• Great apprehension before any engagement. Breaks into profuse sweat and diarrhoea sets in
• Fear of projecting buildings, cannot look up, feels as if they would fall on him. Cannot look down from heights.
• Craving for sweets which aggravates.

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Silver nitrate, Lunar caustic
Formula: AgNO3
Prover: Dr Hahnemann and reproved by Dr J.O. Muller of Vienna in 1845

Duration of Action: Upto 30 days
Miasmatic Background: It covers all the three miasms – psora, syphilis and sycosis
Temperament: Very irritable and bilious
Diathesis: Neuro-sycotic
Thermal Relationship: Hot patient

Introduction and History: This irritant poison is commonly known as Lunar caustic and Nitrate of silver. It was first proved by Hahnemann. It is one of the ‘monumental treasures’ of homeopathy. This great antisycotic remedy is mainly indicated in those persons in whom intellectual features predominate. It has been extensively used by the allopaths for cauterization of ulcers, which do not yield to medicinal treatment. In this, the neural effects are very marked.

Description: It is a chemical compound of silver and nitric acid. It can be obtained from a chemist’s shop. It is crystallized silver nitrate and consists of tubular rhombic anhydrous crystals – shining, colourless, odourless, having a burning taste. It has a bitter and metallic taste. It is soluble in its own weight of cold and in half that of boiling water, and in four parts of boiling alcohol; the solution is neutral in reaction. It is fused by the action of heat and solidifies on cooling; at red heat it decomposes leaving metallic silver. In an aqueous solution with sodium chloride it yields an abundant white precipitate of silver chloride, soluble in ammonia. It stains the skin black.

Preparation: The salt is triturated with sugar of milk upto 3c. Higher alcoholic potencies are prepared from 3c potency.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is best suited to hysterical, nervous persons with a vivid imagination having a carbo-nitrogenoid or hydrogenoid constitution. The person is cachectic, withered, dried up and old looking.

Ailments From: Apprehension, fear, eating ice, intemperate habits, mental strain and worry, Onanism and venery, sugar, tobacco.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Brain, spinal cord, nerves, blood, mucous membranes such as of eyes, throat, stomach, urethra, etc., periosteum, bones, kidney, liver, gastrointestinal tract, etc.

Physiological Action

1. In stomach and intestinal atony with great flatulence.
2. In large doses, nausea, vomiting and violent gastrointestinal inflammation, especially of the destructive type.
3. Induration and fatty degeneration of salivary glands, testicles, liver and kidney.
4. Destruction of red blood corpuscles; anaemia; depressed temperature.
5. Nodular and vesicular inflammation of the skin.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. Its most important action is on blood. Blood is more fluid and darker, haemoglobin is diminished; stagnation in vessels causing ecchymosis. As a result of all this, there is defective oxidation and anaemia.
2. It acts on nerves and produces a hyperaesthetic and anaesthetic condition of nerves.
3. It acts on the kidneys, liver and other glands showing degeneration.
4. It is a highly irritant poison affecting primarily the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, throat, upper air passages, etc. causing violent congestion and destructive inflammation and ulceration.
5. It acts on the nervous system, giving rise to great prostration and violent tetanic convulsions followed by paralysis.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

• The patient is sad, melancholic and confused.
• Becomes very impulsive. Has an impulse to kill himself or to jump off while crossing high places or bridges, or jumps out of the window.
• Thinks his understanding and will power may fail; fearful, nervous and melancholic.
• Weak memory; time passes very slowly.
• There is frequent loss of memory, makes frequent faults in speech because he cannot find the right words.
• Great apprehension when getting ready to go to church or for an examination or any other important engagement – diarrhoea sets in at that time.
• Very excitable and easily angered which brings on pain in the head, chest, etc.
• Vertigo on closing the eyes. Mental confusion and dizziness with a tendency to fall sidewards.
• Always in a hurry, but accomplishes nothing. Impulse to walk very fast.
• Feeling of constriction in various parts, as if a band of iron was around the chest or waist.
• Thinks that death is near and has fear of death.
• The patient has troublesome thoughts with great agony, especially at night.
• Patient is so anxious that cannot stay in bed, gets up hurriedly and walks.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Headache: Congestive headache with fullness and heaviness; with sense of expansion; habitual, gastric, of literary men, from dancing; hemicrania, pressive, screwing in frontal eminence or temple, ending in bilious vomiting.

Chilly: Chilly when uncovered, yet feels smothered if wrapped up; craves fresh air.

Sensation: Sensation of a splinter in the throat when swallowing, in or about the uterus when Walking or riding.

Coition: Coition painful in both sexes; followed by bleeding from the vagina.

Urine: Urine passes unconsciously day and night, impotence, erection fails when coition is attempted.

Flatulent dyspepsia: Belching after every meal; stomach, as if it would burst with wind, belching difficult, finally air rushes out with great violence.

Emaciation: Emaciation progressing every year; most marked in the lower extremities; dried up, old looking patients; marasmus.

Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea after drinking, as soon as he drinks; after eating candy or sugar, with much noisy flatus; green mucous in stools.

Conjunctivitis: Acute granular conjunctivitis, scarlet red like raw beef; discharge profuse, muco-purulent; ophthalmia neonatorum.

Weakness: Great weakness of lower extremities, with trembling; cannot walk with eyes closed, locomotor ataxia.

Onset of complaints: Complaints appear gradually and cease gradually.

Impotence: Erections fail when coition is attempted.

Left-sidedness: It is a left sided remedy, complaints of the left side.

Laryngitis: Chronic laryngitis of singers, the high notes cause cough. Sore throat, with sensation as if splinters are in the throat when swallowing.

Oedema: Oedema of various parts, of lids, legs, etc, ascites.

Tremors: Trembling with general debility. Fainting and tremors. Periodical trembling of the body.

Wart-like growth: Wart and wart-like excrescences. Wart-like growth in throat, about genitals, anus, etc.

Haemorrhage: Tendency to bleed from mucous membranes; bleeding from nose, gums, stomach, etc.

Desire: Great desire for sugar, sweets and salt.

Metrorrhagia: Metrorrhagia in young widows, in sterility, with nervous erethism at change of life.

Important Characteristic Features

Diarrhoea: Argentum nitricum has two kinds of diarrhoea:

(i) Nervous diarrhoea.

(ii) Diarrhoea due to gastrointestinal disorders.

Nervous diarrhoea sets in as a result of any mental emotion, nervousness, etc. Apprehension when getting ready to go to church or opera or before appearing for an examination, or before public or before any other engagement, diarrhoea suddenly comes in. Although there is no particular striking characteristic feature about the stool, the stool is watery with intolerable offensiveness and urging. However, the person immediately starts performing the task for which he was preparing, the diarrhoea disappears and he is perfectly well and accomplishes the assignment quite satisfactorily. Diarrhoea due to gastrointestinal disorders is caused due to sugar, candy, sweets, milk, salt, mental shock, mental exertion, etc.

Stool is watery, green or turns to green when left on a diaper, looking like chopped spinach, with much noisy flatus, Stools are bloody, slimy, watery with green flakes and severe tenesmus; lots of casts are passed with the stool.

Child: Argentum nitricum baby is sycotic and has a sickly, withered appearance with a premature aged expression on the face. There is emaciation all over the body, particularly of the legs, with a history of gonorrhoea in the parents, emaciation progressing every year. The baby craves sweets, which causes diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is like chopped spinach, after weaning or green, watery diarrhoea or turning green when left on the diaper. Locomotor ataxia with lightening-like pains in the affected part. Convulsions followed by great restlessness, with trembling of the body. Staggering and paralytic heaviness of lower limbs.

Hysteria with temporary blindness. Sensitiveness of the arms, a hyperaesthetic-anaesthetic state; increased sensitiveness to touch but diminished sense of distinguishing sensations; rigidity in calves with great weakness. Cannot walk and stands unsteadily after exhaustive mental labour, particularly when he thinks himself unobserved. Epilepsy caused by fright, during menstruation and at night with dilated pupils, for a day or two before the attack, with loss of vision.

Headache: Headache with coldness and trembling. Emotional disturbances cause appearance of hemicranial attacks. Sensation of expansion of the head and face. Brain fag, with general debility and trembling. Headache from mental exertion, from dancing. Vertigo, with buzzing in the ears and with nervous affections. Aching in frontal eminence, with an enlarged feeling in the corresponding eye. Boring pains; better on tight bandaging and pressure. Itching of scalp. Hemicrania, bones of head feel as if separated.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Night, warm room, fire, summer, warmth of bed, warm drinks, ice cream, uncovering, rising from sitting position, inspiration, touching the parts, thinking intensely, riding, menses, sweets eating after, from emotions.

Amelioration: Stimulants, cool open air, fresh air, washing with cold water, tight bandage, sitting, eructation.

Remedy Relationships

Follows well: Bry, Calc, Kali-c, Lyc, Merc, Puls, Sep.

Antidotes: Ars, Nat-m, Nit-ac, Phos, Puls, Rhus-t, Sep.

Antidotal to: Caust, Kali-i, Op.

Inimical: Coff, Vesp.

Comparison

Time seems too long: Arg-n, Cann-i.

Impatient, can not do things fast enough: Arg-n, Aur-m.

Violent palpitations from incarcerated flatus: Arg-n, Coca, Nux-v.

Sensation of a splinter or plug in the throat: Arg-n, Hep, Nit-ac.

Headache ameliorated by bandaging the head tightly: Arg-n, Lac-d, Puls.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 200, 1000.

Argentum Nitricum Dosage

1. Lower aqueous dilutions as local application in ophthalmia neonatorum.
2. In gastric ulcers, freshly prepared solution of silver nitrate should be given in half a glass of water before meals.
3. Clarke uses lower potencies, but Kent advises higher and highest potencies.

Repetition: It may be repeated when the symptoms call for it.

Therapeutic Value: Acidity, Addison’s disease, Anaemia, Diarrhoea, Dyspepsia, Emaciation, Eye affections, Flatulence, Gastric ulcer, Gonorrhoea, Headache, Heartburn, Locomotor ataxia, Neuralgia, Ophthalmia neonatorum, Paraplegia, Paralysis, Spinal irritation, Throat affections, Ulcerated tongue, Warts, etc.