The chemical compound Alumina is prepared from aluminium,
a metal from which numerous utensils are made. Most cooking pots and bathroom
appliances are made from it. Early on, this metal was very costly, only the
rich and the elite could afford aluminium pots. Now, due to industrial development, this metal is vastly
available and is quite cheap with the poor tending to use these utensils the
most. Modern research has indicated that
the prolonged use of aluminium pots for cooking produces a very harmful effect
on the health of the users. This poison affects slowly, but becomes a permanent
part of the human body. The aluminium constricts the walls of blood vessels. Cholesterol starts depositing itself inside
the blood vessels.
Progressive
narrowing or even total blockage can ensue. Thus, cholesterol can cause a heart
attack due to the blockage of the arteries leading to the heart. Similarly, it
affects the blood vessels going to the brain. This process of progressive
hardening and narrowing of the arteries is called “Arteriosclerosis”. The
ageing process starts to manifest itself fast. The memory becomes weak. The
blood pressure fluctuates. Mental and physical deterioration sets in. Alumina,
being a slow acting remedy, should be used for long periods extending over years.
To achieve permanent cure, one should use Alumina in high potency at long
intervals, such as 1000 or 10,000 given once in a month. A potency 200 will
have to be given every ten days, extending over many months or years. In the
beginning of the treatment, no beneficial effect will be noticed. Once the
improvement begins, the dead and dying fibres of the circular muscles start
reverting to life. The patient must be
told to continue the treatment for at least a year or two without fail in order
to get relief from this long-established disease.
The Alumina itch
does not exhibit lumps or bumps. At first, the itching begins on apparently clean, healthy-looking skin.
Itching leads to inflammation which leads to formation of pimples
or, on scratching intensely, blister formation. One may bleed as a
result of scratching. The affected part becomes insensitive and
subject to infection and further complication. In general, (unlike
Alumina), in most of the remedies, the bumps over the skin appear first and the itching comes on later. The eyelids
swell and become thick and heavy. The eyelashes fall. The vision becomes blurred. The eyes are
very sensitive to light, especially in the morning. The eyelids are sticky and
the objects look pale or yellow.
The stomach fails to function. There is a complete loss of
appetite and dislike for meat. The patient craves to eat indigestible things
like clay and coal. The stomach becomes inflamed and goes into spasms. One of
the main features is marked acidity. Nothing tastes right. There is frequent
acidic belching. Alumina is useful in all these symptoms. The dysfunction of the stomach is due to the
narrowing and thickening of its blood vessels.
Alumina is very useful in acute hyperacidity, as well as the chronic illnesses
of the stomach. It relieves long-standing haemorrhoids.
It also relieves acidity in both men and women. It is particularly useful in
the leucorrhoea associated with acidic discharge. This discharge is so acidic,
that it may lead to other illnesses. Normally, women do not get constipated
during pregnancy, in Alumina however, they do.
Constipation
associated with pregnancy, which is transient or of long-standing,
will respond to Alumina administration.
Alumina is very important in a chronic
cough originating from the lungs, as are Bacillinum, Phosphorus,
Arsenic, Iodide and Kali Carb. If the
other symptoms of Alumina are also present, this would be the most appropriate
remedy.
In Alumina, typically, reasoning
and decision-making deteriorate.
One may not easily decide one way or the other. The mind becomes cloudy
and suspicious. Whatever the patient sees or hears, it appears to him as if
somebody else is seeing or hearing it. He loses his selfidentity. Sometimes, he wishes to occupy someone
else’s mind so that he may observe things better. This slowly progressive trend
of his drives him insane. However, he is not dangerous to others, he simply
gets lost in himself.
Mentally, the patient shows impatience. For him, time
stands still, but he likes it to pass quickly. At the sight of sharp weapons,
he is afraid, lest he may hurt himself. Such patients frighten others by
pretending to commit suicide, though actually they do not do so. Sometimes, people
look down from a height and others get terrified, in case they may leap to
their death.
The Alumina patient is very sad and sallow. He has the
desire to distance himself from his surroundings. He worries that he may be going
insane. Such negative thoughts are at their climax in the morning.Sometimes, the alumina affects the throat muscles, resulting
in difficulty in swallowing. Due to weakness of these muscles, the food may
enter the windpipe or nose.
Paralysis may affect the sphincter muscles of the bladder
and the rectum, resulting in difficulty in passing urine and stools. The
patient has to strain his abdominal muscles, even if the stools are soft. Urinary symptoms resemble those of enlarged
prostate gland. Many a time, the stools resemble the droppings of a goat, camel
and horse, in the shape of small or large balls, which stick to each other. The
stools may be soft or thick but are difficult to pass.
In Graphites and Plumbum too, stools are similar. The
urine may leak unknowingly due to the paralysis of the muscles of the neck of
the bladder. Involuntary defeacation can also occur due to weakness of the
sphincter muscles at the anus.
The Alumina patient experiences dizziness and imbalance
during walking. The feet tend to be numb. Pain radiates from one point to all
directions, like the spokes of a wheel. When all these symptoms are together,
Alumina is the remedy.
The movements of the limbs, lower as well as upper, may
not remain under voluntary control, thus resulting in a staggering gait. In
this situation, long term use of Alumina is beneficial. In Alumina, catarrhal and skin symptoms are very
frequent. The patient has chronic catarrh, which is full of dry encrustations
with long strings. The catarrh may result in the dimness of the eyesight. The inner
linings (mucus membranes) of the stomach, intestines and kidneys become
inflamed. Headache also, is common with the cold. Like the mucus membranes, the skin also becomes subjected to many
ailments. As a result of intense itching, the skin becomes thick and sore and
may even ulcerate. As in Sulphur, the warmth of the bed intensifies the itching.
The face feels as if a cobweb is spread over it. The tip of the nose shows cuts. The eyes burn and trachoma may develop.
Alumina affects both flexor as well as extensor muscles (the flexor muscles
bend the joints, while the extensors stretch the joints). Salt, alcohol, vinegar, chillies, potatoes,
and fizzy drinks aggravate the symptoms of Alumina. Piles and anal fissuring are typical of Alumina.
Male sexual impotence and nocturnal emission are common. The prostate gland enlarges along
with the feeling of heaviness and fullness around it. Sexual organs become
partially paralyzed. The man becomes sexually impotent in spite of being in
good general health.
As a result of prolonged catarrh the women develop chronic
leucorrhoea. The
uterus tends to sag downwards, much more so on standing and walking. If gonorrhoea has merely been
suppressed by some kind of treatment, but not cured, the residual inflammation
of the pelvic organs results in the sensation of heat and discomfort. Alumina may be of use in this situation.
The cough of Alumina may be associated with sneezing and
the throat feels as if it is being gently tickled with feathers. In Alumina, at
the point of backache, the patient feels intense heat, as if a hot iron has been
placed on the numbed part. The soles of the feet become soft, swollen and
tender. The side the patient sits or lies on becomes numb. The legs tend to be numb also. The patient
feels cold and likes to wrap himself well, but he likes the face to be exposed
to the cool breeze. The patient likes the warmth of the bed for a while, but intense
itching begins when the bed becomes too warm. The hands usually remain cold and
warm up slowly on retiring to bed. The skin is dry and sweats only sparingly,
or not at all.