Natrium arsenicosum

Lecture LXVIII — Natrum muriaticum and Natrum arsenicatum

Natrum Arsenicatum.

Natrum arsenicatum, or the arseniate of soda, affects markedly the mucous membranes, producing dryness and sensitiveness to dust, smoke and even to the indrawn air, and later the secretion of tough, gluey mucus, crusts, etc. This property of the drug has led to its use in catarrhs of the respiratory passages. It is indicated in a coryza which, as you will observe, resembles somewhat that of the parent arsenic. There is a copious discharge of watery fluid from the nose, and yet the nasal passages feel stuffed up. This is accompanied with dull, supra orbital headache, compressive pain at the root of the nose, dryness and smarting of the eyes, injected conjunctivae, flushed and puffy face and dryness of the throat. There is sometimes a good deal of sneezing, which is provoked by the least draft or inhalation of cold air. All these symptoms are worse in the morning and forenoon. This continues until the mucous secretion becomes thicker. Tough, yellow or yellowish grey mucus drops down from the post-nares into the throat, or hard, bluish mucus is blown from the nose every morning and its removal is followed by bleeding. At night and in the morning the nose is stuffed up so that the patient breathes with mouth open.

Looking at the throat, you will find it dark red, swollen, and covered with yellow gelatinous mucus which gags the patient when he attempts to hawk it out.

As the '

' cold '

' creeps downward a dr5^ cough supervenes. There is a sensation of oppression in the chest and of stuffiness as if the lungs were full of smoke. Soreness in the supra-clavicular regions and pain over the fourth and fifth costal cartilages of the right side. The oppressed feeling in the chest has this peculiarity: it is better when the patient urinates freely, and it is aggravated by dust or smoke. You may use the remedy in bronchitis when the above Symptoms are present, or even in graver forms of disease. It maybe of great service in tuberculosis, with emaciation, dry heat of the skin, chilliness at night and thirst for small quantities of water frequently repeated. Lastly, I have to speak of the use oiNatrum arsenicatuni in psoriasis. It should be classed here with Arsenicum, Arsenicum iodatu??i and Sepia. The scales are thin and whitish and when removed leave the skin slightly reddened. The eruption is apt to appear on the chest and itches when the patient warms up from exercise.