Nitromuriaticum acidum
Substance Background
A mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids (“aqua regia”), historically used chemically to dissolve noble metals; in medicine it was applied as bath/fomentation in liver and portal disorders in the 18th–19th centuries [Hughes], [Clarke]. In homeopathy it is triturated and attenuated from a fixed proportion of the two acids, emphasising its hepato–portal, splenic, and mucosal actions [Allen], [Clarke]. Toxicology and empirical use describe hepatic congestion, jaundice, splenic enlargement after intermittent fevers, sallow cachexy, mouth and throat ulcerations with foetor, haemorrhoids from portal stasis, and profound lassitude with night-sweats [Hughes], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. These crude effects underwrite the remedy’s sphere in torpid liver, biliary insufficiency, portal obstruction with piles, post-malarial spleen, and ulcerative stomatitis.
Proving Information
No large Hahnemannian proving; the pathogenesis rests on toxicology, empirical bath use, and clinical confirmations. Classical authors record dull hepatic pain with jaundice, splenic drag after malaria, aphthous and ulcerative mouth–throat, offensive breath, constipation with bleeding piles, sallow cachexy with night-sweats, and great weakness; modalities emphasise worse tight clothing at waist, rich/fat foods, alcohol, damp heat, evening, and better warm applications, gentle exercise, and free biliary/intestinal action [Allen], [Hughes], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Tags: [Toxicology] [Clinical].
Remedy Essence
Essence: A sallow, icteric, hepato–portal patient—often post-malarial or alcohol-abused—with biliary dyspepsia (bitter taste, fat-aversion, pyrosis), clay stools, dark bile-stained urine, haemorrhoids from portal stasis, ulcerative mouth–throat with foetor, splenic drag, itching skin, and night-sweats [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke], [Boger]. The pace is subacute–chronic; the temperament is dulled and easily vexed; the body resents tight waist-bands and muggy heat.
Core polarities: Worse from fat/grease, alcohol, tight clothing, damp heat, evening, sedentary life, jar/stepping, and suppressed piles; better from warm applications, gentle walking and open, dry air, simple warm food/drink, loose garments, and—most decisively—free biliary and intestinal action. These threads run throughout: Mind lifts and Head clears as stool becomes bilious; Mouth ulcers and foetor abate as diet lightens and alcohol is dropped; Skin itch and night-sweats diminish when bile flows; Rectal bleeding is lessened by movement and warm bathing, worse with long sitting.
Differentiation: Choose Acidum nitro-muriaticum over Chelidonium when the mouth–throat ulcers and piles stand beside liver signs and the scapular reflex is not decisive; over Carduus when ulcer-mouth/foetor tips the scale; over Nux-v. in the sallow, less irritable, more torpid subject who loathes fat and is hurt by tight waist-bands; over Merc./Nit-ac./Mur-ac. when the hepatic–portal axis governs the ulcerative picture. Practical management marries remedy and regimen: loosen the belt, warm the right side, walk gently daily, avoid fats and alcohol, and seek dry warmth. In such terrain the remedy often restores the bile’s colour, the stool’s rhythm, and the patient’s steady strength.
Affinity
- Liver and biliary passages — Hepatic congestion, dull ache in right hypochondrium, jaundice, clay-coloured stools, dark bile-stained urine; torpor after malaria, alcohol, or drug abuse (quinine/mercury) [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke].
- Portal system & veins — Haemorrhoids, varices, fullness about the anus and lower abdomen; relief as evacuations and bile become free [Boger], [Clarke].
- Spleen — Post-malarial splenomegaly with dragging in the left hypochondrium, sallow hue, and easy fatigue [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Mouth & throat mucosae — Aphthae, ulcers, salivation with foetid breath; sore, raw fauces; tongue indented and slimy [Allen], [Clarke].
- Stomach–bowel digestion — Aversion to fatty, rich food, bitter taste, pyrosis, flatulent distension, and constipation alternating with bilious looseness [Boericke], [Boger].
- Skin & sweat — Sallow, icteric tint, pruritus, night-sweats that weaken; moist eruptions about flexures in cachectic states [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Haemorrhages (passive) — Oozing, dark bleeding from piles and gums in portal stasis; anaemic faintness from small losses [Hughes], [Clarke].
- General nutrition — Lassitude, weight-loss, low fever in evenings, chilly heat in damp weather; “port-wine” complexion in drinkers [Clarke], [Nash].
- Gallbladder — Biliary insufficiency with pale stools and itching skin; dull right scapular referral less marked than Chelidonium but present [Clarke], [Boger].
Better For
- Warm applications over right hypochondrium — Soothe hepatic ache and promote flow of bile (echoed in Abdomen/Generalities) [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Gentle walking / out-of-doors — Relieves portal stasis, improves bowel action, clears head (Mind/Rectum cross-link) [Boger].
- After a good stool / free bile — Oppression, headache, and pruritus lessen as colour returns to stool [Clarke].
- Looser clothing at waist — Reduces waist-band aggravation, eases liver–spleen pressure [Clarke].
- Simple, non-fatty diet; warm drinks — Diminish bitterness, pyrosis, and flatulence; settle stool rhythm [Boericke].
- Dry, warm climate / dry heat locally — Damp chill worsens spleen–liver aches; dryness calms skin itch [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Propped rest after meals (short) — Reduces epigastric pressure and reflux in congested livers [Boger].
- Sweating moderately — Gentle perspiration lightens the sallow heaviness (not exhausting night-sweat) [Clarke].
Worse For
- Fatty, rich, fried foods — Renew bitter taste, heartburn, and clay stools [Boericke].
- Alcohol (wine, spirits, beer) — Heightens hepatic ache, piles, and foetor; next-morning sallow stupor [Clarke], [Nash].
- Tight clothing / belts at the waist — Intolerable pressure over liver–spleen; patient loosens garments (cross-link Abdomen) [Clarke].
- Damp heat / muggy weather — Deepens splenic drag and skin itch; favours night-sweats [Hughes].
- After malaria / quinine; after mercury — Chronic portal–splenic torpor with sallow cachexy (aetiologic keynote) [Hughes], [Clarke], [Boger].
- Evening and night — Oppression, itching, and weakness mount; piles bleed after straining late [Clarke].
- Exertion immediately after meals — Stitch and heaviness in right side; giddiness [Boger].
- Sedentary habits / long sitting — Piles, flatulence, and hepatic fulness increase [Clarke].
- Cold, wet applications — Chill of belly and limbs aggravates ache and diarrhoea-proneness [Clarke].
- Anger or vexation — Bitter eructations and hepatic pains flare (mind–liver tie) [Kent].
- Jar and stepping — Tender liver resents jolting; prefers smooth motion [Clarke].
- Suppression of haemorrhoids or eruptions — Internal congestion and headache return (portal back-draught) [Boger].
Symptomatology
Mind
The mental tone is dull, heavy, sallow, with lassitude and a disinclination for effort; accuracy falters towards evening as portal fulness and bitter taste mount [Clarke]. Irritability follows slight contradiction, and anger or vexation sends a wave of heat to the head, with bitter eructations and right hypochondrial stitch, a pattern that tallies with the aggravation from anger noted under Modalities [Kent]. Melancholy shades the outlook in long-standing jaundice or post-malarial cases; the patient is burdened by work yet too apathetic to rise early. Anxiety is corporeal and centred in the abdomen—fear of the next painful stool, of bleeding piles, of the “sinking” that comes in muggy weather. Relief in mind often coincides with a free stool or after a gentle walk, which is repeatedly observed in this remedy (cross-link Rectum/Generalities). Unlike Nux-v., the temper is not fiery with spasmodic effort; unlike Chelidonium, there is less sharp definition of scapular pain and more sallow depression. Company does little; kindness is tolerated, not relished. With mouth ulcers, conversation is avoided from soreness and foetor; self-consciousness exaggerates the gloom [Clarke], [Allen].
Head
A dull, congestive headache accompanies biliary torpor: forehead and temples feel heavy, worse evening, warm, damp rooms, and after rich food or alcohol; better after a good stool or a warm compress to the liver [Clarke], [Boger]. Vertigo on rising quickly or after meals reflects venous stasis; the face is sallow, eyes slightly icteric, pupils somewhat sluggish in bad cases. A band sensation crosses the brow; turning suddenly brings a throb as if the liver pulled upon the head. The scalp may itch at night with sweat, connecting skin to hepatic state. Compare China (venous congestion with flatulence; wants open air), Chelidonium (clear right scapula pain), and Nux-v. (hangover headache with irritability): Nit-m-ac. has a more icteric, ulcerative-mouth and piles background [Clarke], [Boericke].
Eyes
Sclerae yellow-tinged; lids puffy towards evening; a film seems over sight on exertion [Clarke]. Light irritates in muggy rooms; in dry air vision steadies (Modalities echoed). Pressure at the inner canthus; episcleral vessels injected in drinkers. In severe hepatic states, transient blur improves after stool or a quiet walk (portal link). There is less photophobia and more icteric dulness than in Chelidonium. Occasionally pruritus of lids and corners occurs with sweat, tying the skin theme to the ocular margin.
Ears
Ringing low-toned with venous fulness in the evening; warmth increases noise, open air lessens it. Earache is not a sphere; the ear serves as a venous barometer. Itching of meatus at night may attend the skin–sweat state. Sudden noise irritates the irritable liver temperament, but no labyrinthine storm as in Nat-sal. belongs.
Nose
Nasal tip is often red upon effort or emotion; a faint foetor exhaled with breath from mouth ulcerations gives a general sense of uncleanness [Clarke]. Coryza is not a keynote; rather a dry nose with occasional bleeding in alcoholics. Smells are disagreeable; cooking fats disgust (Stomach cross-link). On entering damp heat, the nose stuffs a little and head feels full; in dry air, relief follows.
Face
Sallow, earthy, sometimes greenish hue; periorbital duskiness; lips dry and cracked at angles; breath offensive [Clarke]. A drawn look appears after straining at stool; sweat beads on the brow during piles pain. Cheeks flush if irritated or after alcohol; colour fades when bile begins to flow. Facial veins show distension in portal stasis; shaving nicks bleed darkly and ooze (Haemorrhage affinity).
Mouth
Capital sphere by analogy of the acids: aphthae, ulcers, raw, bleeding gums, salivation, and an offensive, metallic–bitter taste, horrible in the morning and after fat meals [Allen], [Clarke]. Tongue flabby, indented, slimy; tip sore; sides ulcerate where the teeth rub; speech pains the cheeks. Swallowing hurts from raw fauces; warm drinks soothe (Better For). The mouth’s foetor parallels portal stasis; as the bowels act and diet lightens, the ulcers improve—an organ echo found across the remedy. Differentiation: Nit-ac. has splinter-like pains and bleeding upon touch; Mur-ac. has extreme prostration and haemorrhoids with a “must slide down in bed” weakness; Nit-m-ac. stands between with hepato-portal colouring [Clarke], [Boger].
Teeth
Gums spongy, bleed darkly on brushing; teeth feel long; a sour–bitter wash comes after meals [Allen]. Cold provokes ache less than pressure; the complaint is of sepsis and foetor rather than neuralgia. Dental work bleeds freely; improvement in liver diet and bowel action reduces gum oozing (Haemorrhages link).
Throat
Raw, sore fauces; burning tracks down the oesophagus after fatty foods; hawking of bitter mucus in the morning [Clarke]. Swallowing rough food hurts ulcers; voice thick and foul in the early day; warm drinks ease. There is no deep membranous angina; the throat mirrors the acid–ulcer trait. With piles and portal pressure, a sense of choking rises on straining (Rectum cross-link).
Stomach
Biliary dyspepsia is central: persistent bitterness, aversion to fat, pyrosis, nausea after rich food or alcohol, epigastric fulness with tight waist-bands intolerable; often better after a light, warm drink and a gentle walk [Clarke], [Boericke]. Appetite variable; a mouthful too much brings oppression; belching is bitter but not abundant. The patient prefers simple soups, toast, and vegetables; grease disgusts. After malaria or drugs, the stomach remains flatulent, with weight until bile frees—this tallies with Better: after stool/free bile. Compare Nux-v. (spasm, irritability, craving for stimulants), Chel. (decisive right-scapula pain, hot water better), Lyc. (3–8 p.m. flatulence with right-sidedness): Nit-m-ac. shows more ulcer-mouth and spleen–piles nexus [Boger], [Clarke].
Abdomen
Right hypochondrium dull, sore; left drags from a heavy spleen; waist-bands are unendurable and are loosened instinctively—this mirrors worse tight clothing in Modalities [Clarke]. The abdomen is distended after meals; gurgling in right iliac fossa; a sense of portal fulness on sitting long. Warm applications and a slow stroll after eating relieve; cold and damp increase ache (Better/Worse echoed). Referral to the right shoulder is present but less sharp than Chelidonium. The skin over the abdomen may itch at night, and scratching gives little but momentary ease.
Urinary
Urine dark, bile-stained; occasionally scant during bad hepatic spells; later copious, light, with relief in head and itch as bile flows [Clarke]. Burning slight; sediment light. In the post-malarial, spleen–liver axis gives evening frequency, with weakness afterwards. Foetor may taint urine in ulcerative mouths, a general sepsis note. Suppression of haemorrhoids finds echo in darker urine and greater oppression (portal back-draught).
Rectum
Haemorrhoids are key: swollen, sore, sometimes bleeding darkly after stool; stitching while sitting; relief as portal pressure eases with bowel action [Clarke], [Boger]. Constipation alternates with bilious looseness; clay-coloured stools point to biliary insufficiency; when bile returns, pruritus and headache lessen (cross-link Generalities). Straining aggravates piles and forces blood to the head; the patient dreads evacuation. Anal fissure soreness may accompany ulcers elsewhere (acid stamp). Warm sitz and bland diet help the passage, reinforcing the remedy’s warmth and simplicity cues.
Male
Sexual power reduced in cachexy; emission leaves weakness and right hypochondrial pulling. Varicocele in portal states may be noted (venous theme) [Clarke]. Haemorrhoids and mouth ulcers damp sexual activity more than direct genital symptoms. Improvement follows general correction of bile and diet.
Female
Menses scant and late in sallow, post-malarial subjects; tenderness under right ribs before the flow; piles bleed instead of menses in some (vicarious portal relief) [Clarke]. Leucorrhoea yellowish, excoriating when bile is checked; ulcers on cervix by analogy reported sparsely (acid–ulcer stamp). Pregnancy with piles and bitter taste finds relief along the same liver axis; looser garments and warm drinks help.
Respiratory
Short breath on ascending when liver full; sighing relieves; a stitch in right side with long speech reflects tight clothing and hepatic tug [Clarke]. Damp heat clogs the breath; dry, warm air comforts (Modalities echoed). No wheeze unless anaemia and prostration complicate.
Heart
Pulse soft, easily quickened by mild effort; faintness with piles bleeding; anaemic tone with sallow complexion [Hughes], [Clarke]. Anginoid pain rare; the heart registers portal stress and weakness. After gentle walking in dry air, the circulation steadies.
Chest
Oppression across lower ribs on sitting, better for rising and walking; breath short after a meal or wine; no deep bronchitis belongs [Clarke]. Palpitations follow straining at stool; warmth and rest ease. The chest symptoms are vascular and hepatic-reflex, not primary. When sweat comes evenly, oppression wanes (Perspiration link).
Back
A dull ache beneath right scapula (less sharp than Chelidonium) with sense of weight forward; interscapular fatigue in evening [Clarke], [Boger]. Warmth and posture change help; jar aggravates—patient avoids stairs when liver is tender. Lumbar heaviness follows piles bleeding.
Extremities
Heavy limbs; varicose ankles in portal subjects; calf cramps at night in damp heat [Clarke]. Warm stockings and walking relieve. Hands yellowish; nails pale; small cuts ooze and heal slowly (Haemorrhage/Skin links). Standing long worsens piles and varices.
Skin
Sallow, often icteric; pruritus, worse night and damp heat; scratching gives little relief; night-sweats weaken and soil linen [Clarke], [Boericke]. Eruptions about the flexures may weep; perianal skin sore from piles discharge. Foetid perspiration accompanies mouth foetor, a systemic sepsis note. As bile returns, colour and itch improve (organ echo). Compare Sulph. (itch, heat, offensive sweat but hot-blooded) and Graph. (oozing eczema in folds without hepatic core).
Sleep
Sleep unrefreshing; early night-sweats; frequent waking towards morning with bitter mouth, dry tongue, and awareness of right-side weight [Clarke]. Dreams of business cares and of straining at stool; dread of evacuation on waking. Sleeping in damp heat increases restlessness; dry, warm bedding soothes while loose waist garments ease breathing and liver ache. After a good stool, sleep is deeper next night—cross-link Rectum.
Dreams
Dreams of dirty water, sinks, and stains reflect bile and foetor; of incomplete tasks and missed trains mirror the torpid, delayed system [Clinical]. In malarial histories, dreams recur with fever-time; as spleen softens, dreams lighten.
Fever
Evening heat with sallow face, then clammy sweat; temperature low-grade; chill in damp weather with aching in rib margins; malarial periodicity in spleen cases [Hughes], [Clarke]. Fever relents with bile-flow and stool. There is no high septic curve unless ulcers are severe; then prostration suggests Mur-ac. rather than Nitro-mur. ac.
Chill / Heat / Sweat
Chill on slight exposure in muggy air; internal heat in evening with head dullness; sweat at night, not relieving, leaving weakness [Clarke]. Gentle daytime sweat after walking aids liver; forced night-sweat is exhausting (Modalities distinction).
Food & Drinks
Aversion to fat, fried foods; desire for simple, warm food and drinks; alcohol aggravates everything (head, piles, foetor) [Boericke], [Clarke]. Sour fruits may purge bile and temporarily relieve. Salt meats and gravies disgust; coffee sits ill in the morning. Small, frequent, warm meals suit (Better For).
Generalities
Acidum nitro-muriaticum presents a hepato–portal constitution with sallow–icteric colouring, bitter dyspepsia, haemorrhoids, post-malarial spleen, and ulcerative mouth–throat; weakness and night-sweats overlay the picture [Clarke], [Hughes], [Boericke], [Boger]. The master modality cluster is: worse from fatty foods, alcohol, tight waist-bands, damp heat, evening/night, long sitting, after malaria or drug abuse (quinine/mercury), jar/stepping, and suppression of piles or eruptions; better from warm applications, gentle walking/out-of-doors, looser clothing, simple warm diet, free bile and stool, dry warmth, and moderate perspiration. Cross-links are explicit: free biliary/intestinal action clears head and pruritus; warmth soothed abdomen and throat; loose waist eases liver–spleen and breath; abstinence from alcohol and fats transforms mouth foetor and piles. Differentiate chiefly from Chelidonium (decisive right-scapula pain, hot drinks, tongue yellow), Carduus marianus (liver with haemorrhoids, worse lying on left), Nux vomica (gastric spasm in irritables, stimulants craved), Mercurius/Nit-ac./Mur-ac. (ulcerative mouth/foetor—choose by splinter pains, extreme prostration, or mixed hepatic colouring), China (portal flatulence and periodicity, better open air), and Lycopodium (biliary colic, 4–8 p.m., right → left) [Clarke], [Boger], [Boericke], [Farrington], [Kent].
Differential Diagnosis
Aetiology (alcohol, malaria, drugs)
- Nux vomica — Alcoholic dyspepsia with irritability and spasm; Nit-m-ac. more sallow, ulcer-mouth, piles, and tight-waist intolerance [Kent], [Clarke].
- China — Post-malarial splenic fulness with flatulence; lacks ulcer-mouth and fat-aversion; periodic fevers stronger [Boger], [Clarke].
- Mercurius sol. — After mercury: salivation, ulcers, foetor, sweat; Nit-m-ac. adds hepatic–portal torpor and biliary signs [Clarke], [Allen].
Liver / Bile
- Chelidonium — Right scapular pain, hot drinks >, yellow tongue; Nit-m-ac. less scapular key, more piles + mouth ulcers [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Carduus marianus — Liver tenderness with haemorrhoids, worse lying on left; less ulcer-mouth than Nit-m-ac. [Boger].
- Lycopodium — Biliary colic, 4–8 p.m., right to left, craving sweets; Nit-m-ac. dislikes fats and has ulcerative mouth [Clarke].
Mouth / Throat ulcers
- Nitric acid — Splinter pains, bleeding to touch; both offensive; Nit-m-ac. carries hepato–portal background [Allen], [Clarke].
- Muriatic acid — Profound prostration, haemorrhoids, sepsis; tongue paralytic; Nit-m-ac. less collapse, more biliary signs [Boericke].
- Mercurius — Profuse saliva, sweat, flabby tongue; Nit-m-ac. less sweat, more liver–spleen tie [Clarke].
Haemorrhoids / Portal
- Aesculus — Dry, aching back, purple piles without bleeding; Nit-m-ac. bleeding, bile-linked, ulcer-mouth [Boger].
- Hamamelis — Passive venous bleed, soreness; lacks hepatic dyspepsia and fat-aversion [Clarke].
Skin / Jaundice
- Sulphur — Itch, heat of vertex, offensive sweat; hot-blooded; Nit-m-ac. chilly, sallow, bile-centred [Kent].
- Natrum sulph. — Jaundice after damp, morning green sputum; Nit-m-ac. piles and mouth ulcers prominent [Boger].
Modalities
- Bryonia — Stitching < motion, dry tongue; craves stillness; Nit-m-ac. is portal and diet keyed, better gentle walking [Clarke].
Remedy Relationships
- Complementary: Nux vomica — Clears gastric spasm and habits; Nit-m-ac. follows to reconstruct bile/portal flow [Kent], [Clarke].
- Complementary: Chelidonium — For sharp right-scapular biliary pains after Nit-m-ac. has reduced sallow torpor [Boericke].
- Complementary: Carduus marianus — Venous liver with haemorrhoids; alternation by phase (tenderness vs. torpor) [Boger].
- Follows well: Mercurius — When salivation and ulceration settle but hepatic dullness persists [Clarke].
- Follows well: China — After post-malarial fevers when spleen remains heavy and bile is sluggish [Clarke], [Boger].
- Precedes well: Lycopodium — If biliary colic or evening flatulence (4–8 p.m.) predominates after hepatic tone returns [Clarke].
- Precedes well: Sulphur — When skin itch and venous stasis linger in a chilly sallow subject after bile improves [Kent].
- Related (acid family): Nit-ac., Mur-ac. — choose by splinter pains vs collapse–piles; Nit-m-ac. merges with hepatic focus [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Antidotes (functional): Warmth, restraint of alcohol and fats, gentle exercise, loose garments; Camphor cited for over-action [Clarke], [Hughes].
Clinical Tips
- Biliary dyspepsia with piles: bitter taste, fat-aversion, clay stools, dark urine, tight-waist intolerance; mouth foetor/ulcers—give Nit-m-ac. and enforce warm diet, no alcohol [Clarke], [Boericke].
- Post-malarial spleen–liver: dragging left side, sallow face, evening heaviness, night-sweats; alternate China (fever phase) and Nit-m-ac. (torpor phase) by day signs [Clarke], [Boger].
- Haemorrhoids from portal stasis: dark oozing, soreness, worse long sitting; gentle walking, warm sitz, loose garments, and the remedy together shorten the course [Clarke].
- Aphthous/ulcer mouth with hepatic signs: flabby indented tongue, foetor, bitter mornings; improvement tracks bile recovery—an internal gauge for case progress [Allen], [Clarke].
- Potency & repetition: Functional hepatopathy—6C–30C once or twice daily for a short run, spacing as bile and bowels normalise; constitutional sallow–portal picture—200C single with watchful waiting. Avoid alternating with strong acids unless a fresh indication arrives [Boericke], [Boger].
- Mini-pearls:
- “Loosen the belt, warm the liver, walk a little—then dose” fits Nit-m-ac. [Clarke].
- “Clay stool to brown = head clears” is a bedside progress sign [Boger].
Selected Repertory Rubrics
Mind
- Irritable from slight contradiction; anger brings bitter eructations — liver–mind tie [Kent].
- Indifference, apathy with sallow depression — constitutional colour [Clarke].
- Anxiety centred in abdomen and stool — portal dread [Clarke].
- Better in open air and after a good stool — emunctory relief [Boger].
- Aversion to conversation from mouth soreness/foetor — mucosal link [Allen].
- Mental dulness evening — circadian slump [Clarke].
Mouth/Throat
- Aphthae/ulcers, raw, foetid breath — acid stamp [Allen], [Clarke].
- Tongue flabby, indented, slimy — hepatic tongue [Clarke].
- Gums spongy, bleed darkly — passive sepsis [Allen].
- Warm drinks relieve throat rawness — nursing cue [Clarke].
- Metallic–bitter taste, worst morning and after fat — bile mark [Boericke].
- Salivation with soreness — acid–mercurial overlap [Allen].
Stomach
- Aversion to fat, rich foods — biliary insufficiency [Boericke].
- Bitterness constant; pyrosis after rich meals — hepatic dyspepsia [Clarke].
- Epigastric weight with tight waist-bands intolerable — portal sign [Clarke].
- Better warm drinks and gentle walking — regimen rubric [Boger].
- Alcohol aggravates, next-morning sallow — differential with Nux [Clarke].
- Nausea after anger — mind–liver [Kent].
Abdomen/Liver/Spleen
- Liver congested, right hypochondrium sore — organ lead [Clarke].
- Spleen enlarged after malaria — post-ague rubric [Hughes], [Clarke].
- Waist-band aggravates — keynote [Clarke].
- Warm applications relieve — classic aid [Boericke].
- Dragging left hypochondrium (spleen) — malarial echo [Clarke].
- Jar/stepping aggravates liver pain — tenderness sign [Clarke].
Rectum
- Haemorrhoids, dark bleeding; soreness after stool — portal piles [Clarke].
- Constipation with clay stools — biliary failure [Clarke].
- Diarrhoea bilious after fats — rebound bile [Boericke].
- Straining → head congested — pelvic–cephalic link [Boger].
- Warm sitz relieve — regimen [Clarke].
- Worse long sitting — stasis [Clarke].
Urinary
- Dark, bile-stained urine — hepatic mark [Clarke].
- Scant during torpor, freer with relief — emunctory axis [Clarke].
- Evening frequency with weakness — portal fatigue [Clarke].
- Foetor note systemic — sepsis echo [Allen].
- Sediment light; burning slight — non-renal [Clarke].
- Better as bile flows — progress rubric [Clarke].
Skin/Generalities
- Sallow, icteric; pruritus worse night and damp heat — hepatic itch [Clarke].
- Night-sweats exhausting; gentle daytime sweat helps — contrast [Clarke].
- Worse damp heat; better dry warmth — terrain polarity [Hughes].
- Weakness, evening oppression — circadian [Clarke].
- Worse alcohol, fats; better simple warm diet — dietary key [Boericke].
- Suppression of piles/eruption → internal congestion — back-draught [Boger].
References
Hughes — Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy (1870): toxicology and historical bath use; hepatic–splenic notes; portal stasis.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): ulcerative mouth/throat, bitter taste, flabby tongue, piles; clinical confirmations.
Clarke, J. H. — Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): liver–portal picture; tight waist-band; modalities (warmth, gentle walking, diet); post-malarial spleen.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual (1901): keynotes—biliary torpor, aversion to fat, clay stools, haemorrhoids, mouth ulcers.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key (1915): portal–piles linkage; better after stool; regimen cross-links; differentials (Chel., Card-m., Nux).
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): anger–liver relations; diet and stimulants; complementary use with Nux.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): hepatic group comparisons (Chel., Lyc., Nux; Merc./acids in mouth ulcers).
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics (1899): sallow cachexy in alcoholics; piles with hepatic torpor.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): haemorrhoids and liver remedies; sequencing with China in post-malarial states.
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1941): concise keynotes—clay stool, bitter taste, piles, aversion to fats.
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside signs—belt intolerance, warm right-side applications, simple diet.
Dunham, C. — Homoeopathy, the Science of Therapeutics (1877): rationale from toxicology to organ selection in hepatic torpor.
Disclaimer
Educational use only. This page does not provide medical advice or diagnosis. If you have urgent symptoms or a medical emergency, seek professional medical care immediately.
