Zincum phosphoratum

An inorganic salt prepared by trituration of chemically pure zinc phosphate before serial dilution and succussion. Classical authors read the pathogenesis as a fusion of Zincum’s spinal–cerebral irritability and fidgetiness with phosphoric states of nervous exhaustion, characterised by burning along nerves, restless lower limbs, insomnia after mental strain, sexual prostration, and cardio-neurotic tightness with small, frequent sips of water [Hughes], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. Toxicologic reasoning: arsenals of Zinc act upon anterior horn cells and peripheral nerves with tremor and fatigue, whilst phosphoric components point to protoplasmic depletion—brain, heart, and generative tissues suffer first—yielding a coherent sphere in neurasthenia from overwork and loss of vital fluids [Hughes], [Clarke]. [Proving] [Toxicology] [Clinical]

Limited direct proving; the picture rests on small provings, toxicology, and numerous clinical confirmations. Recurrent threads: incessant foot/leg fidgeting, burning and crawling in nerves, occipital/vertex pressure from study, insomnia worse after midnight, sexual depletion with tremor, palpitations and constriction at night, scanty or irritating urine after fatigue, and aggravations from suppression of skin or seminal losses [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Phatak], [Tyler]. [Proving] [Clinical]

Zinc-p. is the student’s/knowledge worker’s remedy when Zinc’s motor irritability (twitch, fidget, restless feet) is wired into phosphoric depletion (spent protoplasm, sexual/wasting drains). The result is a clock-timed pattern: after midnight the chest tightens, the heart trips, the legs must move, the nerves burn and crawl; he sits up, warms the nerve tract, and opens the window for air, sipping little and often until fear abates. By day, study or any mental push rekindles vertex/occipital pressure, paraesthesiae, tremor, flatulence, and a shaky gait. The case is polarity-rich: cool air benefits the chest/head while local heat calms the neuralgias; gentle motion relieves, yet gross exertion exhausts; suppression of skin or seminal/menstrual flows worsens the internals, while return of the outlet (sweat/eruption/period) betters them. Use these polarities as bedside tests: if moving the feet and warming the tract help immediately while the face seeks fresh air, Zinc-p. is speaking. Differentiate from Zincum met. (less burning, more twitch), Phos-ac. (apathy without leg compulsion), Arsenicum (fear and chill with heat-seeking, not window-seeking), and Kali-ars. (air hunger + scaling). Treatment obeys the same map: earlier nights, structured work/rest, forbid stimulants, fresh, cool room, warm wraps to nerves, non-suppression of the skin, and small, frequent nourishment. With this regimen plus the remedy, nights settle first (fewer after-midnight wakings), then head-pressure and palpitations diminish, and finally the legs grow quiet enough for sustained sleep. [Clarke], [Allen], [Boericke], [Boger], [Phatak], [Tyler], [Hughes], [Nash].

• Peripheral and spinal nerves (primary): Burning, tingling, crawling, and shooting along nerves with tremor and restless legs; study/mental overuse and after-midnight hours aggravate; gentle motion and local warmth relieve. Cross-ref. Extremities, Sleep, Generalities. [Clarke], [Boger], [Phatak]
• Brain/mental energy: Brain-fag—weight on vertex/occiput, noise sensitivity, irritability with exhaustion; better when skin/discharges resume (anti-suppression axis). Cross-ref. Mind, Head. [Hughes], [Clarke]
• Heart and chest (neuro-cardiac): Tightness, palpitation, stitching beneath left breast, anxiety after midnight; cool air and small sips relieve oppression while nerves crave warmth. Cross-ref. Heart, Respiration. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Genital/sexual sphere: Erethism followed by prostration, emissions, post-coital trembling; worse from seminal losses, better after recuperation. Cross-ref. Male, Female, Generalities. [Clarke], [Phatak], [Nash]
• Skin and trophic function: Burning-itching eczemas/psoriasis, worse warm bed; suppression precedes nervous aggravations; improvement when skin acts again. Cross-ref. Skin, Mind. [Clarke], [Phatak]
• Urinary–renal irritation: Scanty, high-coloured urine, sometimes albuminous in nerve-exhausted states; burning urethra; worse at night. Cross-ref. Urinary. [Allen], [Boericke]
• Gastro-intestinal mucosa: Burning epigastrium, flatulence after study, small, frequent intake best—Arsenicum-like sipping element within a Zinc frame. Cross-ref. Stomach, Abdomen. [Allen], [Clarke]
• Respiratory nerves: Neurotic dyspnoea and chest anxiety after midnight, eased at a cool window, but intercostal neuralgia tolerates local warmth. Cross-ref. Respiration, Chest. [Boericke]
• Female pelvic nerves: Neuralgic dysmenorrhoea, restless legs premenstrually, menses irregular after skin suppression. Cross-ref. Female, Skin. [Clarke], [Phatak]

Nervous irritable weakness dominates: the patient is easily over-stimulated by conversation, light, or noise, and just as easily exhausted by brief study, so that he oscillates between over-wrought and used-up [Hughes], [Clarke]. He taps or moves the feet constantly, especially at night, as though discharging a surplus of nerve-current; this fidgety feet impulse is distinctly Zincum-like and ameliorative, echoing gentle motion better in the modalities [Boger], [Boericke]. Anxiety rises after midnight with a fear that the heart will fail or that he cannot go on working; he sits up, seeks cool air at the window, and takes small sips which soothe the oppression, while he keeps a warm wrap on the burning neuralgic track—an instructive polarity repeatedly observed [Clarke]. Mental exertion brings vertex/occipital weight and confusion; relief often follows the return of an eruption or discharge, the anti-suppression axis this salt shares with other Zinc states [Clarke], [Phatak]. Morbid introspection alternates with apathetic blankness, a phosphoric colouring of the Zinc irritability. Suspiciousness is not marked; rather, there is health-anxiety tethered to palpitation and paraesthesiae. Compared with Zincum metallicum, Zinc-p. is more burning, nocturnal, and cardio-neurotic; compared with Phosphoric acid, it is less apathetic and more fidgety, with a sharper study-aggravation [Clarke], [Boger], [Tyler].

Sleep is difficult to obtain; if caught before midnight it refreshes, but after midnight the patient wakes with anxious palpitations and restless legs; he must move, sip, and cool the face while warming the nerves [Boericke], [Tyler]. Dreams are busy, about work and lateness, with starts from calf twitching; sleep improves when routine is regular and skin/discharges resume, directly echoing the modalities.

Of examinations, being late, of fire in the limbs, and of choking in a hot room; dreams abate when he practises early sleep and keeps nerves warm.

Zinc-p. is a nervous-exhaustion remedy in which Zinc’s motor fidgetiness and spinal irritability meet phosphoric depletion. The patient is stimulated by little, exhausted by less; study and late hours bring vertex/occipital pressure, restless legs, burning neuralgias, and after-midnight anxiety with palpitations [Hughes], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger]. A practical polarity governs management: cool air and small sips ease chest-oppression and fear, while the actual neuralgic tracts require warmth and gentle motion. The overall picture aggravates from suppression of skin, foot-sweat, or seminal/menstrual flows; it ameliorates when the skin acts or the discharge returns—a Zinc hallmark. Modalities repeat across systems: after midnight worse, study worse, stimulants worse, draught over nerves worse; gentle movement, local heat, early sleep, quiet routine, fresh air, small feedings are better. Compare Zincum met. (less burning, more twitching), Phos-ac. (apathy and dullness without fidgety compulsion), Arsenicum (more fear and chill, less leg-driven relief), Kali-ars. (cardio-respiratory restlessness with scaly skin), and Cupr-ars. (tetanic spasm, collapse). The prescription is confirmed at the bedside when moving the feet calms the limbs, warming the nerve dulls the burning, opening the window steadies the chest, and sleep before midnight breaks the cycle.

A low nervous fever picture suits: chilliness with burning neuralgias, thirst for small sips, and restlessness after midnight [Allen], [Clarke]. Heat is patchy along nerves rather than general; sweat toward morning gives little relief unless sleep returns.

Chill in draughts; heat in streaks along nerves; sweat after 3 a.m., not relieving unless rest ensues. Warm bed increases itch, though burning pains may prefer warmth—note and manage individually.

Headache is a pressure-band on vertex or occiput with mental effort and noise, passing off with rest or when an accustomed foot-sweat/eruption returns [Hughes], [Clarke]. The scalp is tender along nerve lines; letters blur when reading; the brain feels hot and tired rather than arterially flushed. Vertigo attends quick rising after late nights; trembling accompanies concentration attempts. Cool air to the face relieves, while the neck and occiput crave warmth—the same polarity seen under Modalities. Micro-differentiation: Picric acid shares brain-fag and occipital heaviness but lacks restless feet and nocturnal burning; Kali-phos. soothes fatigue without the palpitation-after-midnight element [Boger], [Tyler]. Cases record that when a suppressed eczema reappears the head clears and the fidgetiness abates, cross-linking Mind and Skin [Clarke], [Phatak].

Asthenopia after study; twitching lids; burning smarting of conjunctivae when awake past midnight; better by covering the eyes with warm hands while the window admits cool air to the face [Allen], [Clarke]. Vision dances after coffee or wine; darkness and quiet rest restore steadiness. Supraorbital neuralgia is cold-draught worse, local heat better, again tallied in 10b/10a.

Ringing with palpitations; sudden noises jar the whole spine and renew fidgeting. Earache of neuralgic type—burning, stitching, worse at night—relieved by wrapping warmly.

Anterior dryness and burning with a tendency to pick crusts; fluent coryza after overwork, followed by relief of head-pressure—a small but genuine example of better from discharges. Odours and stuffy rooms aggravate.

Anxious, pale, or drawn at night; trigeminal neuralgia with burning along branches, worse cold, better warmth. Lips dry, cracked, thirst for sips. Expression brightens when palpitations cease in cool air.

Metallic taste after study; tongue dry-burning in patches; aphthae when run down. Dryness invites small sips; large draughts nauseate—an Arsenicum-like trait within the Zinc frame [Allen], [Clarke]. Teeth feel elongated after sleepless nights.

Neuralgic toothache extending to ear and temple; cold air renews; warmth relieves; worse after wine or coffee. No excessive caries tendency, but gums bleed when exhausted.

Oesophageal burning streaks after mental overstrain; empty swallowing painful at night; warm sips relieve, while cool air to face eases oppression—polarity again. Tight cravat is disliked in palpitation phases.

Tightness across the precordium with stitches under the left breast; anxiety drives the patient to the window for cool air, yet the intercostals demand local warmth [Clarke], [Boericke]. Cough is dry, nervous, provoked by mental effort; deep breaths soothe if taken in cool air.

Anginoid constriction at night, after midnight, accompanied by restless feet, small sips, and fear; pulse excitable after stimulants and study [Clarke]. Warm poultice to precordium comforts the burning while the face meets the night air—signature polarity. Compare Kali-ars. (more asthma/skin), Cactus (iron-band constriction, less fidgetiness).

Short breath with anxiety; sits up; better by cool window; worse in hot rooms. Intercostal neuralgia contributes more than bronchial disease; warmth to the neural tract relieves while air to face soothes chest.

Epigastric burning “like a coal,” with nausea upon attempting to read or think; small amounts agree; full meals and stimulants aggravate [Allen], [Clarke]. Anxiety and palpitations co-exist; he sits up after midnight, moving feet and sipping. Warmth to epigastrium calms local burning; window air is courted for the chest.

Nervous flatulence with drum-like epigastrium after desk-work; colicky burning along mesenteric nerves; better moving about gently and by warmth to abdomen. Evening aggravation after coffee or study is frequent.

Constipation from atony alternating with excoriating stools that burn the anus; fissure pains worse at night. Tenesmus spasmodicus in nervous spells; piles itch, warmth of bed worse the pruritus.

Scanty, high-coloured urine after mental strain; at times albuminous in protracted nerve exhaustion [Allen], [Boericke]. Burning at meatus; nocturnal urging with anxiety. Bladder irritability follows late hours; rest and warmth to loins help; stimulants are plainly aggravating.

Desire for small, frequent sips; aversion to wine, coffee, stimulants which aggravate; small, warm meals comfort the epigastric burning; overeating at night precipitates palpitations and restless legs [Allen], [Boger].

Sexual erethism followed by marked prostration; emissions with trembling and next-day brain-fag; restlessness of legs accompanies the genital erethism [Clarke], [Nash]. Varicocele is not a keynote, but cord neuralgia with cold-draught worsening and warmth relieving appears.

Neuralgic dysmenorrhoea with burning pains into thighs and restless legs, worse after study, better warmth and gentle motion; menses scanty or delayed when skin has been suppressed [Clarke], [Phatak]. Palpitations after midnight increase around the period, improved by cool air.

Burning along the spine, especially dorsal, as if a hot iron lay there; study and late hours aggravate; rest and local heat relieve [Hughes], [Clarke]. Lumbar weakness on rising; sacral ache before menses; the patient cannot lie still for long without moving the feet.

This is a signature locality. Restless, fidgety feet must move, cross-uncross; calves twitch and quiver, especially after midnight [Boger], [Boericke]. Burning, tingling, crawling travel along nerves; cold draughts renew cramps; gentle motion and warm wraps help. Ataxy and easy fatigue—short walks bring trembling; he steadies himself by pressure. Distinguish Zincum met. (less burning, more pure spinal irritability), Cuprum-ars. (spasmodic, tetanoid), Phos-ac. (apathy with weakness, less fidgetiness).

Eczemas/psoriasis burn and itch, worse warm bed, and when they are suppressed the head/heart/nerve complex worsens; when the skin acts, nervous and cardiac symptoms diminish [Clarke], [Phatak]. Dry, desquamative skin; scratch marks excoriate. Warm local applications reduce burning, yet fresh, cool air to the room is welcome—faithful to the remedy’s polarity.

• Brain-fag / neurasthenia from study
  • Picric acid — Profound mental fatigue, occipital weight, sexual prostration; less restless-feet and nocturnal burning. Zinc-phos.: adds fidgetiness and palpitation after midnight. [Tyler], [Boger]
  • Kali-phos. — Nervous asthenia from worry; sleep poor yet burning neuralgia and foot-fidget absent. [Boger]
  • Nux-v. — Irritable over-driven type with gastric spasm; less burning nerve-pain and fidgety relief. [Clarke]
• Restless legs / neuropathic burning
  • Zincum metallicum — Classic restless feet, twitching, suppression-aggravation; burning and cardio-neurotic features milder. Zinc-p. where burning and after-midnight heart anxiety stand out. [Boericke], [Clarke]
  • Arsenicum album — Burning pains with fear and chill, wants heat; not compelled to move the feet for relief. [Phatak]
  • Cuprum arsenicosum — Severe cramps, tetanoid tendency with dyspnoea; Zinc-p. quieter, more neuralgic. [Boericke]
• Neuro-cardiac tightness / night palpitation
  • Kali-arsenicosum — Asthma + cardiac restlessness; scaly skin; less foot-fidget. Zinc-p. emphasises gentle motion, small sips, window air at night. [Clarke]
  • Cactus — Iron-band constriction; lacks Zinc-like fidgetiness and study-aggravation. [Boericke]
  • Aconite — Acute panic, early stage; Zinc-p. for chronic, post-strain nights. [Farrington]
• Skin/psoriasis with nervous linkage
  • Sulphur — Burning itch, warm-bed worse, philosophical indifference; lacks after-midnight palpitations with fidgetiness. [Boger]
  • Graphites — Oozing eczema, chilly, constipated; burning-neural polarity absent. [Boericke]
• Sexual prostration / seminal losses
  • Phosphoric acid — Apathy, indifference, backache after emissions; Zinc-phos.: fidgety legs, burning nerves, cardiac anxiety. [Clarke], [Nash]
  • Selenium — Marked seminal losses with debility, dribbling; less neural burning and restless feet. [Clarke]

• Complementary: Zincum met.—to consolidate spinal function after Zinc-p. calms burning neuralgia and nights. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Complementary: Kali-phos.—for residual brain-fag; improves sleep continuity once fidgetiness subsides. [Boger]
• Complementary: Sulphur—when skin suppression underlies the case; alternation often restores cutaneous function and steadies nerves. [Clarke], [Phatak]
• Follows well: Nux-v. in over-driven students/clerks when picture deepens into burning neuralgias with restless legs. [Tyler]
• Precedes well: Arsenicum/Kali-ars. where chest/asthma remain after neural agitation is quieted. [Clarke]
• Related salts: Zinc-ars. (more fear-burning, renal; later-night), Zinc-val. (hystero-neurotic insomnia), Zinc-cyan. (cardio-respiratory depression). [Boericke], [Boger]
• Aggravants/Antidotes: Wine/coffee aggravate; Camph., Nux-v. often cited to counter stimulant overlays. [Boger], [Hughes]

• Restless legs with burning paraesthesiae; worse after midnight; better gentle motion and local warmth: Zinc-p. 6C–30C at dusk/bedtime; warm wraps to nerves; cool, aired room. [Boericke], [Boger], [Tyler]
• Brain-fag from over-study with vertex/occiput pressure and palpitations at night: Zinc-p. 12C–30C b.i.d.; schedule early sleep; avoid stimulants; compare Pic-ac., Kali-phos. [Hughes], [Clarke]
• Anginoid tightness after midnight with fear and “must move feet”: Zinc-p. 30C p.r.n.; warm poultice chest, open window, small sips; compare Kali-ars., Cactus. [Clarke], [Boericke]
• Post-suppression nervous aggravation (eczema/foot-sweat checked): Zinc-p. 6C–30C; avoid harsh suppressants; allow gentle cutaneous function to return. [Clarke], [Phatak]
• Sexual prostration with emissions and next-day brain-fag: Zinc-p. 12C–30C nocte; regular routine; consider Phos-ac. if apathy predominates. [Nash], [Clarke]

Mind

• MIND — IRRITABILITY — from mental exertion — with weakness.
• MIND — ANXIETY — after midnight — with palpitation.
• MIND — RESTLESSNESS — limbs — feet — must move — in bed.
• MIND — OVERSTIMULATED by noise/light — weary from trifles.
• MIND — DESPAIR about recovery — at night — better by cool air.

Head

• HEAD — PAIN — occiput/vertex — from study — pressure/band sensation.
• HEAD — HEAVINESS — brain-fag — after mental exertion — rest ameliorates.
• HEAD — VERTIGO — on rising — with trembling.
• HEAD — NOISES aggravate — talking aggravates — concentration aggravates.
• HEAD — BETTER — open air (face to window) — while neck desires warmth.

Eyes

• EYES — ASTHENOPIA — reading — after mental work.
• EYES — TWITCHING — lids — from fatigue.
• EYES — BURNING — after midnight — relieved by warmth of hands, room cool.
• EYES — VISION — blurred — from overuse — rest ameliorates.

Heart / Chest / Respiration

• HEART — CONSTRICTION — night — after midnight — with anxiety.
• HEART — PALPITATION — from mental exertion — stimulants aggravate.
• CHEST — ANXIETY — desires cool open air — window ameliorates.
• RESPIRATION — DIFFICULT — after midnight — sits up — must move feet.

Extremities

• EXTREMITIES — RESTLESSNESS — lower limbs — must move — night — in bed.
• EXTREMITIES — PARESTHESIA — burning; crawling — nerves along — cold aggravates — warmth ameliorates.
• EXTREMITIES — WEAKNESS — after slight exertion — ataxic gait.
• EXTREMITIES — CRAMPS — calves — cold draught aggravates.

Sleep

• SLEEP — SLEEPLESSNESS — after midnight — with anxiety and palpitation.
• SLEEP — WAKING — after midnight — must move the limbs.
• SLEEP — EARLY — before midnight — ameliorates next day.
• DREAMS — BUSINESS; examinations; being late — with starting of legs.

Skin

• SKIN — ERUPTIONS — eczema; psoriasis — burning — warmth of bed aggravates.
• SKIN — SUPPRESSED eruptions — complaints from.
• SKIN — ITCHING — night — warm bed aggravates — cool air of room ameliorates.

Urinary / Genital

• URINE — ALBUMIN — nervous exhaustion — after exertion.
• URINATION — BURNING — urethra — night.
• MALE — EMISSIONS — debility after — brain-fag; trembling.
• FEMALE — DYSMENORRHOEA — neuralgic — restless legs — warmth ameliorates.

Generalities

• GENERALITIES — NIGHT — after midnight — aggravates.
• GENERALITIES — STUDY — mental exertion — aggravates.
• GENERALITIES — SUPPRESSION — eruptions/sweat/seminal — aggravates.
• GENERALITIES — AIR — open — desires — chest ameliorated.
• GENERALITIES — HEAT — local — ameliorates pains (neuralgic).
• GENERALITIES — COFFEE; WINE — aggravate.
• GENERALITIES — MOTION — gentle — ameliorates — exertion — aggravates.

Hughes — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s): zinc neurotropy, phosphoric depletion; overwork and loss-of-fluids rationale.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): small provings/toxicology; gastric/urinary burning; sips modality.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): Zinc-p. portrait—restless feet, brain-fag, anti-suppression axis, neuro-cardiac nights.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—fidgety feet, burning neuralgia, after-midnight aggravation, sips.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): modality grid—study <, stimulants <, gentle motion >, local heat >; relationships.
Phatak, S. R. — Concise Materia Medica (1977): confirmatory—burning paraesthesiae, restless legs, suppression–aggravation.
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): brain-fag/restless-feet cluster; early sleep counsel.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1907): sexual prostration with next-day brain-fag; small-dose guidance.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (late 19th c.): differentials with Pic-ac., Kali-phos., Nux-v.; neuro-cardiac angles.
Dewey, W. A. — Practical Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1901): regimen for study insomnia; management of neurasthenia.
Morrison, R. — Desktop Guide to Keynotes & Confirmatory Symptoms (late 20th c.): modern confirmations—window-seeking, sips, leg fidgets.
Shore, J. — Portraits of Homoeopathic Medicines (20th c.): essence synthesis—polarity (warmth to nerves / cool air to chest).