HEPAR SULPHURIS:

-PHYLLIS SPEIGHT

Characteristics Extremely sensitive and especially physically to a draught of air to least touch and to pain which becomes so intolerable at times as to cause fainting.

Great tendency to suppurations even slight injuries or scratches suppurate.

Mind;Irritable and difficult to get along with. anger. Child outrageously cross.

Throat: Choking worse cold air. Sensation of splinter or fishbone in throat.

Stomach: Longing for acid foods.

Middle layer of oester shell – source of HS.

Respiratory: Whistling breathing worse least cold air. Cough worse least cold air. Croup this remedy is very often needed after AConite but only if the child is sweaty and weak and worse least cold air. Croup with rather loose cough with wheezing and rattling. As if mucus would come up but it does not worse early morning.

Modalities: Worse 6-7 p.m. Sudden weakness daily. Worse cold air.

This patient often wears an overcoat in hot weather. Pain are throbbing and stabbing. Discharge from all parts of body smell like cold cheese or sour.

Note that the nose is stopped up every time the patient goes into the cold air.

Hepar Sulph. stands mid-way between Calc. Carb and Sulphur and the strongest characteristic is its hypersensitiveness to touch, pain and cold air. The patient can faint from pain even though it is slight. If there are inflammations, swelling or even skin eruptions the patient cannot bear to have them touched or even have cold air blow on them.

When pus is about to form, or has already formed, Hepar will hasten the discharge and help the healing.

Hepar Sulph. Helps in respiratory conditions where there is chronic catarrh and the nose gets stopped up each time the patient goes out into the cold air, and is better in warm room.

It is excellent for croup when symptoms are worse by least cold air. In chronic asthma Hepar is the remedy when worse dry cold air and better damp air. Nash says he knows of no other remedy that has amelioration so strongly in damp weather as Hepar.

Hepar helps chronic dyspepsia when there is a craving for acid things this is often accompanied by diarrhoea which is sour. The stool too is sour.

Compare Hepar with Silica as they have many symptoms in common. Dr. Farrington says: Hepar promotes and regulates suppuration in a remarkable manner (second only to Silica) but is generally required at an earlier stage than Silica’. Their mentalities, however, are as wide apart as poles. Dr. Tyler says: Silica, with its want of self confidence, its lack of grit’; its timidity; its suffering from anticipation as when having to appear in public Hepar sensitive beyond all bounds of reason; irritable, impetuous. Sensitive to draughts, to air, ulcers so sensitive that they cannot bear the slightest touch sensitive mentally, even to sudden murderous impulses.’

Allen says: The skin eruptions of Sulphur are dry, itching and not sensitive to touch; while in Hepar the skin is unhealthy, suppurating moist and intensely sensitive to touch.

Hepar is a great remedy for ears and threatening mastoid.

Kent says: Sweating all night without relief belongs to a great many complaints of Hepar. Inspiring cold air will increase the cough and putting the hand out of bed will increase the pain in the larynx or cough. Putting the hand or foot out of bed is a general aggravation of all the complaints of Hepar.

The mind takes part in this oversensitiveness, and manifests itself by a state of extreme irritability. Every little thing that disturbs the patient makes him intensely angry and abusive and impulsive. the impulse will overwhelm him and make him wish to kill his best friend in an instant. Impulses also that are without cause sometimes crop out of Hepar. Impulses to do violence… to turn… to destroy…’

There may be dreams of fire and the pains are worse at night.

There are often habitual bronchial catarrhs with loud rattling mucus.

There is sometimes hasty speech and hasty drinking.

The sweat is often cold, clammy and offensive.