Acidum Nitricum 30 Uses, Benefits – Acid Nitricum Materia Medica

• Affections of muco-cutaneous junctions
• Splinter-like pains in affected parts
• Symptoms ameliorated while riding in a carriage
• CORROSIVENESS, OFFENSIVENESS of all the discharges
• Ulcers bleed easily from slightest touch
• Headstrong, vindictive

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Nitric acid
Prover: Dr Hahnemann
Duration of Action: 40 to 60 days
Miasmatic Background: All three miasms – psora, syphilis and sycosis Temperament: Irritable and nervous
Diathesis: Haemorrhagic
Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: This is one more of our polychrests. It is a constitutional, long and deep acting remedy. It is very corrosive and an irritant. It is suitable for acute and chronic diseases. This remedy corresponds to all three miasms and therefore, is an invaluable remedy in the treatment of chronic diseases.

Description: It is a fuming liquid which is very caustic and has a characteristically highly irritating odour. It is soluble in water and dilute alcohol in all proportions. It attacks most metals, evolving brown fumes.

Preparation: Potencies are prepared from a watery solution of nitric acid.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is best adapted to lean, thin, debilitated and weak persons with rigid fibres, black hair, eyes and dark complexion. Also indicated in broken down, greatly debilitated, cachectic, emaciated and anaemic persons with an ugly appearance.

Ailments From: Long lasting anxiety, anguish from the loss of his dearest friend, loss of sleep, some virulent poison, overexertion of mind and body, nursing the sick, syphilis, abuse of mercury, riding in a carriage, repeated use of Digitalis.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Mouth, throat, muco-cutaneous junctions, skin, salivary glands, bones, liver, prostate gland, gastrointestinal tract, anus, blood, mucous membranes.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It produces intense irritation resulting in inflammation and destructive ulceration of parts, even gangrene. The entire action of Nitricum acidum points to a violent dyscrasia or poison resembling either the syphilitic, scrofulous or mercurial miasm.
2. It acts upon muco-cutaneous junctions of the body like, the mouth, the rectum, the anus and the vagina.
3. It produces inflammation and destructive ulceration.
4. Acts upon mucous membranes; has a particular affinity for the outlets of mucous surfaces where skin and mucous membranes meet.
5. Acts upon the digestive tract causing haemorrhages and diarrhoea.
6. Acts upon blood, causing blood decomposition resulting in anaemia.
7. It produces blisters and ulcers in the mouth, tongue genitals; they bleed easily.
8. It acts on the rectum producing fissures, with pain during stool; as if the rectum were torn.
9. Acts upon the entire physical body producing great prostration and weakness.
10. It acts on bones and joints producing arthritis.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Fear of death, uneasiness regarding health, with anxiety about recovery.
2. Weakness of intellectual faculties; unfit for mental labour.
3. Weakness of memory; melancholia of syphilitic origin; suicidal disposition.
4. Easily startled and frightened. Sadness, despondency.
5. Attacks of rage, with curses and mal-addictions.
6. Nervous, excitable, especially after abuse of mercury.
7. Vertigo in the morning, must lie down. Dull, stupid.
8. Loss of sleep; long lasting anxiety due to mental affections.
9. Anguish from loss of a dearest friend.
10. Very peevish, easily angered at trifling matters, excitable and nervous.
11. Great sadness before menses, very irritable and hateful.
12. Constantly thinking about his past troubles, fear of cholera.
13. Patient is very sensitive to noise, pain, motion, jar and touch.
14. Irresistible desire to curse and swear.
15. Loathing of life, always sad, anxious, depressed, despondent with great indifference.
16. Patient is unsympathetic, rude and adamant.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Ulceration: Great tendency to ulceration. Cracks and ulcers, particularly found around muco-cutaneous junctions. Fissured tongue. Moist fissure of anus. Corners of mouth cracked and ulcerated.

Putridity: All discharges are thin, dirty brown, offensive and excoriating.

Urine: Urine dark brown, scanty, turbid. Foetid urine, intolerably offensive. Urine has a very strong smell or smells like horse’s urine.

Hearing: Hardness of hearing, relieved by riding in a carriage or train:

Desires and aversions: Great desire for indigestible things such as charcoal, chalk, stone, fat, etc. Aversion to bread and meat.

Pain: Pain comes suddenly and goes suddenly. Sticking and pricking sensation; splinter-like pains.

Band-like sensation: Sensation as if a band was around the affected parts or around bones.

Weakness: Great exhaustion, weakness and debility – this is the characteristic symptom of this remedy.

Sensitiveness: Great sensitiveness to touch, slightest jar or movement. Takes cold easily.

Irritability: Great irritability – mentally and physically with nervous trembling and much sensitiveness.

Skin: Skin is very dirty; ulcers with syphilitic, sycotic or scrofulous base. All discharges are very offensive and acrid, tendency to bleeding. Warts, condylomata bleed easily on slight touch with splinter-like pains.

Glands: Swelling, inflammation and suppuration of glands. Liver enormously enlarged in jaundice; scrofulous from hereditary syphilis.

Bleeding: Haemorrhagic tendency; haemorrhage from the bowels in typhoid. Blood bright red and profuse; bleeding from the nose, mouth, uterus; of dark colour.

Perspiration: Easily perspires; then takes cold; sweat is very offensive on feet and in armpits.

Bones: Ulcers of bones; pain worse at night. Caries of mastoid process. Syphilitic bone pains. Softening of bones.

Diarrhoea: Great straining as if faeces remained and cannot be expelled. Pain as if rectum or anus were torn or fissured. Constant urging even after stool.

Leucorrhoea: Leucorrhoea only at night time, acrid and offensive.

Constipation: Inactivity of rectum; stool in rectum, without urging; sensation of constriction in sphincter ani.

Coition: Coition is very painful in both sexes followed by bleeding from the vagina.

Tongue: Tongue mapped, with red insular patches; like ringworm on sides.

Warts: Fig warts with intolerable itching and burning; exuberant granulations.

Restlessness: Great restlessness; extreme and protracted suffering from loss of sleep.

Stomatitis: Sore mouth and throat; ulcers too painful to swallow anything at all; pricking or a splinter-like sensation in the throat.

Important Characteristic Features

Oral affections (stomatitis): It is an excellent remedy for stomatitis, acrid saliva, with pricking, splinter-like pains. Aphthous and whitish gums, raw places in the mouth, putrid breath from mouth, offensive saliva and bleeding. Corners of mouth excoriated. Gums are unhealthy and bleed easily. Ulcers on the soft palate and in the entire mouth.

Haemorrhage: A very good remedy for haemorrhage from anywhere in the body. It may be from the nose, stomach, mouth, lungs, rectum, uterus, kidney, bowels, etc. Blood is bright and dark red, profuse and coagulable. Indicated in cachectic conditions and broken down constitutions due to miscarriage.

Diarrhoea and dysentery: A very useful remedy in diarrhoea; especially indicated when the stools are putrid, very offensive and green in colour. Diarrhoea may be due to loss of vital fluids, some virulent poison or haemorrhage. Great desire for stool, ineffectual urging for stool. Stool passes little at a time, feels that a large amount of stool remains in the rectum. In children, stools contain lumps of casein; they are also slimy, associated with much straining. Stools are pale, pasty, sour and offensive.

Skin: An excellent remedy for skin diseases. Nitricum acidum has an affinity for the junctions of skin and mucous membranes that is, corners of mouth, eyes, lips, nose, urethra, anus, vagina, etc. There are fissures and cracks with pricking, lancinating, splinter-like pains. In Nitricum acidum, there is growth of condylomata and warts, other syphilitic or sycotic. They bleed easily on washing or on slightest touch. Ulcers at corners of mouth or anywhere on the body; ulcers bleed easily, they have zig-zag, irregular margins and edges; they look like raw flesh and have exuberant granulations. In the acute and primary stage, ulcers suppurate and have an irregular shape. They discharge a thin, copious, bloody fluid.

Syphilis: It is adapted both to primary and secondary syphilis, though its application is often called for in the latter stage than in the former. It is most useful after abuse of mercury. The chancres are phagedenic. Nocturnal bone pains, particularly of the head and long bones. Development of warts and copper coloured spots when associated with pronounced debility, sweat and exhaustion, which render Nitricum acidum a sure remedy. The chancres in Nitricum acidum increase very fast, especially along the circumference where the edges are raised. The pains are generally splinter-like, Buboes threaten to suppurate.

General Modalities

Aggravation: At night, from change of temperature or weather, in the evening and at midnight, from noise, during sweat, cold, while walking, hot weather, on Waking.

Amelioration: While riding in a carriage, wrapping up.

Remedy Relationships

Complementary: Calad, Ars.

Follows well: Arum-t, Puls, Calc.

Precedes well: Calc, Hep, Merc, Nat-c, Puls, Kali-c, Sulph, Thuj.

Antidotes: Camph, Merc, Calc, Hep.

Antidotal to: Dig, Merc, Calc.

Inimical: Lach.

Compare: Anac, Lil-t, Cann-s, Lac-c.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000, 10M.

Dosage: From lowest to highest potencies.

Repetition: Single dose of minimum potency; but repeat when symptoms call for it.

Therapeutic Value: Abdominal troubles, Anus fissures of Bright’s disease, Bronchitis, Bubo, Chancres, Chronic catarrh, Condyloma, Constipation, Corns, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Eye and ear affections, Glandular Swelling, Haematuria, Haemorrhage, Haemorrhoids, Headache, Herpes, Menstrual troubles, Rickets, Skin troubles, Syphilis, Tongue affections, Ulcers, Urinary disorders, Urinary disorders, Warts, Whooping cough.