Kreosotum
Beechwood creosote (phenolic distillate of wood tar) · Creosote · Human-made/chemical
A temperamental state is typical of people who respond best to Kreosotum. They may also be forgetful, peevish, sensitive to music, and restless at night. A tendency to dwell on the past is characteristic, as are dreams of sexual intercourse and a fear of being raped.
The classic symptom picture associated with Kreosotum is of mucous membranes that become inflamed, suppurate, and then break down and bleed, particularly in the vagina, the cervix, and the uterus. The remedy is given for offensive-smelling discharges from the mucous membranes that burn the skin and cause itching and swelling, and it may help when urine burns the skin on contact. It may be prescribed for particular problems before and after menstruation, such as bleeding between cycles and heavy, offensive-smelling menstrual flow that burns the skin on contact. Candidiasis may also respond to the remedy, as may enuresis (bed-wetting).
Key symptoms
- Very rapid decay of teeth with spongy, bleeding gums
- Very painful dentition; child will not sleep
- Excoriating, burning, offensive discharges from all orifices
- Profuse bleeding from small wounds; haemorrhagic tendency
- Neuralgic pains aggravated by rest
- Post-climacteric diseases; cancerous and ulcerative affections
- Pulsations all over the body
- Ailments of teething children; overgrown poorly developed children
- Rapid decomposition of fluids and secretions
- Music causes weeping and palpitation
Worse (aggravation)
Better (amelioration)
Beechwood Kreosote
Kreosotum is a mixture of phenols obtained from this distillation.
Pulsations all over the body, and profuse bleeding from small wounds. Very severe, old neuralgic affections; pains rather aggravated by rest. Excoriating, burning, and offensive discharges. Hæmorrhages, ulcerations, cancerous affections. Rapid decomposition of fluids and secretions, and burning pains. Overgrown, poorly developed children. Post-climacteric diseases. Tumefaction, puffiness, gangrene. Ailings of teething children.
Mental
Music causes weeping and palpitation. Vanishing of thought; stupid, forgetful, peevish, irritable. Child wants everything but throws it away when given.
Head
Dull pain, as from a board pressing against forehead. Menstrual headache. Occipital pain (Gels; Zinc pic).
Eyes
Salty lachrymation. Lids red and swollen.
Ears
Eruption around and pimples within. Difficult hearing and buzzing.
Face
Sick, suffering expression; hot, cheeks red.
Mouth
Lips red, bleeding. Very painful dentition; child will not sleep. Very rapid decay of teeth, with spongy, bleeding gums; teeth dark and crumbly (Staph; Ant c). Putrid odor and bitter taste.
Nose
Offensive smell and discharge. Chronic catarrh of old people. Acrid rawness. Lupus (Ars).
Throat
Burning, choking sensation. Putrid odor.
Stomach
Nausea; vomiting of food several hours after eating; of sweetish water in the morning. Feeling of coldness, as of ice water in stomach. Soreness; better eating. Painful hard spot. Hæmatemesis. Bitter taste after a swallow of water.
Abdomen
Distended. Burning hæmorrhoids. Diarrhœa; very offensive; dark brown. Bloody, fetid stools. Cholera infantum in connection with painful dentition, green stools, nausea, dry skin, exhaustion, etc.
Urine
Offensive. Violent itching of vulva and vagina, worse when urinating. Can urinate only when lying; cannot get out of bed quick enough during first sleep. Dreams of urinating. Enuresis in the first part of night. Must hurry when desire comes to urinate.
Female
Corrosive itching within vulva, burning and swelling of labia; violent itching between labia and thighs. During menses, difficult hearing; buzzing and roaring; eruption after. Burning and soreness in external and internal parts. Leucorrhœa, yellow, acrid; odor of green corn; worse between periods. Hæmorrhage after coition. Menses too early, prolonged. Vomiting of pregnancy, with ptyalism. Menstrual flow intermits (Puls); ceases on sitting or walking; reappears on lying down. Pain worse after menses. Lochia offensive; intermits.
Respiratory
Hoarse, with pain in larynx. Cough; worse evening, with efforts to vomit, with pain in chest. Raw burning in chest; pains and oppression. Cough after influenza (Eriodyction). Winter coughs of old people, with heavy pressure on sternum. Gangrene of lungs. After every cough, copious, purulent expectoration. Hæmoptysis; periodic attacks. Sternum feels pressed in.
Back
Dragging backache, extending to genitals and down thighs. Great debility.
Extremities
Pain in joints, hip and knee. Boring pain in hip-joints. Scapulæ sore.
Skin
Itching, worse towards evening. Burning in soles. Senile gangrene. Small wounds bleed freely (Crot; Lach; Phos). Pustules and herpes. Ecchymosis; dorsal surface of fingers and hands eczematous.
Sleep
Disturbed with tossing. Paralytic sensation in limbs on waking. Anxious dreams of pursuit, fire, erections, etc.
Modalities
Worse, in open air, cold rest, when lying; after menstruation. Better, from warmth, motion, warm diet.
Relationship
Antidote: Nux. Inimical: Carbo.
Complementary in malignant diseases: Ars; Phos; Sulph.
Guaiacol (is the principal constituent of Kreosote, and similar in action. Used in pulmonary tuberculosis. Dose 1 to 5 m).
Matico-Artanthe or Piper augustifolia, (Gonorrhœa, hæmorrhage from lungs; catarrhal conditions of genito-urinary organs and gastro-intestinal tract. Topically a hæmostatic. Difficult, dry, deep, winter cough. Use tincture).
Compare also: Fuligo ligni; Carbol ac; Iod; Laches.
Dose
Third to thirtieth potency. The 200th in sensitive patients.
Characteristics
There are three things that stand out most prominently in Kreosotum, and when they appear together the symptoms in minor degree will be likely to be associated.
These three characteristics are:
When these three things arc associated in a high degree Kreosote should be examined. A prick of a pin will cause the oozing of bright red- blood, and mucous membranes bleed easily. Any pressure upon the mucous membranes will cause oozing.
Bleeding here and there about the body. The lachrymation is excoriating. It excoriates the margins of the lids and checks, and they become red and raw, and smart. If there is a purulent discharge it is acrid. The corners of the lips and mouth are red and raw, and' the saliva burns and smarts. The moisture about the mouth, whatever it may be, excoriates and the mouth is raw. The eyes smart and burn as if raw.
Kreasote or Creasote. A product of distillation of Wood Tar. C8 H10 O2. Solution in Rectified Spirit. [J. Meredith makes dilutions of "the first heavy distillate of hard green wood," which he has named Carbo Pyroligneus.]
Clinical
Acne. Amenorrhœa. Cancer. Carbuncle. Change of life. Cholera infantum. Coccygodynia. Congenital syphilis. Constipation. Consumption. Dentition. Diarrhœa. Ear, affections of. Enuresis. Epithelioma. Eructations. Eruptions. Flushings. Gastromalachia. Glossitis. Hæmorrhages. Hæmorrhagic diathesis. Herpes. Hysterical vomiting. Irritation. Leucorrhœa. Lip, epithelioma of. Lupus. Menstruation, disorders of. Neuralgia. Ovary, affections of. Prostate, irritation of. Pregnancy, vomiting of. Pustules. Rheumatism. Seasickness. Stomach, affections of. Syphilis. Syphilitic deafness. Teeth, caries of. Toothache. Ulcers. Urine, incontinence of. Uterus, affections of. Vomiting. Whooping-cough. Yawning.
Kreosotum. (A Distillation of Wood Tar.)
Dark complexion, slight, lean, ill-developed, poorly nourished, overgrown; very tall for her age (Phos.). Children: old looking, wrinkled (Abrot.); scrofulous or psoric affections; rapid emaciation (Iod.); post climacteric diseases of women (Lach.). Haemorrhagic diathesis; small wounds bleed freely (Crot., Lach., Phos.); flow passive, in epistaxis, haemoptysis, haematuria; in typhoid, followed by great prostration; dark, oozing, after the extraction of a tooth (Ham.). Roaring and humming in ears, with deafness, before and during menses. Corrosive, fetid, ichorous discharges from mucous membranes; vitality greatly depressed. Itching, so violent toward evening as to drive one almost wild (itching, without eruption, Dolichos). Painful dentition; teeth begin to decay as soon as they appear; gums bluish-red, soft, spongy, bleeding, inflamed, scorbutic, ulcerated. Vomiting: of pregnancy, sweetish water with ptyalism; of cholera, during painful dentition; incessant with …
Mouth and Throat
Very painful dentition; teeth begin to decay as soon as they appear.
Urinary Organs
Can only urinate when lying.
Urinary Organs
Child wets bed during first sleep, from which it is roused with great difficulty, it sleeps so soundly.
Female Sexual Organs
Menses flow on lying down, cease on sitting or walking about.
Female Sexual Organs
Lochia offensive, excoriating, intermittent it almost ceases, then begins again.
Female Sexual Organs
Leucorrhoea putrid, acrid, ocrrosive, with great debility.
Generalities
Hemorrhages, profuse, passive. Small wounds bleed much.
Generalities
Profuse, excoriating and offensive secretion or discharges of mucous surfaces generally in debilitated subjects.
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All secretions from mucous surfaces excessively acrid and corrosive in their character.
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Yellow leucorrhoea, staining the linen, causing great soreness and irritation of the parts.
Phatak's chapter on Kreosotum is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
