• Disordered sense of proportion; feels tall and stately, while objects seem smaller
• Mental symptoms appear as physical symptoms disappear and vice versa
• Sexual organs are exceedingly sensitive
• Superiority complex of the highest degree
• Excessive sexual desire in virgins that leads to masturbation before
  puberty

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Platinum, Metallic platinum
Formula: Pt
Prover: Dr Hahnemann and Dr Stapf, Dr Gross, pupils of Dr Hahnemann
Duration of Action: indefinite
Miasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Sanguine and hysterical
Thermal Relationship: Hot patient

Introduction and History: Platinum is a remedy without which our materia medica would be really incomplete. Platinum is costlier than gold, and that is why perhaps a Platinum patient is proud and conceited. It is pre-eminently a woman’s remedy. The element platinum was derived from the Spanish word meaning ‘like silver.’

The metal was discovered in South America and then introduced into Europe in the middle the of eighteenth century. Hahnemann was the first person to consider it as a medicine. Platinum, the costliest and the heaviest metal in the mineral kingdom, is nick-named by some authors as the ‘Black Letter Medicine.’ Eminent homeopaths have written much about Platinum. We know it is a proud metal. Though it is very costly, it is not so appreciated by people as gold. A Platinum person strongly feels that he is noble (rubric-delusion, noble she is). Nobility is seen through the patients actions and expressions. We can have two types of Platinum which we call as ‘polarities’ – an affectionate, tender and fearful Platinum at one end, and at the other end, an egoistical, haughty, quarrelsome and extravagant Platinum.

Description: It is a lustrous, grayish-white, malleable and ductile metal. It is always found in association with other metals such as, radium, osmium, iridium and palladium. It is to be found plentifully in California, South America and Russia.

Preparation: Triturations are prepared from the metal with sugar of milk, from which higher potencies are prepared.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is a woman’s remedy, especially suited to women of dark hair, dark complexion, having rigid muscular fibres, who suffer from too early and too profuse menses.

Ailments From: Onanism, sexual excesses and masturbation; grief, vexation, fright, pride, etc.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Female organs, nerves, brain, rectum, etc.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It mainly acts on the central nervous system, especially on nerve centers, depressing the sensorium and producing a general tendency to anaesthesia and torpor. This is due to paralysis manifested mostly in women with deranged sexual health, hysterical conditions and melancholia.
2. It acts on sexual organs causing derangement of sexual health, producing a hysterical condition, melancholia and menstrual disorders.
3. It also acts on the gums, muscles, gastrointestinal tract and mucous membranes.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. ‘Superiority complex’ is of the highest degree. It runs through the whole remedy. She looks down upon others with contemptuous eyes and thinks everyone else is very inferior to her.
2. Feels oneself too large, while other things and persons seem to be too small and too low in status.
3. Sensation of growing larger in every direction; as if she were constantly growing longer and longer.
4. Thinks she is left entirely to herself and stands alone in the world. Sensitive mood, morosed and discontented.
5. Involuntary disposition to whistle, or sing, weeping mood and sadness; worse in the house, better in open air.
6. Fear of death, with loathing of life. Fears that something serious will happen to her.
7. Hysterical patients; patient is alternately gay and sad. One moment excessively happy and the next moment sad and gloomy.
8. Pride and overestimation of one’s self. She imagines that she belongs to and is born in a high family and all others are of lower category.
9. Mental symptoms and physical symptoms alternate.
10. Thinks all are demons; everything seems strange and horrible.
11. Unnatural increase in sexual desire. Wants to embrace everybody.
12. Everything seems changed, different; thinks she is not a part of her own family.
13. Patient is haughty, arrogant, proud, contemptuous; has a superiority complex.
14. Trifling things produce profound vexation.
15. Sexually hypersensitive; cannot endure coitus or faints during coitus; excessive sexual development in virgins.
16. Any serious thought is terrifying; dislikes her children, calls them too little.
17. Weeping and palpitation; anxiety, with numb feeling in malar bones as if the parts were between screws.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Sensitiveness: Genitals are excessively sensitive; she cannot bear the touch of a napkin on her private parts; will go into spasm from an examination. Vulva is very painfully sensitive during coitus, will faint during coitus, or cannot endure it.

Sexual desire: Unnatural increase in sexual desire, especially in virgins. Premature and excessive development of sex consciousness. Masturbation before puberty. Nymphomania.

Numbness: Pains or cramps are followed by numbness of parts. Right side of face feels cold, with creeping and numbness.

Periodicity: Symptoms are periodic and paroxysmal. Pains go from right to left.

Alternation: Physical and mental symptoms alternate. Mental symptoms appear with the disappearance of physical symptoms and vice versa.

Headache: Numb, heavy pain in brain or on vertex; from anger or chagrin; hysterical, from uterine disease; pains gradually increase and decrease.

Menses: Menses too early, too profuse, too long lasting; dark, clotted, offensive, with bearing down spasms; pains in uterus with twitching; genitals sensitive.

Constipation: Constipation while travelling, after lead poisoning, from inertia of bowels; frequent, unsuccessful urging; stools adhere to rectum and anus like soft clay.

Itching: Excessive itching in uterus and pruritus vulvae.

Nymphomania: Excessive sexual development, especially in virgins; vaginismus, spasm and constriction.

Metrorrhagia: Flow in black clots; thick, black, tarry, or in a grumous mass.

Desires and aversions: Desire for cold drinks and tobacco, but aversion to meat.

Dreams: Dreams of fights, fire, death of relatives, of battles dreams are also vivid, amorous, anxious and pleasant.

Hunger and thirst: Ravenous hunger, sometimes loss of appetite but patient is thirstless.

Important Characteristic Features

Nymphomania: Marked nymphomania, especially in lying-in women, genital organs are exceedingly sensitive. She cannot even bear the touch of a napkin to her private parts; will go into spasm from an examination. Excessive sexual development in virgins. Vaginismus with spasm and constriction. Vulva is very painful. It is not due to any inflammation, but due to hyperaesthesia and sensitiveness. Therefore, she cannot endure coitus. If coition is attempted, she faints during the act, especially seen in young girls. They may develop nymphomania, which becomes more in the lying-in state.

Constipation: A very good medicine for constipation. Stool is very hard, as if burnt. Frequent urging to stool and inability to strain at stool. Stool may be soft, clay coloured and adheres to the rectum and anus. Bad type of constipation; after Nux fails. Mainly the complaint arises after lead poisoning and inertia of bowels. Protrusion of haemorrhoids during stool, with burning pain in rectum during stool.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Coitus, touch and pressure, emotions, menses, pregnancy, rest, sitting, standing, fasting, bending backward, evening and night, in warm room.

Amelioration: Walking in open air.

Remedy Relationships

Follows well: Arg-met, Anac, Ign, Lyc, Puls, Rhus-t, Sep.

Antidotes: Puls.

Compare: Aur, Croc, Ign, Kali-p, Puls, Sep, Stann.

Comparison

Constipation with unsuccessful urging: Nux-v, Plat.

Stools – soft, clayey, adhere to parts: Alum, Plat.

Nymphomania: Murx, Lil-t, Plat.

Painful sensitiveness of sexual organs, cannot wear a napkin: Plat, Staph.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000, 10M.

Dosage: 6 to 200 and higher potencies.

Repetition: Single dose of high potency, when the symptoms call for the remedy.

Therapeutic Value: Constipation, Habit of masturbation, Headache, Hysteria, Menorrhagia, Nymphomania, Onanism, Vaginismus.