• Defective vitality. Impending brain paralysis
• Convulsions with pale face and no heat
• All the complaints are better by menstrual flow
• Ravenous hunger at 11 am

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Zinc
Formula: Zn
Prover: Dr Hahnemann and his associates
Duration of Action: 30 to 40 days
Miasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Nervous
Thermal Relationship: Patient is chilly in general

Introduction and History: Zincum metallicum is a polychrest of very high order. It is an element belonging to the magnesium group. It was first introduced into our materia medica by Dr Franz, but the real proving was done by Dr Hahnemann himself. It is an immortal monument of our master, a monument that has been built on the solid foundation of innumerable lives, which it has saved in the past; a monument eternal and enduring, as with age, it will solidify further having lessened the toll on human lives which time demands of mankind. Zincum metallicum is a great remedy for nervous affections. Burt says, ‘What iron is to blood, zinc is to nerves.’

Description: It is a bluish-white metal. It has a crystalline structure or a fine gray powder free from all but small aggregates. It is soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulphuric acid. It is insoluble in water as well as in alcohol. It yields a reaction characteristic of zinc.

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

Constitution and Physiognomy

1. It is best suited to all fagged conditions, that is, conditions in which tissues are worn out faster than they can be repaired. Defective vitality.
2. Anaemic, brain exhausted and dropsical.

Ailments From: Grief, anger, fright, overwork, night watching, operation, frostbite, suppression of eruptions, otorrhoea, menses, lochia, milk.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Brain, nerves, spine, blood, occiput, orbits, cerebrospinal system, digestive system, kidneys, etc.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. It acts on the cerebrospinal nervous system producing a picture of cerebral depression. ‘Fag’, brain-fag and nerve-fag; a condition of erythrism in brain, medulla oblongata and spinal cord.
2. It acts on blood causing anaemia and lessens the number of red blood cells.
3. Acts on the digestive system with abnormal appetite and causes constipation or diarrhoea.
4. Acts on kidneys exhibiting congestion and defective absorption of threshold substances. Sugar and albumin appear in urine.
5. Acts on skin causing dryness; skin appears shrunken, thickened and with fissures.
6. It acts upon the nerves causing a sensation of formication, as of ants walking over the body.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Unconsciousness, signs of effusion into the brain, feet constantly moving.
2. Mind is slow, weak and tired. Memory is weak; does not remember anything.
3. Comprehension is slow. Before answering any question the patient repeats the question and after sometime, comprehends it and tries to answer.
4. Does not want to talk or work.
5. Very sensitive to noise, easily frightened. Long continued trembling after every motion.
6. Inclination to vehemence. Extraordinarily changeable mood in the morning.
7. Very sad in the evening.
8. Absence of ideas. Incoherent ideas. Dullness of intellect.
9. Child repeats all questions before answering them.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Convulsions: Convulsions during dentition, with a pale face, no heat, except perhaps in occiput, rolling the eyes, gnashing the teeth.

Hunger: Ravenous hunger about 11 to 12 am, great greediness when eating, cannot eat fast enough.

Weakness: Weakness and trembling of extremities; of hands while writing; during menses.

Chorea: Chorea from suppressed eruptions, from fright.

Motion: Automatic motion of hands and head, or one hand and head,

Sweat: Feet sweaty and sore about toes; foetid, suppressed foot sweat; very nervous.

Backache: Backache worse from sitting, better from walking about. Cannot bear back to be touched.

Headache: Headache develops with blindness and ceases with it’s relief.

Relief: Relief from all natural discharges; general amelioration by menstrual flow.

Intolerance: Great intolerance of wine, even a small quantity aggravates all the troubles.

Desires: Desire for food between 11 to 12 am.

Aversions: Great aversion to wine, meat and sweets.

Hasty: Hasty eating and drinking is very characteristic.

Fidgety: Increased and violent fidgety feeling in feet and lower extremities; must move them constantly.

Chilly: Patient in general is chilly, worse from cold and is sensitive to cold.

Sexual excitement: Strong sexual desire with difficult or too speedy emission. Constant erections at night. In females, irresistible sexual desire at night may lead to onanism.

Spinal affections: Burning along with whole length of spine.

Characteristic Particular Symptoms

Convulsions: Caused due to cerebral affections; paralysis of brain, during dentitional period in children, from suppression of eruptions, fright and effusion into ventricles. Trembling and jerking of single muscles. The patient cries out during sleep; whole body jerks while sleeping. The patient wakes up frightened, rolls the head from side to side, bores the head into the pillow; face alternately pale and red, pale face, no heat, except perhaps at the occiput; rolling of eyes and gnashing the teeth. There is automatic motion of the hands and head or one hand and head. Incipient brain diseases in children.

Headache: Feels as if he would fall to the left side. Headache from the smallest quantity of wine. Hydrocephalus. Rolls head from side to side. Bores head into the pillow. Occipital pain, with weight on vertex. Automatic motion of head and hands. Brain fag; headache of overtaxed school children. Forehead cool; base of brain hot. Roaring in head. Starting in fright.

Female complaints: Ovarian pain, especially left; cannot keep still. Nymphomania in lying in women, menses too late and suppressed, suppressed lochia. Breasts painful, all symptoms better during menstrual flow. All the female symptoms are associated with restlessness, depression, coldness, spinal tenderness and restless feet. Dry cough before and during menses.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Wine, exhaustion, menstrual period, touch, between 5 to 7 pm.

Amelioration: Motion, appearance of discharges, expectoration, menses, emissions, hard pressure, warm open air.

Remedy Relationships

Complementary : Calc-p in hydrocephalus.

Follows well : Hep, Ign, Puls, Sep, Sulph.

Antidotal : Camph, Hep.

Antidotes to : Bar-c, Cham.

Inimical : Cham, Nux-v.

Compare : Hell, Tub.

Comparison

Twitching and jerking of single muscles: Agar, Ign, Zinc.

Incipient brain diseases from suppressed eruptions: Hell, Tub, Zinc.

Vital dynamis too weak to develop exanthema: Cupr, Sulph, Zinc.

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

Dosage: Lowest to highest potencies. In suppressed conditions, 200c and above.

Repetition: Single dose of high potency is the rule.

Note: Chamamilla and Nux vomica, should not be used before and after Zincum metallicum.

Therapeutic Value: Abdominal and gastric disorders, Alcoholism, Brain affection, Brain fag, Chilblains, Convulsion, Diarrhoea, Eye affections, Epilepsy, Fatigue, Headache, Meningitis, Nerve weakness, Paralysis, Restless legs, Suppressions especially eruptions and foot Sweat.