Kali carbonicum

A hygroscopic white salt, Kali carbonicum is chemically represented by K₂CO₃. It is an alkaline, caustic substance historically obtained from wood ashes and used in soap-making and glass production.

Proved by Samuel Hahnemann and published in Materia Medica Pura. Additional elaboration by Hering, Allen, Kent, and Clarke.

Kali carbonicum reflects the pillar of social conformity, inner tension, and deep-seated fear of failure or collapse. The patient is upright, dutiful, loyal—but the internal world is trembling with anxiety, stiffness, and vulnerability. This remedy excels in chronic respiratory and spinal conditions, uterine and back ailments, and individuals whose rigidity masks fear and fragility.

• Lungs and respiratory system – asthma, stitching chest pains, chronic bronchitis
• Back and spine – lumbago, weakness, stitching pains
• Digestive tract – flatulence, abdominal distension
• Female reproductive organs – labour pains, prolapse, leucorrhoea
• Mucous membranes – dryness or profuse discharges
• Mind – anxiety, rigidity, moral rectitude
• Connective tissue and joints – stiffness, weakness, early morning aggravation

Kali carbonicum individuals are classically rigid, conservative, highly moral, and anxious. They display a pronounced fear of losing control, of being abandoned, or disgraced. [Kent] describes a person “constantly in dread; he imagines he is incurable, or that people look down on him.” Their anxiety is felt in the stomach, often as a sinking or gnawing sensation. This remedy typifies the personality that follows rules, is dutiful and industrious, but deeply fears failure or humiliation.

The patient may be irritable, especially toward family. They avoid confrontation, but the internal tension manifests in symptoms. Strong aversion to change, dependence on routine, and exaggerated startle response. Often averse to being alone, yet suspicious or critical of others. Grief and fear for others’ safety dominate, especially in women and children.

Light, unrefreshing. Wakes at 2–3 a.m. with fear or anxiety. Sleep disturbed by cough, dreams, or back pain. Sleepiness in daytime, insomnia at night. Jerks on falling asleep.

Anxious, frightful dreams of thieves, danger, or fire. Dreams of illness, loss, or business failure. Talks in sleep. Wakes feeling unrested.

Stitching pains, aggravation from cold, and weakness are keynotes. Symptoms worse 2–4 a.m., after exertion, and from suppressed discharges. Marked debility, often with trembling. Sensitive to changes in weather. Sudden flushes of heat followed by exhaustion.

Chilliness predominates, especially in back or extremities. Fever with dry skin, faintness, and restlessness. Heat without thirst. Weakness after fever is pronounced.

Chill begins in back, worse in cold air. Heat flushes with anxiety. Sweat is offensive, often staining linen yellow. Sweats at night, especially on face and scalp.

Pains are stitching or bursting, often in the occiput or temples, and aggravated by motion, noise, or light. Hair falls out from chronic illness or after confinement. Head feels as if stuffed with cotton. Vertigo on rising or turning head, with faintness. Migraine with nausea and cold extremities. Scalp sensitive to touch, especially during fever or neuralgia.

Lids swollen, heavy, and twitching. Visual disturbances include spots, flickering, or momentary blindness. Dryness or acrid tears may cause burning. Chronic conjunctivitis with puffiness under the eyes is characteristic. Photophobia worse in morning. [Clarke] notes blepharitis in chronic catarrhal states.

Sensitive to noise, especially music. Stitching pains radiate to ears from throat or face. Hearing fluctuates; may experience roaring or ringing. Ears feel stopped, worse in cold weather. Otorrhoea in scrofulous children.

Chronic nasal catarrh with thick, yellow discharge. Nose obstructed at night, especially in cold rooms. Sneezing spells in early morning. Nosebleeds from suppressed menses or in young girls. Tip of nose may twitch or feel sore.

Face is pale or sallow, often puffy with characteristic bags under the eyes. Facial muscles twitch. Neuralgic pains—stitching or tearing—especially right side, better with warmth. Lips dry and cracked. Expression anxious, with vertical frown lines.

Dryness of mouth with sticky saliva. Metallic or bitter taste. Aphthae and ulcers along inner cheeks or tongue margins. Teeth ache with stitching pains, worse from cold drinks. Gums recede, bleed easily. Tongue coated white or yellow, with dryness and fissures.

Pain with hot or cold drinks, worse at night. Teeth may feel elongated or sore. Tearing or jerking pains. Grinding of teeth in sleep from suppressed anger.

Dry, raw, and sensitive. Stitching pains when swallowing. Swelling of tonsils and submaxillary glands. Mucus accumulates in morning and must be hawked out. Sensation of a plug or lump. Worse from cold air or talking.

Chest pains are stitching, cutting, or sticking, worse from coughing, sneezing, motion. Great remedy for chronic bronchitis, pneumonia in the elderly, and post-influenza weakness. Dry cough at 2–4 a.m., with scanty expectoration and gagging. Difficult respiration with sense of weight or pressure. Weak chest walls in the aged or those recovering from illness.

Palpitations from excitement, anxiety, or exertion. Sharp pains in cardiac region. Pulse small and irregular. Weakness and faintness with cold extremities. Angina-like constriction in susceptible individuals.

Dyspnoea with anxiety, worse after midnight. Must sit upright to breathe. Suffocative cough with retching. Useful in asthma with mucus rattling but difficult to expectorate. Sensitive to cold air. Cough with gagging and stitching chest pains.

Marked flatulence, distension, and a constant feeling of heaviness after meals. Acid eructations with heartburn. Nausea in the morning or after eating. Hungry feeling with aversion to food. Weak, empty sensation especially between 10–11 a.m. [Boericke] notes waterbrash and sour vomiting after rich food. Belching brings temporary relief.

Distended, bloated, and sore to touch. Stitching pains in hypochondria and flanks. Colic with pressure and tightness. Liver region sensitive. Constipation alternating with loose, offensive stool. Passes much flatus, temporarily relieving pain. Gurgling in right iliac fossa.

Large, dry, difficult stool. Painful urging without result. Haemorrhoids bleeding during stool. Sensation of something protruding. Frequent but ineffectual urging. Anal itching and rawness.

Frequent urging, especially at night. Weakness of bladder with dribbling after micturition. Urine cloudy, offensive, or with white sediment. Involuntary urination when coughing, sneezing, or laughing. Stitching pain in urethra.

Aversion to bread, milk, meat. Craving for sweets and salty foods. < cold drinks. Thirst during chill. Stomach sensitive to cold food.

Impotence from overexertion or worry. Emissions with dreams or after coition. Painful erections, sometimes bent. Sexual desire low, or suppressed by guilt and fatigue.

One of the great female remedies. Used for uterine prolapse, habitual miscarriage, painful menstruation, and weakness during pregnancy. Menstrual flow is early, profuse, and prolonged, often with stitching pains. Leucorrhoea thick, yellow, worse after exertion. Backache and labour-like pains are strong indicators. Pregnancy with excessive irritability and sense of bearing down.

Stiffness and weakness in lumbar region, worse from sitting or rising. Stitching pains between scapulae. Cannot lie on back due to pain. Coccyx sore from pressure. Old back injuries or arthritic conditions.

Tearing, stitching, or drawing pains. Numbness and coldness in hands and feet. Cracking joints, especially knees and fingers. Swelling of joints from standing. Sciatic pain with restlessness. Trembling from exhaustion. < 3–4 a.m.

Dry, rough, and unhealthy. Slow to heal. Chronic eczema with thick crusts and burning. Suppressed eruptions lead to deeper complaints. Warts, especially hard and horny. Cracks in skin, especially hands and feet.

• Bryonia – Similar stitching pains, but worse from motion, with dryness and thirst
• Arsenicum – More restlessness, burning pains, fear of death
• Calcarea carb. – Similar weakness and backache, but more sweat and chilliness
• Natrum mur. – Reserved, weeping alone, but more grief than anxiety
• Sepia – Also uterine and prolapse symptoms, but more indifference, better from exercise

• Complementary: Lycopodium, Calcarea carb., Sepia
• Antidotes: Camphor, Coffea
• Follows well: Bryonia, Nux vomica
• Precedes well: Sulphur, Natrum mur.

• Think of Kali-c. in chronic bronchitis with gagging cough, worse at 2–4 a.m.
• Excellent for backache with uterine prolapse or after labour
• Use in stitching pains anywhere in the body, especially chest and back
• Consider for weeping children with fear of abandonment
• Valuable in the elderly with chronic respiratory and joint complaints

Mind

• Anxiety, health, family, future
• Fear, alone, of being
• Startled easily
• Conservative, moralistic

Head

• Pain, stitching, temples
• Vertigo, rising, with nausea

Chest

• Pain, stitching, coughing
• Cough, 2–4 a.m., dry, gagging

Back

• Pain, lumbar, morning
• Stiffness, rising from seat

Female

• Uterus, prolapse
• Leucorrhoea, yellow, thick

Generalities

• Weakness, morning
• Cold air aggravates

2–4 a.m. aggravation

Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving, detailed description of stitching pains and flatulence

James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Mental picture, fears, stitching pains, respiratory indications

John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Back pains, bronchitis, uterine prolapse

William Boericke – Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Clinical tips, modalities, cough, and weakness

C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: Detailed repertory rubrics, night aggravation, and chest indications