From Common salt to Natrum mur:-
NATRUM MURIATICUM, a homeopathic remedy, as many of you may know is derived from our very own common salt. Of course, it’s not the same. When run through a process of homeopathic potentisation it sheds off it’s material nature and transforms into it’s therapeutic self.
At this point, I would like to share my experience of an interesting acute prescription of Natrum
muriaticum. For a homeopath, the learning is never complete and I believe that’s what makes the
journey more interesting. The moment I think I know everything, that will be a full stop. On the contrary, I would prefer to put a comma there, always.
Was this patient always a case of Natrum muriaticum?
I don’t think so. In fact, I never did a proper long case take of this person, firstly because there was no opportunity and secondly it didn’t happen. This could be attributed to the fact that he is part of my friends/family circle. To add to this, he never recalls having taken homeopathic treatment as a child. So he wasn’t a believer to start with, or he wasn’t aware to say the least.
Acute symptoms were taken at several occasions as was the need, prescriptions were made and the symptoms relieved too. The patient felt better every time and in due course, the inclination towards homeopathy also grew.
Once, I referred him to a popular homeopath for a proper case take and he was prescribed the remedy Nux Vomica.
Patient as a person:-
A little later in my life, with the Kingdom(plant, animal, mineral and so on) and Sub class understanding, I knew that he was perhaps not a Nux Vomica. You must understand that I had the opportunity to know him and observe him closely on several occasions.
He was not the fight/flight type of person. Instead, he would withdraw into his self totally just like the subclass 1 remedies. That was the observation.
The constitutional remedy:-
The patient was an introverted, angry constitution. Very impatient. Extremely sensitive to criticism. Very easily offended but will not react, keeps control. Suppressed anger.
His work involves a lot of control, perfection and ‘he has to keep things in control so the operation runs smoothly’ (the miasm understanding-the cancer miasm; for the purpose of this article, let me say, miasm is the coping mechanism or in short, the miasm determines the individual’s reactions in life). He has a high reputation at work especially of being a superior, calm and dignified person. At some point, he was given Staphysagria 200.
Follow-up:-
He is quite a changed person now to what he was before. Now he says that he wants to talk about things. The best part is that he has insight into his emotions now.
Other complaints:-
During the recent pandemic months, he fell unconscious at work, very briefly and was taken to the nearby hospital. The ECG detected Sinus bradycardia. Other tests reported as quite normal.
It’s important to note that the remedy Staphysagria covers the bradycardia as well.
Staphysagria patients are not outwardly egoistic. Dr. Rajan Sankaran says that these are the soft, quiet,
reserved, often humble-looking individuals but have the strong need to be treated with honour and respect.
In a particular situation, the patient presented complete loss of voice which lasted a few days and Staphysagria 200 was repeated. The voice was restored soon after.
We must note that the remedy has the symptom, ‘Voice lost during anger’.
The acute scenario in consideration:-
We have just arrived at the topic of discussion here. The patient returned from a month-long holiday. He reported becoming sick on the nine-hour flight journey back. Once in the UK, he felt a little better and resumed work as was true to his nature. He would never miss work.
Within a few days, the complaints returned in full vigour. The symptoms included vomiting and loose stools. A dose of Staphysagria 200 was given in water.
The vomiting and loose stools stopped soon after. But there was extreme fatigue. I have never seen him
walk so slowly and taking small steps with difficulty. He was advised a good rest and a healthy diet, with no dairy but a lot of fluids.
The obstinate headache that refused to go:-
He still lay down and complained of headache. I reassured him that this should go too. However, he did not look happy and kept suffering from the headache. The headache lasted almost four days. I wondered as to why the constitutional remedy, that I had given for more ailments in the past was not having an impact on the headache this time. He was not saying anything but kept a sad face.
Finally, I decided to retake the symptoms again. I sat down beside him one evening and asked him to explain the exact symptoms. ‘Tell me exactly what it feels like?’
There were a few answers that seemed to go nowhere. I persisted.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and his fingers with the thumb opposed went around his head, as if
hammering the head. He said that’s exactly how he felt.
There, the remedy was! Clearly, in front of my eyes! I have read it in the textbooks, a number of times,
but never saw anyone act it out in front of me.
A valuable single remedy rubric:-
Pain, headache; hammering; thousand little hammers, as of: NAT-M
What a beauty! Our own common salt! How beautifully displayed and above all it’s a single-remedy rubric.
I looked at my remedy kit and the Natrum muriaticum 2ooc bottle. There was literally, no drop visibly left. It just occurred to me to do as to what I can at that moment. I added some water into the bottle and gave him a full mouthful of that. Within an hour the headache began to shift and it was soon gone.
The remedy was soon ordered and a dose administered later even though, there was no headache.
Conclusion:-
Though the constitutional remedy appeared to be Staphysagria, the acute state remedy was Natrum muriaticum, our common salt. Natrum mur patients not only retain water but also their emotions.
They do not forget easily, they keep brooding upon their complaints.
There is a lot of suppression. The person is dependent on a one-on-one relationship, is unhappy with that, but will never leave the relationship.
However, all the above becomes more important in a chronic case take.
It’s time to take a proper homeopathic case take soon 🙂
Note:- A recent prescription of Natrum Mur:- A child, one and half years old, presented with loose stools and fever. The acute symptoms covered Natrum mur, but the prescription was finalised on this one characteristic symptom. “The child has a resentment at being interfered with”(Borland.D, children’s types).