BISMUTH SUBNITRATE.
Introduction
Hughes in his Pharmacodynamics., says” “Hahnemann called his preparation.” Bismuth, ‘an oxide, and under this name its symptoms appear in Allen’s Encyclopedia. But I think that it you read his directions for making it you will agree with me that the resulting salt is identical with that which chemists now style the subnitrate, and which is the Bismuth of ordinary practice.”.
Symptoms
The field for the employment of Bismuth is narrow and its “chief action is manifested in the alimentary canal, causing irritation and catarrhal inflammation” (allen).
Hale still further restricts it by saying that its action is confined to the nerves of the stomach and those organs in special sympathy with it.
If its sphere is limited it is nevertheless, an important remedy when indicted and there is no excuse for the statement made by Hale that “the great majority of out school rarely use it; only those who have been allopathies, or has gained some knowledge of its value from allopathic text-books.
The old school use preparations of bismuth as “harmless cosmetics’ (Ringer) and internally they also seem to look pin it as harmless, for they assert that they can give “from 15 to 60 grains at a dose without producing any recognized ill effects” (Bartholow).
A peculiarity of the two school of medicine in reference to drug action is, that allopathies brag about how much they can give without poisoning the patient, while homoeopaths boast as to hollow little they can give and effect a cure.
Bismuth is useful for violent neuralgic headaches, which alternate with, “or are attended by gastralgia, or when the headache comes on immediately after eating (95) and is relieved by vomiting of the food” (Hale). These pains in the headache of Bismuth, involve the face (100) and teeth, with a feeling as if the parts were being torn by pincers (79) and relief cold or cold applications(92). Bismuth is of great value in gastric catarrh (178) and gastralgia, with, as a marked indication for the remedy, severe pain which extends from the stomach through the body of the spine, or it goes from before backward (180). Another prominent indication from the remedy in gastralgia, is relief while taking cold drinks (174), yet when the stomach become full there is vomiting of enormous quantities.
There are usually free eructations and vomiting of food and of mucus.
The gastric pains are crampy or burning (178), with aggravation from food, which lays like a hard lump or load in the stomach (179), and Bismuth often gives temporary relief during the progress of scirrhus (178) when accompanied by the burning pains.
It is of importance in painless, watery diarrhoea, with thirst and with great prostration after each movement(58) although “the surface is warm” (Bell)., and in cholera infinitum, with vomiting especially of water, and a thickly- coated, white tongue (192).
I use Bismuth 3rd.
