Here is a picture that shows a condition of things in chronic trouble calling for this remedy. “From climbing mountains, or other muscular exertions, want of breath, prostrations, sleeplessness and other ailments”. This shows how weak the patient is, and this weakness may be coupled with various forms of disease. You may say it is common for sick people to be weak. True, but the ARSENICUM patient is weak OUT OF PROPORTION to the rest of his trouble, or apparently so; and it is a GENERAL PROSTRATION, not local like the sense of weakness in the chest of PHOSPHORIC ACID, STANNUM and SULPHUR; or in the abdomen like PHOSPHORUS; or in the stomach like IGNATIA HYDRASTIS and SEPIA. Now I do not see how I can make plainer the value of prostration as ARSENIC symptom.
When we come to the tissues we find our remedy almost universally present.
It attacks the BLOOD, causing septic changes, exanthemata, ecchymoses, petechiae, etc.
It attacks the VEINS; varices burn like fire, worse at night.
It attacks the serous membranes, causing copious serous effusions.
It attacks the glands, which indurate or suppurate.
It attacks the periosteum.
It attacks the joints; causing pale swellings, burning pains, etc.
It causes inflammatory swellings with burning lancinating pains.
It causes general anasarca; skin pale, waxy or earth colored; great thirst(APIS none).
It causes rapid emaciation; atrophy of children.
It causes ulcerations, constantly extending in breadth. The ulcers BURN like fire, pain even during sleep, discharge may be copious or scanty, the base blue, black or lardaceous.
Anthrax BURNING like fire; cold blue skin as dry as parchment, peeling off in large scales.
“Sphacelus, ” parts look black or BURN like fire.
“Gangrene,” better from heat(worse, SECALE).
“Parchment” like dryness, or dry scaly skin. The skin troubles of this remedy are mostly dry and scaly, and almost always BURNING. It is one of our best remedies for affections caused by retrocedent or suppressed exanthemata, also for suppressed chronic eczemas, etc.
But it is impossible and outside the scope of this work to mention by name all the affections of the tissues in which this remedy is useful.
Notwithstanding this, ARSENIC is not a panacea. It must, like every other remedy, be indicated by its similar symptoms or failure is the outcome. Its great keynotes are RESTLESSNESS, BURNING, PROSTRATION, and MID-NIGHT WORSE.
