As phosphorus produces pathologically fatty degeneration of the Epithelial cells of the stomach and intestines and their glands, it is more likely to be useful in chronic than in acute affections of the stomach. It is useful in four different conditions: (1) Atonic dyspepsias occurring in broken-down constitutions, in debility following acute diseases, or in pregnancy, anaemia, and similar conditions where there is lowering of the general health. (2) In gastritis and ulceration of the stomach, where there occur “coffee grounds” and bloody vomit, great thirst and excruciating pains running through to the back. (3) In cancer of the stomach, where the vomited matters are of bloody mucus, “coffee grounds,” and are offensive, the stomach may be greatly distended from pyloric obstruction. It is not intended to suggest that phosphorus will do away with the necessity of surgical interference in such cases. It will certainly relieve some of the distress, improve the patient’s condition and facilitate recovery after operation. (4) In gastralgia when the general conditions are similar to those of atonic dyspepsia, but the pain will be greater, will be more periodic, and will often be relieved temporarily by food, especially cold food. In irritative conditions of the stomach, where it empties too quickly, phosphorus may be called for.
It causes enlargement and tenderness of the liver, and is a good remedy for hepatitis, acute or chronic; it is especially indicated in the stage of suppuration with hectic fever and night sweats. Enlargement if followed by cirrhosis, for which, again, phosphorus is useful, as it is for jaundice accompanying either or both these complaints, and for malignant jaundice; there are shooting pains over the liver region and painful pulsations in the right hypochondrium, aggravated by lying on the right side. It is useful in catarrhal jaundice, and in jaundice caused by emotions, such as anger and excitement. Phosphorus is the remedy to be given in acute yellow atrophy of the liver, and for the similar condition occurring from chloroform poisoning. It will also act as a prophylactic against post-operative vomiting when chloroform is to be the anesthetic used, and should be given in two or three doses of a high dilution during the twelve hours preceding the operation. It is a valuable remedy in the enlarged, fatty livers of beer drinkers, and in the waxy liver of prolonged suppuration.
The principal symptoms occurring in the abdomen from phosphorus are a sensation of great emptiness, weakness and coldness, which is worse after a stool and from walking, and a gurgling, which begins in the stomach, rolls audibly through the intestines, and is attended with involuntary stool. The abdomen is very sensitive, and flaccid, or there is tympanites, mostly over the caecum and transverse colon. There are pinching and tearing pains, with urgent desire to evacuate, and diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is one of several varieties and is always very exhausting to the patient. It may be profuse, pouring from the rectum as from a hydrant, i.e., in a steady stream without any considerable admixture of flatus, with lumps of white mucus, like grains of tallow or undigested particles of food in it and occurring in the night or morning: or it may be an involuntary diarrhoea, with a lax, open sphincter, though which blood-stained mucus and soft faeces are constantly oozing; or a diarrhoea associated with inflammation and ulceration of the rectum, when there are frequent and painful urgings, with stools like “the scrapings” of intestine or of mucus mixed with blood, with painful tenesmus, which is prolonged for some time after stool and is associated with burning pain in the rectum and anus. Phosphorus is a remedy for painless diarrhoea that is worse in hot weather and which exhausts the patient, and also for cholera morbus and cholera infantum. It is useful in chronic diarrhoea with soft, thin stools that must be expelled as soon as they enter the rectum, any movement will cause a stool to pass. It is indicated in dysentery with scanty stools of bloody mucus, accompanied with violent tenesmus, and is to be prescribed for protruding haemorrhoids, which burn and bleed after every stool. Paralysis of the sphincter ani is a very characteristic symptom of phosphorus, and when present will indicate it in all kinds of diarrhoea. There is a constipation for which this remedy is useful, the stool is hard, long, and slender “like a dog’s” and is passed with difficulty.
Urine.-Phosphorus is a remedy for nephritis when the urine contains epithelial, waxy or fatty casts, and when there is haematuria.
Sexual.-It is valuable as a medicine for undue sexual excitement and for the impotence often associated with it, for satyriasis and for irritable weakness of the sexual organs caused by excesses in venery or masturbation. Similarly it is a remedy for nymphomania. The menses are too soon and too profuse, and phosphorus is indicated in menorrhagia and metrorrhagia, when its general symptoms are present. It is useful in amenorrhoea, accompanied by blood-spitting, epistaxis or loss of blood from the anus or urethra. It has been used in cancer of the uterus and is indicated by easy bleeding from the growth and burning pains. Chronic mastitis and abscesses in the breast, with sinuses, the orifices of which are surrounded by an erythematous blush, are successfully treated with phosphorus (phytol.)
Respiration.-Phosphorus is probably more often used in respiratory than in any other diseases. In the upper respiratory tract is causes and cures a fluent coryza or one that is alternately fluent and dry and accompanied by frequent sneezing which causes pain in the throat. When fluid the discharge is profuse and flows back into the fauces and, when dry, crusts are formed which adhere firmly. There may be chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nose, which is swollen, causing a stuffed-up sensation, especially high up in the left nostril; profuse discharge of green or yellow mucus accompanies this condition. There may be polypi, which bleed freely and, in diphtheria, haemorrhage of a severe character from detachment of the membrane. In chronic catarrh there is frequent blowing of blood from the nose. The nasal bones may suffer necrosis as the result of phosphorus poisoning. When the nose is obstructed by polypi or from caries, a fan-like motion of the alae nasi is sometimes observed (lyc.). Phosphorus causes soreness of the larynx, worse in the morning, and loss of voice or hoarseness. Speaking loudly and coughing cause pain in the larynx (bell.). Aphonia may be due to catarrh or arise from nervous and emotional causes, or from over-strain of the voice, as from prolonged loud talking or reading aloud (arg. met., arg. nit., arum, t.), it is worse in the evening. Hoarseness an loss of voice of this kind have a sure remedy in this drug. It is useful in croup when collapse is threatening, with rattling breathing, rapid, thready pulse and cold sweat; it comes in usefully at the later stages after acon., hepar, and spong., and also in the intervals between the attacks to prevent their recurrence. It is very frequently needed for other forms of laryngitis and tracheitis, acute or chronic, with dry cough from tickling in the larynx or trachea. The cough is worse from change from warm to cold air (reverse, bry., rumex), from laughing, loud talking, change of weather, eating and drinking. It may be a nervous cough coming on when anyone enters the room, form strong odours or form the approach of a thunderstorm; it shakes the head, provoking a splitting headache, and shakes the abdomen, with the result of a sticking pain in the epigastrium and possibly the passing of an involuntary stool; it causes trembling of the whole body.
The bronchial irritation caused by phosphorus may travel down to the smaller bronchi and alveoli and so phosphorus becomes a remedy for capillary bronchitis, broncho-pneumonia and labor pneumonia. It has gained a great reputation in pneumonia, and is, with the possible exception of antim. tart., the medicine most frequently used when hepatization of one portion of the lung is accompanied by much rattling in other and adjacent parts; it is most suitable in the latter part of the period of deposit and the early part of that of absorption. Phosphorus will be useful in pneumonia of any part of the lungs, but has a predilection for the base of the right lung (chelidon.). The sputa are mostly in the morning and are frothy, bloody, and rust-coloured, respiration is short, anxious and panting, with great tightness and oppression of the chest, and is more embarrassed when lying on the left side A feeling of great tightness of chest and pressure over the sternum are characteristics of all the chest affections of phosphorus. It is useful also in pleuritis, in which condition there will be sharp pains in the chest wall, especially on coughing, and it may be indicated in suppurative diseases of the lungs and pleurae. In pneumonia there are hot cheeks and fever, dry, hacking cough, dyspnoea, delirium, violent thirst for ice-cold water and the patient lies with his head thrown back and with the alae nasi contracting and expanding. Phosphorus is specially useful in pneumonia and broncho-pneumonia occurring in enteric fever and in the chronic bronchitis of aged or weakly people who have dilated and fattily degenerated hearts. It is indicated in tuberculosis occurring in tall, slender, rapidly growing persons, when there are repeated haemorrhages and expectoration of cold mucus, tasting sour, salt or sweet. The long-standing belief in the homoeopathic school of the value of phosphorus in tuberculosis has been strengthened from the pathological standpoint by the laboratory experiments of Drs. Wheeler and Neatby, who independently found that phosphorus raises the opsonic index of the blood to tubercle bacilli.
Edwin Awdas Neatby founded the Missionary School of Homeopathy and the London Homeopathic Hospital in 1903, and run by the British Homeopathic Association. He died in East Grinstead, Sussex, on the 1st December 1933. Edwin Awdas Neatby wrote The place of operation in the treatment of uterine fibroids, Modern developments in medicine, Pleural effusions in children, Manual of Homoeo Therapeutics,