ARGENTUM NITRICUM (It is a chemical compound of silver and nitric acid).

Silver nitrate, AgNO₃ Lunar caustic.

It is a chemical compound of silver and nitric acid. It can be obtained from a chemist’s shop.

The salt is triturated with sugar of milk up to 3 C Higher  alcoholic potencies are prepared from 3 C potency.

Proved by Dr. Hahnemann and re-proved by Dr. J.O. Muller of Vienna in 1845.

It is both Anti-psoric and Anti-sycotic remedy. It is a medium, long and deep acting remedy. It is useful in both acute and chronic disease.

It is a constitutional remedy for the following types of patients:

1.  Who are anxious, suffer from anxiety neurosis, are easily excited from emotions, suspense, anticipation, diarrhea, from anticipation going to any exciting place, when ready for church or opera, breaks out often in a sweat from anxiety.

2.  Neuraesthenic : metal exertion aggravates; brain fag; headache from mental exertion.

3.  Fearful : from being alone, desires company; frightened easily; Dreads a crowd.

4.  Impulsive : wants to do things in a hurry; time passes slowly.

5.  Nervous : does not undertake any thing lest he should not succeed; tremulous nervousness so long the thing is not done.

6.  Who is excitable, angered easily; strange notions and ideas; does foolish things. Strange impulses, thoughts and fears.

7.  Who are sad and melancholic.

8.  Who are confused and have defective memory.

9.  Who are warm blooded; want cold, open air, cold drinks, cold food; suffocates in warm clothing’s, ill ventilated or closed rooms; feels suffocated if other people are in the room. Craves wind blowing on his face, bathing with cold water, open air.

10. Chilly when uncovered, yet feels smothered if wrapped up.

11. Scrawry, feeble dried-up-looking women.

12. A child looks like an old man.

It is a specific remedy for the following conditions:

1.  Ailments from long continued mental exertion.

2.  Eye strain from sewing; diseases due to defective accommodation in warm blooded persons.

3.  Diarrhea : after drinking; after eating candy or sugar; with much noisy flatus; green mucus in stools; as soon as he drinks.

4.  Emaciation : progressive; most marked in lower extremities; drink-up, old looking patients; marasmus.

5.  Headache : congestive with frullness and heaviness; from mental exertion; from dancing; hemicrania, ending in bilious vomiting; agg from mental labor; amel by pressure or tight bandage.

6.  Acute granular conjunctivitis; scarlet red like raw beef; discharge profuse muco-purulent; ophthalmia neonatorum.

7.  Gastric complaints with belching and flatulence.

8.  Impotence; erection fails when coition is attempted.

9.  Great weakness of lower extremities, with trembling, cannot walk with eyes closed; locomotor ataxia.

10. Chronic laryngitis of singers; the high notes cause cough.

11. Sore throat; with sensation as if sticks in the throat when swallowing.

12. Gonorrhea : painful erections; orchitis or ovaritis from suppressions of discharge.

13. Ulcerations, warts, Condi Loma, dropsy, hemorrhages with characteristic symptoms of Arg n.

Dosage : Lower aquous dilutions as local application in ophthalmia neonatorum. In gastric ulcer freshly prepared 1% solution of silver nitrate should be given in a half glass of hot water before meals (Underwood). Clarke uses lower potencies, but Kent advicees higher and highest potencies.

Repetition : It may be repeated when the symptoms call for it.

Duration of action : 30 days.