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ARSENICUM ALBUM
BY
NEIL SLADE PHD
Copyright 2016 Dr Neil Slade PhD
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
Disclaimer: This workbook is intended as an educational aid for students of homeopathy and
naturopathy. It is not intended to be a self-help or treatment guide. Anybody wishing self-help
or homeopathic treatment should first seek medical advice and/or advice from a fully qualified
and registered homeopath or naturopath.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE REMEDY: ARSENICUM ALBUM
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL PICTURE
SOME USEFUL POINT COMPARISONS WITH OTHER SIMILAR REMEDIES
PHYSICAL ARSENICUM ALBUM
FOOD DESIRES AND AVERSIONS
SIDES OF THE BODY
MAIN BETTER FOR (>) AND WORSE FOR (<) MODALITIES
CLASSIC TIME MODALITIES
SOME CHARACTERISTIC SRPS (STRANGE, RARE AND PECULIAR)
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
SOME COMMON THERAPEUTIC INDICATIONS
ARSENICUM ALBUM CRIB CARD
SELF-TEST QUESTIONS
REFERENCE LIST & BIBLIOGRAPHY COMBINED
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
IF YOU LIKED THIS REMEDY MINI WORKBOOK
burning pains, diarrhoea, fever-like symptoms, pallor, chills and sweating. The pains cause
restlessness along with great anxiety of the mind, followed by extreme prostration before death
occurs. Many of these symptoms could be those of gastric fever, hence the easy initial diagnoses of
the causes of death of Mary Ann Cottons victims. The symptoms of arsenic poisoning are also clearly
seen in the remedy picture outlined below. When the police decided to investigate, Mary Ann Cotton
fell foul of another of arsenics characteristics. The bodies of her relatives who had been buried and
were exhumed for examination were in a very good state of preservation due to the preserving
qualities of arsenic (it is lethal to the various bacteria and microorganisms that play a role in the
decomposition of a body). Thus, quantities of arsenic were easily found in their digestive systems.
describe the typical Arsenicum patient as the gold-headed cane patient! Another interesting Poirot
point is that, in him, Christie has written an Arsenicum character par excellence and what was
Christies most popular method for dispatching of her victims in her books? Yes, youve guessed it
arsenic!
Censorious Arsenicum is a complainer. Rarely is anything right for them, unless they have done it
themselves; yet again, this brings us back to the control issues of the remedy. They can be slightly
forgiven for this complaining nature as they also set a high standard for their own tasks. Remember
that Arsenicum is one of the obsessive-compulsive remedies and, as is often seen with the obsessivecompulsive personality trait, exactness and perfection in things are high on the list. Thus they are also
self-critical.
Hypochondria Arsenicum people have huge fears and insecurities relating to their health. These are
the individuals who read something in a book, magazine or on the Internet and think Thats it! Thats
me. Thats what Ive got. They also have a tendency to hang onto their illnesses. The Arsenicum
illness is often special or complex; few people really understand it and even fewer have the
ability to help the patient. (See below about the constant changing of practitioners, therapies and
treatments.) The Arsenicum patient often sees the worst-case scenario of their illness. Innocuous
symptoms can either be interpreted as signs of dire illness or can be exaggerated to make them appear
much more sinister. They are not easily pacified or convinced otherwise the person who tells them
that there is nothing to worry about doesnt know what they are talking about. One of the reasons
behind this hypochondriac tendency is that the Arsenicum patient can often truly believe they are
seriously ill and will probably die. They have a great fear of death, thus they want all signs and
symptoms to be taken very seriously, all possible tests to be carried out and they will move away
from anyone who tells them it is nothing or they are fine and things arent as bad as they think, in
order to find someone who will take them more seriously. Hence their tendency to change
practitioner, etc.
Restless the Arsenicum type cannot settle to anything. They flit from one task to another. Their
minds are constantly running, solving difficulties, anticipating and dealing with problems, working
out a strategy and employing it. Part of their restlessness is also derived from their huge desire to
control everything. They will continually expend energy covering many bases in their lives in their
drive to control things. Remember, loss of control = ANXIETY. The more anxious the Arsenicum
person gets, the more restless they become, especially mentally. Remember also that the Arsenicum
person despairs of any recovery. Their illness is much too complex for anyone to treat, thus we see
restlessness in their need to move from practitioner to practitioner and therapy to therapy. Sometimes
this switching is done benignly, but often the Arsenicum person will complain about the previous
practitioner or therapy, because something will not have been good enough for them. NOTE: the
Arsenicum person will often show physical weakness and great mental restlessness. Physically, they
express their restlessness through fidgeting, moving from chair to chair, not being in one place or one
position for any length of time. Relaxation, especially of the mind, is something that is very difficult
for them.
Fears Arsenicum has many fears but only the more marked ones are mentioned here. There is a huge
fear of death, and as you have seen above this is probably at the root of all the health anxieties this
remedy can show. There is a fear of being poisoned, perhaps not surprising given the source of the
remedy. The Arsenicum patient will often query the remedy you have given them; they will view it
suspiciously and might need some convincing to take it or, indeed, might simply refuse to take it. Fear
of the dark in some Arsenicum cases this can be very marked. I once had a patient who was in the
late stages of their terminal disease and moved into a very clear Arsenicum state; part of this state
was a fear of the dark that they had never had before. When I asked why they thought this fear had
emerged at this point they answered that it was linked to a fear of their death. To them, death equalled
darkness and oblivion, thus when it went dark at night and the lights were out, it acted as an all too
real premonition of their own death.
One of the reasons DEPENDENCY is such a central theme of this remedy is that all of the above
fears are hugely exaggerated when Arsenicum is alone. They require people around them; it is almost
as if these people give Arsenicum meaning and validation. Not only is there a huge dislike of being
alone and a worsening of the Arsenicum state when alone, but they fear it, too.
For some very good remedy comparison points on some of these specific mental and emotional areas
I would suggest reading Vithoulkass account of this remedy in The Essence of Materia Medica.
FOOD AVERSIONS
Watery fruits, e.g. melons; also worse for them
Vinegar; also worse for it
WORSE FOR
Cold cold food, cold drinks, cold weather and cold environment
After menses
Suppressed eruptions
At the seashore
Foods that might have gone off a little, especially meat or fruit
Lying with the head low
Periodicity
Being alone this can have a particularly worsening effect on anxieties and fears
SELF-TEST QUESTIONS
Please note the answers are not given here (yes, I know you are probably tutting at me right now). The
reason for this is that all of these questions are drawn directly from the text so in order to find or
check the answer you have to go back to the text and look up the relevant part. This gets you to
actually read and consider, and hopefully re-read the material you have been supplied with rather than
skim once and move on. I want you to have a good, fundamental working knowledge of this remedy
and that only comes with putting in the effort.
1. How does Arsenicums health anxiety differ from that of Phosphorous?
2. What are the pains of Arsenicum like?
3. Which aspect of Arsenicums fastidiousness links to the syphilitic miasm?
4. Describe how an Arsenicum type will respond when they do not have control of a situation.
5. Which time or part of the day is worse for Arsenicum?
6. Describe the typical appearance of an Arsenicum person.
7. Under what circumstances is Arsenicum better for a cold wrap or application?
8. What are the two central themes to the mental/emotional area of this remedy?
9. Describe how Arsenicum shows restlessness on a physical and mental/emotional level.
10. Arsenicum is the acute of which two remedies?
11. How do the discharges of Arsenicum album affect the skin or region they originate from?
12. To which side of the body does Arsenicum have an affinity?
13. What does Arsenicum do to make breathing easier?
14. Describe the thirst of Arsenicum and how might this change in later stages of the remedys
progression.
15. To which bowel nosode is Arsenicum most related?
16. Arsenicum has a desire for which sour-tasting fruit? Which other common remedy also shows
this?
17. Why might a typical Arsenicum not take their remedy?
18. Why is the Arsenicum type said to be dependent on people?
19. How do the discharges of Arsenicum and Veratrum album differ?
20. Is Arsenicum classed as a warm or cold remedy?
21. Describe typical Arsenicum diarrhoea.
22. What is the SRP pertaining to Arsenicums head pains and what alleviates them?
23. When Arsenicum is in its weak and collapsed state what might the mind still be doing?
24. How do the Arsenicum and Veratrum album thirsts differ?
25. What drives Arsenicums hypochondria?
26. Which miasms are said to relate to Arsenicum in its early and late stages of the remedy
progression?
27. What might be seen if Arsenicums skin eruptions are suppressed?
28. How would a typical Arsenicum patient react to being on their own?
29. Which colour is associated with Arsenicum?
30. Describe a typical Arsenicum asthma attack.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Dr Neil Slade studied homeopathy at the College of Homeopathy, London, and graduated with
distinction. He has a PhD in infectious diseases from the Imperial College of Science, Technology
and Medicine, University of London. He is also a Chartered Biologist and is a member of the Society
of Biology. He is on the register of the Society of Homeopaths and bound by their Code of Ethics. In
2014 he became a Fellow of the Society of Homeopaths and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Medicine.
Neil has taught students for over 25 years and during this time he has been a Senior Lecturer and
Module Leader. Over the years Neil has won many awards for his teaching and lectures and has
frequently taught on both sides of the Atlantic. His articles can be found in a variety of magazines and
health journals. For many years he was the resident homeopathy contributor to Positive Health
magazine, writing a regular case study column.
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