• Violent colic with sensation as if abdominal wall is drawn by a string to the spine
• Constipation; hard, lumpy, black stools, like sheep dung
• Blue line along margin of gums
• Takes strange attitudes and positions in bed during sleep

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Lead, Plumbum aceticum, Acetate of plumbum Sugar of lead, Plumbum carbonicum
Formula: Pb
Prover: Dr Hering, Hartlaub, Trinks and Nenning
Miasmatic Background: Syphilis is in the background
Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: In the old school, metallic lead was seldom used, being considered inert. However, some practitioners gave it internally after reducing it to an impalpable powder for leucorrhoea, dysentery, syphilis and gout (Teste). In the form of plaster and ‘Foulard water’ the salts of lead have been largely used for external application in skin diseases, as vaginal and urethral injections and much injury has not infrequently resulted, especially from repelled eruptions.

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

Constitution and Physiognomy: According to Teste, it is particularly adapted to adults, males more than females, particularly to persons of dry, bilious constitution with somewhat jaundiced, irascible, hypochondriacs or disposed to religious monomania.

Ailments From: ill-effects of repelled eruptions, sexual excesses, lead, cadmium and aluminium poisoning.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. In large doses the acetate acted upon dogs as an irritant and caused vomiting, pain and death.
2. Lead affects the substance of all striped muscles; not that it makes all contraction impossible, but it produces a rapid exhaustion of the activity of the muscles, which finally loses its irritability, dies, and results in muscular atrophy.
3. Lead has an irritating effect upon a part of the central motor apparatus, probably the medulla and cerebellum; it thus causes peculiar ataxic movements, together with twitchings, spasms and finally convulsions, consciousness and sensation being maintained.
4. Lead irritates certain nervous apparatus situated in the intestinal walls which control the movements of the intestines; thus it produces general contractions and powerful peristaltic movements, attacks of colic, increased sensibility of the whole abdominal region, and sometimes even purging.
5. In large doses, lead acetate has a depressant effect upon the secretion of bile.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Silent melancholy and dejection.
2. Patient has great anguish and feels uneasy, sighs.
3. Anxiety, with restlessness and yawning.
4. Weariness and dislike to conversation and labour. Weariness of life.
5. Patient is discouraged.
6. Weakness or loss of memory. Slow perception, increasing apathy.
7. Patient is unable to find proper words while talking.
8. Imbecility. Dementia. Mania. Delirium, alternating with colic. Fury.
9. Frantic delirium (bites, strikes), sometimes with a demented aspect.
10. Dread of assassination, poisoning; thinks everyone around is a murderer.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Emaciation: Excessive and rapid emaciation; general or partial paralysis; extreme, with anaemia and great weakness.

Muscular atrophy: Muscular atrophy from sclerosis of the spinal system.

Face: Skin of face – greasy, shiny.

Lead, bad effects of: There is a distinct blue line along the margin of gums; gums swollen, pale, show a lead coloured line.

Abdominal pain: There is excessive pain in the abdomen, radiating to all parts of the body.

Sensation as if: Sensation in abdomen at night, which causes patient to stretch violently for hours; must stretch in every direction.

Violent colic: Sensation as if abdominal wall was drawn by a string to the spine.

intussusception: With colic and faecal vomiting; strangulated hernia – femoral, inguinal or umbilical.

Constipation: Stools are hard, lumpy, black, like sheep dung, with urging and terrible pain from spasm of anus. There is obstructed evacuation from indurated faeces, dryness of excretions, paralysis or muscular atony; during pregnancy; from impaction of faeces.

Bright’s disease: Abdominal colic; abdomen is retracted; rapid emaciation; excessive debility; contracted kidney.

Pregnancy complaints: Feels a lack of room for foetus in uterus; inability of uterus to expand; threatening abortion.

Clonic spasms: Clonic, tonic spasms from cerebral sclerosis or tumour; epilepsy or epileptiform convulsions.

Jaundice: There is yellow skin, dark brown ‘liver spots’ during climacteric years; jaundice – the eyes, skin and urine are yellow.

Important Characteristic Features

Constipation, intussusception: Constipation is a common and well known feature of Plumbum. Constipation, colic and abdominal symptoms are commonly associated. Constipated stools are hard, lumpy, like sheep’s dung, with urging and terrible pain from constriction or spasms of anus; knotty faeces, in the form of balls. No matter how much the patient strains, he cannot expel the stool. Constriction of intestines; navel and anus violently retracted. Excessive pain in abdomen radiating from thence to all parts of the body. Severe colic; contracted abdomen; bends backward, motor nerves most affected. Rumbling and flatulence in abdomen. Impaction of faeces.

General Modalities

Aggravation: At night, from motion.

Amelioration: Rubbing, hard pressure, physical exertion.

Remedy Relationships

Antidotes: Plat; Alum; Petrol.

Follows well: Ars, Bell, Lyc, Merc, Phos, Puls, Sil, Sulph.

Comparison

Memory impacted: Anac, Bar-c, Plb.

Pains are worse from slightest touch but better from hard pressure: Chin, Caps, Plb.

Face – oily, shiny, as if greased: Nat-m, Plb, Thuj.

Vomiting with impacted or obstructed bowels: Op, Pyrog, Plb.

Dosage: 3x to 200 and higher potencies.

Repetition: Low potencies are to be repeated. High potencies are to be given in single doses.

Therapeutic Value: Albuminuria, Apoplexy, Brights disease, Chorea, Constipation, Diphtheria, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, intussusception, Marasmus, Spasm, Tonsillitis, Vomiting.