Salicylicum acidum

An aromatic organic acid historically connected with willow and wintergreen derivatives (salicin, methyl salicylate). Crude-drug toxicology (“salicylism”) yields a recognisable arc: tinnitus and roaring in the ears, nerve-deafness, vertigo with nausea and vomiting, profuse sweat, hyperventilation, headache, mental confusion, and gastric irritation; in severe poisoning, collapse, hyperpyrexia, and delirium appear [Hughes], [Allen], [Clarke]. Homeopathically it is prepared by trituration or solution of the pure substance. Classical authors repeatedly draw a clinical line from this toxicologic picture to indications in Ménière-type labyrinthine states, influenza with intense malaise, headache and tinnitus, rheumatism with profuse sour sweat, and gastric catarrh with incessant vomiting [Clarke], [Boericke], [Hering]. [Toxicology]

No large-scale “pure” proving; the record is a composite of provings in small numbers, toxicology, and abundant clinical confirmations. Constants across sources: ringing/roaring tinnitus, deafness of auditory nerve, labyrinthine vertigo with nausea and vomiting, headache with confusion, profuse sour sweat, gastric catarrh (persistent vomiting, diarrhoea), and rheumatic pains relieved as sweat or urine become free [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Hughes]. [Proving] [Toxicology] [Clinical]

The essence is a drug-signature triad: (1) Shrill, incessant tinnitus with nerve-deafness; (2) Labyrinthine vertigo—worse from the least head motion—coupled with nausea/vomiting; (3) A toxic, sweaty, confused state in which the patient craves darkness, silence, and stillness. This is the inward echo of crude salicylism, transposed to the gentle scale of the remedy. The auditory thread stitches the case together: when the stomach reels, the ears scream; when the head throbs, the ears roar. The modalities are correspondingly mechanical and environmental—motion of head, noise, light, heat of room all worse; absolute rest, dark and quiet, small sips, cool air to the face, and the effortless sweat/urine of relief are better. In influenza convalescents, Sal-ac. picks up the patient left with ringing head, nausea, confusion, and sour sweat; in Ménière-like states, it quiets the spin and shrillness where Chinin-s. governs periodic roaring. Rheumatic aches mingle in some; they behave like the rest—better after a good sweat, worse in a heated, noisy room. Micro-comparisons sharpen choice: Theridion is noise-vibration fragile without the drug-sweat signature; Cocculus is motion-sick and spinally weak without the shrill tinnitus centre; Tabacum has deathly nausea and cold sweat without the auditory keynote. When a patient says, “Any noise drills my head; if I turn my head the room swims and I vomit; the ringing never stops unless I lie quite still in the dark,” the path points straight to Sal-ac. [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Hughes].

• Auditory nerve & labyrinth (primary): High-pitched tinnitus, roaring, nerve-deafness, uncertain gait and vertigo, often worse on motion or turning head, with nausea/vomiting—the classic “salicylism” axis; cross-ref. Ears, Head, Stomach, Generalities. [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Cerebro-spinal/vaso-motor: Headache (throbbing/fulness), mental dulness or confusion, faintness, hyperventilation with sighing in toxic states; cross-ref. Mind, Head, Respiration. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Gastric–intestinal mucosa: Persistent nausea, incessant vomiting, diarrhoea with prostration, sour eructations, occasionally haematemesis in massive toxicity; cross-ref. Stomach, Abdomen, Rectum. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Fibrous tissues & joints: Rheumatic pains, soreness, aching, often with profuse sour sweat and great weariness; cross-ref. Extremities, Fever/Chill/Sweat. [Boericke], [Nash]
• Skin & sweat glands: Profuse perspiration, often sour; clammy sweat with collapse; keratolytic trend noted clinically (corns/warts) though not a prime homeopathic keynote; cross-ref. Skin, Perspiration. [Boericke], [Clarke]
• Blood/respiratory chemistry (functional): Rapid breathing, air-hunger, acid state feelings during toxic arcs; cross-ref. Respiration, Fever, Generalities. [Hughes], [Allen]
• Kidneys (functional): Urine scant during collapse; dark or acid; diuresis often relieves headache and rheumatic soreness in convalescence; cross-ref. Urinary, Generalities. [Clarke], [Allen]

A clouded, confused state is marked during attacks; ideas feel far away; answers are slow; the patient fears moving or speaking lest the ringing roar back [Allen], [Clarke]. Irritability is directed at noise and light; the wish is for silence and darkness. Anxiety rises with each wave of giddiness, and a peculiar air-hunger or impulse to sigh appears in toxic states [Hughes]. Unlike Acon., the fear is not panicky but tethered to sensory overload; unlike Gelsemium, the mind is not drowsy but stunned, as though wrapped in cotton. Relief follows rest in darkness and after sweating, which cross-links with Modalities (Better: rest, quiet, sweating). Where tinnitus is constant, the mood grows melancholic; many report that mental effort or reading makes the noise shriller, and so a practical behavioural check—no reading/talking—becomes part of the prescription.

Sleep is broken by ringing and head-swim; the patient lies quite still, dreading to roll the head on the pillow. When sleep comes, even brief dozes may break the paroxysm and they wake better—this empirical observation is worth eliciting [Clarke]. Dreams are of falling or spinning rooms; sleep in a dark, cool, silent room is best.

Of wheels turning, machinery whirring (ear-noise transformed), of sea-voyage with nausea. These fade as tinnitus dims and vestibular stability returns.

A drug-like triad governs the case: ear-noise (shrill/roaring) + vertigo (worse head motion) + gastric irritability (nausea/vomiting), wrapped in confusion, headache, and profuse sweat [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Hughes]. The patient is better for rest, darkness, quiet, sweating/urination, head high; worse for head motion, noise, bright light, heat of room, after influenza, and after salicylate drugging. Differential hinges on the auditory-vestibular strand: where tinnitus is pathognomonic and ties the stomach and head together, Sal-ac. stands in front.

Febrile states with throbbing head, sweat, prostration, and air-hunger belong to influenza pictures calling for Sal-ac.; fever spikes soften as perspiration and urination increase. Heat does not console; the patient seeks cool, quiet surroundings.

Chilliness with nausea; heat of head; sweat profuse and sour, especially on head and trunk; sweat may not relieve the ringing, but often eases headache and rheumatic soreness—a guiding nuance.

Throbbing, bursting headache, often frontal or temporal, accompanies the tinnitus and vertigo; the head is full and hot, the face pale and anxious [Clarke], [Allen]. Turning the head, rising quickly, or shifting the eyes to read can precipitate swimming sensations; the patient stabilises the head with the hand and gazes at a single point to reduce the spin. Occipital heaviness occurs in convalescence after influenza; headaches remit as urine and sweat increase, paralleling the rheumatic relief noted by classical authors [Nash]. Distinguish Chinin-s. (roaring with periodic congestive headaches, more periodicity) and Theridion (vertigo with nausea from the least noise or vibration); Sal-ac. is more drug-like—a shrill tinnitus, confusion, sweat, and sick stomach in one picture.

Photophobia and blur at the height of headache; letters dance on the page; objects oscillate if the head is moved, showing the labyrinthine origin. Lachrymation is slight; lids heavy. Vision clears as the ear-symptoms settle. In violent “salicylism,” pupils may dilate, and there is darkness before eyes on rising with faintness [Allen].

This is the centre: shrill ringing, roaring, buzzing, sometimes like escaping steam; nerve-deafness and a sense the ears are “stuffed,” yet noise is intolerable [Allen], [Clarke]. Vertigo belongs to the same complex and couples with nausea and vomiting, worse from the least head motion, better lying quite still in a dark, quiet room. Some feel the noise announces itself before vomiting, others that a good vomit briefly quiets the ear—either way the ear–stomach axis is explicit and cross-referenced in Stomach. Compare Chinin-s. (roaring with periodicity), Cinchona (fullness and humming after loss of fluids), Menière group remedies (Gels., Therid., Tabac., Nux-v.), with Sal-ac. chosen when a drug-like shrill tinnitus + confusion + sweat + incessant nausea co-occur.

Occasional epistaxis in congestive or febrile states; sense of nasal chill with general sweat; no specific coryza. Epistaxis, where present, lightens the head for a time—another small vascular safety-valve noted clinically.

Pale, drawn, with anxious lines; a faint, clammy sweat beads on the forehead at the crest of vertigo; cheeks flush with throbbing and then fall to pallor with nausea. Expression brightens as quiet and cool air steady the system.

Metallic or bitter taste during gastricism; saliva may be increased during nausea; tongue generally white-coated in influenza convalescents; tip and edges red in gastric catarrh [Allen], [Clarke]. Thirst is for small sips; large draughts provoke vomiting. Teeth and jaws ache from clenching during waves of vertigo.

Rawness from retching; burning extends down the oesophagus after repeated vomits. Swallowing is difficult during ear-storms, not from pain but from the reflex of nausea; tepid sips ease.

Oppression with hyperventilation; desire to sigh; breathing fast and shallow during toxic waves [Hughes]. No primary cough; chest soreness from retching only. Palpitations accompany the head-storm and settle as quiet returns.

Pulse accelerated in fever/toxicity; irregular at the height of faintness; palpitations rise with anxiety and noise, then ease in the dark. Not a primary myocardium remedy (contrast Cact., Digitalis); cardiac signs here are reactive.

Sighing and rapid breathing in toxic states; air hunger without cyanosis; open window relieves, yet wind noise aggravates tinnitus—an instructive polarity the patient will describe if asked specifically.

Persistent nausea with incessant vomiting is a marked strand: water returns at once; food lies like a stone; sour or bitter fluids; vomiting worse with head motion or noise, better after a short sleep or in the dark [Allen], [Clarke]. Gastric burning, eructations, and pyrosis may accompany influenza or drug-effects. Distinguish Iris-v. (burning acrid vomit with periodic sick-headache), Nux-v. (gastric irritability, retching; anger, morning nausea), Cocculus (nausea from motion, less ringing), and Tabac. (cold sweat, deadly nausea), using the ear-noise as decisive for Sal-ac..

Soreness and rumbling; flatulence troublesome during collapse; stool may loosen with offensive odour in febrile states. Umbilical dragging with faintness on rising; relief after passing flatus or stool is inconsistent—gastric centre dominates.

Diarrhoea with griping and cold sweat appears in some influenza cases or drug-effects; stools thin, brownish, or watery; tenesmus slight; prostration out of proportion in sensitive subjects [Allen]. Rectal bleeding is not characteristic (contrast Phos., Sul-ac.).

At the height of sickness urine scant, high-coloured; later copious, and with that headache and achings often abate—an observation echoed by several clinicians [Clarke], [Nash]. Urine tends to the acid; albumin is not a keynote of this remedy’s homeopathic portrait.

Aversion to food; nausea at smells; worse from alcohol, coffee, and stimulants; better for small, frequent sips and absolute quiet at meals. In rheumatic cases, craves cooling drinks.

Sexual sphere uncharacteristic; vertigo and tinnitus aggravate on effort, diminishing desire; nocturnal emissions reported in exhausted convalescents—incidental, not guiding.

Post-influenza tinnitus/vertigo in the postpartum or lactation window is a familiar situation for Sal-ac.; menses may become scant or delayed during prolonged drug-effects; nausea at the smell of food is intensified when tinnitus is shrill. For true pregnancy vomiting with faintness consider Sep., Ipec., Cocc. unless the auditory strand is strong.

Dorsal aching and neck stiffness during influenza convalescence; occipito-cervical tension worse from eye strain and head movements; heat to the nape gives some relief while the ear is quieted.

Rheumatic aching and soreness, heavy limbs, weariness; better after sweating or urination, worse in a close heated room [Boericke], [Nash]. Trembling with faintness; unsteady gait during labyrinthine episodes.

Profuse perspiration, often sour; clammy with faintness; itching is not a feature. Keratolytic action in crude drug explains old eclectic topical uses but contributes little to the homeopathic symptom picture.

• Labyrinthine tinnitus/vertigo with gastric symptoms
  • Chininum sulphuricum — Roaring tinnitus with periodic congestive headaches; deafness; vertigo; periodicity is stronger; less incessant vomiting. Sal-ac. is more drug-like, with sweat and confusion prominent. [Clarke], [Allen]
  • Theridion — Vertigo and nausea from the least noise or vibration; hyperacusis; less shrill constant ringing; gastric symptoms secondary. [Clarke]
  • Gelsemium — Vertigo with drowsiness, diplopia, muscular relaxation; tinnitus not a keynote. [Farrington]
  • Tabacum — Deadly nausea, cold sweat, collapse; tinnitus not central; motion-sickness polarity. [Allen]
  • Cocculus — Motion sickness, vertigo, emptiness; ear-noise minor; more spinal exhaustion. [Nash]
  • Nux vomica — Gastric irritability with vertigo in the irritable, over-stimulated; tinnitus incidental; morning aggravation. [Clarke]
• Rheumatic aching with profuse sweat
  • Rhus toxicodendron — Restlessness, sprain-like pains, better motion; sweat not necessarily sour. Sal-ac. has sour, profuse sweat with auditory/gastric overlay. [Boericke]
  • Bryonia — Stitching pains, worse motion, better pressure, dryness; sweat less characteristic; ear-noise absent. [Farrington]
  • Benzoic acid — Migratory rheumatism with offensive urine; auditory sphere quiet. [Clarke]
• Influenza/post-viral with tinnitus
  • China — Humming/roaring after fluid loss; debility; flatus; tinnitus follows depletion rather than drug-like triad. [Clarke]
  • Phosphoric acid — Apathy, debility, night-sweats; tinnitus not decisive; mental dulness predominates. [Nash]

• Complementary: Chinin-s. in chronic labyrinthine cases—Sal-ac. often first in acute/post-drug states; Chinin-s. for lingering roaring with periodicity. [Clarke]
• Complementary: Nux-v. where gastric irritability (from stimulants/drugs) complicates the ear picture; Nux cleans the “drug-layer,” Sal-ac. completes auditory–vestibular symptoms. [Hughes], [Clarke]
• Follows well: Gels. at the outset of post-infectious vertigo; Sal-ac. if tinnitus shrills and vomiting persists. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Precedes well: Therid. in persistent noise-hyperacusis when motion is no longer provocative but sound remains the trigger. [Clarke]
• Compare (acids): Sul-ac. (tremulous weakness, haemorrhagic tendency), Phos-ac. (nervous exhaustion), lacking the shrill tinnitus + vomiting centre of Sal-ac. [Allen], [Boericke]
• Antidotes/avoid: Alcohol, coffee, and continued salicylates aggravate; counsel abstinence while treating. [Hughes], [Clarke]

• Acute/post-drug tinnitus with vertigo and vomiting: Sal-ac. 3x–6x every 2–4 hours at onset; strict dark-quiet-still regimen; avoid salicylates, alcohol, coffee; escalate to 30C once vomiting quiets but ringing persists. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Post-influenza labyrinthitis: Sal-ac. 6C–30C once or twice daily for a few days; combine sleep hygiene, minimal stimulation, light diet; compare Gels./Chinin-s. if drowsy weakness or periodicity predominate. [Farrington], [Clarke]
• Rheumatic aching with sour sweat + head/ear overlay: Short course 6x–6C; ventilate room, encourage gentle sweating; if joints dominate without ear-stomach link, consider Rhus-t. or Bry. instead. [Boericke], [Nash]
• Motion-provoked ear–stomach coupling (travel): Dose before journey, insist on head-immobility, eye fixation, no reading; reserve Cocc./Tabac. if ear-noise is minimal. [Clarke], [Allen]

Mind / Sensorium

• MIND — CONFUSION — noise — from — with headache/tinnitus. — Drug-stunned, noise-averse state.
• MIND — IRRITABILITY — noise; to — light; to. — Sensory intolerance pattern.

Head

• HEAD — PAIN — throbbing — temples — noise — aggravates. — Vaso-auditory coupling.
• VERTIGO — TURNING head — on — nausea; with — vomiting; with. — Labyrinthine signature.

Eyes

• VISION — BLURRED — reading — on — letters dance. — Oscillopsia in labyrinth disorder.
• PHOTOPHOBIA — headache — with — tinnitus; with. — Light–noise aggravation.

Ears

• EAR — NOISES — RINGING — shrill — constant. — Core keynote.
• EAR — ROARING — with vertigo — with nausea. — Ménière-like arc.
• DEAFNESS — NERVOUS — tinnitus — with. — Auditory nerve involvement.

Stomach

• NAUSEA — HEAD — motion of — from — turning; on. — Ear–stomach reflex.
• VOMITING — INCESSANT — water — returns at once — noise — aggravates. — Drug-type gastricism.

Respiration / Chest

• RESPIRATION — SIGHING — frequent — toxicity; during. — Air-hunger strand.
• RESPIRATION — RAPID — anxiety — with — collapse tendency. — Vaso-motor.

Extremities / Generalities

• PAIN — RHEUMATIC — sweat — after — ameliorates. — Sour sweat relief.
• GENERALITIES — NOISE — aggravates; LIGHT — aggravates; MOTION — head — aggravates; REST — absolute — ameliorates. — Prescribing grid.

Perspiration

• PERSPIRATION — PROFUSE — sour — with weakness. — Characteristic sweat.
• PERSPIRATION — COLD — collapse — with. — Toxic wave.

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): toxicology—tinnitus, vertigo, vomiting, confusion; gastric and sweat phenomena; auditory nerve.
Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): clinical confirmations in labyrinthine vertigo, gastric irritation, rheumatic soreness.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): Ménière-type indications; modalities (rest, dark, quiet); influenza convalescence; differentials.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—tinnitus, nerve-deafness, vertigo with vomiting; rheumatism with sweat.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): background of salicylism; respiratory/vaso-motor notes; clinical rationale.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): rheumatic sphere; relief after sweat/urination.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (late 19th c.): influenza and vestibular differentials (Gels., Chinin-s., Therid.).
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): condensed grid—tinnitus, vertigo from motion, gastric irritability, sweat.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): labyrinthine/sea-sickness therapeutics; regimen (quiet/dark).
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): bedside portraits—noise/light intolerance; post-influenza ear–head cases.
Phatak, S. R. — Concise Materia Medica (1977): short notes—tinnitus, vertigo, gastric irritability; clinical reminders.
Dunham, C. — Lectures on Materia Medica (1870s): drug-state teaching points; antidotal/avoidance counsel.