Circulatory Organs

Pulse rapid and intermittent, worse lying on left side, felt all over the body, especially in the epigastrium, in hyperseinic and scorbutic conditions. Fluttering motion of the heart. Sense of constriction. Palpitation with anxiety and sadness, in anaemic conditions. Hypertrophy of the heart, must lie down frequently, has cold hands and numb extremities.

Back And Extremities

Emaciated neck in children. Backache relieved by lying on something hard, spine and extremities oversensitive. Feeling of coldness in the back. Periodical attacks of gout Great weakness and weariness. Chronic rheumatism of the joints. Joints crack; rheumatic, gouty pains, involuntary jerking of legs, fidgets or jerkings during sleep. Stiffness and arthritic swellings, ankles weak. Pain in small of back on rising up. Blistering festers on the fingers, containing watery fluid. Hangnails. Skin of hands, especially about nails, dry and cracked. Warts in palms of hands. Pain in hip. Coxalgia. Sciatica - painful contraction of hamstrings. Involuntary jerkings of legs. Weakness in knees and calves. Cracking of joints on motion. Synovitis, herpes in bend of knees. Urticaria about joints. Cracks between toes. Frequent falling asleep of the legs and feet, with weakness of ankle joints.

Nervous Symptoms

Sensation of numbness in suffering parts. Paretic weakness in various muscular groups of the trunk and limbs. Spine oversensitive to touch or pressure. Spinal irritation. Restlessness and twitching of muscles. Paralytic pain in small of back. Paralysis. Neuralgic pains, especially biliary and infra-orbital, recurring at certain times, with flow of saliva or tears. Shootings along the nerve-fibre with watery eruptions. Chorea. Hysterical debility, worse in the morning. Hysterical spasms and debility. Takes cold easily. Easily fatigued. Singultus.

Sleep

Excessive sleep if traced to an excess of moisture in the brain. The natural amount of sleep is unrefreshing, and he feels tired in the morning on awaking. Constant and excessive desire to sleep. Dreams of robbers in the house. Frequent starting during sleep. Sleep very restless and setting in late. Insomnia, with unusual general animation.

Febrile Symptoms

Scarlet fever with drowsiness, twitching or vomiting of watery fluids. Profuse night-sweats. After the second remedy in rheumatic fever with chilliness and characteristic symptoms. Hay fever with watery discharges from the eyes and nose. Typhus fever when stupor and sleepiness are great. Intermittent fever after abuse of quinine, living in damp regions, or newly turned ground. Chill from morning till noon, about 10 a. If., preceded by intense itching, heat with increased headache and thirst, sweat sour and weakening, much backache and throbbing headache, great languor, emaciation, sallow complexion and fever-blisters on the lips. Typhoid or malignant symptoms when such accompaniments as twitcliings, drowsiness and watery vomiting occur.

Skin

Chronic skin diseases, urticarious and miliary eruptions. Eczema, fine scales or eruptions with water contents. Herpetic eruptions occurring in the course of a disease, blisters, blebs and watery vesicles on the skin. Herpes in bend of knee and elbow. Colorless, watery vesicles forming into thin scabs or crusts which fall off and readily form again. Intertrigo, soreness of the skin in children, with watery symptoms. Warts on the palms of the hands. White scales on the scalp, intertrigo between thighs and scrotum, with acrid and excoriating discharge. Pemphigus, watery blebs. Shingles or herpes zoster with characteristic symptoms. Herpes circinatus. Rupia, blisters, not pustular eruptions. Sycosis if watery symptoms correspond, beard falls out, dandruff. Effects of insect-bites. Nettlerash, itching violently, appears after bodily exertion, tetter in bends of joints. Oozing of an acrid substance. It is usually the second remedy in herpes zoster. Eczema from eating too much salt. Fungi haematodes. Greasy skin. Eczema of eyebrows, behind Warts in palms of hands. Nettlerash in intermittent fever.

Hangnails.

Tissues

Anasarca, accumulation of serum in the areolar tissues. Dropsy or dropsical swelling, puffiness of the tissues. Serous or watery exudations, serous secretions. Anaemic condition, blood thin and watery; chlorotic conditions; chlorosis. Anaemia due to abuse of salt; emaciation pallor with dirty, flaccid, torpid skin; hydnemic, adynamic conditions, varices. Basedow's disease. Addison's disease. Dryness of mucous membranes, going on to erosion. Emaciation while living; well; emaciation especially of the neck. Cachexia from ague plus quinine. Chronic swelling of lymphatic and sebaceous glands. Gout Acts upon cartilage, mucous follicles and glands, salivary and mesenteric glands. Catarrhs of all mucous surfaces. All exudations and secretions are transparent, slimy, like boiled starch.

Modalities

Generally worse in the morning, periodically; at the seaside and in cold weather. Backache is relieved by lying on something hard. Complaints after urinating; after abuse of nitrate of silver; from quinine.

Homoeopathic Data

This drug was first proved by Hahnemann, and appears in vol. iv of the Chronic Diseases. It was also re-proved by the Austrian Society of Provers, and the pathogenetic effects recorded by Hahnemann and therapeutic results obtained by the use of the 30th potency brilliantly verified. Its pathogenesis is found complete in the Chronic Diseases, but excellent resumes, together with added clinical experience since that publication, can be found in Hering's Guiding Symptoms, vol. vii, and Allen's Handbook of Materia Medica. An interesting and suggestive little book on Natrum muriaticum as a test of the doctrine of "Drug Dynamisation" by Dr. Jas. C. Burnett, is also worthy of special mention. Published by E. Gould & Son, London.

Administration

Schiissler recommends the 6th potency.

The general experience of the homoeopathic school seems to favor of the higher potencies; thus H. C. Allen, M. D., are more quickly in the attenuations above the 30th than below. Schussler recommends also its external application in such diseases as the stings of insects, likewise as a gargle or spray in catarrhal affections.

Relationship

Compare Kali sulph. and Kali mur. in catarrhs of the Eustachian tubes and tympanum. In gastric and intestinal conditions compare Natr. sulph. In headache of young girls during menses compare Calc. phos. and Ferr. phos. Headache during catamenia, Kali sulph. when metrorrhagia symptoms preponderate. When the menses are scanty, Natr. mur. In bites of insects Ledum comes nearest, but Ferr. phos. and Kali phos. have also been successfully employed. Natr. mur. has as a close analogue Lycop., which will often be needed to supplement its action. Natr. mur. regulates moisture exudation from the circulation, especially when from the arterial system, while Natr. sulph. is more indicated when from the venous system. Complementary drugs: Apis and Arg. nit. Natr. mur. often precedes Sepia and Sulph. in chronic diseases. For the excessive use of salt in food give Pkosph. For the bad effects of sea-bathing Ars. For the bad results of cauterization of any mucous surface with nitrate of silver, Natrum is the antidote.

For dryness of mucous membranes compare Graphite, Alumina, Bryonia. In ranula, Ambra.