PHOSPHORICUM ACIDUM uses for Nervous system

– Pierce W.I.

PHOSPHORIC ACID-HPO3.

Introduction
Phosphoric acid was first proved by Hahnemann, who recommended its use in the 9th dilution. It produces a condition of general weakness, a quiet, apathetic state, without excitement, and a keynote for its use is mental and physical exhaustion (155).
Symptoms
It is of value in the exhaustion of the mental and nervous systems from sexual excesses (167) or from excessive fatigue, and in neurasthenia or nervous prostration (156) it is apt to be one of the first remedies that we think of. The patients are indifferent, too tired to think and any mental effort brings on a severe headache (93); they will give you short answers because it is too great an effort to try and collect their thoughts. In low fevers this condition is very pronounced, a quiet and apathetic, almost stupid state from which they can be easily aroused, only to sink back into it again as soon as you leave them alone. It is of great value for prostration following typhoid fever, and for the effects of mental shock, grief or an unfortunate love affair, following well says Allen, after Ignatia. In homesickness (119), where the strains of “The girl I left behind me” have an especially depressing effect, it is of the first importance. The headache of phosphoric acid is serve, compelling one to lie down; it is located especially on the vertex as a crushing pain or as a pressure downward from a weight (103).the hair turns gray early (88), the result of prolonged mental strain or excessive e grief,and is inclined to fall our. In deafness with roaring in the ears (65), Phosphoric acid is to be thought of when down to anaemic conditions (15). The face is pale, spotted with acne (14), worse on forehead, nose and mouths; particularly in over-grown boys or girls with early sexual propensities, or in older persons suffering from or-sexual indulgence or abuse” (Dearborn) (167). A the mouth and lips are dry, especially in fevers, with thirst and desire for something juicy, and the gums are apt to become swollen and bleed easily (84) . In the stomach we have acid dyspepsia (178) with sour risings half an hour after eating 9177O,and the abdomen is usually distended and Tympanitic (13). Phosphoric acid is a valuable and frequently called for remedy in acute and chronic diarrhoeas (58), the stools whitish, or yellow,and watery, the movements are preceded by rumbling in the abdomen (11) and are more or less gushing (59). the first portion, which is mixed with wind, seems to pass as water through a narrow opening m with some force,and is followed by small pieces of faecal matter. The movements are painless, in low fevers often involuntary,and are not exhausting. The call for stool requires reasonably prompt attention, but other than the necessity o keeping within a short walk of a closet, the patient suffers no inconvenience from a Phosphoric acids diarrhoea. there is aggravation after eating (57) an especially from fruit (57). The urine may pass involuntarily in bed at night (198); it is a remedy having milky urine (199) with a white sediment consisting of phosphates and it is to be thought of in phosphaturia (200). Phosphoric acid is frequently indicated in diabetes (56) not simply from the general symptoms of the disease, such as increased watery urine,great thirst and extreme weakness and emaciation, but especially, as Hughes points out, “in diabetes of nervous origin.” allen says” “Its collateral symptoms of diabetes Mellitus are pronounced and its curative power in that disease is undoubted.” As an illustration of the views held by the old school, let me quote from Ringer,who says” “Phosphoric acid has been recommended in diabetes., Griesinger, who has carefully studied the action of this medicine considers that it does more harm than good. He pushed the acid to the extent of an ounce daily, and found that this dose increased the sugar.” when you consider that the dilute phos. ac. of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is ten times as strong as our tincture or last centesimal dilution , you will get an idea to what extent the drug was “pushed.” We might look upon this as an additional proving of Phosphoric acid and as th same time offer up a prayer of thankfulness that there is a method or practice other than that taught by the old school. Phosphoric acid is of great value for the recent or remote effects of excessive seminal emission, s whether licensed or otherwise. Among the general results are vertigo, brain-fag (93), impotence (167),spinal anaemia, weakness in the small of the back and heaviness of the lower extremities, It is of value says hering for :onanism when the patient is distressed by the culpability when asleep, when straining at stool or after urinating,and for orchitis (188) with great sensitiveness of the parts to touch; all of these conditions being associate with the mental and physical exhaustions so characteristic of the remedy. The women needing Phosphoric acid is anaemic (15) or chlorotic (17), with complete indifference to everything,and suffering,perhaps, from prolapsus of the uterus (203),the result of her general weakness. Menstruation is usually too early and too profuse (135), accompanied by profuse urination and followed by exhaustion (138)and profuse leucorrhoea (126)./ It is to be thought of in tympanitic distention of the uterus (205), it feels “as full of wind”(Hering). The cough of Phosphoric acid is usually loose and seems to come from the stomach (44)’ it may b34 spasmodic and cue to tickling, as from a feather (43), from the larynx to the middle of the chest, or from irritation as from dust, which extends the whole length of the trachea. The cough is worse morning and evening and after sleep, as well as from cold air (40). It is to be thought of in broncho-pneumonia (51), with profuse secretion, or expectoration of mucus in small balls (69). In the heart it is often of use in a form of nervous palpitation (111) resulting from self abuse or sexual excess (111). Phosphoric acid is to be thought of in growing pains in children (84), and it is of value in caries of the lumbar vertebrae (207) and in hip joint disease (1217).A characteristic sensation, especially in scrofulous disease, is as if a bone were going scraped wit a knife,and being of the pain at night. It is a remedy of very frequent use in typhoid fever and may be indicated throughout the disease where the feeling of exhaustion is your leading symptom. In severe cases we have, in addition to the weakness and prostration, inability to protrude the tongue or to articulate distinctly and a tendency to slide down in bed (21). We may have light stupor or quiet delirium, dry lips and tongue, with a red streak down the center of t latter (192), nosebleed, tympanitis, involuntary type of typhoid (193). I use phosphoric acid in the tincture.

– Douglas M.Borland.

PHOSPHORIC ACID provides the classical picture of the painless, almost incontinent, watery,non-odorous diarrhoea. But the drug has a field of usefulness far greater than that, and it is one of the most useful drugs we have for the acid dyspepsia of the late adolescent. The kind of case is that of the child who is working for scholarship examination and getting over-tired and whose digestion is beginning to give out. This idea of the overstressed adolescent gives you the key to the whole picture; you get the same kind of condition at any age in anyone who has under stress-particularly mental stress over a length of time-and who is beginning to break down. There may be indications for Phosphorus acid in more acute cases, such as bad shock, but it is much more commonly indicated after a period of prolonged stress. The mental picture is that of those who are just dead tired. They feel generally indefinite, do not want to talk, cannot concentrate, their thoughts wander away from the subject. Any mental effort it liable to produce an acute headache with a sensation of extreme pressure on the top of the head. On any effort at all these patients are liable to feel giddy. It is not an acute giddiness but a feeling of general instability, and patients quite frequently describe it as a feeling as if their feet were coming up off the ground and they would fall. Where you get indications for Phosphoric acid in acute illness-for example, in typhoid fever-this sensation is described as a feeling as if they were floating off the bed; but you get a minor degree of the same kind of thing even when the patients are going about. One outstanding characteristic about Phosphoric acid patients is the astonishing relief they get from even quite a short sleep. You often see them just dead beat-you can hardly get a word out of them-then they have a short sleep (fifteen or twenty minutes) and wake up entirely different beings, their headache has gone and they are quite bright and cheery. However, any little exertion, mental or physical, seems to use them up again and they slip back to the same state: their headache returns and they are just useless. With such picture, the digestive disturbance most commonly met with is the complete failure of digestion. The digestion is slow, and the patients feel distended and uncomfortable after a meal. They may feel sick, and may vomit a quantity of sour, undigested food some hours after a meal. Notably associated with the distension-often described as pressure-there is a general sensation of tightness or pressure. They may get it in the head or in the eyes, if they are using them much. They get exactly the same feeling of tightness in the chest on exertion and have generalised rheumatic pains with the same kind of feeling of pressure in the joints and they often complain of pressing pains in the soles on the feet. Gastric discomfort is very much relieved by warm food or warm drinks. This is the outstanding differentiating point between Phosphoric acid and Phosphorus. Another symptom in Phosphoric acid digestive disturbances is an excessive amount of flatulence. These tired-out patients very often complain of constant rumbling or gurgling in the abdomen. There is strange hyperaesthesia in these apparently sluggish patients : they are very sensitive to music, very easily startled and often peculiarly sensitive to odours. Temperature reactions are a little contradictory. The patients are chilly, sensitive to cold, particularly sensitive to wind, very sensitive to snow atmosphere; and yet, in a hot room they are upset, their headaches are made worse and their mental sluggishness is increased. They are fresher and their headaches are better in the open air, provided it is still. It is characteristic that they appear to get the most acute gastric discomfort about half an hour after a meal. At that time there is a tendency for the food simply to regurgitate into the throat, and this regurgitation may be accompanied by cramping pains in the stomach. They are upset by any acid foods, by fresh fruit, cold drinks, or by any over-rich food. Frequently, Phosphoric acid patients are rather thirsty. They tend to have a definite polyuria with a very pale, milky kind of urine and, when that is present, they complain of a very dry mouth and intense thirst. Another odd characteristic of Phosphoric acid patients is their liability to develop styes. The styes particularly affect the upper lids. In adolescents with students’ headaches, there may be a tendency for the right pupil to be rather larger than the left. This may be slight or it may be marked, and it is particularly noticeable during a headache. There is sometimes a complaint of a tendency to bite the tongue during sleep. This is commonly associated with acute gastric disturbances. In adolescents the picture is not unlike that of Pulsatilla, but it has its own characteristics which should make it clear. In adults the picture is much more clear and individual, and the selection is correspondingly easier.

-Boericke. G.W

+ Phosphoric Acid.

#General

The common acid “debility” is very marked in this remedy, producing a nervous exhaustion. MENTAL DEBILITY first; later physical. A congenial soil for the action of Phos. acid is found in young people who grow rapidly, and who are overtaxed, mentally or physically. Whenever the system has been exposed to the ravages of acute disease, excesses, grief, loss of vital fluids, we obtain conditions calling for it. Pyrosis, flatulence, diarrhoea, diabetes, rachitis and periosteal inflammation. Neurosis in stump, after amputation. Haemorrhages in typhoid. Useful in relieving pain of cancer.

#Mind

Listless. Impaired memory. [ANAC.] APATHETIC, INDIFFERENT. Cannot collect his thoughts or find the right word. Difficult comprehension. Effects of grief and mental shock. Delirium, with great stupefaction. Settled despair.

#Head

Heavy; CONFUSED. Pain as if temples were crushed together. Worse, SHAKING OR NOISE. CRUSHING HEADACHE. PRESSURE ON TOP. Hair gray early in life; falls out. Dull headache after coition; from eye-strain. [NAT. M.] VERTIGO TOWARD EVENING, WHEN STANDING OR WALKING. Hair thins out, turns gray early.

#Eyes

BLUE RINGS AROUND. Lids inflamed and cold. Pupils dilated. Glassy appearance. Averse to sunlight; sees colors as if a rainbow. Feel too large. Amblyopia in masturbators. Optic nerves seem torpid. PAIN AS IF EYEBALLS WERE FORCIBLY PRESSED TOGETHER AND INTO HEAD.

#Ears

Roaring, with difficult hearing. Intolerant of noise.

#Nose

Bleeding. Bores fingers into nose. ITCHING.

#Mouth

Lips dry, cracked. Bleeding gums; retract from teeth. Tongue swollen, dry, with viscid, frothy mucus. Teeth feel cold. At night, bites tongue involuntarily.

#Face

Pale, earthy; feeling of tension as from dried albumen. Sensation of coldness of one side of face.

#Stomach Craves juicy things. Sour risings. Nausea. SYMPTOMS FOLLOWING SOUR FOOD AND DRINK. Pressure as from a weight, with sleepiness after eating. [FEL. TAURI.] THIRST FOR COLD MILK.

#Abdomen

Distention and fermentation in bowels. Enlarged spleen. [CEANOTH.] ACHING IN UMBILICAL REGION. Loud rumbling.

#Stool

Diarrhoea, WHITE, watery, involuntary, PAINLESS, with much flatus; not specially exhausting. Diarrhoea in weakly, delicate rachitic children.

#Urine

Frequent, profuse, water, MILKY. DIABETES. Micturition, preceded by anxiety and followed by burning. FREQUENT URINATION AT NIGHT. Phosphaturia.

#Male

Emissions at night and at stool. Seminal vesiculitis. [OXAL. ACID.] Sexual power deficient; testicles tender and swollen. Parts relax during embrace. [NUX.] Prostatorrhoea, even when passing a soft stool. Eczema of scrotum. OEdema of prepuce, and swollen glans-penis. Herpes preputialis. Sycotic excrescences. [THUJA.] #Female

Menses too early and profuse, with pain in liver. Itching; yellow leucorrhoea after menses. Milk scanty; health deteriorated from nursing.

#Respiratory

Chest troubles develop after brain-fag. Hoarseness. Dry cough from tickling in chest. Salty expectoration. Difficult respiration. WEAK FEELING IN CHEST FROM TALKING. [STANN.] PRESSURE BEHIND THE STERNUM, rendering breathing difficult.

#Heart

Palpitation in children, who grow too fast; after grief, self- abuse. Pulse irregular, intermittent.

#Back

Boring pain between scapulae. Pain in back and limbs, as if beaten.

#Extremities

Weak. Tearing pains in joints, bones, and periosteum. Cramps in upper arms and wrists. GREAT DEBILITY. Pains at night, AS IF BONES WERE SCRAPED. Stumbles easily and makes missteps. Itching, between fingers or in folds of joints. #Skin

Pimples, acne, blood-boils. Ulcers, with very offensive pus. Burning red rash. Formication in various parts. FALLING OUT OF THE HAIR. [NAT. MUR.; SELEN.] Tendency to abscess after fevers.

#Sleep

SOMNOLENCY. Lascivious dreams with emissions.

#Fever

Chilliness. PROFUSE SWEAT during night and morning. Low types of fever, with dull comprehension and stupor.

#Modalities

BETTER, from keeping warm. WORSE, exertion, from being talked to; loss of vital fluids; sexual excesses. Everything impeding circulation causes aggravation of symptoms.

#Relationship

Compare: OENOTHERA BIENNIS-Evening primrose_(Effortless diarrhoea with nervous exhaustion. Incipient hydrocephaloid. Whooping-cough and spasmodic asthma). NECTRANDA AMARE. (Watery diarrhoea, dry tongue, colic, bluish ring around sunken eyes, restless sleep.) CHINA; NUX; PIC. AC.; LACTIC AC.; PHOS. Antidotes: COFFEA.

#Dose

First potency.