The ammoniums are a strange group in our materia medica. Ammonium carbonicum and ammonium muriaticum are extensively described byKentand yet we hardly use them. A closer study reveals most of the symptoms to be too general, without a real essence being known.
In homoeopathic language ordinary ammonia is called Ammonium causticum because of its ‘caustic’ action. Its chemical formula is NH3 and when it is dissolved in water it becomes alkaline NH4OH. The Ammoniums are made up of NH4+, which behaves more or less like any other cation with a single positive charge, and a negatively charged anion.
The word caustic means burning or biting (as in caustic soda or Natrum hydroxide) and is also used metaphorically to mean sarcastic. Another word that describes this property of the ammoniums is ‘lye’. All the Hydroxides are lyes or alkali, but in homoeopathy we know very little about this group. Natrum oxide and water turns into Natrum hydroxide: Na2 + H2O -amel. 2 na(OH)2. The alkali are related to soaps, which are considered to be a weaker form of alkali. So the alkali are associated with the hydroxides, which are the opposite of the acids (well known in homoeopathy). Acid + alkaline gives water: H+ +OH–amel. H2O. The alkali are the opposites of the acids, but they are very similar in their burning and biting properties.
REMEDIES OF THE GROUP
- Ammonium bromatum(Bromide of ammonia)
- Ammonium carbonicum(Carbonate of ammonia-smelling salt)**
- Ammonium causticum (Hydrate of ammonia-ammonia water)
- Ammonium muriaticum( Sal ammoniac)**
- Ammonium fluoratum
- Ammonium bromatum
- Ammonicum- dorema(gum ammoniac)**
- Ammonium benzoicum(benzoate of ammonia)
- Ammonium iodatum(Iodide of Ammonia)
- Ammonium phoshoricum (phosphate of ammonia)
- Ammonium picratum (picrate of ammonia)
- Ammonium valerianicum(valerianate of ammonia)
SPHERE OF ACTION
- MUCOUS MEMBRANE: inflammation and mucorrhoea
- CIRCULATION:heart and arterioles stimulated
- BLOOD: Liquefaction and vast hemorrhages
- When ammonia is inhaled there is oedema of the glottis and congestion and inflammation of the bronchial mucus membrane, convulsions and death.
- A sense of suffocation is experienced and glottis spasmodically closes
- It is a direct stimulant to the respiratory centres in the medulla oblongata.
General theme is rancour. Rancour is a word which most accurately describes the overal state of the Ammoniums. Another word might be ‘grudge’, or ‘embittered’.
THEME: Idealism followed by rancour
Total idealism: ammoniums tend to make everything bigger and better in their minds. They are so keen for everything to be perfect tend overlook the negative sides, at least in initial stages
Exhausted in idealism: later their idealism get battered from reality which later turns to disappointment.
Rancour: their disappointment in life turns to discontent accompanied by bitterness and feeling of resentment. They harbour a deep grudge to their object of disappointment.
Unforgiving, critical: resentment expresses in an extremely critical attitude towards life- a sort of cyanism. Anger, hate, criticism
Closed: usually they keep their feelings to themselves, especially in later stages.
- Basically timid persons
- Lacks emotional warmth.
2. Suited to fat & bloated persons
- Ammonium carb: fat flabby individuals who lead sedentary life- lazy individuals
- Amm mur: fat individuals where adipose tissue is distributed over trunk and legs thin
- Physique: Overweight is how they are usually described, but emaciation is more common in the beginning stages.
3. The pains are biting and burning in character
4. Hemorrhagesfrom nose, mouth, bowels showing disintegration of blood cells
5. All discharges acrid , yellow and watery in nature and might even cause ulceration. The skin and mucous membranes can be bright red, swollen and burning.
6. Exhaustion as in the acidums.
7. Time Aggravation between 3 and 4 AM.(compare kalis)
8. Thermal: cold, agg. cold, agg. outside.– chilly
9. Desires: coffee (2), chocolate (2), sweet, sour, tobacco. Aversion: meat..
10. General modality: agg. bathing. agg. stretching amel. lying down,. Agg. potatoes, alcohol, amel. eating.
- Feeling of suffocation or fear of suffocation – is a key note of this remedy.
- Timid person, lacks self confidence. Has an aversion to social interaction & aversion to company.
- Aggravation on waking from sleep and/or at3 AM
- Irritable feeling under the finger nails which is better by biting
- Obese people with frequent laryngitis- acute and chronic.
- Chronic laryngeal catarrah of speakers, with a choking cough that comes suddenly.
- Tickling in throat, with inclination to dry, spasmodic cough, especially at night.
- Expectoration of white sticky mucus.
- Coryza: thick discharge from nose , redness of eyelids, burning of the eyeballs, smarting of the mouth. Intense sneezing.
- Sensation of band tied around the head above the ears.
- Stomach is a sensitive area. Patient experiences pain about the area..
- Feeling of tiredness , not better by lying .
- A felling of faintness while standing as if something was rising from stomach.
- Pain is better by warmth & warm applications, worse from cold.
- Symptoms predominate on left side of body.
- Epilepsy when aura begins with suffocation & originating in epigastrium.
- General nervous restlessness
This is a powerful cardiac stimulant. As such in syncope, thrombosis, haemorrhage, snake-bites, chloroform narcosis, may be given by inhalation.
The oedema and ulceration of mucous membranes produced by this powerful drug have been utilized as guiding symptoms for its use; hence in membranous croup with burning in oesophagus.
Timidity with tendency to be frightened.
¢ Remedy for aphonia- when causticum has failed.
Weak voice so the patient can hardly be heard, voice is almost indistinct. Effort to speak fatigues him(stannum). Burning rawness in throat.
¢ Considered in tuberculosis.
Paralysis of the oesophagus- pt can’t swallow water- even though thirsty.
Like causticum in local paralysis.
- Also marked exhaustion and muscular debility- considered in neuro muscular diseases when one of the primary presenting symptoms is difficult deglutition.
Oppression of the chest with anguish; feel suffocated.
- Aroused from sleep with suffocative feeling.(lach)
- Tendency to affect epithelium of upper GIT.
- White patches on tongue and inner side of cheeks.
- Extreme prostration and emaciation.
- Strong tendency for hemorrhages from all orifices. Can be thought of in ulcerative colitis.
AMMONIACUM DOREMA (Ammoniacum gummi)(gum ammoniac)
- Remedy for aged and feeble, especially chronic bronchitis.
- Sensitive to cold, Difficult breathing
- C/c bronchial catarrah, large accumulation of purulent matter and feeble expectoration
- Compare : Senega; Tart. emet.; BalsamPeru.
- Remedies for albuminuria complicated with gout.
- Gout with deposits in joints
- Urinary incontinence in the aged
- Urine smoky scanty. Albuminous and thick deposits.
- When iodine has partially relieved laryngitis & bronchitis, catarrhal pneumonia, oedema of lungs
- Chronic gouty, uric acid diathesis, indicated in bronchitis and nodosities of the joints of fingers and backs of hands.
- Facial paralysis.
- Pain in shoulder-joint.
- Sneezing with excessive running from nose and eyes, only in morning.
- Heaviness of limbs, unsteady, tottering gait.
- Coldness from least draft of air.
- Remedy for malarial fever & neuralgias so called bilious neuralgias
- Pain in occiput and mastoid region
- Periodical neuralgia in rt. side of occiput ; boring extends into ears occiput &jaw
- Periodic bilious headaches. [Sanguin.]
- Remedy for nervous hysterical people, suffering with neuralgia headache and insomnia.
- Great nervous erythism is always present.
AMMONIUM MURIATICUM- sal ammoniac
Constitution: Especially adapted to women who are fat and sluggish: body large and fat ,legs too thin
Mentals: Timid persons- intellectuals of the group. Generally closed people, fond of reading and studies.
- Lacks the emotional warmth. They like to be admired, but not receptive to sentiments of others.
- Develop strange aversion to certain persons for no reason. Later become Indifferent Lose interest in work become Indolent
- Ailments from grief; become silent and withdrawn; disinclined to talk to anyone. Silent grief , no tears, no relief from weeping.
- Watery, acrid coryza, corroding the lip (All. c.).
- Obstinate constipation accompanied by much flatus.
- Hard, crumbling stools require great effort in expulsion; crumble from the verge of anus (Mag. m.); vary in color, no two stools alike (Puls.).
- Haemorrhoids : sore and smarting; with burning and stinging in the rectum for hours after stool (Aesc., Sulph.); especially after suppressed leucorrhoea.
- During menses : diarrhoea and vomiting, bloody discharge from the bowels (Phos.); neuralgic pains in the feet; flow more profuse at night (Bov.-on lying down, Kreos.).
- Leucorrhoea : like white of egg, preceded by griping pain about the navel; brown, slimy, painless, after every urination.
- Sensation of coldness in the back, between scapulae (Lachn.).
- Hamstrings feel painfully short when walking; tension in joints as from shortening of the muscles (Caust., Cimex.).
- Offensive sweat of the feet (Alum., Graph., Psor., Sanic., Sil.).
AMMONIUM CARBONICUM- smelling salt
Constitution: Stout, fleshy women with various troubles in consequence of leading a sedentary life; delicate women who must have the smelling bottle continually at hand; readily catch cold in winter.
Essence: resentment towards the father, society and the meaning of life.
- Timid people.
- Talks at night during sleep reveal their secret and thought; Wakes startled in a fright. Dreams: They dream about a big building in which they get lost and where they don’t know the way out.
- Sad, morose & miserable in wet stormy weather.
- Ill-humored when rises in morning ,Tendency to weep in morning
- Fear that misfortune will happen,; anxiety & fear at evenings.
- Intellectual faculties become impaired; difficulty in retaining their thoughts; poor memory; concentration difficult; mistakes in calculating, speaking, writing
Am-c can be very untidy, even dirty, looking very likeSulphur. Both have an aversion to bathing. Am-c also has a marked aggravation from washing. The difference between the two is that the dirty appearance ofSulphuris a result of their laziness, whilst in Am-c it is more a form of protest, a sign that they don’t want to belong to this ‘bloody awful world’.
- Hemorrhagic diathesis; fluid blood & degeneration of red blood corpuscles
- Ulcerations tend to gangrene
- All discharges are acrid-stool, menses, leucorrhea
- Affects mostly right side of the body.
- Body red as from scarlatina
- Dislike for bathing in children(ant crud, sulph)
- Nosebleed from washing the face& hands in morning; from left nostril
- Stoppage of nose mostly at night; must breathe through mouth; long lasting coryza, snuffles of infants(hep, nux, samb)
- Lose of breath while falling asleep, must awaken to get breath(grind, lach)
- Cough, dry, from tickling, in throat as from dust, every morning from3to4 a.m.
- One of the best remedies in emphyscema, dyspnoea with palpitation, worse by exertion or on ascending even a few steps; worse in warm room.
- Cholera like symptoms at commencement of menses.
- Menses, too early, too profuse preceded by colic.
- Menses acrid makes thighs sore, copious at night and when sitting.
- Menses with tooth ache, fatigue of thighs with yawning and chilliness.
- Worse- evenings form cold wet weather wet applications, washing, during3 – 4 a.m.during menses.
- Better lying on abdomen on painful side, in dry wet weather
- It antidotes, poisoning with Rhus and stings of insects.
- Inimical- to Lachesis