Lacticum acidum
Lactic acid (2-hydroxypropanoic acid) · Human-made/chemical
Lacticum Acidum is suited to pale, anaemic women suffering from morning sickness of pregnancy. The patient has voracious hunger and thirst with nausea that is better from eating. Rheumatic weakness, trembling, and chilliness of the limbs are characteristic features alongside diabetic urine.
Key symptoms
- Morning sickness especially in pale anaemic women
- Nausea better from eating
- Hot, acrid eructation with burning hot gas from stomach to throat
- Dry, parched tongue with voracious hunger and thirst
- Copious salivation and water-brash (canker)
- Large quantities of saccharine urine passed frequently
- Rheumatic pain in joints including shoulders, wrists, and knees with much weakness
- Pain in breasts with enlargement of axillary glands extending into hand
- Fullness or lump in throat like a puff ball, with constriction low down
Worse (aggravation)
- Smoking (burning hot gas worse)
Better (amelioration)
- Eating (nausea better)
Lactic Acid
Morning sickness, diabetes, and rheumatism offer a field for this remedy. Troubles in the breasts. Locally, in the tuberculous ulceration of vocal cords.
Stomach
Tongue dry, parched. Thirst; voracious hunger. Canker, copious salivation and water-brash. Nausea; morning sickness, especially in pale anæmic women. Hot, acrid eructation. Nausea; better, eating. Burning, hot gas from stomach to throat, causing profuse secretion of tenacious mucus, worse smoking.
Throat
Fullness or lump like a puff ball. Keeps swallowing. Constricted low down.
Chest
Pain in breasts, with enlargement of axillary glands, and pain extends into hand.
Extremities
Rheumatic pain in joints and shoulders, wrists, knees, with much weakness. Trembling of whole body while walking. Limbs feel chilly.
Urine
Large quantities passed, frequently. Saccharine.
Relationship
Compare: Sarcolactic acid q v. Lithia; Phos ac.
Dose
Third to thirtieth potency. Six to ten drops in a small glass of water in acute gastro-enteritis (Cartier).
Lactic Acid. Milk Acid. HC3 H5 O3. Dilution.
Clinical
Bones, swelling of. Diabetes. Foot-sweat. Indigestion. Pregnancy, sickness of. Rheumatism. Sciatica. Throat, constricted, sore. Vomiting.
Characteristics
Lactic acid "was discovered by Scheele in sour milk, the result of the spontaneous fermentation of sugar of milk, under the influence of casein. It is also met with in many vegetable products which have turned sour" (Hering). Reisig introduced it into homœopathy. It has been proved in both the lower and higher attenuations, but many valuable observations have been made on patients taking substantial doses for diabetes (C. D. P.). In these cases the symptoms of rheumatic fever were directly traced to the acid. Pain, swelling, and stiffness and tenderness of joints < by motion (as with Bry., which antidotes Lact. ac.), and flying pains about limbs. One prover had pain along the right sciatic nerve. The well-known effects of milk that has soured on the stomach and remained undigested were …
Urinary Organs
Diabetes, especially if accompanied with rheumatic pain and swelling of joints.
Generalities
Rheumatism of the joints with frequent desire to urinate, large quantities of urine.
Phatak's chapter on Lacticum acidum is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
