Phosphoricum acidum
Phosphoric acid · Phosphoric acid, glacial phosphoric acid, orthophosphoric acid. · Mineral
Phosphoric ac. is especially suited to mild, calm, gentle people who tend to be sensitive and emotionally dependent on others. When in good health, they are usually strong, but their constitutions are easily undermined by debilitating illness, emotional trauma, homesickness, or repeated drug abuse, leading to severe exhaustion.
Profuse perspiration and chilliness are typical symptoms, as are loss of appetite and a craving for refreshing drinks and juicy fruits. The remedy is used for acute grief or stress, severe exhaustion, diarrhea, and headaches. It is also given for childhood growing pains and insomnia or exam nerves.
Key symptoms
- ailments that are triggered by grief
- fatigue
- apathy
- chilliness
- cravings for fruits and juicy foods
Worse (aggravation)
- exertion
- from being talked to
- loss of vital fluids
- sexual excesses. Everything impeding circulation causes aggravation of symptoms
Better (amelioration)
- from keeping warm
Phosphoric Acid
The common acid "debility" is very marked in this remedy, producing a nervous exhaustion. Mental debility first; later physical. A congenial soil for the action of Phos acid is found in young people who grow rapidly, and who are overtaxed, mentally or physically. Whenever the system has been exposed to the ravages of acute disease, excesses, grief, loss of vital fluids, we obtain conditions calling for it. Pyrosis, flatulence, diarrhœa, diabetes, rhachitis and periosteal inflammation. Neurosis in stump, after amputation. Hæmorrhages in typhoid. Useful in relieving pain of cancer.
Mind
Listless. Impaired memory (Anac). Apathetic, indifferent. Cannot collect his thoughts or find the right word. Difficult comprehension. Effects of grief and mental shock. Delirium, with great stupefaction. Settled despair.
Head
Heavy; confused. Pain as if temples were crushed together. Worse, shaking or noise. Crushing headache. Pressure on top. Hair gray early in life; falls out. Dull headache after coition; from eye-strain (Nat m). Vertigo toward evening, when standing or walking. Hair thins out, turns gray early.
Eyes
Blue rings around. Lids inflamed and cold. Pupils dilated. Glassy appearance. Averse to sunlight; sees colors as if a rainbow. Feel too large. Amblyopia in masturbators. Optic nerves seem torpid. Pain as if eyeballs were forcibly pressed together and into head.
Ears
Roaring, with difficult hearing. Intolerant of noise.
Nose
Bleeding. Bores fingers into nose. Itching.
Mouth
Lips dry, cracked. Bleeding gums; retract from teeth. Tongue swollen, dry, with viscid, frothy mucus. Teeth feel cold. At night, bites tongue in voluntarily.
Face
Pale, earthy; feeling of tension as from dried albumen. Sensation of coldness of one side of face.
Stomach
Craves juicy things. Sour risings. Nausea. Symptoms following sour food and drink. Pressure as from a weight, with sleepiness after eating (Fel tauri). Thirst for cold milk.
Abdomen
Distention and fermentation in bowels. Enlarged spleen (Ceanoth). Aching in umbilical region. Loud rumbling.
Stool
Diarrhœa, white, watery, involuntary, painless, with much flatus; not specially exhausting. Diarrhœa in weakly, delicate rachitic children.
Urine
Frequent, profuse, watery, milky. Diabetes. Micturition, preceded by anxiety and followed by burning. Frequent urination at night. Phosphaturia.
Male
Emissions at night and at stool. Seminal vesiculitis (Oxal acid). Sexual power deficient; testicles tender and swollen. Parts relax during embrace (Nux). Prostatorrhœa, even when passing a soft stool. Eczema of scrotum. Œdema of prepuce, and swollen glans-penis. Herpes preputialis. Sycotic excrescences (Thuja).
Female
Menses too early and profuse, with pain in liver. Itching; yellow leucorrhœa after menses. Milk scanty; health deteriorated from nursing.
Respiratory
Chest troubles develop after brain-fag. Hoarseness. Dry cough from tickling in chest. Salty expectoration. Difficult respiration. Weak feeling in chest from talking (Stann). Pressure behind the sternum, rendering breathing difficult.
Heart
Palpitation in children who grow too fast; after grief, self-abuse. Pulse irregular, intermittent.
Back
Boring pain between scapulæ. Pain in back and limbs, as if beaten.
Extremities
Weak. Tearing pains in joints, bones, and periosteum. Cramps in upper arms and wrists. Great debility. Pains at night, as if bones were scraped. Stumbles easily and makes missteps. Itching, between fingers or in folds of joints.
Skin
Pimples, acne, blood-boils. Ulcers, with very offensive pus. Burning red rash. Formication in various parts. Falling out of the hair (Nat mur; Selen). Tendency to abscess after fevers.
Sleep
Somnolency. Lascivious dreams with emissions.
Fever
Chilliness. Profuse sweat during night and morning. Low types of fever, with dull comprehension ans stupor.
Modalities
Better, from keeping warm. Worse, exertion, from being talked to; loss of vital fluids; sexual excesses. Everything impeding circulation causes aggravation of symptoms.
Relationship
Compare: Œnothera biennis-Evening primrose--(Effortless diarrhœa with nervous exhaustion. Incipient hydrocephaloid. Whooping-cough and spasmodic asthma). Nectranda amare (Watery diarrhœa, dry tongue, colic, bluish ring around sunken eyes, restless sleep). China; Nux. Pic ac; Lactic ac; Phos.
Antidotes: Coffea.
Dose
First potency.
Mind
"Mental enfeeblement" is the thought that will come into the mind when considering what the Phosphoric acid patient says, does and looks.
The mind seems tired. When questioned he answers slowly or does not speak, but only looks at the questioner. He is too tired to talk or even think. He says:
"Don't talk to me; let me alone."
This state is found in both acute and chronic diseases. He is so tired in mind, perfectly exhausted.
In chronic diseases when brought on from long study; prolonged worry in business men; in feeble school girls, when become relaxed from very little effort. In acute diseases he, especially in typhoid fever, is averse to speaking or answering questions. He merely looks. Finally he rouses up and says:
Phosphoric acid. H3PO4. Dilution. (The dilute acid of B. P. forms the homœopathic 1x. In U.S. the first solution is made of glacial Phosphoric Acid.)
Clinical
Amblyopia. Asthma. Boils. Brain-fag. Bronchitis; capillary. Chancre. Chilblains. Cholera. Climacteric flushes and vertigo. Coccygodynia. Condylomata. Corns. Cough. Coxalgia. Debility. Diabetes. Diarrhœa. Dyspepsia. Emissions. Enteric fever. Enuresis. Feet, sore. Flatulence. Ganglion. Gout. Gravel. Hair, falling off. Headache; of school children. Hectic. Herpes. Hip-joint disease. Home-sickness. Impotence. Joints, scrofulous. Lactation defective. Levitation. Lienteria. Locomotor ataxy. Love, disappointed. Masturbation. Mental weakness. Mercurial syphilis. Navel, pains in. Neurasthenia. Nymphomania. Osteo-myelitis. Perspiration, profuse. Phosphaturia. Physometra. Pimples. Pregnancy, diarrhœa of; nausea of. Prepuce, warts on. Psoas abscess. Puerperal eclampsia. Purpura. Rheumatism. Sciatica. Scurvy. Self-abuse. Spermatorrhœa. Spinal …
Glacial Phosphoric Acid. (HPO3.)
Best suited to persons of originally strong constitutions, who have become debilitated by loss of vital fluids, sexual excesses (Cinch.); violent acute diseases; chagrin, or a long succession of moral emotions, as grief, care, disappointed affection. Ailments: from care, chagrin, grief, sorrow, homesickness (Ign.); sleepy, disposed to weep; night-sweats towards morning. Pale sickly complexion, eyes sunken and surrounded by blue margins. Mild yielding disposition (Puls.). Is listless, apathetic; indifferent to the affairs of life; prostrated and stupefied with grief; to those things that used to be of most interest, especially if there be debility and emaciation. Delirium: muttering, unintelligible; lies in a stupor, or a stupid sleep, unconscious of all that is going on around him; when aroused is fully conscious, answers slowly and correctly and relapses into stupor. In children and young people who grow too rapidly (Cal., Cal. p.); pains in back and limbs as if beaten. …
Mind
Very weak, and indifferent to the affairs of life; listless; apathetic.
Mind
Ailments from grief (chronic) or disappointed love. Apathetic, listless.
Head
School girls, headache from overused eyes.
Head
Occipital headache and pains in the nape of the neck, from exhausted nerve power, or excessive grief.
Abdomen
Meteoric distension of the abdomen with rumbling and gurgling.
Anus and Stool
Clammy, sticky tongue; abdomen much bloated; great rumbling in the bowels; and painless watery diarrhoea (in cholera epidemics). (J. C. M.)
Anus and Stool
White or gray watery diarrhoea.
Anus and Stool
Copious watery diarrhoea, with rumbling in the bowels.
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Perfect indifference, difficult comprehension; imbecility.
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Bones of the skull feel as if someone had scraped the swollen and tender periosteum with, a knife.
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Hair turns gray early, or flaxen, falls off especially after grief or sorrow.
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Yellow spots on the whites of the eyes.
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Red streak in middle of tongue, widens in front.
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Diarrhoea, not debilitating, though of long continuance.
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Pain in the liver during menstruation.
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Ailments from growing too fast.
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Bad effects from onanism, sexual excess, grief, sorrow, homesickness or unfortunate love.
Phatak's chapter on Phosphoricum acidum is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
