CASES

 Argentum nitricum

Keywords

- Anticipatory anxiety.

- Extreme diffidence ( lack of self confidence).

- Easy fright

Synopsis (identifying features)

- 1. Anticipatory anxiety before any important engagement, e.g. examination, etc.

- Nervous diarrhoea.

- 2. Delusions : he is despised ( disliked); deserted and forsaken; or is neglected; that he cannot succeed, does everything wrong.

- 3. Fear of being alone; in a crowd; fear of high bldgs. (impulse to jump).

- 4. Craving for sweets and salt.

- 5. Agg. from warmth, heat, summer.

- 6. Fear of narrow places, closed rooms.

- 7. Undertakes nothing lest he fails.

- 8. Splinter-like pains.

- 9. Impulsive; fear of losing self-control.

- 10. Pains shooting, lightning-like, radiating - increase and decrease gradually.

- 11. Expression : Dried up, withered, old looking - from disease.

Mind

- Anxiety of anticipation, even diarrhoea (Gels. Med).

- Dreads ordeals ( test or trial).

- Fear of heights; of narrow places, of lifts, cinema halls.

- Fear he will be trapped.

- Fear of failure in exams.

- Delusion he cannot succeed.

- Fear of being alone; of appearing in public.

- Hesitates, falters in speech, in gait, in erections.

- Fear that he does everything wrong, and he cannot succeed.

- Hurry, impulsive; must walk fast.

- Delusion he is despised, deserted and forsaken.

- Tormented by strange ideas, and by strange emotions; does strange things.

- Undertakes nothing, lest he fails.

- Brain fag; loss of ambition.

- Anxiety if time is set; hurry for the appointed time to arrive; must walk fast.

- Obstinate against whatever was proposed. Indifference to business affairs.

Objective

- Craves sugar which aggravates.

- Flatulent dyspepsia; belching after every meal.

- Violent, purulent ophthalmia (inflammation of eye), with thick, yellow, bland discharge; profuse discharge characteristic.

- Chronic laryngitis of singers.

- Diarrhoea from anticipation of ordeals.

- Hurried, impulsive.

- Stool green mucus like chopped spinach.

Causation (a.f. )

- Anticipation of ordeals; emotional excitement; anxiety, apprehension; fright; mortification; prolonged mental

exertion.

Modalities

- Agg.

- From closed places; sugar; lying on right side; warmth in any form.

- Looking down from a height.

- Before and during menses.

- Amel.

- Cool, fresh air.

- Cold bath.

- Hard pressure, bending double.

- Eructations amel.

- Chilly when uncovered, yet smothers when wrapped; craves fresh air.

Food

- Appetite good, but every kind of food disagrees.

- Desires: SWEETS; sugar (which aggr); SALT; strong cheese.

- Aversion food.

Male

- Impotence; erection fails when coition is attempted (Agn., Calad., Sel.).

- Sexual desire wanting; organ shrivelled.

Female

- Coition painful in both sexes; followed by bleeding from vagina (Nit. acid).

- Leucorrhoea profuse with erosion of cervix.

- Infant dies early after delivery Metrorrhagia (Abnormal bleeding from the uterus

) after coition; during menopause; in young widows; in sterility.

Child

- Ophthalmia neonatorum.

- Diarrhoea, green mucus; stool turns green after remaining on diaper; after candy or sugar.

Peculiar, uncommon, grand characteristics

- 1. Head

- Headache (congestion) with throbbing carotids, obliging one to loosen collar; with a feeling of expansion of head amel. by tight bandage.

- 2. Eyes

- Ophthalmia neonatorum (conjunctivitis contracted by newborn); purulent, thick yellow, profuse bland discharge.

- 3. Throat

- Pain as from splinter in throat when swallowing (Bell., Hep.s. , Nit. ac., Sil.).

- 4. Stomach

- Chronic gastritis of alcoholics.

- 5. Stomach

- Eructations loud, explosive, accompany most gastric complaints.

- Stomach as if would burst with wind.

- Eructation difficult.

- 6. Stomach

- Pain in small spots (stomach), radiates in all directions.

- 7. Abdomen

- Flatulence pressures up and causes dyspnoea.

- 8. Rectum

- Diarrhoea as soon as he drinks.

- 9. Rectum

- Diarrhoea, following colic, of greenish fetid mucus with a quantity of noisy flatus.

- Or after excitement, as before going to the theatre.

- 10. Bladder

- Urine passes unconsciously day and night (Caust.).

- 11. Gen. Male

- Gonorrhoea (after Cann. i., Copaiva & Merc. have failed - Hering).

- 12. Larynx

- Voice.

- Laryngitis (voice lost) in singers and speakers.

- High notes cause cough.

- 13. Chest

- Palpitation after excitement; from exertion; amel. by pressure with the hand.

- Agg. lying on right side.

- 14. Extremities

- Weakness.

- Great weakness of lower extremities with trembling.

- Ataxia, cannot walk with eyes closed.

- 15. Sleep

- Dreams horrible, of snakes and sexual gratification, anxious; confused; of the dead; of hunger.

- 16. General

- Convulsions

- Epilepsy caused by fright, or occurring at menstrual period.

- Pupils dilated days before attack.

- 17. Generalities

- Left sided symptoms (weakness).

Cases

- 56. Argentum nit.:

- An examination of Arg. nit. will disclose the fact that all her symptoms were covered by this remedy.

- Now, while other remedies have desire for sweets in various forms, such as China, Lyco. and Sulphur, only Arg. Nit has it pathogenetically and curatively in just these words, "irresistible desire for sugar."

- (E.B. Nash, Hom. Recorder - H.H. 1985/210)

CASES