Radium bromatum

Radium bromide is a radioactive salt of radium used historically for medical “emanations” and sealed-source therapy. Early provings employed triturations from highly active preparations. Toxicologic and clinical observation show marked action upon the skin (erythema, burning, dermatitis, ulceration), peri-articular tissues and bones (deep rheumatic aching, brittle sensation), nerves (sharp, “electric” darts), kidneys (albumin, casts), blood/vasculature (transient blood-pressure lowering; vascular irritability), and mucosae (dryness, peppery rawness) [Clarke], [Boericke], [Hughes]. [Toxicology]

Provings by Dieffenbach and contemporaries (early 20th century) with clinical confirmations collated by Clarke and Boericke. Recurring proving points include: aching all over with restlessness, better from continued motion and open air, worse at night and warmth of bed, burning of skin “as if on fire”, noon stools (often slate-coloured), sharp abdominal points (McBurney’s, sigmoid), renal irritation with increased urinary solids, and vivid dreams of fire [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Radium bromatum gathers three dominant vectors into one portrait. First is the kinetic vector: a Rhus-like organism that stiffens on first movement and loosens with continued motion, that wants to walk in the air and even sweats into relief. Second is the cutaneous vector: a burning, itching skin that flares in warm rooms and in the warmth of bed, yet calms in open air; when mishandled it passes through dermatitis to ulcer, but paradoxically old naevi/corns and flaky nail edges may recede—evidence of a deep trophic influence [Clarke], [Boericke]. Third is the imponderable vector of sharp, electric pains, vivid dreams of fire, and a noon bowel periodicity with slate-coloured stools that “unlock” headaches and restlessness—odd, yet repeatedly observed [Clarke]. The patient’s language gives it away: “Nights are worst; my skin is on fire in bed; I have to get up, walk, breathe the air—then I’m easier. A hot bath helps the back, but the skin wants cool. My bowels go at noon and afterwards the head is clearer.” The circulatory and renal substratum—tension low, albumin/casts, chlorides ↑—mates the arthritic frame to a mild toxic load, explaining why joints and skin often sing together [Hughes], [Clarke]. Differentiate it from Rhus-t. (less burning skin/renal signature), X-ray (more fissures and light aggravation), and Ars. (burning > heat with a very anxious mind). When those three vectors converge—Rhus-type motion polarity, radio-skin burning < bed > air, and noon-stool/renal accents—Rad-br. becomes a cogent, grounded choice.

• Skin and appendages: Radiodermatitis arc from erythema and itching to vesication, necrosis and ulcer; eczema/psoriasis tendencies; itching and burning < warmth of bed, > open air. See Skin. [Boericke], [Clarke]
• Peri-articular tissues, muscles, bones: Deep rheumatic aching in knees/ankles/back with first-motion <, continued motion >; “bones feel brittle”. See Extremities, Back. [Clarke], [Boger]
• Peripheral nerves: Electric, shock-like neuralgias in trifacial and lumbar tracks; pressure and exercise relieve after first aggravation. See Head, Back. [Clarke], [Phatak]
• Kidneys/urinary tract: Albuminuria, casts, increased chlorides, irritative enuresis—often travelling with the rheumatic state. See Urinary. [Boericke], [Clarke]
• Heart/vasculature: Sharp precordial stitches, palpitations on waking from vivid dreams; tendency to lower arterial tension in provers. See Heart. [Clarke], [Hughes]
• Gastro-duodenal/appendicular ring: Warm emptiness, nausea > eating a little, noon stool, shock-like pains at McBurney’s/sigmoid points. See Stomach, Abdomen, Rectum. [Clarke]
• Respiratory/laryngo-pharyngeal mucosa: Tickle at throat-pit producing dry cough < night/lying, > open air/sitting up. See Respiration, Chest. [Boericke], [Phatak]
• Female breast/genital mucosa: Right breast soreness (> hard rubbing); pruritus vulvae, cheesy leucorrhoea—cutaneous–mucosal link. See Female, Skin. [Boericke], [Phatak]

The mental tone is subdued, apprehensive, and irritable, coloured by bodily burning and pervasive aches; the patient dislikes to be alone in the dark, yet rebuffs conversation when pains surge [Clarke], [Boericke]. A dullness hangs over attention during headaches or internal heat; this lifts after sleep or on stepping into open air, paralleling the general ameliorations already noted. Restlessness attends the rheumatic state: they cannot long remain in one posture, but the first movement is the worst; continued motion finally loosens the stiffness, an inner contradiction that repeatedly confirms the remedy [Boericke], [Clarke]. Anxiety is physical rather than anticipatory: fear that the chest will “shut” from the throat-pit tickle, or that the palpitations after a fiery dream mean danger; both settle with fresh air and slow walking, echoing open-air benefit. Irritability spikes with skin burning in bed; a wish to throw off covers alternates with craving a hot bath for the back—two tiers of thermal behaviour that Rad-br. harmonises (cool for skin, hot for stiffness). Compared with Rhus-t., the mood is less anxious and more heavy with bone-deep ache and peculiar noon-stool and renal notes; compared with X-ray, the mind is less light-averse and more embodied in burning skin and electric pains [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Sleep is restless with vivid dreams of fire; patients wake about 3–4 a.m. hot-skinned, aching “all over,” compelled either to walk about or to take a hot bath for the back and limbs [Clarke], [Boericke]. After such interludes they fall asleep again and wake later refreshed—a striking polarity (after sleep >). Cough is driest on first lying; sitting up by a window allows return to sleep. Palpitations that stirred with the dream calm with slow walking and air, an exact echo of heart and respiratory cross-notes. [Clinical]

Fire, flames, red scenes; busy, realistic dreams that leave palpitation on waking; after a few minutes’ movement and air, both heart and mind quiet—diagnostic when combined with skin burning and nocturnal restlessness [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Rad-br. combines a Rhus-like kinetic pattern—first motion worse, continued motion better—with an imponderable signature of burning skin, electric darts, and open-air craving. Night and warmth of bed fan both skin and bone pains, while hot bathing paradoxically frees the back and limbs. Add renal hints (albumin, casts, chlorides ↑), a noon, slate-coloured stool, and right-orbital → occipital headache > pressure/open air, and the image stands apart from its neighbours (Rhus-t., X-ray, Uran-n., Ars.) [Clarke], [Boericke], [Phatak], [Boger]. [Clinical]

Chilliness with chattering toward forenoon, followed by skin heat; subjective burning out of proportion to measured temperature, mapping to the cutaneous remedy focus. Fever phenomena often pivot around bowel activity, with relief after the noon stool [Boericke], [Clarke]. [Proving]

Tendency to chill in still indoor air and to heat with bed-warmth; open air benefits both. Sweating is modest and attends exercise that loosens the aching—again mirroring continued motion > [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Headaches follow a right supra-orbital → occiput/vertex track with pulsation and weight, often worse in warm rooms or on lying down, better by pressure and open air; they may accompany trifacial neuralgia that is provoked by washing or shaving [Clarke]. Vertigo appears on rising or turning, veering to the left, and clears after sleep or outdoors—an exact mirror of the modality grid [Clarke], [Phatak]. Neuralgic darts shoot through the jaw angle and zygoma; the scalp can feel tight or tender, and hairline eczematisation may complicate chronic cases. The headaches loosen with quiet walking, whereas sudden movement aggravates—another instance of the first-motion < / continued-motion > polarity. Differentially, compare Spigelia (left orbital boring < eye motion), Cactus (constrictive band), and Nat-m. (sun headaches with tearfulness): Rad-br. selects by right-eye onset, pressure-amelioration, and skin/renal concomitants [Clarke], [Boger]. [Clinical]

Lid margins burn and smart with a foreign-body feeling “as of a lash” that eases if rubbed or by simply closing the eyes; conjunctival injection fans out from the corneal edge, often on the right first [Clarke]. Photophobia is moderate; the ocular discomfort travels with trifacial pains and the right-orbital headache pattern. Open air soothes, warm rooms fret the lids; sleep refreshes. Compared with Ars., which wants heat for burning, Rad-br. craves air for relief—the same polarity we see in the skin [Clarke], [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Prickling and a rushing-water sound on waking from fiery dreams have been noted; these clear with rising and movement. Stuffiness accompanies close, heated rooms, again bettered by open air [Phatak], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Dryness of cavities with crusting; tip and alae burn in warmth; the desire for outdoor air is constant. Smell is dulled during headaches. There is little catarrh, the picture being one of dry, irritable mucosa [Clarke]. [Proving]

Flushing heat and acneiform/rosaceous eruptions are common; trifacial neuralgia can be violent, brought on by washing/shaving, and eased by pressure and later by motion as the spasm loosens [Clarke]. Facial skin shares the general rule: warmth of bed <, open air >. Compare Kali-iod. when cachectic coryza dominates; Rad-br. centres on neuralgia + radio-skin [Boericke]. [Clinical]

Mouth and tongue feel dry and peppery, speech clumsy until a cold sip moistens; metallic or flat taste alternates with a sourish rising in gastric phases [Boericke], [Clarke]. Teeth feel too long during facial pains. [Proving]

Tensive, electric pains run along roots during trigeminal storms; night aggravation is common and pressure calms; the gums may be tender yet pale. These dental tracks parallel the head/face picture already drawn [Clarke]. [Clinical]

A raw peppery feeling in the pharynx with little mucus; tickle at the suprasternal notch provokes the dry, spasmodic cough that is worse at night/lying and better sitting up in cool air [Phatak], [Boericke]. [Proving]

Oppression with constriction and a tickle-cough from the throat-pit; lying increases the spasm, the patient sits up by an open window until it eases [Phatak]. Walking steadily outside loosens the thorax; quick exertion jars the stitches. Cases often report that the cough is driest and most vexing after first lying down, showing the same first-movement sensitivity as the joints. [Boericke], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Sharp, stabbing precordial pains radiate slightly and often improve with walking in the air; palpitations wake after vivid dreams (fire) and subside on moving about—clear cross-references to Sleep and Mind [Clarke], [Boericke]. Historical physiologic notes report lower arterial tension in those exposed to radium, which accords with the subjective slackness and chill-then-heat alternation described under Fever [Hughes], [Clarke]. [Toxicology]

Shallow during constriction; open air invites deeper breaths; the laryngeal tickle is seated low and provokes a hard, dry cough. Breathing quiets after eructation when gastric pressure coexists, connecting Respiration to Stomach [Phatak]. [Clinical]

A peculiar warm emptiness or sinking appears an hour before meals and is relieved by eating a little, distinguishing it from Nux-type irritability [Clarke]. Nausea comes on walking after food, while belching and small warm sips steady the epigastrium; aversion to sweets is recorded by several observers [Clarke], [Phatak]. This gastric phase often precedes the noon stool, integrating stomach and rectal sections. [Clinical]

Flatulent distension with cramps that may strike the appendicular and sigmoid points in sudden shocks; the patient bends double and seeks a quick stool for relief [Clarke]. There is alternation of abdominal pain with ear or chest symptoms in some provers, a labile distribution common to imponderables. Right hypochondrial dragging is mild; the emphasis is on colic that gives way after passage of wind and stool. [Proving]

Stools show a noon periodicity, sometimes slate/clay-coloured, offensive, and gaseous; diarrhoeic days leave rectal soreness or a sense of prolapsus, yet constipation can alternate [Clarke], [Boericke]. The bowels often “unlock” the head/skin aggravation, linking gut to surface—patients report that after the noon stool the headache lifts and the skin burns less, mirroring the cross-references above. [Clinical]

Urine exhibits increased solids (chlorides); albumin and casts may appear; enuresis has been recorded in sensitive subjects [Boericke], [Clarke]. Urging is irritable rather than inflammatory. The renal note frequently travels with rheumatic and skin states, supporting Rad-br. in arthritic terrains with kidney strain. [Clinical] [Toxicology]

Aversion to sweets/ice-cream; pork and sour things may be craved paradoxically; warm sips comfort the epigastrium; eating a little relieves warm emptiness; walking after meals provokes nausea—practical guidance that ties back to Stomach [Phatak], [Clarke]. [Clinical]

Desire is dulled; eczema of glans/prepuce with itching < bed warmth; rawness relieved by cool air or light oiling; occasional nocturnal emissions in exhausted frames [Boericke], [Phatak]. [Clinical]

Menses tardy or irregular; cheesy, white leucorrhoea with vulval pruritus < warmth, > cool ablution. Right breast sore, > firm rubbing is a small but persistent keynote and can accompany the skin state elsewhere [Boericke], [Phatak]. [Clinical]

Lumbo-sacral aching as if the bones were brittle, worse on first getting up or climbing stairs, better from continued motion and especially a hot bath, which many patients seek instinctively [Boericke], [Clarke]. Sharp, electric stitches may shoot into scapular spaces; cervical lameness is worse when the head droops. [Proving] [Clinical]

Deep, gnawing aches of knees and ankles predominate; first steps are stiff and painful, yet walking on loosens the joints, a true Rhus-type polarity with more bone-brittle sensation than Rhus [Clarke], [Boger]. Toes, corns and callosities become tender; notable clinical curiosities include softening or disappearance of corns/naevi, aligning with the trophic skin action [Clarke]. [Clinical]

The signature is burning, itching, erythematous skin that becomes eczematous or even ulcerated if mishandled; heat < bed warmth, > open air; scratching converts itch to smarting and delays healing [Boericke], [Clarke]. Radiodermatitis may pass through oedema to necrosis; chronic cases show psoriasis-like scaling or cracked fingertips with irritable nails. Several observers noted fading of naevi and corns while under Rad-br.—a trophic turn that helps selection in mixed cutaneous states [Clarke]. [Toxicology] [Clinical]

• Rheumatic aching, first motion <, continued motion >
  • Rhus-t. — Classic restlessness and stiffness; Rad-br. adds burning skin, renal signs, and noon stool [Boericke], [Clarke].
  • Kali-iod. — Migratory rheumatism with cachexia and catarrh; less burning skin, more glandular softening [Clarke].
• Radiant/burning dermatoses
  • X-ray — Fissures, cracks, photo-aggravation; Rad-br. more erythema→necrosis, naevi/corn changes, vivid fire dreams [Boericke].
  • Ars. — Burning > heat (opposite skin polarity), great anxiety and prostration [Hughes], [Clarke].
  • Sulph. — Burning/itching < heat/bed, but constitutional, with vertex heat and morning stool; Rad-br. adds Rhus-type joint pattern and renal notes [Kent].
• Renal irritation with musculo-skeletal pains
  • Uran-n. — Gastric corrosion, glycosuria; heavier renal metabolic picture than Rad-br. [Clarke].
  • Caust. — Arthro-neurotic with paretic tendency; lacks radio-skin and noon stool [Boericke].
• Head—right supra-orbital to occiput
  • Spig. — Left orbital boring < eye motion; Rad-br. right-sided, pressure/open air > [Clarke].
  • Cactus — Constricting band; Rad-br. has pulsing weight and neuralgic stitches > motion [Clarke].
• Tickle-cough from throat-pit
  • Rumex — Tickle < cold air to larynx; Rad-br. < lying, > open air/sitting up [Phatak].
  • Phos. — Tickling cough with hoarseness, thirst for cold; less Rhus-type joint pattern [Farrington].

• Complementary: Rhus-t. (shares kinetic pattern; Rhus opens the case, Rad-br. completes when burning skin/renal/noon stool guide) [Clarke].
• Complementary: Kali-iod. in rheumatic cachexias after skin calms [Clarke].
• Follows well: X-ray in chronic radiodermatitis when burning/ulcer edges persist [Boericke].
• Follows well: Uran-n. or Caust. when renal/arthritic field remains but skin and headaches call for Rad-br. [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Sulph. as constitutional after acute burning state recedes [Kent].
• Related: Ars., Sep., Puls., Calc., Boger’s imponderables for comparison of open-air craving and neuralgic darts [Boger], [Clarke].
• Antidotes (reported): Rhus-ven., Rhus-t. to certain skin/ache aggravations; Rad-br. has been noted to antidote Bell. eruptions in older sources [Boericke], [Clarke].

• Rheumatic insomnia with “bones brittle,” first steps cruel, better after walking in cool air: Rad-br. 12x–30C every 6–12 hours for 2–3 days, then pause; add a hot evening bath to mirror modalities [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Burning eczematous eruptions that flare in bed heat, patient seeks window and air: Rad-br. 30C once daily for a few days; cool compresses only, avoid hot soaps; review after the noon stool pattern appears [Clarke].
• Right supra-orbital → occiput headache, pressure/open-air better, warm room worse: Single 30C at onset; encourage slow outdoor walk to leverage remedy polarity [Clarke].
• Arthritic with renal edge (albumin/casts) and tickle-cough at throat-pit: Intercurrent Rad-br. 30C; cough often > sitting up in air, joints > continued motion [Phatak], [Boericke].

Mind

• MIND — FEAR — alone — dark; in. — Seeks company at night. [Clarke]
• MIND — IRRITABILITY — pains; during. — Crossness mounts with burning/aches. [Boericke]
• MIND — RESTLESSNESS — pain — with — motion — amel. — Rhus-type kinetic relief. [Boericke]
• MIND — ANXIETY — heart; about — waking from dreams. — Fire dreams with palpitation. [Clarke]
• MIND — AVERSION — room; to being in warm, close. — Open-air craving. [Clarke]
• MIND — DULLNESS — after waking — amel. — Clears after sleep. [Phatak]

Head / Face / Eyes

• HEAD — PAIN — supraorbital — right — occiput, to — pressure — amel. — Signature cephalgia track. [Clarke]
• HEAD — VERTIGO — rising — left, to fall to. — Leftward veer; air/sleep >. [Clarke]
• FACE — NEURALGIA — trifacial — washing/shaving — aggravates. — Irritable cutaneous-neural link. [Clarke]
• EYES — SENSATION — foreign body — as of a lash — rubbing — amel. — Lid-margin irritation. [Clarke]
• EYES — BURNING — warm room — aggravates — open air — ameliorates. — Thermal polarity. [Clarke]
• SCALP — ERUPTIONS — eczematous — fingertips/nail edges; with. — Trophic changes. [Boericke]

Respiration / Chest / Heart

• THROAT-PIT — TICKLING — cough — causes — night, in — lying — aggravates — sitting up — ameliorates. — Classic radium cough. [Phatak]
• CHEST — CONSTRICTION — air hunger — open air — ameliorates. — Seeks window. [Clarke]
• COUGH — DRY — on lying down — first — aggravates. — First-movement echo. [Boericke]
• HEART — PAIN — stabbing — walking — amel. — Neuralgic precordia settles with motion. [Clarke]
• HEART — PALPITATION — dreams — after — fire; of. — Wakes hot; air/walk >. [Clarke]
• PULSE — TENSION — low; with tendency to. — Physiologic note. [Hughes]

Abdomen / Rectum

• ABDOMEN — PAIN — McBurney’s point — shocks, like. — Appendicular dart. [Clarke]
• ABDOMEN — COLIC — bending double — ameliorates. — Flexion eases. [Clarke]
• STOOL — TIME — noon — slate/clay-coloured. — Curious but guiding keynote. [Clarke]
• RECTUM — SORENESS — after diarrhoea — prolapsus; with. — Post-watery strain. [Boericke]
• FLATUS — MUCH — stool — with — relief after. — Unlocks head/skin. [Clarke]
• CONSTIPATION — alternating — diarrhoea; with. — Alternation pattern. [Boericke]

Back / Extremities

• BACK — PAIN — lumbo-sacral — first moving — aggravates — continued motion — ameliorates. — Rhus-type but bone-brittle feel. [Boericke]
• BACK — BATH — hot — ameliorates. — Craves soak at night. [Clarke]
• EXTREMITIES — PAIN — knees/ankles — first steps — aggravates — walking — ameliorates. — Kinetic polarity. [Clarke]
• EXTREMITIES — STITCHES — lumbar — electric, like. — Imponderable dart. [Phatak]
• FEET — CORNS/CALLOSITIES — disappear; tendency to. — Trophic change. [Clarke]
• NECK — STIFFNESS — head bent forward — aggravates. — Erect posture better. [Clarke]

Skin

• SKIN — BURNING — as if on fire — warmth of bed — aggravates — open air — ameliorates. — Core polarity. [Boericke], [Clarke]
• SKIN — DERMATITIS — erythema — ulceration — to; tendency. — Radiodermatitis arc. [Boericke]
• SKIN — ITCHING — night — bed; in — aggravates. — Drives from bed. [Clarke]
• SKIN — NAEVUS — disappears; tendency of. — Observed clinically. [Clarke]
• SKIN — ECZEMA — fingertips — nails — changes of. — Trophic/nail irritability. [Boericke]
• SKIN — SCRATCHING — aggravates — smarting — with. — Heat-scratch loop. [Clarke]

Generalities / Sleep

• GENERALITIES — x-ray exposure, after. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — OPEN AIR — ameliorates. — Global keynote. [Boericke]
• GENERALITIES — MOTION — first — aggravates — continued — ameliorates. — Rhus-type. [Clarke]
• GENERALITIES — HEAT — bed; in — aggravates. — Sets skin ablaze. [Clarke]
• SLEEP — DREAMS — fire — with palpitation — waking. — Signature dream. [Boericke]
• SLEEP — AFTER — ameliorates. — Refreshed after second sleep. [Phatak]
• TIME — NOON — complaints — stool at; during. — Bowel periodicity. [Clarke]

Clarke — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900–1925 addenda): provings (Dieffenbach), skin/renal/vascular notes, noon-stool, dreams, relationships.
Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1906): keynotes—burning skin < bed, continued-motion >, hot bath > back; renal and rheumatic pointers.
Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): toxicology/physiology background for radium salts and cutaneo-vascular effects.
Boger — Synoptic Key (1915): regional emphasis, modality grid (getting up <, open air >), imponderable comparisons.
Phatak — Concise Materia Medica (1977): clinical keynotes—electric pains, cravings/aversions, cough from throat-pit, after-sleep >.
Nash — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): comparative remarks (Ars., Sulph., Rhus) in burning/rheumatic states.
Farrington — Clinical Materia Medica (late 19th c.): respiratory and neuralgic differentiations (Phos., Rumex, Spig.).
Dewey — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): rheumatic and skin groupings; management hints.
Kent — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): constitutional backdrop for Sulphur and comparisons.
Hering — Guiding Symptoms (1879): confirmatory notes on skin–nerve symptom interplay and restlessness (contextual).
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): general referencing for rubric language and relationships.
Cowperthwaite — Textbook of Materia Medica & Therapeutics (early 20th c. addenda): renal/haematologic observations and rheumatic comparisons.