PHOSPHORICUM ACIDUM


Hahnemann’s proving symptoms of homeopathy remedy Phosphoricum Acidum from Materia Medica Pura, which Samuel Hahnemann wrote between 1811 to 1821…


(Phosphoric acid.)

(From vol. v, 2nd edit., 1826.)

(To prepare it, we take one pound of bones calcined white and broken into small pieces, place them in a porcelain jar, and pour over them one pound of the strongest sulphuric acid. The mixture is to be stirred with a glass rod several times during twenty-four hours, then well mixed and diluted with two pounds of good brandy, and the whole tied up in linen bag and pressed out between two smooth boards loaded with weights. What remains in the bag may be again diluted with two pounds of brandy, and the expressed fluid added to the first quantity. The whole is to be allowed to stand for two days, so that the cloudiness may settle down. The clear fluid is now to be decanted off, evaporated in a porcelain dish over the fire, and melted at a red heat. The melted phosphoric acid should be as clear as crystal, and while still warm it is to be broken into small fragments and preserved in a wellcorked bottle, because when exposed to the sir it soon completely deliquesces into a thickish fluid as clear as water.)

A grain of this crystalline acid id dissolved in 100 drops of a mixture of nine parts of water with one part of alcohol (the alcohol being added in order to make it drop easily). The solution is succussed twice (with two strokes of the arm). A drop of this is again succussed with 100 drops of alcohol by means of succussion with two strokes of the arm. This is 1. And the process is repeated up to the trillion-fold dilution (III). A sugar globule the size of a poppy seed, and moistened with this trillion-fold dilution, is administered for a homoeopathic dose.

The following remarkable, pure, artificial morbid symptoms produced by phosphoric acid on the healthy body indicate of them selves the natural morbid states in which it is specifically curative by reason of homoeopathic similarity.

Every dose acts for more than two weeks in chronic diseases.

The over violent action of phosphoric acid is diminished by camphor.

[HAHNEMANN was aided in this proving by BECHER, FRANZ, GROSS, GUTMANN, FRIEDRICH HAHNEMANN, HARTMANN, HERRMANN, LANGHAMMER, MEYER, STAPF, TEUTHORN, WISLICENUS.

No old school authorities are cited.

The 1st edit has 571 symptoms, this 2nd edit 679; the Chr. Kr. has 818, 55 of the new symptoms being contributed by Dr C. Hering.]

PHOSPHORICUM ACIDUM

Vertigo all day.

Vertigo towards evening, when standing and walking, as if intoxicated; he staggers; no vertigo when sitting (several evenings).

Vertigo in the morning, making him fall, when standing.

Several mornings vertigo on rising from bed.

5. Heat in the head, which often caused vertigo, even when sitting; when writing he must often nod involuntarily; objects seemed to turn round; the table seemed as if falling; when he clutched hold of it in walking, and when he looked on ground when standing, he was like to fall forwards, and must make a step forwards in order to keep himself erect. [Myr.]

Vertigo; the head tends to sink forwards and backwards (aft. some m.) [Hrr.]

Vertigo; in the morning in bed, when he shut his eyes, he felt as if the feet rose up and he was standing on his head. [Bch.]

In the morning after rising from bed weakness of the head, as if he should stagger.

10. He cannot rid himself of a thought, and the connecting ideas, do not come.

He dare not be alone without falling into absence of thought and unconsciousness (in the morning) [Fz.]

He cannot reflect on anything properly in account of want of ideas and weakness of mind; he became giddy on attempting to think about anything. [Hrr.]

Lazy, obtuse, inactive mind, without imagination, indisposed for even agreeable mental work. [Stf.]

In the evening when sitting he sees nothing by ciphers before the eyes, for an hour; at the same time he was very stupid and bad in the head – at last very hot.

15. He cannot bring his thoughts into proper connexion.

When reading there came a thousand other thoughts into his head, and he could not rightly comprehend anything; what he had read became as if dark in his head, and he immediately forgot all (for 48 h.); what he had long known, he can only recall with difficulty. [Myr.]

Illusion of the senses; he imagines he hears a bell pealing and sees things lying near him (outside the sphere of vision) moving. [Fz.]

His reason is affected. [Fr.H-n.]

Emptiness in the head, for three hours. [Fz.]

20. In the forenoon his head is cloudy, as if he had sat up all night or as if after a nocturnal debauch.

Dulness of the head (aft. 4 d.).

In the evening when he comes into the warm room, he is dazed in his head.

Confusion of the whole head. [Hrr.]

Confusion of the sinciput, especially of the orbits. [Gss.]

25. Confusion of the head as from excessive indulgence in venery, for three days (immediately). [Fr.H-n.]

He feels quite empty in the head and tired in the limbs, as if he had not slept enough after a debauch (aft. 1 h.). [Fz.]

Roaring in the head.

Headache, like stupidity, with buzzing in the head; on coughing the head feels quite painful as if it would burst.

In the morning, pressure in the head and bitter taste in the mouth (the 5th morning).

30. Headache, in the morning immediately upon awaking, which goes off on rising.

Dull pain in the forehead an temples, during which, however, he is pretty lively. [Fz.]

Dull creeping sensation in the sinciput, with sweat on the forehead (immediately). [Fr.H-n.]

Shooting over the eye upwards into the head (when standing)(aft. 14 h.).

Constant headache. [Hrr.]

35. Severe headache, which compelled him to lie down, and his nape was stiff.

On the slightest shock or noise, the pains in the head became extremely violent. [Hrr.]

Painful shock in the head when walking.

Extremely severe pressure in the head, in the afternoon.

Headache, as if the brain were pressed upwards, at the same time beating in it, like the beating of the pulse.

40. Single blows in the head as with a hammer.

In the morning on rising, and all the forenoon, a prickling headache.

Aching and shooting pain in all parts of the head, in fits.

Twitching in the head.

A great weight in the whole head which extended to the left frontal protuberance with a violent pressure. [Htn.]

45. Headache as from a strain, like a weight in it.

His head is heavy. [Gn.]

Headache in the occiput, which compels him to lie down.

On bending the head forwards a pressure forwards combined with heaviness in the occiput, which only goes off when he bends the head backwards (aft. 2.3/4 h.. [Htn.]

Aching pain in the right side of the occiput which partly spreads to the front; on pressing on it with the open hand and on turning the head it became more violent, all day (aft. 7.1/2 h.). [Gn.]

50. Aching pain in the brain behind the left ear (aft. 3 h.). [Gn.]

In the right side of the occiput a painful pressure outwards (aft. 2.1/4 h.). [Htn.]

A pressure as from a weight from above downwards in the head, or as if he had a blow on the top.

Intermittent pressure as with a blunt point, deep in the left side of the crown, so that he cannot tell the precise spot (aft. 7 d.). [Gss.]

Dull headache with pressure over the orbits and stitches behind the ears, in the afternoon for four hours. [Trn.]

55. In the morning on awaking, severe headache, a pressure in the forehead so that she was quite stupefied and could not open the eyes; on account of the pain she could scarcely speak, the slightest movement increased it.

Violent headache; a forcing and pressing upwards in the crown, for three days.

Hard pressure on the left side of the forehead. [Hrr.]

A violent out-pressing pain in the right frontal protuberance (aft. 2 h.). [Htn.]

An aching in the forehead as after a debauch. [Myr.]

60. A hard pressure above the left temple extending to the occiput, with dread of moving. [Myr.]

Squeezing pressure in and on the right temple, more violent on moving (aft. ¾ h.). [Hrr.]

A violent pressure outwards in the right temple (aft. 2.1/2 h.). [Hrr.]

A squeezing pressure in the right temple. [Gss.]

Pain in the whole brain as if it were compressed (aft. 34 h.). [Gn.]

65.Squeezing pressure on both parietal bone, worse when moving. [Hrr.]

Pain as if both temples were pressed towards one another, as if violently pinched together by forceps. [Hrr.]

Boring aching pain in the left temple. [Fz.]

Headache as if holes were bored through the skull, especially in the crown. [Fr.H-n.]

Digging boring pain in the right side of the occiput (aft. 2 h.). [Gn.]

70. In the left temple a regularly intermitting, squeezing pressive pain as with a blunt hard body. [Gss.]

Drawing pressure in the right parietal and occipital bones more violent when moving. [Hrr.]

Tearing and squeezing pressure in the brain here and there (aft. 7 h.). [Hrr.]

Tearing pressure in the occiput aggravated by noise and by the slightest movement. [Hrr.]

Pressure in the occiput as if he lay on something hard. [Myr.]

75. Drawing in the left temple and tragus, which becomes an aching pain on moving (aft. ½ h.). [Ws.]

Tearing in the vertex and occiput. [Hrr.]

Tearing in the left temple to the forehead, aggravated by movement (aft. ¼ h.). [Hrr.]

Samuel Hahnemann
Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) was the founder of Homoeopathy. He is called the Father of Experimental Pharmacology because he was the first physician to prepare medicines in a specialized way; proving them on healthy human beings, to determine how the medicines acted to cure diseases.

Hahnemann's three major publications chart the development of homeopathy. In the Organon of Medicine, we see the fundamentals laid out. Materia Medica Pura records the exact symptoms of the remedy provings. In his book, The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homoeopathic Cure, he showed us how natural diseases become chronic in nature when suppressed by improper treatment.