Synonym. Hydrogen Sulphate. Common name. Sulphuric Acid. Preparation. The 1x and 2x dilutions are made with water; the 3x with dilute Alcohol; subsequent dilutions with Alcohol.
GENERAL ANALYSIS.
Acts especially upon mucous tissues, particularly of the alimentary canal and the respiratory tract, and upon the skin, though, owing to its chemical action, its dynamic physiological effects are comparatively little understood.
CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS.
Mind. Fretful, ill-humored, peevish (Bryonia, Chamomilla). Despondent. Impatient; must to do everything in a hurry (Sulphur).
Head. Sensation in the forehead as if the brain were loose, and falling from side to side (Nux moschata, Hyoscyamus, Rhus tox.); quiet n the room. Painful shocks in the forehead and temples; worse in the forenoon and evening. Gradually increasing, and suddenly ceasing headache. External pain over the whole head, as if suppurating, painful to touch.
Eyes. Sensation of a foreign body in right outer canthus, in the morning when walking. Lachrymation.
Ears. Hardness of hearing (Calcarea c., Sulphur).
Nose. Dry coryza, with loss of smell and taste (Ant. tart., Pulsatilla). Coryza; thin, lemon-colored discharge.
Face. Face deadly pale. Face feels as if the write of an egg had been dried on it (Alumina).
Mouth. Breath very offensive (Arnica, Hepar s., Nitr. ac., Nux v.). Pain from submaxillary glands into tongue; tongue feels burnt (Iris, Platina, Pulsatilla, Sanguinaria). Teeth on edge. Aphthae in the mouth (Borax, Helleborus, Hydras., Iodi.). Mucous membrane of palate and pharynx swollen, injected and ulcerated.
Throat. Swollen, as if a lump were in it; sensitive; impeded deglutition (Belladonna). Swelling of uvula and root of palate. Soreness in evening on swallowing; worse on left side. Rawness in the throat (Argentum, Arum., Nux v., Sanguinaria). Constriction. Swelling and inflammation of the submaxillary glands. Stringy, lemon-yellow mucus hangs from posterior nares, in diphtheria.
Stomach. Sour eructations (Alumina, Carb v., Phosphorus). Violent hiccough (Bryonia, Cicuta, Hyoscyamus, Ignatia, Veratrum alb.). Vomiting; of drunkards (Nux v.). Every drink chills the stomach, unless some spirit is mixed with it. Pain in epigastric region after eating; worse from hard food, with sensitiveness of stomach.
Abdomen. Weak feeling, as if the menses would appear. Violent protrusions of an inguinal hernia.
Stool and Anus. Haemorrhoids, itching, burning, sticking; with moisture. Pressing in anus during and after pasty stool. Chronic soft stool. Diarrhoea, with great debility. Soft stool, followed by a sensation of emptiness in abdomen. Stool as if chopped (Aconite), saffron-yellow, stringy, and slimy, i n children. Stool; soft, pasty; yellowish-white; partly solid, partly liquid, with much thin mucus and streaks of blood; very offensive.
Urinary Organs. Pain in bladder, as if the call to urinate is postponed.
Female Organs. Menses too early and too profuse (Arsenicum, Calcarea c., Nux v.). Leucorrhoea, acrid and burning, or like milk (Calcarea, Coni., Pulsatilla, Sepia).
Respiratory Organs. Hoarseness, with roughness in throat and larynx. Shortness of breath. Cough from irritation in the chest, with expectoration in the morning, of dark blood, or of a thin, yellow, blood-streaked mucus, of a sourish taste. Belching after the cough. Pressure in left side of chest. Cough, with haemoptysis (Aconite, Ferrum, Sabad.). Profuse haemorrhage from the lungs.
Generalities. Extreme weakness and exhaustion, with sensation of tremor all over the body, without trembling. Pain in lumbar region. Pains appear gradually, and cease suddenly. Haemorrhages of black blood from all the outlets of the body (Hamamelis, Phosphorus).
Skin. Blue spots like ecchymoses (Arnica, Phosphorus, Secale). Gangrenous tendency after a bruise (Arsenicum).
Sleep. Falls asleep late, and wakes early. Sleepiness.
Fever. Chilliness, worse in-doors; better out-doors; when exercising. Profuse perspiration with great debility; also night (Cinchona, Phosphorus, Phosphorus ac.).
Aggravation. In open air; after dinner; in cold, wet weather.
Amelioration. From pressure over epigastrium.
Conditions. In old people, particularly women; light-haired people. In climacteric years, flushes of heat.
Compare. Mineral acids, Arnica, Digit., Pulsatilla, Sulphur
Antidote. Pulsatilla
Sulphuric Acid Antidotes. Bad effects of lead water.
THERAPEUTICS.
Sulphuricum Acidum has been successfully used for general debilitated states of the system, especially with tendency to haemorrhages from fever. Haemoptysis. Tuberculosis. Aphthous sore mouth, especially during protracted diseases; particularly in children with marasmus, sour vomiting, characteristic diarrhoea, etc. A valuable remedy in certain forms of dyspepsia, especially where the stomach feels cold and weak, and the patient craves stimulants. Acid dyspepsia; dyspepsia of drunkards, especially with enlarged liver, piles, diarrhoea and to her digestive troubles; digestion feeble; vomiting; patient shriveled and cold. Sulph. acid is said to remove the craving for liquor (Crude acid in water.). Vomiting of pregnancy. Hiccough. Stomach cough; belching after cough. Tonsilitis. Diphtheria, bad cases; abundant membrane; drowsiness; liquids escape through the nose; stringy, lemon-yellow mucus hangs from the posterior nares. Enlarged spleen. Inguinal hernia. Sometimes useful in typhoid fever, great prostration, haemorrhages, drowsiness, vomiting, sour discharges. Purpura haemorrhages, drowsiness, vomiting, sour discharges. Purpura haemorrhagica. Bad effects from mechanical injuries, bruises, chafing, etc.; long-lasting blue spots.
ALLEN CORSON COWPERTHWAITE was born at Cape May, New Jersey, May 3, 1848, son of Joseph C. and Deborah (Godfrey) Cowperthwaite. He attended medical lectures at the University of Iowa in 1867-1868, and was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia in 1869. He practiced his profession first in Illinois, and then in Nebraska. In 1877 he became Dean and Professor of Materia Medica in the recently organized Homeopathic Department of the State University of Iowa, holding the position till 1892. In 1884 he accepted the chair of Materia Medica, Pharmacology, and Clinical Medicine in the Homeopathic Medical College of the University of Michigan. He removed to Chicago in 1892, and became Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. From 1901 he also served as president of that College. He is the author of various works, notably "Insanity in its Medico-Legal Relations" (1876), "A Textbook of Materia Medica and Therapeutics" (1880), of "Gynecology" (1888), and of "The Practice of Medicine " (1901).