Iodum

Iodine is a halogen element obtained historically from seaweeds and later from nitrate mother-liquors; it sublimes in violet vapours, dissolves in alcohol (tincture), and forms iodides with bases. Physiologically it is a powerful alterative to glands, notably thyroid and lymphatic system; crude and prolonged dosing in allopathy produced thyroidal excitation (tachycardia, restlessness, heat-intolerance), salivary/nasal irritation, gastric burning, wasting despite appetite, and glandular changes—collectively termed “iodism” [Hughes], [Clarke]. The homœopathic preparation uses triturations of the element and dilutions of the tincture according to pharmacopœial rules; symptomatology arises from provings, toxicology, and abundant clinical confirmations, especially in emaciated, hot, restless subjects with enlarged or indurated glands, ravenous hunger, and relief in open air and by eating [Hering], [Allen], [Kent], [Boericke]. [Proving] [Toxicology] [Clinical]

Key data derive from T. F. Allen’s Encyclopædia and Hering’s Guiding Symptoms, collating provings and numerous clinical and toxicologic reports: wasting with ravenous hunger (better while eating), heat-intolerance with desire for cold air, hurried restless activity, tachycardia and palpitation, right-sided glandular indurations (thyroid, testes, ovaries), laryngo-tracheal irritation, diarrhœa after or during meals, and relief from continuous motion and open air [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Kent]. Early American and British confirmations include goitre (exophthalmic), scrofulous adenitis, marasmus of children with enlarged mesenteric glands, chronic catarrh, and fibroid/ovarian disease [Clarke], [Boericke], [Farrington]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Iodum is the archetype of hot, driven metabolism. The essence is overactivity with wasting: the engine runs fast, the furnaces are stoked, yet the stores diminish. This appears at every stratum. The mind cannot abide idleness; anxiety rises if not occupied; he works and walks rapidly; contradiction and delay enrage; relief comes with motion, cool air, and eating (Mind ↔ Modalities) [Kent], [Clarke]. The body is thin despite constant appetite; if a meal is missed he sinks at once, trembling and faint—then revives at the table (Stomach/Generalities) [Allen], [Hering]. The glands are alive: thyroids swell into goitre with palpitation and heat-intolerance; cervical, mesenteric, mammary, ovarian and testicular glands enlarge, indurate, and may at last shrink; the remedy eases when there is heat, restlessness, right-sided focus, and relief in air (Affinity—glands) [Hering], [Clarke]. The respiratory tract is dry and ticklish in warm rooms; the larynx and trachea rasp; asthma and cough flee outdoors; even the heart quiets on the cool street (Respiration/Heart/Throat) [Clarke], [Boericke]. The bowels race after or during eating—an honest confession of the metabolic drive—yet evacuations relieve head and chest (Rectum). The skin and mucosae burn, sweat, and smart in warmth; eruptions and catarrhs are acrid; suppression aggravates the inner heat (Skin/Generalities) [Boger].
Kingdom-wise (halogen element), Iodum acts diffusely and rapidly, altering secretions and trophic balance, especially where living tissue proliferates or indurates; it is the halogen of speed—a tonic-atrophic signature (Scholten) tempered by classic clinical observation [Scholten], [Kent], [Clarke]. Miasmatically the syphilitic vector dominates (emaciation, organic change); sycosis adds enlargement and recurring catarrh; psora supplies heat, irritability, and functional restlessness. The core polarity is clear: heat versus cool; motion versus rest; eating versus fasting; relief at window versus oppression in room; enlargement toward atrophy. Therefore the clinical selection is rarely ambiguous: a hot, thin, hurried patient, glands like buttons along the neck or in the abdomen, who eats like a wolf, cannot sit still, tears at the collar, and is soothed by cool air and walking. Distinguish from Arsenicum (chilly, burning with prostration, desires heat), from Phosphorus (bleeding, open, fearful, weakness), from Bromium (left larynx, sailors, dust-sensitivity, less hunger), and from Nux (chilly, sthenic irritability, constipation). In women, climacteric storms and fibroid bleedings settle when the “window-and-walking” modality is answered; in children with mesenteric nodes and big bellies, weight returns once the hurried gut and glandular terrain are matched. Marrying the remedy to regimen—loose clothing, fresh air, frequent small meals, measured but continuous activity—often shows rapid change: pulse steadies, heat abates, sleep lengthens, and emaciation halts. Thus Iodum is not simply iodine in miniature; it is the disciplined image of iodine’s physiologic thrust, guided by the homœopathic law and harnessed by modality.

• Endocrine — Thyroid (exophthalmic goitre): tachycardia, heat-intolerance, tremor, weight loss with voracious appetite; restlessness better by motion and open air (see Heart, Generalities, Sleep). [Kent], [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Lymphatic–glandular — General adenitis and indurations (cervical, mesenteric, mammary, salivary); tendency to enlargement then atrophy; scrofula with emaciation (see Face/Neck, Abdomen, Female, Male). [Hering], [Boger], [Clarke].

• Nutrition — Rapid emaciation despite constant eating; marasmus; “must eat to feel better,” yet wastes (see Stomach, Generalities). [Allen], [Kent].

• Respiratory tract — Laryngeal/tracheal irritation, hoarseness, asthmatic oppression in warm rooms, cough relieved in cool open air (see Throat, Respiration, Chest). [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Cardiovascular — Palpitation, bounding pulse, cardiac hurry with slightest exertion or emotion (hyperthyroid state) (see Heart). [Kent], [Clarke].

• Gastro-intestinal — Gastric burning, acrid eructations, diarrhea after or during meals, intestinal hurry with mesenteric adenitis (see Stomach, Abdomen, Rectum). [Allen], [Hering].

• Male generative — Testicular induration, hypertrophy → atrophy; increased desire then prostration (see Male). [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Female generative — Ovarian (right) induration and pain; uterine fibroids with flooding; mammary nodules (see Female). [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Skin–mucosa — Acrid catarrhs (coryza, salivation), acneiform eruptions, perspiration; tendency to rawness and heat (see Nose, Skin, Perspiration). [Hughes], [Allen].

• Bones and joints — Pains with restlessness, better continued motion, worse heat (see Extremities, Back). [Kent], [Boger].

• Mind and nerves — Anxiety if not occupied; impulsive haste; hurried, driven feeling; better by active exertion (see Mind, Sleep). [Kent], [Clarke].

• Right-sidedness — Right ovary/testis, right breast, right larynx/bronchus often first involved (see Female, Male, Chest) (micro-comparison: Brom. tends left). [Clarke], [Boericke].

Iodum presents a hurried, driven mind; the patient is compelled to be constantly occupied, moving from task to task with an inner restlessness that abates only while actively engaged (this tallies with “better motion/occupation” and “worse idleness”) [Kent], [Clarke]. Anxiety centres in a fear of wasting away or of impending failure if he rests; he eats in haste, works in haste, and grows irritable if opposed, contradicted, or kept waiting (modal echo: worse emotion/contradiction) [Kent]. Suspiciousness and fretfulness show in domestic scenes; yet the temper changes quickly when he gets into open air or is allowed to stride about (Better cool air/motion) [Clarke]. Memory lapses during periods of heat and haste; he misplaces words or forgets names in the middle of sentences, which increases the hurry (Mind ↔ Generalities). A peculiar fear of starvation is noted—children hide food; adults say, “I must eat or I shall sink,” and indeed weakness comes on rapidly if a meal is missed (Mind ↔ Stomach) [Allen], [Hering]. Depression alternates with excitement; in low states he is indifferent, sees no hope, and fears death at night when palpitation runs high; in the day, work and air restore his spirits (Mind ↔ Heart/Sleep). Sexual irritability or nymphomania may mark the feverish form, followed by exhaustion—mirroring the overdrive–collapse polarity (Mind ↔ Male/Female) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Children are precociously lively, irritable, and destructive; they become better-tempered outdoors, but whine and claw at the neck in warm rooms with choking from the goitre (Mind ↔ Throat) [Hering], [Clarke].

Cannot keep still in bed; heat of bed intolerable; throws off covers and seeks open window (worse heat; better air) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Wakes hungry at night; must eat to sleep again (Mind–Stomach keynote). Sleep is light, with hurry-dreams of work, travel, and pursuit; he rises to walk about the room to quiet the heart. Children cry and toss, then fall asleep after a little food or being taken out of the hot room. Palpitations and hot flushes rouse women at the climacteric; a walk on the landing by an open window steadies them. After late suppers, dreams are more vivid and diarrhœa may wake them early (Food & Drink/Rectum). When the modalities are honoured, sleep lengthens and the hurry abates—an excellent clinical measure.

Dreams of haste, business, journeys taken in a rush; of choking in a warm room; of searching for food; occasionally lascivious dreams ending in weakness on waking (polarity) [Clarke]. Nightmares of being smothered under clothes; dreams of waves and sea air that refresh—an image that mirrors the relief from cool and open air.

Iodum is the portrait of accelerated living tissue: a hot, restless, hurried organism that eats constantly yet emaciates, whose glands enlarge, harden, and may at length atrophy, whose heart hammers with the thyroid’s whip, and whose every symptom is worse warmth and idleness, better cool open air, eating, and continuous motion [Kent], [Clarke], [Hering], [Boericke]. The general modalities are decisive: cannot bear warm rooms or tight clothing (especially neck); must loosen and get to air; must keep moving or the inner anxiety rises; must eat or weakness and faintness supervene; diarrhœa may occur during or after eating and relieves; glandular pains and chest oppression abate outdoors. Affinities weave a coherent web—Endocrine/Heart (thyroid drive, palpitation), Glands (induration then atrophy), Nutrition (ravenous hunger yet wasting), Respiratory (laryngeal heat, warm-room asthma), Gastro-intestinal (post-prandial hurry), and Right-sided reproductive organs (ovary/testis). Compared: Arsenicum is restless but chilly and desires heat, not cold; Phosphorus is open, fearful, and hemorrhagic with weakness more than hurry; Bromium is cooler, left-sided, worse dust and warm rooms in larynx but less ravenous; Spongia is dry-barking and laryngeal without the emaciation/hunger; Lycopodium is right-sided digestive with bloating rather than wasting and is worse 4–8 p.m.; Nux is driving and irritable but chilly, constipated, and not relieved so strongly by air; Thyroidinum mirrors the endocrine picture pharmacologically but lacks Iodum’s full mental–glandular gestalt [Kent], [Farrington], [Clarke], [Boger]. The pace is quick, the polarities sharp; regimen must match: air, measured continuous activity, frequent small feedings, loosened clothing—then the remedy’s action is unmistakable in quieter heart, cooler skin, steadier sleep, and weight returning despite less frantic eating.

Heat predominates; flushes with anxiety and palpitation; afternoon and evening aggravation in warm rooms [Clarke]. Slight fever occurs with catarrhs and glandular pains; thirst moderate for cold drinks. Night-sweats in phthisical tendency and in marasmic children. Chills are brief and followed by heat; sweat brings relief (Chill/Heat/Sweat).

Chilly on moving from cool air into warm room with instant heat in head and chest; general heat with hot, dry skin in bed; sweat easy on exertion and at night, especially upper body [Boericke], [Clarke]. Sweats relieve the sense of internal fire but exhaust if frequent; air and measured activity best regulate the cycle.

Head feels hot and full, with throbbing temples and a sensation that the skull will burst in warm rooms; the patient rushes to the window for cool air (Better open air; Worse heat) [Clarke]. Vertigo on rising or turning quickly accompanies the cardiac hurry; blackness before eyes when the stomach is empty (Head ↔ Heart/Stomach) [Allen]. Headaches are mostly frontal or vertex with burning, often relieved by cold bathing or by eating, and renewed by fasting (Better cold applications/eating; Worse fasting) [Allen], [Kent]. Hair may fall during the emaciating states; scalp is sensitive to heat and to tight hats. Chronic congestive headaches attend exophthalmic goitre; they subside when the neck is loosened and the room cooled (Throat ↔ Head) [Clarke], [Boericke]. In scrofulous children with enlarged glands, the head is sweaty and hot at night, with restlessness and nose-picking—an Iodum–Cina borderland (micro-comparison) [Hering], [Farrington].

Eyes dry, burn, and protrude slightly in exophthalmic conditions; lids tremble; vision blurs with palpitation and clears in open air (Eyes ↔ Heart/Generalities) [Clarke], [Kent]. Photophobia in hot rooms; lachrymation in wind is less marked. The ocular pulse can be felt in the hurried states; small black specks appear on rising or when faint with hunger (Stomach linkage) [Allen]. Periorbital puffiness occurs in thyroidal storms; heat and excitement aggravate. No deep keratitis belongs to Iodum’s core; the signs reflect vascular drive.

Ringing with rushes of blood and heart-pounding; hearing oversensitive in warm rooms; sudden noises irritate the hurried temper (Mind linkage) [Allen], [Clarke]. Chronic catarrh with glandular swellings behind ear in scrofulous children suits the remedy, especially if better at seaside air (Affinity—glands/sea air) [Clarke]. Otalgia improves in cool air and with motion; night warmth brings throbbing.

Acrid, watery coryza worse in warm close rooms and better in cool open air—the nose and upper lip become sore (modality signature) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Frequent sneezing, rawness, and burning; smell of food may disgust in the hot room but appetite returns outside (Nose ↔ Stomach). Obstruction alternates with acrid flow; polypoid growths and ulceration with enlarged cervical glands belong to the scrofulous terrain. Epistaxis may relieve head heat transiently. The nasal sphere constantly mirrors the thermal modalities.

Face hot, flushed, and thin; cheek-bones prominent in emaciation; lips dry in warm room and moist in open air (Generalities) [Clarke]. Circummouth pallor with cardiac hurry; heat waves flush the face during uterine flooding (Female/Heart). Parotids and submaxillary glands enlarge and harden; pressure and cool cloths soothe (Affinity—glands) [Hering]. Expression is anxious and hurried; in children, the “old-man” look of marasmus appears with large belly and thin limbs (Abdomen).

Salivation or dryness alternates; saliva may be acrid; metallic or salty taste [Allen], [Hughes]. Tongue red at tip and edges with burning in mouth/throat (Throat linkage). Ulcers slow to heal in hot, close rooms but improve in air (Skin parallel). Teeth feel long during febrile rushes; the mouth is heat-sensitive; cold drinks refresh.

Dental pains are aggravated by warmth and sweets; better cold water; tooth-shocks from hurried chewing (Mind overlay) [Allen]. Gums spongy in strumous states; indurated submaxillary nodes accompany. Grinding of teeth in restless children occurs when fasting and hot in bed, easing after food (Mind/Stomach/Sleep).

Classic goitre: thyroid enlarged, tender to touch and collar-pressure; choking on warm rooms or when talking fast; relief from cool air and loosening clothing (modal repeat) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Burning from fauces to stomach; scraping, hawking of mucus; voice hoarse and husky in warmth, steadier in cold (Throat ↔ Respiration). Sensation as if a hand grasped the neck during emotion (Mind linkage). Tonsils and adenoids hypertrophied with glandular chains in the neck—scrofulous children thin yet ravenous (Affinity—lymphatics) [Hering]. The goitrous pressure yields to steady motion and air; idleness intensifies consciousness of the neck.

Oppression and heat in the chest as if room were too small; must get to open air; loosening clothes gives relief (modal master-pair) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Cough dry, teasing, worse warmth and talking; better walking fast in cool night air (Respiration). Cutting pains about right apex; emaciation with night-sweats suggests phthisical tendency; yet energy to move persists (compare Phos.: more weakness) [Farrington], [Kent]. Sternum feels raw with acrid coryza; intercostal glands tender. After exertion beyond power, panting and palpitation ensue; steady work within limits improves tone (Generalities/Heart).

Palpitation violent from emotion, ascent, warm rooms; pulse quick, bounding, sometimes irregular in thyroid storms; anxiety in the precordia drives him to walk and seek air (Heart ↔ Mind/Respiration) [Kent], [Clarke]. Anginoid constriction accompanies goitre; collar pressure aggravates (Throat linkage). Cardiac overaction alternates with moments of faintness when hungry; food restores. Functional murmurs common in hyperthyroid youth; true valvular lesions are less a keynote than drive and heat. Sleep on left side may be impossible from heart-beat; better on right at times (Sleep).

Dyspnœa in warm, close rooms with great relief in open air and by rapid walking (signature) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Asthmatic constriction at night in summer; must sit up, throw off bedclothes, and fan the face; cool draughts soothe. Larynx dry, voice hoarse in heat; urging to clear throat; cough worse on entering a warm room, better on going out. Respiration is hurried with the heart’s drive; steadies after a snack and a walk (Heart/Stomach link).

Ravenous hunger with emaciation is central: must eat often and much, otherwise he sinks, trembles, is angry and headachy; eating relieves while eating, hunger returns soon (master keynote) [Allen], [Kent], [Hering]. Gastric burning as from pepper; eructations hot and acrid; cramps after everything if food is delayed; better small frequent meals [Allen], [Clarke]. Desire for cold food and drinks; milk may disagree in marasmic children (diarrhœa), though small sips can soothe burning in some adults (individual nuance) [Hering], [Clarke]. Aversion to warmth, fats, and sweets; fruit may hurry the bowels (Rectum). Empty faintness at 11 a.m. (compare Sulph.) with heat and hurry; open air and a snack rescue (Generalities). The stomach harmonises exactly with the modalities—worse fasting, heat, and hurry; better eating and cool air.

Mesenteric adenitis with large, doughy belly and visible emaciation of limbs; restless, hot child must eat and move or is peevish (scrofulous marasmus) [Hering], [Clarke]. Griping about umbilicus after fruit or milk; better after stool and in cool air (Rectum link). Liver may feel enlarged and tender with heat, but Iodum is more glandular than hepatic. Cutting and borborygmi during meals in nervous haste; moving about eases. Hernial protrusions in hot labourers improve with support and air (Generalities). Right iliac pains with ovarian/testicular involvement mark the right bias (Female/Male).

Diarrhœa during or immediately after eating—hurry from table to closet; stools thin, offensive, sometimes greasy; great relief afterwards (key reflex) [Allen], [Clarke]. Constipation alternates in some, with hard knotty stools and burning in rectum. Pruritus ani and excoriation in heat; cool bathing soothes (Skin link). Tenesmus slight; much weakness after stool if fasting. The bowel habit reflects the overdriven metabolism: rapid transit when fuel is taken; exhaustion when hunger is forced.

Urging frequent with small quantities during excitement; urine increased in hyperthyroid states; sometimes cloudy with phosphates in wasting [Clarke]. Diuresis follows open-air exercise; suppression in hot rooms worsens general heat. In marasmic children, nocturnal urination accompanies heat and restlessness (Sleep). No specific urethritis is key to Iodum.

Insistent hunger; must eat frequently; better while eating, worse when not eating (cardinal) [Allen], [Kent]. Desire for cold food and drinks; aversion to warmth, sweets, and fat; fruit often disagrees. Milk disagrees in many marasmic children (diarrhœa); in others small cold sips soothe burning (individual variance noted by Hering) [Hering], [Clarke]. Craves salt and meat (driven metabolism); stimulants (coffee, alcohol) aggravate hurry and heat (Mind/Heart) [Hughes], [Clarke].

Testes enlarge, indurate, then tend to atrophy if overdrive persists; desire initially increased, erections strong; later impotence from exhaustion (polarity) [Clarke], [Boericke]. Right testis more often painful; cords tender; drawing to inguinal ring; hard nodules in scrofulous youth (right-sided affinity). Prostate may enlarge with heat and restlessness; better cold bathing and motion. Seminal emissions leave him weak and irritable; open air and food restore (Generalities).

Right ovary swollen, hard, tender; pains extend down the thigh and to the back; better cool pressure and motion; worse warmth and rest [Hering], [Clarke]. Uterus enlarged; fibroids with menorrhagia and heat flushes; palpitations during flooding abate in the cool night air (Female ↔ Heart) [Boericke]. Mammæ nodular, hard, especially right; ache premenstrually; loosen clothing, cool applications relieve (Affinity—glands). Sterility with emaciation and heat intolerance; desire increased at first, later aversion and weakness. Leucorrhœa acrid in hot rooms, less in cool. Climacteric storms: heat-waves, anxiety, palpitation—classic Iodum when relieved by motion and open air [Clarke].

Cervical region thick with glandular chains; thyroid drags on neck; pressure of collar intolerable (Throat). Dorsal aching with heat and restlessness, better continued motion and cool air (modal repeat). Lumbar weakness after emissions or menorrhagia; support and air relieve. Coccygeal heat in bed is annoying; throws off covers (Sleep).

Trembling hands in heat and during excitement; steadier in open air and with work (Mind link) [Kent]. Emaciated limbs with good appetite—“thin on good feeding”; the paradox is diagnostic. Pains tearing or drawing in long bones and joints, worse warmth, better motion (Boger’s rubric) [Boger]. Feet hot at night; seeks cool places in bed; day-sweat of hands. Muscles waste yet are restless and active until exhaustion hits.

Hot, readily perspiring, with tendency to acne, scrofulous gland openings, and raw catarrhal margins (nose, lips) [Clarke], [Allen]. Eruptions worse warmth, better sea air; itching diminishes in cool rooms (modal echo). Indurated nodes (mammæ, testes, glands) feel better under cool pressure; chronic indurations soften over time in Iodum constitutions (Affinity—glands). Night-sweats drench in emaciating states.

Aetiology / Endocrine–thyroid

• Thyroidinum — pharmacodynamic thyroid picture (tachycardia, weight-loss); fewer mental restlessness keynotes; Iodum marked by “must eat to feel better” and right-sided gland indurations. [Hughes], [Clarke].

• Spongia — dry, barking larynx, goitre; Spongia less ravenous hunger and emaciation; Iodum hotter and motion-better. [Boger], [Boericke].

• Bromium — larynx/chest worse warm rooms, better sea air; left-sided; Iodum tends right-sided, more thyroidal drive and hunger. [Clarke], [Boericke].

Mind / Temperament

• Arsenicum — anxious, restless, prostrated, chilly; wants warmth and sips; Iodum is hot, seeks cold air, is better by eating and motion. [Kent], [Nash].

• Nux vomica — driving, irritable business-man; chilly, constipated, worse after high living; Iodum is hot, diarrheic after meals, relieved by air and motion. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Phosphorus — open, burning, haemorrhagic, fears alone and thunderstorms; Iodum is hurried, glandular, ravenous, right-sided. [Farrington], [Clarke].

Nutrition / Emaciation

• Tuberculinum — emaciation with changeable symptoms, desire to travel; Iodum has persistent hunger, glandular indurations, heat-worse, air-better. [Tyler], [Kent].

• Natrum muriaticum — emaciation about neck, headaches, thyroid tendencies; but chilly, reserved, worse sun; Iodum hot, hurried, motion-better. [Clarke], [Kent].

Glands / Reproductive

• Apis — right ovary; stinging, oedema, thirstless, chilly; Iodum is hot, ravenous, motion-better, with hard indurations. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Lachesis — left ovary, climacteric flushes, loquacity, worse after sleep; Iodum flushes too but is relieved by motion/air and tends right ovary. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Phytolacca — hard mammary nodes, mastitis; more aching and shooting; Iodum more hot, restless, thyroidal. [Farrington], [Clarke].

Chest / Larynx

• Hepar sulphuris — croupy, chilly, wants to be wrapped; Iodum wants cool air, unwraps, and is relieved by motion. [Boger], [Boericke].

• Kali carbonicum — right chest pains with stitching, worse at 3 a.m., great weakness; Iodum is hotter, more hurried, better outdoors. [Boger], [Clarke].

• Phosphorus — haemoptysis with burning; Iodum more glandular and ravenous, less bleeding tendency. [Farrington].

Abdomen / Rectum

• Sulphur — 11 a.m. hunger, heat, offensive stools; Sulphur is ragged philosopher, lazy; Iodum is hurried worker, motion-better, with glandular theme. [Kent], [Clarke].

• China — post-prandial diarrhea with weakness but chilly, bloated; Iodum hot, restless, glandular, better air. [Boger], [Clarke].

• Complementary: Arsenicum album — both restless; Arsenicum chilly and collapses; Iodum hot, air-seeking; together often cover hyperthyroid–emaciation arcs. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Complementary: Spongia — to the laryngeal/goitrous sphere; Spongia for dry bark; Iodum for thyroidal heat and hunger. [Boericke], [Boger].

• Complementary: Phytolacca — glandular and mammary nodes; Iodum when heat and emaciation predominate. [Farrington].

• Complementary: Lycopodium — digestive and right-sidedness; Lycopodium for bloating and hepatic axis; Iodum for wasting and heat. [Clarke].

• Follows well: Nux vomica — after dietary correction and irritability are calmed, Iodum continues the gland–metabolic cure. [Kent], [Dewey].

• Follows well: Calcarea carbonica — when fat, cold, glandular children turn thin, hot, restless; the series Calcarea → Iodum is classic. [Clarke], [Boger].

• Precedes well: Sulphur — when psoric heat and 11 a.m. hunger persist after gland changes improve. [Kent].

• Related remedies — Bromium, Thyroidinum, Spongia, Natrum muriaticum, Phosphorus, Arsenicum album, Nux vomica, Sulphur, Tuberculinum, Apis, Lachesis (group comparisons as above). [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke].

• Antidotes — Hepar sulphuris and Nux vomica (drug irritability); Amyl nitrite and cool air for acute thyroidal/flush storms (supportive); crude iodine is antagonised chemically by starch (toxicology note). [Hughes], [Clarke].

• Inimicals — none specifically recorded; avoid needless alternation with Bromium without indications (halogen rivalry). [Clarke], [Kent].

Indications: Exophthalmic goitre with heat-intolerance, tachycardia, restlessness; scrofulous adenitis and mesenteric disease with marasmus and ravenous appetite; right ovarian/testicular indurations; mammary nodules; warm-room asthma and laryngeal irritation; diarrhœa during or after meals; climacteric flushes with palpitation better walking in cool air [Hering], [Clarke], [Kent], [Boericke], [Boger]. Posology: In functional hyperthyroid and nervous states, 30C–200C repeated per reaction (from daily to weekly); in chronic glandular indurations and marasmus, 6C–30C once or twice daily initially, lengthening as improvement holds; low potencies (3X–6X) sometimes used for nodal softening under supervision [Dewey], [Clarke], [Kent]. Repetition: Short in acutes (palpitation/asthma nights), then widen intervals; in chronic glandular disease, persist until heat and restlessness diminish, then pause. Adjuncts: Loose collars; cool, well-ventilated rooms; frequent small feedings; gentle, sustained exercise; avoid overheating and heavy, sugary meals; in marasmic children, assess milk tolerance and prefer bland, digestible foods [Clarke], [Farrington].
Case pearls:
• Exophthalmic goitre; cannot bear collar or warm room; runs to window; ravenous—Iod. 200C q48h: heat and palpitation fell; collar tolerated in two weeks. [Clinical], [Clarke], [Kent].
• Marasmic child, big belly, mesenteric nodes; diarrhœa during meals; eats constantly—Iod. 6C t.i.d.; appetite steadied, weight gain began. [Hering], [Allen].
• Right ovarian pain with fibroid flooding; better rapid walking in cool evening air; Iod. 30C b.i.d.: bleeding moderated; flushes abated. [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Warm-room asthma with laryngeal tickle, better fast walking outside; Iod. 30C p.r.n.: night attacks ceased. [Boger], [Clarke].

Mind

• Anxiety — if not occupied — must keep busy. Bedside key to the “driven” state. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Restlessness — ameliorated by motion and open air. Confirms regimen. [Kent].

• Hurry — time seems short — impulsive. Theranostic marker. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Irritability — contradiction agg.; anger with palpitation. Emotional trigger. [Clarke].

• Fear — of starvation — must eat often. Appetite–anxiety keynote. [Allen], [Hering].

• Suspicious, peevish — better in open air. Modal tie. [Clarke].

• Memory — weak for names during heat/excitement. Functional overlay. [Allen].

• Company — aversion to constraint; desires to go out. Environmental cue. [Clarke].

Head

• Congestion — warm room agg.; open air amel. Thermal signature. [Clarke].

• Pain — frontal/vertex — empty stomach agg.; eating amel. Hunger-link. [Allen].

• Vertigo — on rising — palpitation with. Cardio–cerebral link. [Allen], [Kent].

• Hair — falling — emaciation during. Cachectic sign. [Clarke].

• Pressure — tight hat intolerable (heat-sensitive). Minor but telling. [Clarke].

• Heat — night, in bed — throws off covers. Sleep tie. [Clarke].

Nose / Throat

• Coryza — acrid — warm room agg.; open air amel. Classic rubric. [Boericke], [Clarke].

• Sneezing — paroxysmal — indoors agg. Dust/heat effect. [Clarke].

• Goitre — exophthalmic — palpitation with. Central indication. [Clarke], [Kent].

• Constriction — collar agg.; loosening clothes amel. Practical bedside cue. [Boericke].

• Dryness — burning — cold drinks amel. Symptomatic aid. [Allen].

• Tonsils — hypertrophy — scrofulous children, hot, restless. Terrain pointer. [Hering].

Stomach / Abdomen / Rectum

• Hunger — ravenous — must eat often — emaciation with. Crown keynote. [Allen], [Kent].

• Burning — peppery — cold drinks amel. Simple modality. [Allen].

• Mesenteric glands — enlarged — marasmus. Classic paediatric rubric. [Hering], [Clarke].

• Diarrhea — during/after eating — relief after stool. Reflex chain. [Allen], [Clarke].

• Stool — offensive — greasy — emaciation. Nutritional loss marker. [Allen].

• Distended belly — thin limbs — child. Visual confirmation. [Hering].

Chest / Heart / Respiration

• Respiration — warm room agg.; open air amel.; must walk fast. Signature. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Cough — dry — talking/warm room agg.; walking in cool air amel. Prescribing gem. [Clarke].

• Larynx — irritation — dust/heat agg. Laryngeal terrain. [Clarke].

• Palpitation — emotion/exertion agg.; cool air amel. Hyperthyroid heart. [Kent].

• Pulse — quick, bounding — exertion agg. Objective sign. [Clarke].

• Tight clothing — chest agg.; loosening amel. Practical support. [Boericke].

Female / Male

• Ovary — right — induration — tenderness — warmth agg. Right bias. [Hering], [Clarke].

• Uterus — fibroids — haemorrhage — flushes — palpitation. Gynaecologic sphere. [Boericke], [Clarke].

• Mammae — nodules — hard — heat agg.; pressure/cool amel. Gland signature. [Clarke].

• Testes — induration — right — desire increased then impotence. Polarity. [Clarke], [Boericke].

• Sexual desire — increased — exhaustion follows. Energetic swing. [Allen].

• Leucorrhea — acrid — warmth agg. Catarrhal congruence. [Clarke].

Extremities / Skin / Generalities / Sleep

• Trembling — excitement/heat agg.; open air/motion amel. Motor proof. [Kent].

• Bone pains — warmth agg.; motion amel. Boger’s modality. [Boger].

• Skin — hot, sweaty — night agg. Thermal pattern. [Boericke].

• Glands — indurated — cervical, mesenteric, mammary, testes. Affinity rubric. [Hering], [Clarke].

• Generalities — heat agg.; open air amel.; motion amel.; fasting agg.; eating amel. Master quartet. [Kent], [Clarke].

• Sleep — restless — throws off covers — wakes hungry — must eat. Night keynote. [Clarke], [Allen].

Hering, C. — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–1891): glandular, thyroidal, and marasmic confirmations; modalities (heat-worse, air-better); diarrhœa during meals.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–1879): proving and toxicologic data—ravenous hunger with emaciation, gastric/rectal reflexes, coryza, cardiac hurry.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): full Iodum picture—hyperthyroid states, right-sided gland indurations, respiratory warm-room aggravation, sea/open air relief.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905): mental “hurry,” heat-intolerance, modalities; comparative study with Ars., Brom., Spong., Nux, Phos.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—goitre, palpitation, warm-room asthma, diarrhœa during meals, glandular nodes; relationships.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (late 19th c.): iodine chemistry and “iodism”; glandular and thyroid physiology informing the remedy sphere.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): repertorial modalities—better motion, open air; worse heat; bone and gland indications; right-sided bias.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1890): comparisons—Phos., Ars., Brom., Spong., Phytolacca; scrofulous marasmus and respiratory notes.
Lippe, A. von — Keynotes and Characteristic Symptoms (19th c.): characteristic hunger/emaciation, motion-better, heat-worse indications distilled.
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (20th c.): concise essences—must eat, heat-intolerance, glandular axis, diarrhœa during meals.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homœopathic Therapeutics (1899): contrasts with Ars., Sulph., Tub.; practical hints in emaciation and restlessness.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homœopathic Therapeutics (early 20th c.): posology and sequencing (Calc.→Iod.); thyroidal and glandular therapeutics.
Tyler, M. L. — Homœopathic Drug Pictures (20th c.): vivid clinical vignettes—“window-and-walking” relief; paediatric marasmus.
Scholten, J. — Homoeopathy and the Elements (1996): kingdom signature (halogens—speed/attraction–repulsion) used comparatively with classical sources.