Zinc is a very important neurotropic
remedy (i.e. the one that works on the nervous system). It seems to
be the best remedy for patients who have become mentally exhausted due to
chronic illnesses, and whose body has been rendered incapable of reacting to
bring diseases out to the surface.During an epidemic of infectious diseases like measles and
smallpox, the appearance of skin signs, such as rashes, helps the diagnosis. In
a patient of Zinc, these signs fail to appear on the skin, although the disease
process has already afflicted the body internally. The homoeopathic form of
Zinc helps to project these diagnostic skin signs.
During paralytic
conditions of chronic and resistant nature, when the patient is
treated with Zinc, it will set up a state of neurological provocation and
reaction showing that the body is being prepared for a defensive stance. Zinc
helps to express the suppressed symptoms and signs of diseases, infectious as
well as neurological. This reaction is absolutely necessary to save the
patient’s life but may be extremely disturbing to him. In case Zinc needs to be
administered to provoke the mind and body reactions, the patient must be warned
beforehand. Dr. Kent has devised a
humorous story about Zinc. He has suggested that a homoeopathic doctor should
visit a Zinc patient who has paralysis, very fast on horseback and then also
return equally as fast after giving him the treatment. The reason for this is
that since Zinc provokes an immediate brisk tingling response so swiftly that
the relatives of the patient might think that the doctor has poisoned the patient
and rush to attack the doctor. After this abrupt tingling, the nerves begin to
recover and the paralysis disappears. Then the relatives will run to thank the
doctor. I have also Zinc on such patients. The patients did evidently show a
brisk response though not of the severity described by Dr. Kent. As a matter of
principle, I warn my patients that the severe nervous response is the first
sign of the cure to follow.
Another characteristic sign of Zinc is the fidgeting of
feet. Women usually keep their feet exposed out of the bedding and keep rubbing
them against each other. Some patients may continually shake their legs. Any
person exhibiting this sign and then falling sick must be treated with Zinc.
Once the constitution of the patient is recognised to be that of Zinc, all his
illnesses will respond to Zinc. Nux
Vomica, being completely opposite to Zinc, should never be given with it even
though both have similar effects regarding the treatment of nervous tension In
homoeopathy, two remedies of a similar nature may sometimes annul each other,
or being incompatible may result in a severe bodily reaction. In case a patient
needs to be treated with Zinc but has already been given Nux Vomica, then Camphor
or Sulphur must be administered to neutralize the effects of Nux Vomica before
he is given Zinc.
The late
onset of menses and scanty menses are suggestive of Zinc. Unless they are treated with Zinc, some
young girls may be predisposed to certain uterine and nervous conditions for
life. Zinc poisoning slows down the digestive system.
Food gets digested extremely slowly. The appetite vanishes. Food rots in the
stomach. Vomiting sets in due to
acidity. The patient becomes constipated.
Even the bladder function becomes slowed down. Bowel and urinary symptoms
coexist. In contrast, Mercury produces its symptoms by way of irritation and
intensity. There is a burning sensation during urination and after. Similarly,
in dysentery, the patient keeps on feeling the gripes and tenesmus, even after
having passed the stools. The Zinc
patient has to sit down while passing urine; he cannot pass urine while
standing. On the contrary, a Causticum patient can pass urine only while
standing, whereas by sitting, the urination either stops or becomes obstructed.
Some of the patients have to be pulled backwards so that they may begin to pass
urine.
The face of a typical Zinc patient is pale and wrinkled. He
always feels cold. Prior to the affliction of his mind and loss of
memory, the patient first repeats the question and before answering. A
slight sudden noise makes his body tremble. When a Zinc patient
develops paralysis, he starts to look prematurely old. However a Zinc
patient does not exhibit these signs in his youth whereas in
Sarsaparilla and Agaricus, a patient appears to be old at a very young age.
In Sarsaparilla, even children look old. Some of the Zinc patients, like those in Apis, may scream
during sleep due to the excitability of nerve fibres in the brain. Symptoms of
Apis are easily identifiable. In their absence, Zinc should be started without
any hesitation. Once again, the relatives of the patient must be clearly warned
that the tendency to scream may become aggravated before it gets better, slowly
but surely.
The symptoms of Zinc include profuse sweating, severe
nausea and vomiting. The heart sinks. All these symptoms do not manifest at the
same time. Sometimes, it is the gastric symptoms, which appear first, while at
other times the limbs or the heart become affected first. If the progressive
slowing of the intestinal activity is suspected on the basis of a change of
bowel habits, Zinc must be started without hesitation. If the diagnosis has been correct, then the
condition may be completely cured. Sometimes such a patient starts vomiting as
a reaction to Zinc. This is a good sign indicating that Zinc has reverted the
slowly progressive intestinal paralysis (ileus). Initial severe reaction to
Zinc therapy is temporary, but must occur, before the restoration of health.
However, severe reactions may also be noted during the treatment from the
improper homoeopathic remedy or potency, with serious consequences. In
homoeopathy, every untoward serious reaction should not be considered a prelude
to a successful outcome because the condition may sometimes keep becoming
serious with no sign of improvement.
Zinc is also useful in the treatment of spinal meningitis. If remedies like
Bryonia, Belladonna and Gelsemium etc., stop working, then Zinc will prove to
be very beneficial. Zinc has also proved successful in the treatment of tubercular meningitis.
During an epidemic of meningitis, Zinc 200 taken once or twice a week, proves
to be a very good preventive measure.
Zinc is also very useful in the treatment of many eye diseases such as progressive swelling and heaviness of the eyelids,
chronic redness of the eyes associated with the dimness of the vision and
the affliction of the optic nerve (optic neuritis). Zincum Sulph is an
excellent treatment
for cataract. I once treated one ninety-year-old man with fairly advanced cataract. The surgeon had refused to perform
surgery on him due to his age. I gave him one dose of Zincum Sulph
CM.Surprisingly, within a few months, his cataract had disappeared completely.
He lived many more years afterwards without recurrence of the cataract. Zinc is
the best homoeopathic remedy in the prevention of cataract due to degenerative
materials being deposited in the eye lens. However, once the cataract process
is well-advanced, it should be treated by surgery. If Zinc is administered
while the cataract is half-way towards maturity, it will neither disappear nor mature
for surgery. Patients at this stage should be left alone, so that their
cataract may mature and be treated with surgery. The combination of Calcarea Fluor 6X with Zinc proves much more beneficial.
Eye drops of Cineraria Maritima Sussex are also very useful. A drop in each
eye, three times a day, helps resolve the cataract quite fast. In general, Zinc
Sulph 200 is used once or twice a week. If given in CM potency, it should not
be repeated before one month and stopped after one repeat.
Zinc 200 is very useful in abating the formation of the
whitish membrane appearing inside the eye. In the eyelids, sometimes eyelashes start growing inwards (Trichiasis) and prove quite troublesome. Usually this is treated surgically. But after
an operation, another hair can still grow inwards and this may continue to
happen. Its permanent cure is Zincum
Sulph. I have found it very useful in Potency 200. Zinc also cures Pterygium obviating any
need for surgery.
When dizzy, a Zinc patient always thinks that he will fall
on the left side. Tossing the head around and sinking it into the pillow is
also a symptom of Zinc. Zinc is also considered to be useful in the treatment of
involuntary movements and tremors of the head and hands (senile tremors). Like Kali Bichrome, a Zinc patient feels pressure and pain
at the root of the nose. The gums start receding from the teeth in zincum. Pressure on the gums relieves the discomfort. Children with
weak nerves cut their teeth with difficulty. They keep on shaking
their feet or rub them against each other due to restlessness. During swallowing, the muscles of the throat hurt. The stomach
burns on eating sweet things. Besides this, the patient has a
tendency of nausea, vomiting and hiccups. A Zinc patient has the habit
of eating pain in the lower part of the back, intolerant to local pressure.
Reproductive organs also become affected in men as well as in women. The
testicles feel drawn upwards. Women become sexually overexcited and the breasts
feel swollen and congested. Menstrual
flow increases at night. All these symptoms aggravate during their periods. Zincum Met is also useful in Varicose veins and Chilblains
i.e. redness and swelling of toes due
to extreme cold which may result in frostbite and loss of toes. This can happen
to mountaineers who walk continuously on snow in severe cold weather.