excited by touching larynx [Clarke], [Nash], [Tyler].
• Gastro-intestinal. Violent vomiting and colic with cramps; cholera (rice-water stools) with cramps of calves/abdomen and collapse; colic > hard pressure/rubbing [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke].
• Circulation. Collapse, coldness, cyanosis during spasm; pulse small, weak after paroxysms [Boger], [Boericke].
• Skin/Excretions. Effects of suppressed eruptions or checked discharges leading to spasms; eruptions reappear as relief [Hering], [Clarke].
• Female pelvic. Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, uterine cramps radiating to thighs/loins, blue face, nausea/vomiting; parturient convulsions; after-pains spasmodic [Clarke], [Boericke], [Tyler].
• Mind. Sudden mental arrest in prodrome, quiet obstinacy; suppressed emotions (vexation, fright) precipitate spasm states [Kent], [Clarke], [Nash].

Tension → spasm: the Cuprum mind bottles emotion; after suppressed fright/vexation, the body explodes into spasm—laryngeal, bronchial, uterine, intestinal, or generalised convulsion [Kent], [Clarke]. In prodrome there may be sudden silence, mental arrest, a fixed look, then cramp begins in calves/toes or knees, mounting to epigastrium and brain (aura) [Hering], [Allen]. During attacks, the patient is rigid, blue, breathless, thumbs clenched, jaw locked, pupils dilated, with squeal or crowing in laryngeal spasm; afterwards exhausted, pale, cold but mentally clear [Hering], [Tyler]. Anxiety of suffocation is intense but not loquacious; obstinacy, self-control, and fear of recurrence colour the interictal state [Kent], [Clarke]. Children are grave and quiet, easily thrown into paroxysm by touching the larynx, weeping, or anger; they cling, then become rigid and blue (Whoop cross-link) [Tyler], [Nash].

Sleep is broken by twitchings and cramps, especially calves/soles; the child starts, stiffens, and may cough in fits after first sleep (whoop pattern) [Tyler]. Before midnight the spasm-threshold is low; after 2–3 a.m. violent calf cramps jerk the patient up (Extremities/Modalities) [Boger], [Nash]. Dreams of suffocation, falling, pursuit precede night attacks; sleep after paroxysm is deep and restorative, yet leaves prostration on waking (Generalities) [Nash], [Clarke]. Lying on left side may excite cough-spasm; child sleeps knees drawn up to ease belly cramps [Tyler], [Hering].

Of choking, waves, being held, running without breath; blue faces, crowd-rooms; fear dreams after fright aetiology; wakes clutching throat or calves (Chest/Extremities cross-links) [Clarke], [Tyler].

Essence: contraction → explosion. Cuprum gathers tension—from emotion suppression, eruption suppression, sudden chill, over-exertion—and discharges it as spasm/convulsion in larynx, bronchi, gut, uterus, or whole body [Hering], [Clarke], [Kent]. Auras often start in legs/knees and ascend; nausea/vomiting commonly herald the fit; cyanosis and thumbs clenched are bedside signals (Whoop/Cholera cross-links) [Allen], [Nash], [Tyler]. Modal logic is precise: worse at night, by touching the larynx, suppression of eruption/flow, fright/vexation, over-exertion, and damp cold after heat; better by hard pressure, rubbing, stretching the cramped muscle, cold drinks, cool air, and the restoration of discharges [Hering], [Clarke], [Boger]. Distinguish from Veratrum alb. (cholera collapse with cold sweat, violent purging; less spasm of larynx and calves), Camphor (icy collapse with scant sweat, not great cramp), Ipecac. (whoop with incessant nausea and vomit, less cyanotic spasm), Drosera (whoop nocturnal, tickling and retching, less crowing cyanosis), Cicuta (terrific opisthotonos, frightful spasms from head injury, fewer calf/sole cramps), Zincum (restless feet, twitching; brain symptoms after eruption suppression, but more fidgety than blue-spastic), and Nux-v. (spasm from irritability, strong gastric element; warmth and pressure suit Nux, Cuprum wants cold swallow for whoop) [Farrington], [Boger], [Boericke], [Nash], [Tyler], [Clarke].

In choleraic states: chill with cramps, nausea, vomiting, little true heat; coldness predominates; collapse alternates with spasm [Dunham], [Boericke]. In whoop: evening feverishness before night paroxysms [Tyler].

Chill: cold skin, bluish extremities, cold sweat on face/forehead during spasm [Boericke]. Heat: local heat at epigastrium/chest during struggle; not sustained pyrexia [Clarke]. Sweat: clammy, cold, non-relieving until spasm abates or eruption returns (Skin) [Hering].

Prodromal tight band or crawling upward from knees to epigastrium then head; face blue, lips livid, eyes upturned with convulsive twitchings [Hering], [Allen]. Head jerks; opisthotonos in violent seizures. Headache spasmodic with nausea, vomiting, and cramps—a choleraic picture [Clarke]. Eruptions suppressed from scalp precede brain symptoms in children (retrocedent rash) [Hering]. Post-attack, dull aching and soreness remain; sleep restores [Nash].

Staring, up-rolling, strabismus in convulsion; pupils dilated; lachrymation with cough-spasm [Hering], [Tyler]. Vision darkens before fit; coloured rings or muscæ in prodrome (vascular spasm) [Allen]. After paroxysm—photophobia, tired eyes [Clarke].

Ringing during aura; sudden deafness in spasm; hears own crowing; external ear cold, bluish in whoop with cyanosis [Clarke], [Tyler].

Nasal crow in laryngismus; sneezing may excite cough and spasm; nose-pinching habit in children before a paroxysm (warning sign) [Tyler]. Epistaxis uncommon; nose cold in collapse [Clarke].

Cyanotic, pinched, cold sweat on forehead; distorted by clonic facial twitchings; lips bluish, chin quivers [Hering], [Clarke]. After attack, ashen pallor; mouth corners sore from vomit [Allen].

Foam at mouth in convulsions; tongue bitten or drawn back; metallic taste; copious saliva in nausea; thirst for cold in crises [Allen], [Clarke]. Speech arrested during prodrome; stammering in recovery [Clarke].

Grinding in paroxysms; jaw locked; masseter cramps; toothache spasmodic improved by cold water in some [Allen], [Clarke].

Spasm of larynx; crowing inspiration; cannot bear touch of larynx—cough and spasm are instantly excited [Clarke], [Tyler]. Constriction as from a tight cord; swallowing brings choking cough [Hering]. Cold water often relieves the whoop for a time [Nash], [Tyler].

Asthma spasmodicum: tight band, cannot get breath, spasm shakes the frame; cough excited by touching larynx; child stiff, blue, grasps at throat in whoop; cold water or small swallow temporarily breaks the paroxysm [Clarke], [Nash], [Tyler]. Suffocative catarrh with spasm rather than secretion [Boger].

Pulse small, weak, sometimes intermittent during spasm; palpitation with chest constriction; collapse post-paroxysm (cholera, whoop) [Boericke], [Clarke].

Crowing inspiration, stridulous sounds; holds breath in spasm; cyanosis evident; breathing resumes with vomit or sigh; fresh, cool air craved [Hering], [Tyler].

Sudden violent vomiting of food, mucus, bile, with cramps and collapse; retching spasmodic; nausea ushers in convulsions (stomach–brain axis) [Allen], [Hering]. Gastralgia crampy > hard pressure, > cold water sipped; touch of epigastrium may excite spasm [Clarke]. Thirst for cold during fits; aversion to warm drinks [Nash].

Colic about umbilicus, twisting, knotting, doubling-up, with cramps of calves/soles; better hard pressure and rubbing, sometimes with warmth to belly though the patient craves cold to face/chest [Hering], [Clarke]. Rice-water stools in cholera with violent cramps and voice lost; vomiting and cramps alternate—Cuprum is classic in this phase (compare Veratrum alb. and Camphor) [Dunham], [Nash], [Boericke].

Diarrhoea watery, pale, with cramps; or constipation with spasmodic urging and spasm of sphincter; tenesmus spasmodic [Hering], [Clarke]. Involuntary stool at climax of convulsion (exhaustion) [Allen].

Spasm of bladder neck; retention or dribbling after paroxysm; urine scant, hot, later copious as crisis passes [Clarke]. Enuresis in children with nocturnal cough-spasms [Tyler].

Desire for cold water; small sips may break whoop or ease laryngeal spasm [Nash], [Tyler]. Warm drinks provoke cough/spasm in some [Clarke]. Nausea and vomiting follow least food during attacks; milk often vomited in curds in children (Cuprum–Nat-phos. border) [Allen], [Clarke]. Salt or cold, dry fare tolerated between crises (terrain) [Clarke].

Testicular retraction in colic; spermatic cord cramp; coition may excite leg cramps or laryngeal spasm (nervous) [Clarke]. Emission followed by calf cramps (athletes) [Boger].

Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea: colic, cramps of calves/feet, blue face, vomiting, faintness; flow scant or checked during spasm; relief when flow becomes free [Clarke], [Boericke]. Puerperal convulsions with cyanosis, thumbs clenched; after-pains spasmodic and cruel, > pressure [Tyler]. Laryngeal/labour spasm when fright or suppression precede [Clarke].

Opisthotonos; spinal irritability; drawing between scapulae during cough; lumbar cramps with abdominal colic [Hering], [Clarke].

Cramps—calves, soles, toes, fingers, thenar eminence; feet curl; hands clenched, thumbs tucked; twitching and jerking in sleep; writer’s cramp and pianist’s spasm (overuse) [Hering], [Boericke], [Boger]. Aura begins in knees/legs, ascends; legs give way in prodrome [Allen]. After attacks: trembling, exhaustion, cold sweat [Nash].

Retrocedent/suppressed eruptions (scarlatina, scabies) → convulsions, laryngeal spasm, whoop; return of eruption relieves [Hering], [Clarke]. Cold, bluish skin in cholera/convulsion; cold sweat on face [Boericke].

• Cholera / violent vomiting with cramps
  • Veratrum album — Profuse rice-water stools, cold sweat on forehead, collapse; less calf/sole cramp dominance. Cuprum: cramps central, vomit–cramp alternation, laryngeal spasm.
  • Camphora — Icy coldness, collapse, scant sweat, great prostration; little spasm. Cuprum: spasm first, collapse after.
  • Arsenicum — Burning, anguish, restlessness; thirst for small sips; less clonic cramp.
• Whooping-cough / laryngismus
  • Drosera — Spasmodic cough worse after midnight, tickling in larynx, vomiting of food; cyanosis less dramatic; laryngeal touch not so excitatory.
  • Ipecacuanha — Constant nausea, much mucus, wheezing; cyanosis not key; spasm less rigid.
  • Coccus cacti — Ropy mucus, choking strings; less cyanotic rigidity.
  • Belladonna — Dry, barking cough with congestion and heat; not the blue, rigid Cuprum picture.
• Convulsions / epilepsy
  • Cicuta virosa — Fearful opisthotonos, awful distortions; less aura from knees, more traumatic aetiology.
  • Zincum metallicum — Restless feet, exhaustion, brain irritation after eruption suppression; fewer calf cramps; mental fidget more marked.
  • Nux vomica — Convulsions from anger, gastric excess; warmth and pressure soothe; aura less leg-upward.
  • Ignatia — Hysteric spasms with sobbing, globus; less cyanosis and calf cramp.
• Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea / uterine spasm
  • Magnesia phosphorica — Cramp > heat and pressure; no cyanosis; gentler temperament.
  • Cocculus — Nausea, vertigo, weakness; less violent cramp and cyanosis.
  • Chamomilla — Anger, intolerable pains, heat >; child peevish, not blue-spastic.
• Asthma spasmodicum
  • Ipecac. — Wheezy, rattling, persistent nausea; cyanosis less; not larynx-touch triggered.
  • Arsenicum — Midnight aggravation with fear, burning, restlessness; cold drinks rarely help.
  • Sambucus — Child wakes suffocating after first sleep, but cyanosis/stiffness less violent.

• Complementary: Veratrum album (cholera phase with purge/collapse), Arsenicum (to steady collapse after spasms), Drosera (residual whoop), Zincum (cerebral irritability post-suppression), Mag-phos. (milder cramp layer) [Boger], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Nash].
• Follows well: Camphora (when collapse lifts and cramps dominate), Ipecac. (after mucus–nausea phase in whoop, when blue spasm begins) [Tyler], [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Carbo vegetabilis (asphyxial, gassy collapse after long paroxysms), China (post-spasm debility after fluid loss), Sulphur (to re-open suppressed excretions) [Nash], [Clarke].
• Antidotes / Is antidoted by: Cuprum often antidotes Zinc states; Camphor, Coffea, and Nux-v. modify some Cuprum drug-effects (sleep-loss, irritability) [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Notes: Do not suppress eruptions or flows in a Cuprum case; restoration often breaks the spasm-cycle [Hering], [Clarke].

• Convulsions and spasms — one of the most important remedies for violent spasms with cramps beginning in the fingers and toes, extending over the body; often following suppressed eruptions or emotions [Hering], [Kent].
• Cholera and choleraic diarrhoea — cramps in calves, violent vomiting and purging, icy coldness, collapse. Cuprum has saved many lives in epidemics [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Epilepsy — indicated when attacks are preceded by violent cramps, aura in knees or arms, and followed by great exhaustion [Allen], [Kent].
• Whooping cough — paroxysms of spasmodic coughing ending in suffocation, with convulsive closure of glottis and cyanosis; vomiting relieves [Boericke].
• Menstrual colic — violent spasmodic pains during menses, with cramps in abdomen and extremities [Clarke].
• Suppressed eruptions — convulsions, spasms, or brain symptoms after disappearance of rashes (measles, scarlatina, smallpox) [Hering].
• Tetanus-like states — opisthotonos, lockjaw, spasmodic rigidity of body with cold sweat [Allen].
• Cramps in artisans — particularly useful for cramps of workers using copper or exposed to metallic vapours [Clarke].
• Potency guidance — lower potencies (3X–6C) for cholera, cramps, and acute gastrointestinal cases; higher potencies (30C, 200C) for epilepsy and nervous states [Kent].
• Relationships — antidotes effects of Zinc and Nux-vom.; often complementary to Belladonna in cerebral convulsions [Boericke].

Case Pearls

• Cholera epidemic — During an outbreak, patients with violent vomiting, purging, cramps in calves and fingers, cold sweat, and collapse responded dramatically to Cuprum met. 6C, repeated hourly, saving many lives [Hering].
• Suppressed eruption leading to convulsions — A child after scarlatina rash disappeared suddenly developed violent convulsions with clenched thumbs and blue face. Cuprum met. 30C relieved within hours [Clarke].
• Epileptic aura in knees — A boy experienced cramps beginning in the knees, spreading upward, followed by epileptic fits. Cuprum met. 200C reduced frequency and severity of seizures [Allen].
• Whooping cough — A girl with long paroxysms of coughing, ending in cyanosis and vomiting, was cured with Cuprum met. 6C, three times daily [Boericke].
• Menstrual colic — A young woman suffered violent abdominal cramps during menses, relieved only by doubling over. Cuprum met. 30C gave rapid and lasting benefit [Clarke].

Mind

• Ailments from suppressed emotions (fright, vexation).
• Mental arrest before convulsion; fixed stare.
• Anxiety of suffocation during spasm, but quiet obstinacy interictally.
• Fear of recurrence; avoids being touched near throat.
• Better after sleep post-paroxysm; worse night.
• Child irritated by handling (larynx-touch excites spasm).

Head

• Aura from knees/legs upward to epigastrium/head.
• Convulsions with thumbs clenched, face blue, eyes upturned.
• Head jerks, opisthotonos.
• Headache spasmodic with nausea/vomiting.
• After suppressed eruption—brain symptoms in child.
• Better sleep; worse before midnight.

Throat / Larynx / Chest

• Laryngismus, crowing inspiration.
• Touching larynx excites cough/spasm.
• Whooping-cough: child stiff, blue, ends with vomit; cold water relieves.
• Asthma spasmodicum: tight band, cannot get breath.
• Constriction of chest/air-passages.
• Worse night, damp cold; better cool air, uncovering.

Stomach / Abdomen

• Vomiting violent, spasmodic; before convulsion.
• Cholera with rice-water stools and calf/abdominal cramps.
• Colic about navel > hard pressure/rubbing.
• Thirst for cold water in crises.
• Aversion to warm drinks in cough.
• Alternate: vomiting ↔ cramps.

Rectum / Urinary

• Diarrhoea watery with cramps.
• Spasm of sphincter, tenesmus.
• Retention or dribbling post-spasm.
• Enuresis with night cough-spasms.

Female

• Dysmenorrhoea spasmodic: cramps (calves/abdomen), blue face, vomiting.
• Parturient convulsions; after-pains spasmodic > pressure.
• Flow checked → spasm; relief when flow returns.

Extremities

• Cramps calves/soles/toes/fingers, hands clenched.
• Writer’s cramp; overuse spasms.
• Legs give way in prodrome; aura from knees.
• Better stretching, hard rubbing.
• Worse night, after over-exertion.

Generalities / Modalities

• Spasm, cramp, convulsion everywhere.
• Worse: night, touch of larynx, suppression (eruption/flow/sweat), fright, vexation, over-exertion, damp cold after heat.
• Better: hard pressure, rubbing, stretching, cold drinks, cool air, restoration of discharges, sleep after paroxysm.
• Cyanosis, collapse after spasm; cold sweat.

Sleep / Fever / Skin

• Starts from sleep with spasm; jerking and twitching in sleep.
• Chill with cramps; cold skin in attacks.
• Suppressed eruption → spasm; eruption returning → amelioration.
• Cold sweat face/forehead.

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): cramps of calves/soles, laryngismus, whoop with cyanosis, aura from knees, suppression → convulsion, cholera phase.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): provings/toxicology—clonic spasms, thumbs clenched, violent vomiting, blue face, aura ascent.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): whooping-cough excited by touching larynx; cold water relief; spasmodic dysmenorrhoea; suppression aetiologies.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—spasm, cramp, cholera, writer’s cramp, asthma spasmodicum, cyanosis.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): modalities (night-worse; pressure/rubbing better), aura from knees, weather lability, relationships.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): whoop with stiff blue child; cold water to break paroxysm; cholera cramps; post-paroxysm sleep.
Tyler, M. L. — Homeopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): bedside laryngismus/whoop image; handling larynx aggravation; obstetrical spasm notes.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): differentials among spasm remedies (Cicuta, Zinc, Nux, Ipecac, Drosera, Veratrum).
Dunham, C. — Homoeopathy, the Science of Therapeutics (1877): cholera phases; Cuprum in cramp–vomit alternation.
Hughes, R. — A Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1895): copper toxicology; emeto-spastic picture; clinical analogies.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): mental suppression → physical spasm; miasmatic colour; relationships.
Cowperthwaite, A. C. — A Text-Book of Materia Medica and Therapeutics (late 19th c.): spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, asthma spasmodicum, writer’s cramp.