Alumina

Like its relative Alumen, Alumina produces irritation of mucous membranes

with dryness or extreme secretion and paralysis of involuntary muscles, as those of the rectum

and of the nervous and muscular systems generally. Alumina paralyses the bowels in the same

way as lead, to which it is an antidote. Even small and soft stools are passed with great difficulty.

Pregnant women and children are liable to this kind of constipation. A very prominent

characteristic is that a person must strain at stool! in order to urinate. Teste groups Alumina with

• ▸Sepia and Copaiva.
• ▸He considers it the chronic of Sepia as Silic.
• ▸is of Puls.
• ▸Paralysis of the

internal rectus muscle of the eye, causing squint. Also ptosis. Drawing, pains appear in the limbs;

a sensation of constriction in several organs. Several painful symptoms show themselves after

the midday meal, and continue till evening, when they disappear or are replaced by others which

begin only then. On the other hand the pains which appear in the morning or in the evening are

abated after eating. Trembling, convulsive movements of the limbs and head; spasms, with tears

and laughter alternately. There is exaltation of the whole nervous system. Trembling of the

whole body with desire to lie down, which, however, < the fatigue. Great general fatigue, even

after a short walk, but chiefly after speaking. Frequent stretching while sitting. The nates go to

sleep while sitting. Drags legs (especially left). Many of the symptoms of locomotor ataxy are

reproduced by A/umina, and it is one of the most useful remedies in that disease. Boenninghausen

cured a case with Aluminium. Sluggishness of action is characteristic of this medicine; urine is

slow in passing; great straining to pass even a soft stool; can only evacuate bowels when

standing; has to strain as if abdomen and rectum were paralysed. (Caust. has defecation only

when standing; but the straining is less.) Sensations are slow in being transmitted to the centres.

In the mental sphere there is confusion. "When he says anything he feels as if another person had

said it, and when he sees anything, as if another person had seen it, or as if he could transfer

himself into another, and only then could see." A feeling of hurry follows, things do not move

• ▸fast enough.
• ▸Impulses.
• ▸Suicidal tendency, a sudden impulse from seeing blood on a knife.
• ▸Sad;

apprehensive; wants to getaway; fears going crazy. Mental symptoms mostly come on in the

• ▸morning on waking.
• ▸Vertigo on closing eyes.
• ▸Catarrh is a very general feature.
• ▸Catarrh with

dryness of mucous membranes. The throat looks parched and glazed. The nose is stopped, feels

dry, and the point of it is cracked. Alm. has the fish-bone sensation in the throat on swallowing.

There is profuse leucorrhcea running down to the heels, sometimes excoriating. As with the

mucous membrane so with the skin: itching eruptions < from warmth of bed. Eruptions of all

• ▸kinds, indurations, ulcers.
• ▸Granular eyelids.
• ▸Hairs fall out all over body.
• ▸The skin of the face

feels as if covered with dried white of egg, or as if a cobweb was on it. Fissures. A/umina has

some curious symptoms in the digestive sphere. There is a craving for dry rice and dry food. It

has < from starch, especially the starch of potatoes. < From salt, wine, vinegar, spirits. Burning

pains in the back are very characteristic, and especially a sensation as if a hot iron were forced

through the lower vertebree.

There are pulsations in various parts. The pains go upward. Upper left; lower right affected

(opposite of Lyc.).

The symptoms are < on alternate days; periodically. Guernsey describes a characteristic

periodicity thus: "Patient gets along nicely for a time, then, from no apparent cause, gets worse

for a time, then better, and soon a relapse may be worse than the original illness, another relapse

not so bad, and so on with longer intervals between." In afternoons; at new or full moon; < in the

• ▸morning on waking.
• ▸< After coitus.
• ▸< In cold air, out of doors; in dry weather.
• ▸They are > by

cold washing; by moistening the part; by warm food or drink; by warmth generally.

Alumina is suited to persons of sedentary habits who suffer from chronic ailments; to

constitutions with diminished animal heat. Psoric persons. The action of Alumina is slow in

developing, and the remedy must not be changed quickly.

• ▸Low-spirited; fears loss of reason.
• ▸Confused as to personal identity.
• ▸Hasty, hurried.
• ▸Time passes slowly.
• ▸Variable mood.
• ▸Better as day advances.
• ▸Suicidal tendency when seeing knife or blood.

Humour morose, sad, with despair of cure.—Involuntary tears —Anguish and anxiety

as if one were threatened with some fatal accident, or had committed some crime.—Time passes

too slowly; intolerable ennui; an hour seems half a day.—Seeing blood on a knife she has horrid

ideas of killing herself, though she abhors the idea—Apprehensions.—Disposition to be

• ▸frightened.
• ▸—Air sorrowful and morose.
• ▸—Ill-humour, with unfitness for labour.
• ▸—Disposition to be

• ▸angry.
• ▸—Obstinate, and contradictory humour.
• ▸—Taking everything in bad part.
• ▸—Humour

changeable; at one time bold, at another timid.—Weakness of memory.—Distraction,

inadvertence, and incapability of following up an idea——Absence of ideas.—Blunders in

speaking.—Great vivacity of apprehension, alternately with inadvertence, and deprivation of

sight and hearing.—Sensation, as if self-consciousness were outside the body.

Pulling pains in the limbs.—Sensation of constriction in internal organs

(cesophagus, stomach, rectum, bladder).—Aggravation of suffering from potatoes, and often on

alternate days.—Several painful symptoms show themselves after dinner, and continue till

evening, when they disappear, or are replaced by others, which begin only then —The pains

which appear in the morning, or in the evening, are abated after eating.—Suffering in

consequence of disappointments.—Trembling and convulsive movements of the limbs, and even

of the head.—Great heaviness in the legs and arms.—Spasms, with tears and laughter

alternately.—Exaltation of the whole nervous system.—Illusive sensations; some parts of the body

feel as if they had become larger.—Trembling of the whole body, with desire to lie down, which,

however, increases the fatigue-—Great general fatigue, even after a short walk, but principally

after speaking.—Frequent stretching while sitting.—Want of vital heat.

• ▸Stitching, burning pain in head, with vertigo, worse in morning, but relieved by food.
• ▸Pressure in forehead as from a tight hat.
• ▸Inability to walk except with eyes open.
• ▸Throbbing headache, with constipation.
• ▸Vertigo, with nausea; better after breakfast.
• ▸Falling out of hair; scalp itches and is numb.

Dizziness, whirling sensation, everything turns in a circle, most frequently so as to

cause falling; sometimes with nausea, or tension in the nape of the neck; < before breakfast; on

opening eyes; when closing eyes.—Easily made drunk.—Vertigo, with white stars before the

eyes.—State of intoxication after smoking tobacco, or after having taken the weakest spirituous

drink, and principally in the morning.—Headache, as if one were dragged by the hair; or smart

shootings in the brain, with inclination to vomit.—Stitches in the brain with nausea.—Heaviness

of the head, with paleness of face, and fatigue-——Compressive cephalalgia—Headache with

constipation.—Headache from chronic catarrhs in the head.—Beatings and pulsations in the

head.—Congestion of blood towards the eyes and nose, with pressure in the forehead and

epistaxis, with a chill when walking in the open air; better after lying or eating —Headache <

while walking in the open air; > lying down, the head being softly supported.—Itching in the

• ▸forehead.
• ▸—Pain, as from excoriation, in the scalp.
• ▸—(Moist crusts on the temples.
• ▸).
• ▸—Dryness of

the hair.—Itching in the scalp, with profuse desquamation.

• ▸Objects look yellow.
• ▸Eyes feel cold.
• ▸Lids dry, burn, smart, thickened, aggravated in morning; chronic conjunctivitis.
• ▸Ptosis.
• ▸Strabismus.

Pressure on the eyes, which renders it impossible to open them.—Pressure, as from a

grain of sand, in the corner of the eye, in the evening.—Sensation of burning in the eyes, with

nocturnal agglutination of the lids, and diurnal lachrymation.—Sensation of coldness in the eyes

and eyelids on walking in open air.—Swelling of the eyelids.—Paralysis of the upper

lid —Hordeolum.—Eyelashes fall out.—Inclination to stare-—Spasmodic drawing of the lids at

night, with pain in the eyes on opening them.—Stitches in the eyes —Photophobia.—Confusion of

sight, as from a mist, and sparkling before the eyes.—Yellow aspect of all objects —Coloured

reflection round the candle in the evening.—Strabismus of both eyes; esp. loss of power of

internal rectus.—Glittering before the eyes on shutting them.—Far sight.

Humming; roaring. Eustachian tube feels plugged.

Shooting pains in the ears, principally in the evening, or at night—Stitches in the (1.)

ear (evening).—Itching and sensation of burning in the ears.—Frequently, in the evening, heat and

redness of one ear.—Purulent discharge from the ears ——Crackling noise and buzzing in the ears,

chiefly when chewing, but also on swallowing.

• ▸Pain at root of nose.
• ▸Sense of smell diminished.
• ▸Fluent coryza.
• ▸Point of nose cracked, nostrils sore, red; worse touch.
• ▸Scabs with thick yellow mucus.
• ▸Tettery redness.
• ▸Ozoena atrophica sicca.
• ▸Membranes distended and boggy.

Pain in the root of the nose and in the forehead.—Pain, swelling, and redness of the

nose.—Soreness and scabs in the nose, with discharge of thick yellow mucus.—Discharge of

solid, yellow, greenish substances from the nose—Accumulation and flow of a thick and

• ▸yellowish matter from the nose.
• ▸—Nostrils ulcerated.
• ▸—Furunculus in the nose.
• ▸—Ozena.
• ▸—Blood

• ▸from the nose when blown.
• ▸—Epistaxis.
• ▸—Sour smell in the nose.
• ▸—Smell either exceedingly

delicate or weak.—Coryza, with defluxion from one nostril, with stoppage of the other.—Coryza,

alternately dry and flowing.—Stoppage of the nose.

• ▸Feels as if albuminous substance had dried on it.
• ▸Blood-boils and pimples.
• ▸Twitching of lower jaw.
• ▸Rush of blood to face after eating.

Aspect gloomy, morose.—Rapid alternation of redness and paleness of

countenance.—Copper-like redness of the cheeks, as in drunkards. —Tingling on the face, and

tension of the skin, as if it were covered with white of egg dried.—Sensation of swelling, and of

heaviness of countenance.—Bulbous swellings and blood-boils on the face and nose.—Red

painful spot on the cheek.—Roughness of the skin of the face, esp. over the forehead —Heat and

redness.—Itching and eruption of small pimples over the face.—Moist scabs on the

temples.—Shooting and drawing sensation in the cheek-bones.—Transient heat of

face.—Furunculus in the cheeks.—Leprous tubercles in the face —Lips dry, and cracked, with

exfoliation of the skin.—Swelling of the lips—Pimples and scabby eruptions on the

lips.—Swelling of the jaws, with tensive pain on opening the mouth, and on

chewing.—Shortening of the lower jaw.—Involuntary spasmodic twitching of lower

jaw.—Trismus.

• ▸Sore.
• ▸Bad odor from it.
• ▸Teeth covered with sordes.
• ▸Gums sore, bleeding.
• ▸Tensive pain in articulation of jaw when opening mouth or chewing.

Pain as of excoriation in the mouth, palate, tongue, and gums, which almost prevents

• ▸eating.
• ▸—Small ulcers in the mouth.
• ▸—Dryness of the mouth, chiefly on waking.
• ▸—Accumulation of

a sweetish or sour saliva in the mouth, like actual salivation—Musty or putrid smell from the

mouth.—Tongue loaded with a black or yellowish coating.—Expectoration of bloody mucus.

Pains in the teeth on chewing, or in the evening, in bed. —Tearing in the teeth,

extending to other parts, as far as the zygomatic bone, and in the forehead and temples.—Piercing

pain in the carious teeth.—Ulceration of the roots of the teeth—Ulcer on the gums.—Swelling of

the gums, which have a tendency to bleed.—Sensation as though the teeth were

elongated.—Odontalgia, with nervous irritation, as after a chill, or after the use of Chamomilla.

Sore throat, which is aggravated in the evening and at night, but which is

ameliorated on taking anything warm, and which is less painful in the morning.—Contractive, or

shooting pains in the throat, chiefly on swallowing.—Difficult deglutition, as if the gullet were

contracted.—Cramp-like pressure and squeezing in the cesophagus.—Sensation, as if the

cesophagus were contracted when swallowing a small morsel of food; it is felt until it enters into

the stomach.—Pains in throat < evening and night.—Swelling of the tonsils—Great dryness in the

throat.——Accumulation of a thick and viscous mucus in the throat, with difficult

expectoration.—Painful ulcers in the fauces, secreting a brown, badly-smelling pus.—Sensation of

a splinter in the throat.

• ▸Dry, sore; food cannot pass, oesophagus contracted.
• ▸Feels as if splinter or plug were in throat.
• ▸Irritable, and relaxed throat.
• ▸Looks parched and glazed.
• ▸Clergyman's sore throat in thin subjects.
• ▸Thick, tenacious mucus drops from posterior nares.
• ▸Constant inclination to clear the throat.

• ▸Abnormal cravings-chalk, charcoal, dry food, tea-grounds.
• ▸Heartburn; feels constricted.
• ▸Aversion to meat (Graph; Arn; Puls).
• ▸Potatoes disagree.
• ▸No desire to eat.
• ▸Can swallow but small morsels at a time.
• ▸Constriction of oesophagus.

Sweetish taste, or a taste of blood in the mouth.—Rough taste, astringent, or bitter

• ▸and insipid.
• ▸—Bulimy.
• ▸—Irregular appetite; at one time too strong, at another too weak.
• ▸—Food

appears insipid, esp. in the evening, and principally bread and meat.—Distaste for animal

food.—Craving, with want of appetite—Appetite for dry foods; for starch; chalk; clean white

rags; charcoal; cloves; acids; coffee or tea grounds; dry rice.—Desire for hot drinks.—Desire for

vegetables, for fruits, and spoon meats.—After having eaten, and chiefly in the evening,

hiccough, pressure in the stomach and abdomen, distaste, nausea, and lassitude.—Potatoes excite

nausea and bitter eructations.—All irritating things immediately start cough.

Eructations, sour and acrid, and pyrosis.—Chronic tendency to

• ▸eructation.
• ▸—Frequent eructations.
• ▸—Nausea, with faintness.
• ▸—Frequent nausea and inclination to

vomit, chiefly when speaking, when re-entering the room after walking, and in the

morning.—Pressure in the stomach, chiefly in the evening and after eating —Contraction and

constriction in the region of the stomach, often as far as the throat and breast, and sometimes

with difficult respiration.—Pain, as from excoriation, in the pit of the stomach and in the

hypochondria, principally on turning the body in bed, or on stooping.

Colic, like painter's colic. Pressing in both groins toward sexual organs. Left-sided abdominal complaints.

Painful sensibility of the liver on stooping, followed sometimes by shooting

pains.—Colic whenever the body is exposed to a chill —Colic with drawing pains, principally in

the evening, or at night, or after dinner.—Cutting pains, chiefly in the morning. —Flatulent

• ▸colic.
• ▸—The colic is ameliorated by heat applied externally.
• ▸—Painter's colic.
• ▸—Protrusion and

incarceration of inguinal hernia.

• ▸Hard dry, knotty; no desire.
• ▸Rectum sore, dry, inflamed, bleeding.
• ▸Itching and burning at anus.
• ▸Even a soft stool is passed with difficulty. Great straining.
• ▸Constipation of infants (Collins; Psor; Paraf) and old people from inactive rectum, and in women of very sedentary habit.
• ▸Diarrhoea on urinating.
• ▸*Evacuation preceded by painful urging long before stool, and then straining at stool.

Stools hard, unfrequent, and scanty, sometimes with pain in the

anus.—Constipation and obstruction of the abdomen.—Difficult stool, from inactivity of the

intestines.—Difficult evacuations from want of peristaltic motion of the intestines; even the soft

stool can only be passed by great pressing.—Constipation of pregnant women, children, and

painters.—No desire for, and no ability to pass stool, until there is a large accumulation.—Hard,

knotty stools, covered with mucus.—Small stools, sometimes like pipe stems (also

Phosphor.).—Voiding of much slimy matter with the stool, during the continuance of

colic.—Loose stools with pain in the belly and tenesmus.—Green stools in summer

• ▸complaints.
• ▸—Loss of blood during and after the stools.
• ▸—Burning and itching in the anus.
• ▸—Blind

piles protrude, become moist, with lancinating pain; are hard and itch.—Pressure and shooting

pain in the perinzeum.

Pain in the kidneys, principally when walking or stooping.—Sensation of

weakness in the bladder and in the genital parts.—Eager desire to make water, with increased

aqueous evacuation, accompanied sometimes by a sensation of burning.—Frequent ineffectual

desire to urinate: the urine can only be passed during a stool.—Urine less copious, with red and

sandy sediment.—Nocturnal urination.—Urine turbid, white, as if chalk had been put into

it—Thick whitish sediment in the urine.

• ▸Muscles of bladder paretic, must strain at stool in order to urinate.
• ▸Pain in kidneys, with mental confusion.
• ▸Frequent desire to urinate in old people.
• ▸Difficult starting.

Menses too early, short, scanty, pale, followed by great exhaustion (Carb an; Coccul). Leucorrhoea acrid, profuse transparent, ropy, with burning; worse during daytime, and after menses. Relieved by washing with cold water.

Menstruation scanty, too early, and of short duration; blood

pale —Menses too copious, with inflation of the abdomen.—During the period of menstruation,

sleep agitated, with many dreams, great activity in the circulation, heat in the face, headache, and

palpitation of the heart—Before and during menstruation, colics, headaches, and other painful

affections.—A fter the menses great fatigue —Corrosive leucorrhoea, with smarting in the genital

parts.—Leucorrheea before or after the menses, and often with trembling, fatigue, and

colic.—Leucorrheea flesh-coloured, or aqueous, and causing stiffness of the linen; transparent

mucus before and after menstruation.

Excessive desire. Involuntary emissions when straining at stool. Prostatic discharge.

Sexual desire increased; or suppressed.—Frequent pollutions and

nocturnal erections.—Copious secretion behind the glans.—Excoriation of the

prepuce.—Contractive pain in the spermatic cord, with contraction of the testicle —Hardness and

painful sensibility in one of the testes —Flowing of prostate fluid during difficult stools.—Pains in

the perinzeum, during coition, and while the erection continues.—Increase of suffering after

pollution.—Sweat on perinzeum at beginning of erection or during coition.

• ▸Cough soon after waking in the morning.
• ▸Hoarse, aphonia, tickling in larynx; wheezing, rattling respiration.
• ▸Cough on talking or singing, in the morning.
• ▸Chest feels constricted.
• ▸Condiments produce cough.
• ▸Talking aggravates soreness of chest.

Dry cough, principally in the morning, sometimes, at a later period,

• ▸followed by expectoration.
• ▸—Short, dry cough.
• ▸—Dry, short cough, esp.
• ▸in the morning, with

dyspnoea.—All irritating foods immediately start cough.—Cough with impeded respiration, or

with pains in the head and at the nape of the neck.—Catarrh of the larynx and of the bronchi, with

scraping sensation in the throat—Sudden taking cold, with loss of voice, morning and evening.

Oppression at the chest.—Dyspnoea when seated.—Nocturnal pressure in the

chest.—Sensation of constriction in the chest, chiefly when seated in a bending attitude, or while

stooping.—Pain, as of excoriation, in the chest and in the pit of the stomach, sometimes with

cough.—Pain in the sternum on touching it.

Palpitation and shocks at the heart.—Palpitation every morning on waking; irregular

beats ——Wakes 4 to 5 a.m. with anxiety at heart, > immediately after rising.

Stitches. Gnawing pain, as if from hot iron. Pain along cord, with paralytic weakness.

Itching of nape of neck and throat.—Stitches in nape.—Pain in the loins

during repose.—Pain like that of a bruise in the loins and in the back.—Shooting pains in the

back.—Sensation in the back as if it were pierced with a hot iron; through the lower vertebre.

Pains in the arms while kept hanging down or extended on the bed.—Tearing

in the arms from the shoulder to the fingers.—Pain, as if burned by a hot iron, in the elbows and

the fingers —Paralytic weight in the arms.—Swelling of the arm and the fingers.—Tetters and

moist scabs on the forearms.—Mealy desquamation of the hands.—Fissures in the hands, which

readily bleed.—Gnawing pain under the nails, sometimes with tingling in the arm.—The nails

have a tendency to break when they are cut.—Panaris.

Stiffness, numbness, and insensibility of the legs at night.—Sensation of

tearing in almost all parts of the lower limbs.—Great heaviness and weakness of the legs, chiefly

in the hips.—When sitting, the nates go to sleep —Drawing pain in the knees when going

upstairs.—Tension in the calves when walking, and cramps on crossing the legs and on resting

the toes on the ground.—Pain as from fatigue in the joints of the feet when seated.—Pains in the

soles of the feet when walking.—Cold in the feet.—Itching and redness in the toes, as if from

chilblains.—Sensation of burning under the toes.

• ▸Pain in arm and fingers, as if hot iron penetrated.
• ▸Arms feel paralyzed.
• ▸Legs feel asleep, especially when sitting with legs crossed. Staggers on walking. Heels feel numb.
• ▸Soles tender; on stepping, feel soft and swollen.
• ▸Pain in shoulder and upper arm.
• ▸Gnawing beneath finger nails.

Brittle nails. Inability to walk, except when eyes are open or in daytime. Spinal degenerations and paralysis of lower limbs.

• ▸Chapped and dry tettery.
• ▸Brittle nails.
• ▸Intolerable itching when getting warm in bed.
• ▸Must scratch until it bleeds; then becomes painful.
• ▸Brittle skin on fingers.

Miliary eruption in the arms and legs, with much itching and serous bleeding after

having scratched.—Chapped skin and bulbous eruptions.—Boils or itching exanthemata on

perineum.—The slightest injuries of the skin smart, and become inflamed.—Leprous

pimples.—Scurf and tetters, which itch or become moist chiefly in the evening.—Renewal of

cutaneous symptoms at every new or full moon.—Rhagades.—Brittle nails.

Restless; anxious and confused dreams. Sleepy in morning.

Sleep tardy, and wakefulness before midnight.—Restless sleep, always awakening

with palpitation of the heart—Nocturnal sleep too light, agitated, with frequent starts Deep

sleep, not refreshing, with a desire in the morning to sleep more.—Frequent waking in the

night.—Dreams frequent, anxious, with talking, laughter, tears, lamentations, groans, and

somnambulism.—Dreams of horses, of quarrels, and of vexations, of fire, of marriages, of

spectres, of death, of robbers.—Dreams, with fear of death after waking. —Nightmare—During the

night, anxiety, agitation, and tossing about; or heat, toothache, headache, spasms, and oppression

of the chest, or diarrhoea, with pains in the stomach, and shiverings.—After sleep, on waking in

the morning, mind weighed down by vexatious ideas, or nausea, with insipidity in the stomach,

and feverish movements.

Pulse full and accelerated.—Shivering, even when near a fire, and at night, in bed,

not able to warm oneself.—Fever towards the evening, with predominant chilliness—Sensation of

cold immediately after taking soup at midday.—During the day chill; during the night,

fever.—Heat in the evening which spreads from the face; at times only over the r. side of the

body.—Perspiration at night, or more towards morning, in bed; mostly in the face, or on one side

of the face.—Inability to perspire.

• ▸Anus, affections of.
• ▸Boils.
• ▸Bubo.
• ▸Catarrh.
• ▸Chlorosis.
• ▸Constipation.
• ▸Constipation of

• ▸nursing infants.
• ▸Cough.
• ▸Disappointments, effects of.
• ▸Dysentery.
• ▸Dyspepsia.
• ▸Eczema.
• ▸Eyes,

• ▸affections of.
• ▸Fissures.
• ▸Fistula.
• ▸Headache.
• ▸Hernia.
• ▸Irritation.
• ▸Leucorrhoea.
• ▸Locomotor ataxy.

• ▸Nails, affections of.
• ▸Otorrhoea.
• ▸Ozeena.
• ▸Paralysis.
• ▸Pregnancy, constipation of.
• ▸Pregnancy,

• ▸toothache of.
• ▸Prostatorrhoea.
• ▸Rhagades.
• ▸Scrofula.
• ▸Strabismus.
• ▸Taste, disordered.
• ▸Tetters, moist

• ▸and itching.
• ▸Throat, affections of.
• ▸Trismus.
• ▸Typhus.

Compare: Aluminium (which has been used on indications taken from the proving

• ▸of Alumina).
• ▸Antidote to: Lead.
• ▸Antidoted by: Bry.
• ▸, Camph.
• ▸, Cham.
• ▸, Ipec.
• ▸Complementary: Bry.

• ▸Follows well: Bry.
• ▸, Lach.
• ▸, Sul.
• ▸Similar to: Alumen; Arg.
• ▸nit.
• ▸(clergyman's sore throat, paralysis);

• ▸Bar.
• ▸c.
• ▸(hypochondriasis of aged; constipation); Bry.
• ▸, Calc.
• ▸; Cham.
• ▸(useful as an intermediate

remedy); Con. (old people; squint) Ferrum (chlorosis; relaxed abdomen; disgust for meat, &c.)

• ▸Fer.
• ▸iod.
• ▸(profuse transparent leucorrhcea); Graphit.
• ▸(chlorosis, skin rough, chapped, itching

• ▸nails; blepharitis, &c.
• ▸); Ipec.
• ▸; Kali bi.
• ▸(clergyman's sore throat) Lach.
• ▸(sad on waking; climaxis);

• ▸Lyc.
• ▸(clergyman's sore throat) Pic.
• ▸ac.
• ▸, Plumb.
• ▸(colic, constipation) Puls.
• ▸(tearful, peevish; head,

&c., > in open air; ozeena; taste lost averse to meat; scanty menses complaints at puberty; lack of

animal heat; soles of feet sore, < walking; toes red, itching, &c.); Ruta (loss of power of internal

recti); Sepia (irritable, tearful; ozaena; scanty menses; puberty prolapsus uteri; inactive rectum

• ▸weakness in urinary organs, &c.
• ▸); Sil.
• ▸, Sul.
• ▸, Zinc.
• ▸(inner canthus granular lids; < from wine).

• ▸Compare: Aluminum chloridum (Pains of loco-motor ataxia.
• ▸Lower trits in water).
• ▸Slag Silico-Sulphocalcite of Alumina 3x (anal itching, piles, constipation, flatulent distention); Secale; Lathyr; Plumb. Aluminum acetate solution.
• ▸Externally a lotion for putrid wounds and skin infections.
• ▸Arrests haemorrhage from inertia of uterus.
• ▸Parenchymatous haemorrhage from various organs-23 % solution.
• ▸Haemorrhage following tonsillectomy is controlled by rinsing out nasopharynx with a 10 % sol.

Complementary: Bryonia.

Antidotes: Ipecac; Chamom.

Sixth to thirtieth and higher. Action slow in developing.

This remedy comes in very nicely after Alutncn, which has much

Alumina in its nature and depends largely upon Alumina, which is its

base, for its way of working. It occurs to me to throw out a little

hint. When you have a good substantial proving of an oxide or a

carbonate, and the mental symptoms are well brought out, you can use

these, in a measure in a presumptive way, in prescribing another salt,

with the same base, which has a few mental symptoms in its proving.

For instance, you have a group of symptoms decidedly relating to

Alumen. The mental symptoms of Alutnen, however, have not been

brought out to any extent, but still you have the mental symptoms of

the base of Alutncn, which is the oxide, so that if the patient has the

mental symptoms of Alumina and the physical symptoms of Alumen,

you can rationally presume that Alumen will cure because of the

Aluminum in each.

We know the mental symptoms of Alumina fairly well. It especially takes hold of the intellect and so confuses the intelligence that

the patient is unable to effect a decision ; the judgment is disturbed.

He is unable to realize ; the things that he knows or has known to be

real seem to him to be unreal, and he is in doubt as to whether they

arc so or not. In the Guiding Symptoms this is not so plainly expressed, but in the Chronic Diseases we have a record of this which

is the best expression of it , that occurs anywhere. There we read :

'‘When he says anything he feels as if another person had said it, and

when he secs anything, as if another person had seen it, or as if he

could transfer himself into another and only then could see."' That is

to say, there is a confusion of mind, a confusion of ideas and thoughts.

It has cured these symptoms. The consciousness of his personal identity is confused. He is not exactly certain who he was ; it seemd as

though he were not himself. He is in a dazed condition of mind. He

makes mistakes in writing and speaking ; uses words not intended ; uses

wrong words. Confusion and obscuration of the intellect. Inability to

follow up a train of thought.

Then he enters into another state, in which he gets into a hurry..

Nothing moves fast enough ; time seems so slow ; everything is delayed ; nothing goes right. Besides this he has impulses. When he

sees sharp instruments or blood, impulses rise up within him and he

shudders because of these impulses. An instrument that could be used

for murder or for killing causes these impulses to arise ; impulse to

kill herself.

The Alumina patient is very sad, constantly sad. Incessantly moaning, groaning, worrying, fretting and in a hurry. Wants to get away ;

wants to get away from this place, hoping that things will be better;

There is so much under stool and rectum that belongs to the general state that there is scarcely anything left to be presented except

some important particulars. As you might suppose, this remedy has

fissures ; you would naturally expect these when you consider what

kind of mucous membranes and tivssucs this patient manufactures. He

suffers greatly from constipation, he does much straining, the mucous

membrane is thickened and swollen, and hence we have a fissure.

When you sec a remedy manufacturing and producing such a state

upon the economy, growing that kind of mucous membrane that would

favour fissures, you do not have to wait until you have cured a fissure

with that remedy to find out if it will suit the case. You do not have

to resort to the repertory to see what this remedy has done in fissure.

From your general knowledge of the medicine, you will see that it

ought to cure the patient, as it produces such a condition of the mucous membrane and skin as would be naturally found in one who has

a fissure. The skin indurates and ulcerates and becomes clumsy and

unhealthy and constipation is produced, and so, after studying the

remedy in that way, you arc not surprised if it cures a fissure. You

can also think over \\diat other medicines have this state of the economy and see what other remedies you would expect to cure a fissure

with. If you look into the nature of Nitric acid, Caustiemn and Graphites, you will see why they have had a wonderful record for curing

fissure. That is the way to study your Materia Medica ; see what it

does to the man himself, to his organs and tissues,

“Frequent micturition. ’ “Urine voided while straining at stool, or

cannot pass urine without mch straining.” That is a high grade symptom, it is a peculiar symptom, and may be called a particular of first

grade. He must strain at stool in order to empty the contents of the

bladder. “Urine smarting, corroding” “Feeling of weakness in the

bladder and genitals.” “Swelling and discharge of light yellow pus

from urethra.” “Burning with dLscharge of urine.”

The symptoms of the male sexual organs are characterized by weakness, impotency and nightly emissions ; suitable when the sexual organs are worn out from abuse or over use. There Is fulness and

enlargement of the prostate gland and various disturbances of the

prostrate, with sensation of fulness in the perinaeum. Unpleasant sensations and distress in the region of the prostate gland after coition.

Complaints at the time of, or after ejaculation, or after an emission.

The sexual desire is diminished and sometimes entirely lost. Paralytic

weakness or paresis of the sexual organs ; a state that is in keeping

with the whole remedy. “Discharge of prostatic fluid during difficult

stool.” “Painful erections at night.”

The female has a great deal of trouble that can be cured with this

remedy, but her troubles arc mostly catarrhal. An instance of this is

the leucorrhoea ; copious, acrid or excoriating, yellow leucorrhoea ; leucorrhoea so copious that it runs down the thighs, making the parts red

and inflamed. Ulceration about the os. The mucous membranes are

weak and patulous and ulcerate easily. All the parts are in a state of

weakness. There is dragging down from the relaxed condition of the

ligaments. Sensation of weight ; the pelvic viscera feel heavy. The

discharge, stringy, looking like white of egg, copious and acrid ; “transparent mucus.” Leucorrhoea, corroding, profuse ; running down to

heels.” It is more noticeable in the day time, because these complaints

are generally worse w^hen walking or when standing, which is not

really an important symptom, but a common condition. After menstruation it takes the woman nearly until the next period to get

straightened up. All her muscles are weak ; there seems to be no

tonicity about her. It is highly suitable to women drawing near the

end of menstruation, about forty years of age ; the menstrual period

prostrates, the flow is scanty, yet prostrating ; the sufferings are terrible and the patient is miserable at the menstrual period. After

menses, exhausted in body and mind, is a strong feature of Alumina.

It is a suitable remedy again when the woman has a gororrhoea which

has been prolonged by palliation. She has been made comfortable by

partly suitable remedies, but it seems that no remedy has been quite

deep enough to root out the trouble, for it keeps coming back. In a

discharge that keeps returning, better for little while on Pulsatilla^

and on this and that and the other thing, and even on Thuja, given

more especially because it is gonorrhoea than because she is a sick

woman. The patient is tired and worn out, and when you come to

look at the whole patient and you see the paretic condition, the continued return of the discharge that has been palliated by remedies,

think of this medicine in both the male and female.

The discharge is a painless one in the male. The gonorrhoeal discharge has lasted a long time, going and coming, until now there is

left but a few drops and it is painless. The remedy has cured many

of these old cases. Threatening chronic catarrh. The mucous membrane everywhere is in a congested state and is weak.

A pregnant woman has some trouble as well. A woman, who is

not naturally a sufferer from constipation, when pregnant becomes

constipated, with all the characterizing features of Alumina, 7. e,, the

inactivity of the rectum, no expulsive force ; she must use the abdominal muscles, must strain a long time. Again, the infant has a siim

ilar kind of straining. You will see the new-born infant, or the infant

only a few months old, that will need Alumina. It is a very common

medicine for constipation in infants when you can find nothing else ;

the child will strain and strain and make every effort to press the stool

out, and upon examining the stool it is found to be soft, and should

have been expelled easily.

It has hoarseness and loss of voice and paralytic weakness of the

larynx. That is not strange ; it is only in keeping with the general

state, the broken down constitution. He has a weak voice and, if a

singer, he is capable of singing only a little while, only capable of slight

exertion. Everything is a burden. A paralytic condition of the vocal

cords, which steadily increases to loss of voice.

The most striking things we come to now are the cough and chest

troubles. There is expectoration in some of the coughs, but the cough

is usualy a constant, dry, hacking cough one of those troublesome

lingering coughs that has existed for years. It competes with Arg,

met, in its character of the dry, hacking cough, especially associated

with weakness, but Arg. met. has the cough in the day time, which is

not so in Alumina. The Alumina cough is in the morning. Here is

a symptom that about covers the Alumina cough : ‘'Cough soon after

waWng in the morning.” Every morning, a long attack of dry cough.

The cough is hard, a continued dry hacking, and she coughs until she

loses her breath and vomits, and loses the urine. This symptom commonly occurs in the woman. ‘‘Dry, hacking cough with frequent

sneezing.’’ It says in the text “from elongated uvula,” but it should

read “from sensation of elongated uvula.” It is a sensation as if

there were something tickling the throat ; a tickling as if the uvula

were hanging down a long distance, and he will tell you that his palate

must be too long. Another expression which is the same thing is

“cough from sensation as of loose skin hanging in throat.” Sometimes those who do not know about the palate will talk of something

loose in the throat, while those who know they have an uvula will generally call it the palate. But it is the same idea. Tickling in the

larynx, too. This is always quoted in singers. We would think of

Alumina when singers break down in the voice from paralysis or from

overwork of the voice. The voice lets down and becomes feeble, and,

when taking cold, there starts up a peculiar kind of tickling. Alumina

is very useful in these cases Arg, met, was the remedy used by the

earlier homoeopaths for singers and talkers with much tremhling and

letting down of the voice before the value of Alumina was known in

such conditions. Let me tell you something here about Rhus, as I may

not think of it again. Many old singers, after taking cold, have a

weakness left in the voice, which they notice on beginning to sing. On

beginning to sing the voice is weak and husky, but after using it a

little while it improves. Give Rhus to all these patients, prima donnas, lawyers, preachers, etc. They must warm up the voice and then

they are all right, but they s^y: “If I go back into the green room and

wait a little while, when I commence to sing again I am worse than

ever.” The voice Is better if they stay in a very hot room and keep it

in use. This fits into the general state of Rhus. There is a kind of

hoarseness that you may discover to be a little different from the paralytic hoarseness of Alumina and Arg. met. This hoarseness of which

I speak belongs to this same class of people ; on first beginning to use

the voice it seems that they must get rid of some mucus by clearing

the throat until the voice can get to work. The vocal cords on beginning to work are covered with mucus and on getting rid of it they can

do very good work, so long as they keep at it. That is Phosphorus,

In such cases the use of the voice becomes painful. The vocal cords

are painful after motion and the larynx is painful to touch. Sometimes this is so marked that it is like stabbing with a knife on trying

to use the voice. So we must individualize hoarseness very extensively. Homoeopathy is a matter of discrimination.

Soreness of the chest, which is much increased by talking. There

is weakness of the muscular power of the chest. The lungs seem weak

and the chest has a sensation of weakness in it. Jar increases the

misery of the chest.

The next most striking features will be in connection with the back

and limbs, and I have spoken of these in general way. Burning in

the spine ; much pain in the back. Burning and stitching pains in the

back. He expresses it as follows: “Pain in the back, as if a hot iron

was thrust through lower vertebra?.’’ In myelitis this medicine does

wonderful w^ork when there is a considerable amount of spasmodic

condition of the back as well, showing that the membranes are involved. Another thing that belongs to this remedy that is a wellknown state in myelitis is the hoop sensation ; sensation of bandages

here and there about the limbs and body is a common symptom. A

sensation of a tight cord around the body characteristic of the most

marked state of irritation and myelitis. Irritation of the spinal cord

with sensitive places. Burning places as if a hot iron were forced

into the spine. Pain along the cord, rending, tearing pains in the cord

with paralytic weakness, increasing paralysis and complete paralysis ;

paralysis of one side of the body.

“Pain in sole of foot on stepping, as though it were too soft and

swollen.” “Numbness of heel when stepping.” “Trembling of knees,”

this is a mere matter of the general weakness. “Limbs go to sleep

when sitting.” Whenever the limb is pressed again anything it will

• ▸go to sleep.
• ▸Feeble circulation, feeble conductivity, feeble nerve action ; everything is slowed down.
• ▸Arms and legs feel heavy.
• ▸“Pains

in limbs as if bones were squeezed narrower, with pressure in the

• ▸joints.
• ▸” Now I will read some of the nerve symptoms which will corroborate some of the things wc have gone over.
• ▸“Want of bodily irritability.
• ▸” “Great exhaustion of strength, especially after walking in

• ▸open air.
• ▸” “One-sided paralysis, especially of the extensors.
• ▸” “Rheumatic and traumatic paralysis in gouty patients.
• ▸” Gouty patients with

nodules in the joints ; old broken down constitutions with paretic exhaustion. “Excited condition of mind and body.” Tremblings here

and there in the body. “Slow, tottering gait as after severe illness.”

• ▸He must make .
• ▸slow motions, he cannot hurry.
• ▸“Involuntary motions.
• ▸”

There arc all sorts of dreams and disturbances in sleep, so that the

sleep may be quite disturbed and restless. Unrefreshing sleep, waking up with palpitation of the heart. “Many dreams and frequent

awaking ; starts in affright ; muttering or crying.” “During sleep

cervical muscles drew head backward this is in cases of paralytic

weakness ; has to wake up as the muscles of the back of the neck pull

vSo. Jerks in the back of the neck during sleep.

Running through the remedy very often, there is a great lack of

animal heat, coldness, and yet the patient wants to be in the open air ;

must be well clothed and kept warm, but wants to be in the open air.

The patient takes cold continually from every change and draft.

^Sometimes the patient will go to bed as cold as a frog, and when

warm in bed is so disturbed by itching and the warmth of the bed that

• ▸full of fears.
• ▸All sorts of imaginations.
• ▸A sort of general apprehensiveness.
• ▸When he meditates upon this state of mind he thinks he

is going to lose his reason. He thinks about this frenzy and hurry

and confusion of mind, how he hardly knows his own name, and how

fretful he is, and he wonders if he is not going crazy, and finally he

really thinks he is going crazy.

Most of tlie mental symptoms come on in the morning on waking.

Sadness and weeping on waking in the morning. His moods alternate.

Sometimes his mental state is a little improved and his mood changes

into a quiet, placid state, and again he goes into fear and apprehensiveness. Some evil is going to take place and he is full of anxiety. Anxiety

about the future.

The next most striking feature is the way in which the remedy acts

upon the nerves that proceed from the spine. There is a state of weakness of the muscles supplied by these nerves ; weakness over the whole

body. There is difficulty in swallowing, a paralytic condition of the

cesophagiis ; difficulty in raising or moving the arms ; paralysis of one

side of the body, or paralysis of the muscles of the lower extremities,

or of the bladder and rectum. The paralytic state begins as a sort of

a semi-paralysis, for a long time merely an inactivity, which grows at

length into a complete paralytic condition.

Everything is slowed down. The conductivity of the nerves is impaired so that a prick of a pin upon the extremities is not felt until

a second or so afterwards. All of his senses are impaired in this way

until it really means a benumbing of the consciousness and appears to

be a kind of stupefaction of his intellect, a mental sluggishness. Impressions reach his mind with a marked degree of slowness.

The paralytic state runs through the remedy and is observed in various parts in many ways. The bladder manifests it in the slowness

with which the urine passes. A woman sits a long time before the

flow starts, with inability to press, and then the stream flows slowly.

The patient will say she cannot hurry the flow of urine. The urine

is slow to start and slow to flow, and sometimes only dribbles. At

times it is retained and dribbles involuntarily. This slowness is observed also in the rectum. Its tone is lost and there is inability to

perform the ordinary straining when sitting at stool, and so paretic is

the rectum that it may be full and distende^, and the quantity of feces

enormous, and yet, though the stool is soft, there is constipation. In

this remedy there is often a hard stool, but we notice that the remedy

will do the best work where there is this paretic condition of the

rectum \yith soft stool. If the mental symptoms, however, are present,

such as I have described, with large, hard and knotty or lumpy stool.

Alumina will cure. Now, so great is the straining to pass a soft stool

that you will sometimes hear a patient describe the state as follows;

When sitting upon the seat she must wait a long time, tliough there

is fullness and she has gone many days without stool ; she has the

consciousness that she should pass a stool and is conscious of the fullness in the rectum, yet she will sit a long time and finally will undertake to help herself by pressing down violently with the abdominal

muscles, straining vigorously, yet conscious that very little effort is made

by the rectum itself. She will continue to strain, covered with copious

sweat, hanging on to the seat, if there be any place to hang on to, and

will pull and work as if in labor, and at last is able to expel a soft stool,

yet with the sensation that more stool remains.

Of course a number of other remedies have this straining to pass

a soft stool, but they have their own characteristics. Take for example

an individual who cannot keep awake ; she says that it is impossible for

her to read a line without going to sleep ; that she can sleep all the time ;

she suffers night and day from a dry mouth, and the tongue cleaves to

the roof of the mouth. Now let her describe this state of straining

and struggling to expel a soft stool, and you hardly need to

go any further before you know the remedy. If that patient in addition to what she has said tells you that she is in the habit of fainting

when standing any length of time, that she is disturbed in a close room

and has all sorts of complaints in the cold air, it is Nux moschata.

Now you see how easy it is for remedies to talk ; they tell their own

story. Suppose a woman should come to you who has been suffering

from haemorrhage, from prolonged oozing, who is pallid and weak and

is distended with flatulence, with much belching and passing of gas,

and the more she passes the wwse she feels, and she has these same

symptoms of straining a long time to pass a soft stool, tremendous

effort with inactivity of the rectum. You could do nothing but give

her China, By allowing remedies to talk and tell their own story individualization is accomplished. I have said all that to show that it

is not upon the inactivity of the rectum that you are to decide upon the

remedy. Individualization must be made through the patient. That

is a principle that should never be violated. You may have twenty

remedies all possessing a certain symptom, but if you have a few real

decided things that you can say about the patient, the manner in which

he does business, the manner in which the disease affects the entire

man, then you have something to individualize by. You have seen the

Alumina patient, the China patient and the Nux moschata patient.

The sole duty of the physician is to treat the sick, which means to study

the patient himself until an idea of the sickness is obtained.

This medicine is full of vertigo ; he quivers, reels and ''objects go

round” almost constantly. It corresponds to the vertigo of tired>out

people, old broken down patients, men worn out from old age. Vertigo also that comes on when closing the eyes, as is found in spinal

afIections> in sclerosis of posterior lateral columns. Alumina has produced affections analogous to locomotor ataxia. It produces numbness of the soles of the feet, the fulgurating pains, the vertigo when

closing the eyes, and produces staggering and disturbances of coordination. It is true that in an early stage of locomotor ataxia

Alumina will check the disease process by bringing into order the

internal state of the economy. With Aluminum metallicum I have

stopped fulgurating pains in old incurable cases, and improved the

reflexes wonderfully, thus showing the general improvement of the

patient.

Most of the symptoms are < on rising in the morning. In the

morning, as I have mentioned it, the urine is slower to pass than after

he has moved about and warmed up a little. His limbs are suffer in

the morning and in the morning he has to whip up his mental state.

He wakes up confused and wonders where he is. You will see that

in children especially — they wake up in the morning in a bewildered

state, such as you will find in Alumina, yEsculus, Lycopod. He has

to put his mind on things to ascertain whether they be so or not, as to

how things should look and wonders whether he is at home or in some

other place.

Inhere are many headaches with nausea and vomiting. The headaches come whenever he takes cold. This probably is due to the*

catarrhal state. The Alumina patient suffers almost constantly from

dryness of mucous rncmbraiies, the nose is dry, stuffed up, especially

on one side, commonly the left. Nose feels full of sticks, dry membrane or crusts, old atrophic catarrh crusts in the posterior nares and

in the fossa of Rosenmullcr. Large green, offensive crusts all through

the nose. Now comes the relation to the headache. Every time he

catches cold the thick yellow discharge slacks up and gives way to a

watery discharge and he has pain in the forehead over the eyes, going

• ▸through the head, with nausea and vomiting.
• ▸So when it says headache from chronic catarrh that is Avhat it means.
• ▸The headache !
• ▸>

lying down. He has sick headaches and periodical headaches. You

will see that Alumina corresponds to a constitution that may be called

psoric — old, broken-down, feeble constitutions, scrofulous constitutions, such as are inclined to tubercles and catarrhal affections.

The catarrhal tendency of this remedy is marked. Catarrhs are

found wherever mucous membranes exist. Alumina affects the skin

and mucous membrane extensively, Le,, the external and internal

skin, the surfaces of the body. The patient is always expectorating,

he blows the nose much and has discharges from the eyes. There is

much disturbance of vision belonging to this catarrhal state that may

be spoken of now. Dimness of vision, as if looking through a fog,

sometimes described as through a veil. A misty dimness of vision.

There is also disturbance of the muscles of the eye, of the muscles

of the ball and of the ciliary muscle. Weak and changeable vision.

The paralytic weakness, such as belongs to the whole remedy, will be

found in certain muscles, or sets of muscles, so that it is with great

difficulty that glasses can be adjusted. The activity of the eye muscles

is disturbed.

The catarrhal state extends over into the back of the nose and the

posterior nares are filled up with tough mucus and crusts, and on looking into the throat you will see that the soft palate and the mucous

membrane of the tonsils and pharynx and all parts that can be seen

are in a state of granulation, arc swollen, congested and inflamed.

The pharynx feels dry and there is a chronic sensitiveness and soreness. When swallowing food there is stinging and sensation as if the

throat were full of little sticks, especially after a moment's rest, better

by moistening and swallowing. In the night air, after keeping still a

while, there in an accumulation of ropy mucus. This extends into

the larynx with soreness in the larynx and chest and chronic dry,

hacking cough. The .same catarrhal state proceeds down into the

oesophagus, so that it becomes sensitive and clumsy, lie swallows with

difficulty. The bolus goes down with an effort and he feels it all the

way down. There is soreness and clumsiness, paresis and difficulty

of swallowing. This paralytic weakness reminds the patient that he

must put on a little force ijn order to swallow and this swallowing is

felt while the substance goes down as if the oesophagus was sensitive.

It has a catarrhal state of the stomach, bowels and rectum so that

with the soft and difficult stool there is often an accumulation of mucus. There is also a catarrhal condition in the bladder, kidneys and

urethra and an old gonorrhoea will be prolonged into a catarrhal or

glecty discharge. Sometimes it is not a gleet, but the discharge remains for many months and instead of its being a light milky white,

such as is natural in most prolonged cases of gonorrhoea, it remains

• ▸yellow and is painless.
• ▸So it is with the vagina.
• ▸The mucous discharge from the vagina is thick yellowish-white discharge, sometimes excoriating.
• ▸Thus we see, in the constitution we have described,

that an extensive catarrhal state belongs to the remedy.

When we come to the skin we find that it takes on a similar state

of affairs. The patient is subject to all sorts of eruptions. The skin

withers, becomes dry and is subject to eruptions, thickening, indurations, ulcerations, cracking and bleeding. The eruptions itch worse

in the warmth of the bed. The skin itches, even when there is no

eruption, when becoming warm in bed, so that he scratches until the

skin bleeds. This presents an idea as to eruptions that you will have

to consider. A patient comes to you covered with crusts, and he says:

‘‘When I get warm at night I have to scratch, and I scratch until the

skin bleeds.” Now in Alumina it is very important to find out whether

these crusts were produced by the scratching or whether the eruption

came out as an itching eruption, for in Alumina in the beginning there

is no eruption, but he scratches until the skin is off and then come the

crusts. You must here prescribe not for the eruption, but for the

itching of the skin without eruption. Now in Mezereum, Arsenicum,

Dolichos and Alumina the skin itches and he scratches until it bleeds,

and then he gets relief. Of course after this there is an apparent

eruption because crusts form. As soon as the healing begins the itching begins, and he is only relieved when the skin is raw. With the

bleeding and moisture of the skin there is relief of the itching. Now

some of the books do not make the distinction between itching without eruption and itching with eruption, and hence mostly all young

doctors get to thinking that itching of the skin must always be associated with eruption, and make a mistake in figuring out what kind

of an eruption it is. The skin thickens and indurates and ulcerates,

and there are indurations under the ulcers. There is a very sluggish

condition of both mucous membrane and skin with a tendency to induration. Thickening of the mucous membrane will be found anywhere ; after the thickening come little ulcerations, and in the course

of time indurations are formed at the base of the ulcers. The same

thing is true of the skin. Dryness and burning run through everything

and may be said of all the mucous membranes and the skin in general.

Chronic granular lids. If we turn the eyelids down we will see

that the mucous membrane is thickened. Sometimes this thickening

or hypertrophy causes a turning out of the lids like ectropion. “The

eyelashes fall out that is in keeping with the general state. The

hairs all over the body fall out. Parts become entirely denuded of

hair ; the hair of the scalp falls out extensively. All sorts of sounds in

the ears, buzzing, etc., and derangement of hearing ; purulent otorrhoea.

“Point of nose cracked’' is in keeping with the remedy. Induration

here and there so that it favors lupus and epithelioma in one who is

subject to these swellings and eruptions. Alumina and Alumen, like

Ars,, Lack., Sulph, and Conium, arc medicines that relate to these

troubles. Some of these have made brilliant cures where there is infiltration. Upon the skin of the face and other parts of the body there

is crawling. Itching especially when getting warm. Sensation of

tension. Peculiar sensation about the face and other parts not covered by clothing, a sensation of dried white of egg on the face, of

dried blood or cobweb on the face. If you have ever been going

through a place where there are cobwebs and a little cobweb has strung

across your face you will know what a peculiar sensation of crawling

it produces, and you cannot leave it alone until it is removed. That

sensation particularly belongs to Alumina, Borax, Bar, c. Little

crawlings and crcepings in the skin. Itching of the face. These

symptoms are so irritating that the patient will sit and rub his face

• ▸all the time.
• ▸You will think that he is nervous.
• ▸He has the appearance of being nervous as he sits rubbing the back of his hands.
• ▸It is

well to find out whether he does this because he cannot keep his hands

still or because of the itching. Because of this itching sensation in

the face he carries the hand to the face as though to brush away

something.

Perhaps I have not said as much as should be said about the throat.

‘'Ulcers in the fauces, spongy, secreting a yellowish brown, badly smelling pus.*' It may be said that the patient is often a victim of chronic

sore throat. There is this about Alumina, it has a special tendency

to localize itself upon mucous membranes. You will find in an Alumina subject bleeding from all mucous membranes. He has catarrh

of the nose and red eyes, and his nose becomes stuffed up and he has

many acute colds ; very severe throat trouble. Discharges from all

of the orifices. It is not a medicine that would be selected for a cold

settling in the throat, not a remedy for acute sore throat, but it is a

deep-acting antisporic and acts for months. Its greatest usefulness is

as a remedy for taking cold. In this respect it is like SiL, Graph, and

Sulph, It effects tissue changes, and it docs this slowly, for it is a

slow-acting medicine. While the patient himself with these deepseated psoric affections feels better generally after the remedy, it will

be months before his symptoms go away. He may say: “I feel better, but my symptoms all appear to be here. I can eat better and

sleep better.'" Then it would be unwise to change the remedy. You

need not expect to get immediate relief of the catarrhs and pains in

the back and other symptoms for which you gave this remedy. You

may be satisfied if you get the results after many weeks. You will

find the same thing in the paralytic weakness produced by Plumbum,

There is a new drug that is coming into use, the proving of which is

very full and rich, atid it is analogous to the symptoms of this remedy.

It is Curare, I wish we had a finer proving of it, but it is rich with

a great many things similar to Alumina and Plumbum, and especially

in the weakness of the hands and fingers of pianists. An old player

will say that after she has been playing for some time her fingers slow

down. The weakness seems to be in the extensors. Lack of ability

to life the fingers ; the lifting motion is lost. Curare to a great extent

overcomes that, causes quickness to that lifting power of the fingers.

But this remedy also runs through in general way such paretic conditions ; while Curare is especially related to a paralytic condition of

the extensors more than the flexors, the paralysis in Alumina is of

both flexors and extensors.

This medicine is one of the few that have been found to be aggravated from starch, especially the starch of potatoes. Aggravation

from eating potatoes. It has indigestion, diarrhoea, great flatulence

and aggravation of the cough from eating potatoes. It has also aggravation from salt, wine, vinegar, pepper and from spirituous drinks.

Alumina is a spinal remedy and aggravation from spirituous drinks

is in keeping with some other spinal remedies. You find it in Zincum,

The Zincum patient cannot drink wine, for all of his complaints are

aggravated by it. This medicine is so sensitive and so easily overcome by a small amount of liquor that he is obliged to abandon it. He

is not only intoxicated by it, but it aggravates his complaints.

Now the digestion has practically given out in this medicine. He

is subject to catarrh of the stomach, to ulceration of the stomach, to

indigestion from the simplest food. Sour and bitter eructations.

Vomiting of food, mucus or bile. Nausea, vertigo, heartburn, much

flatulence. Vomits mucus and water. Stomach is distended with

gas. The liver is full of suffering. Both hypochondria are full of

misery, but especially the right.

When going over A lumen I called attention especially to its antidotal relation to Lead, This remedy also will overcome the poisonous

effects of lead and sensitiveness to lead. Colic and paralytic weakness

in lead workers, painters and artists and in those who arc so sensitive

to lead that from using hair wash containing lead they are paralyzed.

Not many years ago the acetate of lead was commonly used by women

for leucorrhoea, but it was found that so many were sensitive to it that

it was abandoned. Alumina is the most prominent antidote to the

affections which have come about through that sensitive state.