STANNUM METALLICUM
Provings with pure tin are found in Hahnemann: Reine Arzneimitte- lehre. 2 Aufl. Bd. VI. Other isolated observations concern the chloride. Stannum iodatum, SnI4, is not proven.
TYPE
Nervous and bodily weakness, relaxation of the muscles and tendons, give the accent to the entire stannum picture. The type is a weak patient with pale face, dark circles around the eyes, sunken eyes, of depressed irritable disposition, who tires when speaking or listening to others, has great aversion to undertaking any work; the legs and knees fail and tremble. Walking upstairs is particularly difficult; they must often sit or lie down; they fall into a chair in place of slowly sitting down. The extremities tremble and are heavy. In spite of the exhaustion a certain unrest occasions them to attempt movements. The voice and chest are particularly weak: weak, failing voice, weakness and hollow sensation in the chest.
There is also a weak and empty epigastric sensation which is not relieved by eating; the urge to stool is without result because of the weakness in the abdomen and rectum (expulsive weakness); weakness up to faintness when defecating and urinating. In relaxed and weakened women the uterus is fallen or displaced.
Palpitation or cardiac anxiety appears on the least effort, for example, in conferring on the order of house work. The vertigo, trembling, depression and anxiety, are worse before the period, better the appearance of the bleeding. It is concerned with an asthenic type with relaxed fibre, with emaciation and tendency to enteroptosis. On the general state of constant weakness and sensation of exhaustion is added the depicted depressive- hypochondriacal frame of mind described and the special symptoms in the nervous system and the vegetative organs.
The sensation of fatigue in the head as from over-work runs the gamut up to heaviness, pressing and drawing pains in the occiput and forehead, worse from bending, sharp cutting pains in the temples and about the eyes, supra-and infra-orbital neuralgias or even migraine. The pains are characterized chiefly by the modality: slow increase up to an acme then slow decrease, in the second line all pains are characterized by relief from pressure. Also for the neuralgias in other places, for example, in the trapezius over the shoulder and in colic, this modality holds and refers to stannum.
The old reports that tin is a remedy for spasms, particularly of an epileptic type, furthermore for the complaints of worms or de- ntition, have been taken over into the homoeopathic materia medica. The inclusion of tin under the antispasmodics besides cu- prum and zincum in the older literature can hardly exist with right. amongst the organs tin has a special trend on the respiratory passages. In the throat it excites a tenacious, thick, grey or grey-green mucus, which produces nausea on attempts to remove it. The sensation of weakness on speaking or singing, with the sensation of emptiness and loss of power in the chest, failing voice and hoarseness is expressed in the provings and has been mentioned. The hoarseness will be only temporarily improved by single coughs (perhaps with expulsion of sputum). Loss of power of expiration seems to speak particulary for tin in the complain- ts of singers.
Besides the loss of power and emptiness in the chest tensive sticking and a knife-like pain, sore sensation internally, oppression and constriction of the chest, a constant desire to cough and exhausting attacks of coughing are repeatedly observed. The irritation seems to proceed from the trachea, to lie beneath the upper part of the sternum and is aggravated by speaking, laughing, singing (and from warm drinks). The collection of much mucus, internal sensation of gasping, snoring, and rales, greenish sputum of offensive sweet taste (or yellow sputum with foul taste or bloody sputum) are the signs which have led to the use of stannum in chronic bronchitis with abundant decomposed sputum, but particularly in bronchiectasis and phthisis. In tuberculosis the downcast mental state is increased, naturally with the prevailing depressed disposition which is not common in tuberculosis. The tendency to hectic fever with chills about 10 in the morning, evening heat and thirst, profuse night sweats (of musty odor?), especially towards 4.5 in the morning, massive collection of mucopurulent sputum in the throat, especially in the second and third stages of tuberculosis.
Often from purely clinical reflections stannum iodatum -which has not been proven-is given preference. Hahnemann introduces a citation from Stahl that tin excites decomposition and consumption, while single older authors found tin curative in tuberculosis. He may also have referred to the old antihecticum Poterii.
GASTRO-INTESTINAL
The gastro-intestinal disturbances can be subordinated well to two clinical trends. The already mentioned sensation of weakness and emptiness in the stomach and abdomen (also after eating), the frequent unsuccessful urging to stool, loss of power of evacuati- on, exhaustion, and prolapse after stool refer to enteroptosis. Many of the proving symptoms read as though the digestive disturbances might depend upon a relaxation of the abdominal organs and wall; increased appetite and hunger without feeling of satiety, many eructations and nausea, cutting and pressure in the abdomen, especially about the umbilicus, crampy gastric and abdominal pai- ns, better from pressure. (The report: retching and vomiting from smelling foods is not to be found in the available proving symptoms.) The gastric cramps and colics are, outside of the relief from pressure, also characterized by the slow increase and decrease.
Hunger and empty sensation, accumulations of saliva in the mouth and the crampy pain about the umbilicus on the other side give the appearance of a symptomatic justification for the old use of tin in worms, particularly when taken in conjunction to the pallor of the face and the hollowness of the eyes.
Geischloger 695 saw bloody vomiting after intolerable gastric pressure from finely granulated tin, which he gave for tapeworm. On the other side Alston saw bloody vomiting stopped by tin just as a miracle. This homoeopathia involuntaria in hematemesis apparently stands as an isolated experience.
FEMALE SEXUAL ORGANS
Concerning the female sexual organs the complaints associated with the prolapse or displacement and the aggravation before the menses have already been mentioned. A glassy-mucoid leucorrhoea is another observation of the provings.
SUMMARY
Type:
Asthenic, relaxed fibre. Weak, relaxed, pale, emaciated; depressed, fatigued, trembling, failure of the extremities. Weakness of the voice and chest. Hectic. Enteroptosis.
Organ Affinities: Respiratory ORgans:
Chronic bronchitis with considerable decomposed sputum, bronchiectasis, phthisis II-III with hectic fever (green yellow eventually sweet copious sputum).
Gastro-intestinal:
Digestive disturbances with enteroptosis, colic with the characteristic modality; complaints from worms is doubtful.
Sexual Organs:
Displacement or retroversion of uterus (glassy leucorrhoea?).
Modalities:
Pains slowly increase and slowly decrease. Improvement from pressure. Symptoms of weakness worse on climbing stairs, worse from speaking, especially the chest symptoms. Must move around from the restlessness but soon exhaustion compels lying down.
DOSE
The most common dose is the D 6 (trituration).
Appendix
THE RADIO-ACTIVE ELEMENTS
With the increase of nuclear charge the qualitative differences between elements following one another in the (horizontal) periods becomes ever less. The difference of nuclear charges between 91 and 92 is absolutely the same as, for example, between 6 and 7 (C and N) but relatively considerably less. And this makes itself obvious in the heaviest elements of the periodic system in the remarkable approximation of the properties, which depend upon the differences in nuclear charge.
These radioactive elements beyond lead (84-92) pass into one another. Through radiation with alpha particles which are helium atoms with 2 positive charges, an element develops which stands two places lower in the periodic system. Through radiation with beta particles an element can be built which stands one place higher, particularly when the emitted beta particles attach themselves to the atom nucleus and not to the atom shell. Because a beta particle is an electron with a negative charge.
The material property whose constancy otherwise produces the nature of a chemical element is also variable in the elements of this series can be ascertained by simply rolling the first table (p. 71) together and looking from above down.) So here the chemical property of an element as a constant unit falls entirely behind the physical variability. The radiation with which this alteration is associated, is decisive for the action of this substance. (Besides the types of rays mentioned there is also the gamma ray, a special short wave length ultra violet light as x- ray.) Opposed to these physical actions the chemical characteristics of these inconstant elements are insignificant. Indeed radium in its chemical compounds is still recognizable as a member of the earthy alkali group, but this is entirely incidental in respect to its chief property, particularly for its actions on organisms.
Leeser, a Consultant Physician at the Stuttgart Homeopathic Hospital and a member of the German Central Society of Homeopathic Physicians, fled Germany in 1933 after being expelled by the German Medical Association. In England Otto Leeser joined the staff of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. He returned to Germany in the 1950s to run the Robert Bosch Homeopathic Hospital in Stuttgart, but died shortly after.
Otto Leeser wrote Textbook of Homeopathic Materia Medica, Leesers Lehrbuch der Homöopathie, Actionsand Medicinal use of Snake Venoms, Solanaceae, The Contribution of Homeopathy to the Development of Medicine, Homeopathy and chemotherapy, and many articles submitted to The British Homeopathic Journal,