Natrium sulphuricum



Nat-s.

-VERMEULEN Frans
Nothing’s so dainty sweet as melancholy.
[Francis Beaumont]
Signs
Hydrous Sodium sulphate. Glauber’s salt. Sal mirabile.
HISTORY The prima materia was considered by the alchemists the essence of all substances, ‘the underlying something that always remains identical and one,’ in the words of Aristotle. The alchemists wanted to capture this ever-present and yet elusive power and to confine it in the philosopher’s stone. They dissolved various substances in order to seize the prima materia, which was not only fugacious but also very fragile. An all-dissolvent liquid, called the alkahest, was described for the first time by Paracelsus thus: “There is also the spirit alkahest, which acts very efficiently upon the liver: It sustains, fortifies and preserves from the diseases within its reach … Those who want to use such medicine must know how the alkahest is prepared.” These references would possibly have gone unnoticed, had not the Belgian physician Van Helmont [1577-1644] enriched the subject with new marvels by proclaiming the dissolving characteristic of the alkahest. He calls it a new wonder medicine, fire water, hell water: “It is a salt, most blessed and most perfect of all salts; the secret of its preparation is beyond human comprehension and God alone can reveal it to the chosen.” Van Helmont was one of the chosen, for he affirms by oath that he possessed the alkahest, which “dissolves all bodies as warm water dissolves ice.” During the 17th century many adepts searched for the alkahest, amongst them the German chemist and alchemist Johann Rudolf Glauber [1604-1668]. Busily dissolving, Glauber discovered in 1658 a method of forming hydrochloric acid by the action of sulphuric acid on table salt [sodium chloride]. In the process he obtained a residue, sodium sulphate, which he believed to be the sought-after wonder elixir. Hence he touted it as a cure-all and named it ‘sal mirabile’, ‘wonderful salt.’ Named after its discoverer, Glauber’s salt turned out to be a laxative with beneficial effects on the liver. 1
SUBSTANCE Sodium sulphate occurs in nature as the minerals mirabilite, thenardite, and glauberite; the latter contains calcium sulphate. Mirabilite contains 55.9% water. The industrial [commercial] product consists of odourless, efflorescent crystals or granules which lose all their water at 100o C. Soluble in 1.5 parts of water at 25 degrees C and 3.3 parts of water at 15 degrees C. [By comparison: sodium carbonate dissolves in 2 parts cold and 0.25 part boiling water; sodium chloride needs 2.8 ml water at 25o and 2.6 ml boiling water for one gram to dissolve; sodium phosphate dissolves in 3 parts of water.] Its solubility in water decreases in the presence of sodium chloride. Sodium sulphate is one of the major ingredients of Carlsbad [along with lithium carbonate] and other mineral waters. It is produced from natural brines and crystal deposits in alkaline lakes, or as a byproduct of various chemical processes [such as battery acid recycling and lithium carbonate manufacturing].
USES For standardizing dyes [to promote an even finish]; in freezing mixtures; in dyeing and printing textiles. Used [as E514] in the food industry as a base for chewing gum, and to regulate acidity in beverages [e.g. malt process in beer making] and caramel. The removal of hair and feathers from pig and poultry carcasses after slaughter was formerly done with sodium sulphate. The anhydrous form, called salt cake, is used for drying organic liquids, and in the manufacture of glass, ultramarine, soaps, and paper pulp [chiefly in wood digestion reagents]. The largest [anhydrous] sodium sulphate market worldwide is the powdered detergent sector, particularly in Latin American countries and the Middle and Far East. [Liquid detergents and superconcentrates do not use sodium sulphate in their formulations.] It also finds medicinal application as a purgative and in commercial aperient salts.
BIOCHEMISTRY Sodium sulphate controls the density of the extracellular fluids by eliminating excess water. Schüssler introduced this compound as a tissue salt, saying: “The action of Natrum sulphuricum is contrary to that of Natrum muriaticum. Though both attract water, Nat-mur. puts it to use in the organism, whereas Nat-sulph. secures its elimination from the organism. Nat-mur. aids cellular multiplication, Nat-sulph. causes their destruction by withdrawing water.” This salt is essential for the healthy functioning of the liver by ensuring an adequate supply of bile to assist in fat digestion. Schüssler took over his indications for Nat-s. from von Grauvogl [1811-1887], for whom Natrum sulphuricum was the typical constitutional remedy for a biochemical state which he termed ‘the hydrogenoid constitution’. [The hydrogenoid constitution came later to be included in the sycotic miasm.]
PROVINGS •• [1] Nenning – ‘proving on self and several women and girls’; method: unknown.
•• [2] Schreter – self-experimentation [?]; method: unknown.
•• [3] Lembke – self-experimentation, 1865; method: 10 drops of 5th dil. on first, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and twelfth days; observation period: 15 days. Second trial, next day after finishing first one, increasing doses at irregular intervals of 3rd, 2nd, 1st trits., solution of crude substance, and 100th dil.
[1] Seligmann, The History of the Magic and the Occult.
Affinity
OCCIPUT. LIVER; bile; pancreas; intestinal; descending colon. Chest [left; lower]. * Left side. Right side.
Modalities
Worse: DAMP [weather; night air; cellars]. Lying on left side. Injuries; head; spine. Lifting. Touch. Pressure. Late evening. Wind. Light. WARM WET weather. Spring. Cold food and drinks [diarrhoea]. Morning. Lying on the back.
Better: Open air. Change of position. Passing flatus. Dry weather; dry hot weather. After breakfast. Sitting up. Pressure.
Main symptoms
* All Natrums are hypersensitive and closed. Nat-s. seems the least sensitive and most closed.
M Systematic worker.
Down to earth.
Strong sense of DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY.
M Emotions not involved in life; not impulsive, not spontaneous.
Sees both sides and brings them together.
Bears suffering without complaining and without resentment.
Quiet unshakable faith in God and their spiritual destiny.
Cheerful stoicism. [Bailey]
M OBJECTIVE; realistic; always adhere to matters of fact.
[Nat-s. is in NONE of the delusion rubrics!!]
M Only moved to tears by MUSIC; soft light.
M MENTAL CHANGES arising from INJURIES to the head.
[sadness, irritability, confusion, weakness of memory]
M Sadness and SUICIDAL DISPOSITION.
Must use self-control to prevent shooting himself.
Yet:
• “Many Natrum sulphuricums experience gentle melancholy without any suicidal thoughts.” [Bailey]
M Irritability in the morning.
Dislikes to speak or to be spoken to.
M Mania alternating with depression.
• “I have come across several patients whose manic depressive illness responded to Natrum sulphuricum. It is not surprising that the Sulphuricum is prone to this mysterious illness, since it is a split illness, characterised by depression on the one hand [Natrum, water] and mania on the other [Sulphur, fire]. The depressive phase may be just as intense as any Muriaticum depression, and hard to distinguish from the latter. In the manic phase I have noticed that the Natrum sulphuricum individual has pressure of thoughts, but that these thoughts tend to dwell on the past. Thus there is a speeding up of thoughts, which crowd in upon each other [the energy of fire], and the focus on the past that is characteristic of water. Obsessive thoughts are liable to occur in the manic phase, especially involving regret, and unrealistic romantic desire.” [Bailey]
G Chronic physical problems arising from INJURIES to the head.
[epilepsy, tinnitus aurium, vertigo, headache].
G WARM-BLOODED.
G Desire for or aversion to YOGURT.
G Strong craving for fat. [Grandgeorge]
G > OPEN AIR.
G < MOISTURE. [cold wet weather; spring, Autumn; foggy weather; warm wet weather; bathing; getting wet; damp rooms; cellars; residence near standing water; watery foods] G < 4-5 A.M. ; morning on waking. G Puffiness. • “Thin or fat, the Natrum sulphuricum patient has one distinct feature – he is puffy. This puffiness extends to the eyelids, the cheeks, the hands, the fingers, the ankles and the feet. It consists of a generalized swelling of the tissues, rather than a true, pitting oedema. The hands are plump and dimpled and become swollen and puffy. The fingers can inflate in a few hours under the influence of the prevailing barometric pressure, and then the patient will find that she cannot remove her rings, and may gain one or two kilograms weight in twenty-four hours. Finally, though the puffiness of the cheeks may be pronounced, it often co-exists with wrinkles and crow’s feet at the junction of the eyelids.” [Vannier] G PROFUSE, YELLOW, watery discharges. Or THICK, yellow-green and purulent. P HEADACHE and photophobia and salivation. P Rumbling, gurgling in bowels. Followed by sudden gushing, noisy, spluttering stool. In morning after rising. P Main target organ is the LIVER. [acute or chronic hepatitis; gallstones; bitter eructations; colics; jaundice] Dragging sensation in right hypochondrium when lying on left side. P One of the main remedies for ASTHMATIC complaints [with rattling] from DAMPNESS. Asthma and looseness of bowels at each attack. P Skin affections every spring. Rubrics Mind Confusion after injury to head [3]. Dulness from damp air [2]. Estranged from his family [1]. Fastidious [1]. Fear, in narrow place, vaults, churches and cellars [1], from noise at night [2]. Fear to be left alone, lest he should injure himself [2]. Mania alternating with depression [2]. Sadness, after injuries of the head [2], from music [2], to pain [1]. Weeping > open air [2].
Vertigo
Objects move to the right [1]. After vomiting > [1].
Head
Pain, pressing, vertex, during menses [2], after mental exertion [1].
Vision
Blurred, in morning [1]. Dim, < light of fire [2]. Sparks, on blowing nose [1]. Ear Noises, > while lying [1]. Sensation of opening and closing like a valve [2].
Nose
Discharge, greenish on exposure to light [2].
Teeth
Pain, after eating fruit [1; Nat-c.], > smoking tobacco [2].
Stomach
Indigestion from farinaceous food [2]. Thirst, at night on waking [2], after headache [1/1]. Vomiting, during vertigo [2]; of bile, during headache [2], of bile, after vexation [2/1].
Abdomen
Pain, liver, > lying on right side [2], when lying on left side [2], after mental labour [3]; cramping, > kneading abdomen [2/1].
Rectum
Diarrhoea, after farinaceous food [3], after fruit [3], after ice cream [1], during jaundice [2], after pastry [2].
Chest
Sensation of emptiness, during asthma [1/1].
Limbs
Contraction, hollow of knees, while lying on back [1/1].
Sleep
Sleeplessness after labour [2]. Waking by thirst [2].
Dreams
Being cut [1]. Falling from a height [1]. Gardens [1]. Daughter is in water and crying for help [1/1].
Food
Aversion: [2]:Beer; bread; milk; yogurt. [1]: Cold drinks; meat; mushrooms; smoking; starchy food.
Desire: [3]: Cold drinks. [2]: Beer; fish, salty; yogurt. [1]: Fat [*]; ice; milk, boiled; sour, after headache.
Worse: [3]: Farinaceous; fruit; vegetables. [2]: Cabbage; coffee; cold food; hot food; milk; potatoes; rich food. [1]: Apples; fish; pastry; starchy food.
Better: [1]: Light food.
* Repertory addition [Grandgeorge].

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