Arsenicum album

Latin name: Arsenicum album

Short name: Ars

Common name: White arsenic | Arsenious acid | Arsenic trioxide | Arsenic | Arsenous oxide

Primary miasm: Psoric Secondary miasm(s): Sycotic, Syphilitic

Kingdom: Minerals

Family: Metalloid oxides

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Symptomatology
Remedy Information
Differentiation & Application

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Mind

The Arsenicum album mind is defined by deep anxiety, restlessness, and fear of death, often with obsessive concern for health and survival. Kent noted a “tremendous fear of death, with despair of recovery, and restlessness that drives the patient from place to place.” This is not a passive despair, but one marked by a strong need to act—to pace, to ask for help, to control their environment. Clarke emphasised the fastidiousness of the Ars. patient: cleanliness, order, perfection in appearance. They are often suspicious, controlling, and unable to trust easily. Consolation does not comfort; it increases their sense of instability. There is a polarity between their need for company (for safety) and their intolerance of emotional interference. Great irritability may coexist with fear, and suicidal thoughts can arise in advanced states. The mind becomes more exhausted and depressed as the disease progresses, often culminating in indifference or resignation.

Sleep

Restless and disturbed by anxiety. Patient wakes in fright or with a sense of suffocation. Clarke described sleep interrupted by cough or vomiting. Dreams of fire, thieves, or dying.

Dreams

Dreams of danger, death, robbery, or fire. Clarke noted vivid, anxious dreams with frequent waking and difficulty falling asleep again.

Generalities

Great weakness and rapid exhaustion from slightest effort. Burning pains relieved by warmth are a cardinal feature. Restlessness is both physical and mental. Clarke wrote: “The bed feels too hard to lie on,” and Kent added that the collapse state of Ars. is among the most extreme in the Materia Medica.

Fever

Intermittent fevers with marked periodicity, great prostration, and burning thirst. Face may be red or pale; alternating heat and chill common. Kent remarked on fevers with despair, great weakness, and anxiety about death.

Chill Heat Sweat

Chilliness despite covering; internal cold with outward heat. Heat follows with burning, then cold sweat. Clarke mentioned one-sided sweats or sweats only during sleep.

Head

Headaches are burning or congestive in nature, frequently associated with anxiety or gastric disturbances. Kent noted frontal pain extending to the occiput, often with hot flushes and a sense of internal heat. Clarke described scalp sensitivity, with hair falling out in handfuls, especially in debilitated individuals or during chronic illness. Vertigo may arise on standing or with motion, and headaches worsen in the cold and at night.

Eyes

Burning pain, redness, and swelling of the lids, especially the lower, are characteristic. Lachrymation is acrid and excoriates the cheeks. Clarke described photophobia and styes, especially in chronic inflammatory eye conditions. The eyes appear glassy or sunken in cases of collapse. Vision may become foggy or dim, especially during headaches or episodes of faintness.

Ears

Itching and burning in the ear canals, with dryness and scaliness. Kent reported stitching or tearing pains, often accompanying colds or sinus congestion. In advanced stages, there may be buzzing or roaring in the ears, especially in nervous or anaemic states.

Nose

Coryza with thin, watery, acrid discharge that excoriates the nostrils and upper lip. Sneezing is frequent and exhausting. Clarke noted the tendency toward ulceration and crusting inside the nose. Bleeding may occur in fevers or due to irritation from the acrid discharge.

Face

Pale, anxious, drawn expression with dark circles under the eyes. The skin may appear waxy, cold, or hot and burning depending on the stage of illness. Clarke described facial neuralgia with burning pain, worse from touch and cold. Lips are dry, cracked, or bluish in collapsed states.

Mouth

Mouth is dry with burning sensation, yet thirst is only for frequent small sips. Clarke emphasised ulcers and gangrenous areas in chronic conditions. Gums may be spongy, bleeding, or retracted. Metallic or bitter taste is common.

Teeth

Toothache worse from cold drinks, better from warmth. Teeth feel long or sensitive, and the gums recede or become inflamed. Clarke noted offensive odour from the mouth in dental abscesses or ulceration.

Throat

Burning, constricted, and ulcerated throat with difficulty swallowing. Pain may extend to ears. Kent described throat symptoms during fevers, where even liquids are painful to swallow, despite great thirst. Swelling of the tonsils or uvula may be present with hoarseness or dryness.

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Arsenicum album is a potentised preparation of arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃), a white, crystalline, odourless powder that is highly toxic. Historically known for its role as a poison, it also held medicinal status in low doses in 18th- and 19th-century allopathy, used in treatment for skin conditions, asthma, and syphilis. It has strong effects on the gastrointestinal tract, respiration, and circulatory system, and is classically associated with burning pains, anxiety, and collapse.

Used industrially in glassmaking, pesticides, and semiconductor manufacturing. Historically used as a tonic and to treat chronic skin and lung conditions, although discontinued due to toxicity. It is also associated with multiple historical poisonings and gained notoriety in both literature and real criminal cases.

Proved by Samuel Hahnemann, first published in Materia Medica Pura (~1811–1821). Proving involved administration of trituration and potentised forms of arsenic to healthy volunteers under Hahnemann’s supervision.

Gastrointestinal tract
Mucous membranes (especially respiratory and digestive)
Skin
Lungs
Kidneys
Circulatory system
Right side
Mind (fear, anxiety, restlessness)

Warmth; warm drinks; lying with head high; company; motion (gentle); frequent small sips of water; rest after exertion.

Cold air; cold drinks; midnight to 2 a.m.; alone; after eating ice cream or cold food; sea air; wet weather; exertion (mental and physical); emotional shock.

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Phosphorus: Burning pains, thirst, and gastrointestinal issues, but more open and emotionally expressive.
Veratrum album: Diarrhoea and collapse with cold sweat, but more violent and cold.
Carbo vegetabilis: Collapse state, but desires fanning and open air.
China: Debility from fluid loss without the same level of anxiety or burning.
Nux vomica: Also irritable and fastidious, but more aggressive and focused on control.

Complementary: Carbo veg., Phosphorus, Secale cor.
Antidotes: Nux vomica, Camphor
Inimical: Lycopodium
Follows well: Aconite, Veratrum alb.
Precedes well: Bryonia, Nux vomica

Arsenicum album captures the human terror of disorder, decay, and death. Its essence is survival through control. The patient seeks to organise life against the fear of loss, chaos, or annihilation. They are restless, both in body and in mind, pacing away their fears and clinging to routines, warmth, and reassurance. Arsenicum transforms the poisoned state into one of refined vitality through structure and order.

Use for food poisoning, gastroenteritis, anxiety with restlessness, eczema, burns, and asthma, especially when symptoms are burning, acrid, and better for warmth. A top remedy for collapse states, including after haemorrhage or emotional trauma. Dose: 30C or 200C in acute cases; 6C or LM for sensitive patients; 1M+ for constitutional prescribing with strong mental-emotional profile.

Mind

MIND – Fear of death, predicting the time
MIND – Anxiety, driving from place to place
MIND – Fastidious
MIND – Restlessness, with despair

Stomach

STOMACH – Thirst for cold water, small quantities
STOMACH – Vomiting after cold drinks

Skin

SKIN – Burning, relieved by heat
SKIN – Ulcers, gangrenous

Generalities

GENERAL – Collapse, after diarrhoea
GENERAL – Burning, internal
GENERAL – Weakness, after exertion

Samuel Hahnemann, Materia Medica Pura
James Tyler Kent, Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica
John Henry Clarke, A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica
William Boericke, Pocket Manual of Materia Medica
Constantine Hering, Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica
Henry C. Allen, Keynotes and Characteristics

Arsenicum album

Mind

Sleep

Dreams

Generalities

Fever

Chill Heat Sweat

Head

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Face

Mouth

Teeth

Throat

Chest

Heart

Respiration

Stomach

Abdomen

Rectum

Urinary

Food

Male

Female

Back

Extremities

Skin

Mind

Sleep

Dreams

Generalities

Fever

Chill Heat Sweat

Head

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Face

Mouth

Teeth

Throat

Chest

Heart

Respiration

Stomach

Abdomen

Rectum

Urinary

Food

Male

Female

Back

Extremities

Skin

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