Petroleum

Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons derived from fossilised organic matter. In its raw state, it is volatile, flammable, and toxic. In homeopathy, it is prepared through serial dilution and succussion, rendering it energetically potent without material toxicity.

Proved by Hahnemann and published in Materia Medica Pura. Confirmed and expanded through clinical use by Allen, Clarke, and Hering.

Petroleum reflects the rigid, cracked, and toxic inner terrain of individuals overwhelmed by environmental and emotional coldness. They are dull, passive, nauseated, and fissured—mentally and physically. Skin is the mirror of inner rigidity and sluggish elimination. Nausea from motion, eczema worse in winter, and fissures that bleed define this remedy. It suits those whose vital heat is depleted, whose systems are choked with waste, and whose emotions have gone numb with chronicity.

• Skin – especially dry, cracked, fissured skin
• Mucous membranes – nose, mouth, rectum
• Stomach and intestines – nausea, vertigo, seasickness
• CNS and spine – vertigo, headaches, neuralgia
• Hands and fingertips – eczema, fissures, eruptions
• Eyes – chronic irritation, visual disturbances
• Genital region – itching eruptions, excoriation

The Petroleum patient is prone to mental dullness, forgetfulness, and a tendency toward confusion. [Hering] describes “difficulty in finding the right word,” and a general slowness of perception. The mind feels sluggish, almost paralysed. There may be apathy or indifference to surroundings, alternating with anxiety and irritability. Anxiety about health is common, especially in those with chronic skin or stomach complaints. As noted by [Kent], there can be a profound sadness with weariness of life. The mind is often as dry and cracked as the skin—disconnected, rigid, and struggling to process sensation.

Sleep disturbed by itching or skin pain. Waking early, unrefreshed. Dreams of fire, danger, or travel. Nightmares with jerking or talking in sleep.

Dreams of falling, drowning, or being pursued. Fearful, anxious dreams. Often wakes suddenly, heart pounding. Dreams may replay events of the day obsessively.

A winter remedy par excellence. Suited to chronic sufferers who worsen in cold, damp weather. Fissured skin, cracked lips, and oozing eruptions reflect a constitution overloaded with internal toxins. Motion sickness, vertigo, and nausea are common, especially in sensitive nervous systems. Skin and stomach are the twin centres of its action. Petroleum suits patients who are mentally dulled, physically chapped, and emotionally frozen—like the substance itself.

Low-grade fevers in chronic skin complaints. Flushes of heat, especially after eating. Sweating after exertion. Fever with dryness and thirstlessness.

Chilliness predominates, especially in winter. Coldness of limbs despite warmth of room. Heat localised to head or face. Sweat offensive, acrid, or cold.

Vertigo is a key symptom of Petroleum, especially when associated with nausea or seasickness. The vertigo is aggravated by motion—walking, riding, or even turning in bed. [Clarke] notes that the vertigo is “worse when eyes are closed,” which is highly characteristic. Headaches are pressing or tearing, felt in the forehead or occiput, worse in the cold or before menstruation. The scalp may feel sore, and the hair may fall out in patches. A peculiar symptom is sensation of the head being too large or tight. Cold spots may be felt on the head.

Eyes feel dry, sore, or itchy. Vision blurred or dim, especially during vertigo. Letters run together while reading. Lachrymation in cold air. Eyelids red, cracked, and sometimes stuck together on waking. Black spots or flickering before the eyes. Sensation as if a veil were over the eyes. Weakness of vision in those with chronic skin affections. [Boericke] mentions chronic blepharitis and conjunctivitis.

Cracking, humming, or roaring in the ears, especially on swallowing. Deafness with dryness of auditory canal. Discharge from ears may be thin, offensive, or excoriating. Otalgia worse in cold air or at night. Eczema behind ears with fissures and oozing. Itching and burning of auditory meatus. Pressure in ears with vertigo.

Chronic dryness and crust formation in nostrils. Bloody scabs in nose, which are painful to remove. Constant need to pick or rub the nose. Nasal obstruction in cold air. Coryza with thick, yellow discharge. [Clarke] notes frequent excoriation around the alae nasi. Eczema and fissures about the nostrils are keynotes.

Skin of face is dry, chapped, and cracks open in cold weather. Lips cracked and bleeding, especially in the centre. Pimples or pustules on chin and cheeks. A sensation of burning or rawness around the nose and mouth. Facial neuralgia with numbness or coldness. The expression may be apathetic or confused.

Mouth dry, especially on waking. Saliva scanty or thick, sticky. Tongue coated white or brown, often cracked or sore. Taste altered—bitter, sour, or metallic. Painful blisters or ulcers may form on inner cheeks. Sensation of a lump in the throat, with dryness and difficulty swallowing.

Toothache worse from cold air and hot drinks. Gums bleed easily and may ulcerate. Sensitivity to both cold and touch. Teeth feel elongated or sore. Pain shoots to the ears or temples.

Dryness and scratching in throat, often with hoarseness. Worse in the morning. Hawking of thick mucus. Feeling of constriction or a foreign body in throat. Pain when swallowing solids.

Oppression of chest with need to take deep breaths. Pain in chest on coughing or deep breathing. Cough dry and hacking, especially in cold air. Eczema on chest. Cracking in sternum with movement. Palpitations with anxiety.

Palpitations worse from emotion or exertion. Weak, irregular pulse. Coldness of chest or limbs. Heart symptoms may accompany nausea or vertigo.

Difficult breathing in cold weather. Oppressed respiration with need to sigh. Dryness in trachea and bronchi. Cough worse on rising or exposure to cold. Expectoration scanty or absent.

The stomach is a primary focus of Petroleum. Intense nausea, especially on motion—seasickness, car travel, even minor jarring. Nausea accompanied by vertigo, weakness, and cold sweat. [Hering] describes nausea that improves after eating, which is peculiar. Craving for fatty foods and indigestibles, yet these often aggravate. Belching is rancid or sour. Epigastric pain sharp, burning, or pressing. Sensation of emptiness or sinking.

Bloating, rumbling, and gurgling. Abdomen sensitive to pressure. Colic worse before stool or menses. Liver region sore or full. Constipation alternating with diarrhoea. Emaciation despite good appetite in chronic cases. Eruptions or eczema around the navel or groin.

Constipation with hard, dry, knotty stools, passed with straining and pain. Stool may crumble at the anus. Fissures with burning pain and bleeding. Sensation of constriction. Itching and soreness around anus. Diarrhoea in early morning, thin and offensive, may alternate with hard stools. [Clarke] mentions sycotic conditions with bleeding piles.

Frequent urging, with scanty or painful urine. Cutting or burning before and during micturition. Urine dark, strong-smelling, or oily. Dribbling after urination. Incontinence in aged or chronically ill patients. Irritation of urethra with discharge.

Craves fat, greasy food, and alcohol. Aversion to meat and milk. Symptoms worse after sour foods. Appetite good despite emaciation. Nausea better after eating is peculiar.

Sexual desire diminished or entirely absent. Eczema or eruptions on scrotum and penis. Itching, burning, and soreness. Emissions during sleep with weakness. Genital warts or moist eruptions in sycotic patients.

Menses too early and too profuse. Headaches, vertigo, or nausea worse before menses. Vaginal itching with excoriation. Offensive leucorrhoea, yellow or green. Eruptions around vulva, painful or oozing. Breast tenderness before menses.

Pain in small of back, worse after standing or walking. Coldness along the spine. Sensitive vertebrae. Eczema or eruptions on back. Stiffness and cracking on motion.

Cracked skin on hands, especially fingertips. Deep painful fissures that bleed easily. Cold hands and feet. Nails brittle, deformed, or split. Sensation of numbness or crawling. Pain in joints worse in winter.

This is the primary sphere of Petroleum. Skin is dry, hard, cracked, and fissured—especially in cold weather. [Boericke] notes “eczema with thick crusts and fissures that bleed.” Oozing eruptions, offensive and sticky. Worse in winter, better in summer. Excoriation in skin folds. Psoriasis-like lesions. Warts, particularly on hands and face. Skin symptoms are worse from washing, scratching, or cold.

• Graphites – Also fissured skin and eruptions, but more moist and sluggish; Petroleum more violent and raw
• Sulphur – Similar skin issues, but Sulphur is hot, irritable, extroverted; Petroleum more cold, dull, and passive
• Psorinum – Dirty, offensive discharges; Petroleum more fissured and cracking skin
• Thuja – Warts and eruptions in sycosis; Petroleum more fissured and weather-related
• Mezereum – Skin eruptions with crusts; Mez. more neuralgic and intense itching

• Complementary: Natrum muriaticum, Sulphur
• Antidotes: Nux vomica, Camphora
• Follows well: Graphites, Lycopodium
• Precedes well: Arsenicum album, Psorinum

• Excellent for eczema with painful fissures, especially in winter
• Go-to remedy for motion sickness, especially if nausea improves after eating
• Useful in occupational dermatitis from exposure to solvents or cold
• Think of it in skin complaints that alternate with mental confusion or gastric symptoms
• Helpful in cracked fingertips and winter hands

Mind

• Confusion, difficulty finding words
• Sadness, indifferent
• Apathy, sluggishness

Head

• Vertigo, worse motion
• Headache, before menses
• Sensation of cold spot

Skin

• Cracks, fissures, winter
• Eczema, chronic, bleeding
• Hands, fingertips, cracked

Stomach

• Nausea, motion sickness
• Better after eating
• Appetite with emaciation

Rectum

• Constipation, hard, knotty
• Fissures, painful, bleeding
• Stool crumbles at anus

Generalities

• Worse in winter
• Worse before menses
• Skin and gastric alternation

Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving with keynote vertigo, nausea, and skin symptoms

C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms: Emphasis on vertigo, nausea, and cold weather aggravation

James Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Analysis of mental dullness and eczema

John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Deep description of skin, gastric, and vertigo symptoms

William Boericke – Pocket Manual: Clinical tips, modalities, and concise indications