Plumbum Metallicum (HMT)

📖 Plumbum Metallicum (HMT) Introduction

In Latin, the metal lead is called Plumbum. Some paint used to decorate the houses contains lead. Ev en after the paint dries, the lead particles remain suspended in the air. Those who are allergic to lead will develop an allergy as soon as th ey enter a room treated with lead- containing paint. They will develop severe abdominal pain as if the abdomen is tightly squeezed. Even if the patient is not allergic to lead, a severe type of abdominal pain will benefit from Plumbum. A special symptom of Plumbum is related to the gums i.e., a blue line (lead line) appears on the gums below the teeth. It darkens with the passage of time. Plumbum is the best treatment for muscular spasms . Besides this, if the hand becomes paralysed resulting in wrist drop (which may be due to an excessive use of the hand for writing), and the patient has the basic symptoms of Plumbum, th en Plumbum acts extraordinarily fast against this condition. A Plumbum patient is often very slow and lazy. He appears somewhat mentally as well as psychologically deficient . When questioned, the patient either responds after a pause or just repeats the question. Plumbum is ideal for the treatment of delayed response. Sometimes while deeply lost in his thoughts, a person may not listen to a lightly utte red question, but will become aware of the question a little later, when his mind receives the message recorded earlier and wakes him up. Then he will ask what the matter was. Although a delayed response should not only be taken as a sign of Plumbum ailment, nevertheless, a Plumbum pa tient always reacts slowly. In fact, his perception of pain is also very slow and dela yed. Therefore, there is always a danger that by the time such a patient comes to realise the pain, he may have alre ady been seriously hurt. Luckily, only full-fledged Plumbum patients exhibit this symptom. A Plumbum patient understands the matter, but it takes time to register in his mind. The nerves carrying th e pain sensation become slow in transmitting the pain message. Sometimes, this slowly progressive sensory loss may end in complete loss of sensation . The skin becomes numb. The feet and othe r parts of the body may gradually become insensitive and lifeless. When the disease progresses further, the patient becomes physically weak and is ultimately reduced to looking like a skeleton covered with loose skin. A special symptom of Plumbum is that the painful part of the body ultimately becomes wasted . This symptom is also found in other kinds of paralyses. Fevers causing paralysis, such as typhoid etc., weaken the affected part but this weakness is not due to the pain. Typhoid sometimes paralyses the legs or arms but there is no pain associated with it. However, in Plumbum, there is always some pain in the part that is paralysed. In such a situation, immediate treatment with Plumbum should be started. Plum bum is also very useful in the treatment of sciatica . If other symptoms of it are also present then one must always treat the patient w ith Plumbum first. Whenever the limbs become flabby, painful and weak due to paralysis, then Plumbum will be found to be an effective treatment. Piano players often develop paralysis of the finger joints . Their fingers become weak and frail. Fo r this condition, two remedies are very famous, i.e. Plumbum and Curare. Curare is an extremely dangerous poison causing paralysis. Rhus Tox is a very effective remedy for the rapidly developing ill e ffects of paralysis. When used in the beginning of the disease, it immediately produces a positive response. However, if the use of Rhus Tox is delayed then it does not fully benefit the patient unless comb ined with Sulphur. Rhus Tox is relatively weak and a slow acting tr eatment. In contrast to Rhus Tox, Plumbum is a strong and a long- acting homoeopathic remedy. Treatment by alternating Sulphur with Rhus Tox increases the effectiveness of Rhus Tox. I al ternate Rhus Tox with Sulphur. Sulphur activates the immune body sy stem, while Rhus Tox cures the paralysis. By the grace of God, many chronic patients of polio have benefited greatly from this prescription. Rhus Tox is deeply related to paralysis. Although homoeopathic doc tors do not usually use it for the treatment of chronic paralysis, although, it is a very useful remedy provided it is alternated with Sulphur. The Plumbum patient suffers from severe constipation. The stools are hard, rounded and difficult to be excreted. Often, ulcers form in the rectum. The rectum may need to be evacuated digitally or with instruments. The reason for the pr oblem is that the circular muscle fibres in the wall of the intestines become paralysed and lose the strength to push the faecal matter on wards. This paralytic condition slowly becomes worse and the cons tipation becomes more severe and chronic. Such constipation should be patiently treated with Plumbum, over a long period. Full results of the treatment show up in about fifteen days of the treatment. Th ose diseases that develop slowly, must respond to the treatment relatively slowly. However, sometimes the homoeopathic treatment may produce immediate response, e.g. the relief of griping pain and sp asmodic pain in the abdomen . In homoeopathy, the effects of a poiso n which appear immediately can be cured equally fast by treatment with the homoeopathic potency of the same poison. In Plumbum, due to the paralysis of the bladder wall, the patient loses stre ngth to void urine, re sulting in retention of urine. Urine continues to collect in the bladder and then excreted drop by drop (retention with overflow). This is not related to the prostate; rather the condition is due to the paralysis of the bladder wall. The symptoms of the two diseases (bladder weakness and enlarged prostate) are obviously different. Ur inary stoppage is not necessarily due to only one cause. When urination stops after delivery of a child, then Causticum happens to be the most ideal treatment. If this condition develops after an operation, then Strontium Carb is better. Plumbum also can be effective if the kidneys stop functioning due to sudden shock. Plumbum stirs up the kidney function. One symptom of Plumbum is that wh atever kind of food is taken, it produces acidity in the stomach, lead ing to severe vomiting. Usually the partially digested food with the gastric secretions passes on to the small intestines within three hours. If the stomach fails to empty itself within this period, then the food star ts rotting in the stomach. This produces acidity and foul smelling belches. Acidity in the stomach can also be caused by decreased peri staltic movement of the intestine and the resulting stasis. Plumbum is the best remedy in this condition. In Plumbum, the vomited material is either dark in colour or greenish and is sometimes mixed w ith blood. The function of the stomach and liver becomes deranged. The stomach feels full and heavy. The belly button becomes retracted. Plumbum is famous for the gradually progressive weakness of the muscles (progressive muscular dystr ophy). There are two to three different remedies useful in this disease. Opium and Kali Phos are also good remedies for this disease. When treating with Kali Phos, the dose should be increased graduall y. In progressive muscular dystrophy, the neurons in the central pa rt of the brain responsible for the voluntary control of the muscle s start to die. There is no known cure for this disease. The patien ts slowly become more and more weak and often die before attaining the prime of their youth. Even if they remain alive, their life is very miserable. Progressive muscular dystrophy being a hereditary disease, sometimes all the children may be affected. No definite cure ha s yet been found for the disease. However, the patients obtain some relief with homoeopathic treatment. Occasional rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) alo ng with convulsions, benefit from Plumbum. For a s udden feeling of the heart being squeezed, Cactus Grandiflora is the best remedy. Plumbum is said to be capable of treating the bad habit of cheating and dishonesty . If this is true, then it should be used freely throughout the world! Plumbum is a good remedy for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases associated with loss of albumin and sugar in the urine . Plumbum improves the function of the kidney tubules and helps retain both the albumin and the sugar. The symptoms of Plumbum also resemble those of Opium. In apoplexy, there is sudden rush of bl ood towards the head, which can result in cerebral haemorrhage. The face becomes congested with blood, and the pupils of the eyes become dilated. These symptoms often lead to death. Arnica and Op ium given in high potency at the onset of the symptoms proves very useful. It is also necessary to treat the patient of Plumbum with high doses of Plumbum. Both Opium and Plumbum show their effects at the same time. Dr. Kent states that the treatment should first be star ted with Opium and later Plumbum should be added to the treatment. This is correct be cause the initial symptoms of the disease resemble those of Opium. Two other remedies are also considered very useful in the treatment of apoplexy. If there are multiple red bleeds, then Phosphorus is better but Alumina is also famous for the treatment of this condition. Painful severe cramps of the legs in the evening, which get relieved on movement and by application of local pressure, can possibly be treated with Plumbum. A lightni ng type of undulating pain is a symptom of Plumbum, which is also found in Causticum and Caulophyllum. With regards to cold and heat, the nature of Plumbum resembles Psorinum i.e. the patient is very sensitive to cold. He keeps himself covered with a blanket even during su mmer. Like Arnica, the head of the patient is warm and there is a tendency to form blood clots. Often, blisters develop between the toes of the feet . Besides Plumbum, Sulphur is also very useful for such boils. If gangrene develops in the fingers or toes, or knots form in the feet, then also Plumbum will be effective if the patient is of the constitution of Plumbum. Plumbum is also very good for the treatment of the swelling of the glands beneath the tongue (sublingu al salivary glands). The tendency towards severe body jolts and locking of the jaw , the paralysis of the muscles in the wall of th e windpipe and the food pipe (oesophagus), resulting in the entry of the food into the air passage and choking due to water or food entering the windpipe or nose, are all the symptoms of Plumbum. Symptoms of many other remedies related to paralysis are also found in Plumbum. Sometimes, the severe abdominal colic rel ated to Plumbum leads to a tendency towards delirium. The patient feels as if a painful ball is moving from the throat up, towards the brain. The hair become dry, pupils constrict and the eyes become yellow. Sometimes, the patient may suddenly become unconscious and blinded. The face becomes pale, the cheeks wrinkle, and the skin becomes greasy and shiny with the formation of dark brown spots. In Plumbum, the symptoms aggrav ate at night and with movement, while they ameliorate with local pressure Antidotes: Alumina, Petroleum, Platinum Potency: 30 to 200, 1000 or even CM