Introduction: Antimonium Crudum

Hi, I’m Dr. Imran Ali, and welcome once again to the Homeopathy Materia Medica series. Today I’ll be discussing Antimonium Crudum. Antimony is an element on the periodic table with atomic number 51. Antimony is found in nature as stibite, which is a gray metallic mineral composed of antimony and sulfur. The chemical formula of antimony trisulfide is SB2S3.

• Check the full Materia Medica A–Z of homeopathic remedies

Antimonium is often indicated for irritable kids (compare Chamomilla), but it can also be used for adults, too. All right, so let’s jump right in.

Hardening is the Main Theme of Antimonium Crudum

When we look at the overall symptom picture of Antimonium, I think it’s possible to discern a theme that runs throughout its pathology, and that theme is hardening. The books don’t really talk about this theme, but I do believe that it’s a good way to summarize the most definitive characteristics of Antimonium Crudum.

Antimonium Crudum tends to be hardened either on the emotional level or the physical level or both.

Psychological Hardening of Antimonium Crudum

Antimonium Crudum person hardens himself on the psychological level by fending people off by keeping people away. The two most important defining features of Antimonium are:

• An aggravation from or an aversion to being touched
• An aggravation from or an aversion to being looked at

Hardening in Antimonum Crudum Children

Antimonium children, in particular, are:

• Angry,
• Peevish,
• Cross,
• Fretful,
• Cranky.
• They can’t stand to be looked at and can’t stand to be touched.
• If you try to touch them or look at them, they’ll cry, scream, and become even angrier.
• They do not want consolation.

Ant Crud Kids Averse to Company

They’re averse to company, and they can be suspicious and mistrustful, may recoil, and become more irritable at the slightest attention paid to them.

A Case Example of a Hard Antimonium Crudum Kid

I remember a case from years ago of a kid with warts. I recall trying to get a look at his face. He wore a baseball cap pulled down so that the visor made it hard to see his eyes. As I bent over to take a look under the visor, he angrily turned his head away from me to avoid my gaze. His parents made it clear that to look at or to touch him would only aggravate him.

After prescribing Antimonium Crudum, I received a phone call weeks later from a pharmacist who wanted to talk to me. He told me that the child’s family was a regular customer of his and that he’d known the boy for years. He was calling me because he just had to know what I had given him. I asked why he wanted to know. He replied that he had tried on numerous occasions over the years to be friendly with the boy, but that the boy had never given him a chance until recently. The last time he came into the store, he looked directly at the pharmacist, smiled, and, to his amazement, said “Hi” to him.

Here we see how this boy, who was hard and defensive, had softened so much that his neighborhood pharmacist couldn’t help but notice.

I spent half an hour on the phone answering the pharmacist’s questions that day. He subsequently made an appointment to meet with me so that he could learn more about homeopathy. Soon afterwards, he began stocking homeopathic remedies on the shelves of his pharmacy. Not only that, but at the follow-up visit, I found out that the kid’s warts had softened and cleared up, too.

Antimonium Crudum Picture in Children vs Adults

Features of a Normal Happy Antimonium Crudum Adult

The picture of this remedy is similar in children and adults in some ways, but quite different in other ways. The literature describes the Antimonium Crudum adult as being soft, sweet, sentimental, emotional, and sensitive. They’re idealistic, excitable, and poetic, sometimes talking in rhymes and verses. They’re easily moved by art and beauty, and they are romantic about love. The books talk about how the moonlight accentuates this romantic feeling. They idealize love and long for an ideal romantic partner.

Symptoms of a Disappointed Adult Antimonium Crudum Person

But in the event that someone lets them down, they can become disappointed. When their fantasy of an ideal partner eludes them, their idealism can be deflated, and they may begin to isolate themselves. They become sad and weepy and lovesick with grief. Romanticism and idealism turn to sadness, and they become sulky, not wanting to talk to others. They become fond of solitude and averse to company, rejecting contact with others.

Here we see how they start soft and sensitive and gradually become hardened, not unlike Antimonium Crudum children.

The disappointed Antimonium type:

• Narrows his circle of contacts to isolate himself.
• He becomes morose and may begin to experience a loathing for life.
• He feels nostalgic and homesick, longing for the ideal past and pining for his idealized romantic partner.
• He begins to feel anxious about his future and anxious about his fate.
• This disappointed love can sometimes cross over into suicidal thinking.
• He thinks of drowning himself or shooting himself, and his suicidal thoughts make him restless at night.

Antimonium Crudum Mental Symptoms Are Hard to Find in Adults

Now, to be clear, this is a description of the Antimonium Crudum adult according to the homeopathic literature. I’ve personally gotten only a glimpse of this picture. I’ve seen a few adults who have responded well to this remedy, and I would certainly describe them as sweet, soft, and sensitive, but I’ve not seen cases where the mental state has become hardened, as with the Antimonium Crudum child.

In a certain sense, we can say that Antimonium Crudum is like a cross between the angry, irritable touchiness of Chamomilla and the sensitive, romantic, lovesick nature of Natrum Muriaticum.

Useful Rubrics Covering Antimonium Crudum

Useful rubrics that reflect some of the core issues and behaviors of Antimonium Crudum include:

• Anger from being touched.
• Irritable child cries when touched.
• Morose sulkiness aggravated by touch.
• Aversion to being touched.
• Aversion to being touched in children.
• Anger when looked at.
• Irritable when looked at.
• Cannot bear to be looked at.
• Child cries when looked at.
• Aversion to bathing in children (which, when you think about it, is like a version of being touched)
• Taciturn, indisposed to talk.
• Taciturn children.
• Aversion to company.
• Desires solitude.
• Desire for romantic love.
• Sentimental in moonlight.
• Ailments from disappointed love.
• Lovesick.
• Loathing of life.
• Suicidal disposition by drowning.
• Suicidal disposition by shooting.
• Suicidal thoughts drive him out of bed.

Generals and Modalities of Antimonium Crudum

Warm-blooded & Aggravated By Heat

Generally speaking, Antimonium Crudum is warm-blooded and aggravated by heat or by becoming overheated. It’s especially aggravated by radiant heat, like the kind of heat produced by the sun or the heat from a stove or a fireplace.

Aggravated By Touch

This is in keeping with the idea that Antimonium Crudum is aggravated by touch because we can think of radiant heat as the type of heat that reaches out and touches.

Overeating Habif of Antimonium Crudum

The most important Generals, though, are Antimonium’s eating habits and its food cravings.

• The Antimonium Crudum type has a distinct tendency to overeat.
• He eats beyond his capacity.
• He loves to eat, and he is gluttonous (greedy to eat).
• He eats so much that he makes himself sick, and his symptoms are aggravated by overeating.

Desire for Cucumbers

One of the biggest telltale clues that can point to Antimonium is a desire for cucumbers.

Desire for Sour Things (Pickles)

In addition to cucumbers, Antimonium Crudum also loves sour, acidic things. So, the perfect combination of the two is pickles, which, of course, are fermented, acidic, and/or vinegary cucumbers. On more than one occasion, I’ve had parents tell me that their child’s favorite food is a cucumber dipped in some kind of vinegar-based dressing. And although Antimonium Crudum craves these types of foods, they also tend to aggravate his digestion.

Changeable Symptoms of Antimonium Crud

Another general is that Antimonium Crudum can be a remedy for changeable symptoms and/or alternating states. Antimonium Crudum can fit both changeable moods and changeable physical symptoms.

For example, it fits:

• Headache alternating with stomach pain
• Constipation alternating with diarrhea

Soft & Round Face

Some references speak of Antimonium’s facial appearance as being soft and round, and I have confirmed this on a couple of occasions.

Aggravated By Suppression

One more general is that Antimonium Crudum is aggravated by suppression. This applies to suppressed skin eruptions, suppressed discharges, and suppressed menses.

Aggravated by Bathing

Additional modalities worth mentioning include the fact that Antimonium Crudum can be aggravated by bathing. It lists under:

• Being aggravated by both warm bathing and cold bathing.

Relationship with Moonlight

And although we speak of Antimonium Crudum as being sentimental and ecstatic in the moonlight (overwhelming happiness), it can also be aggravated by moonlight.

Physical Symptomatology of Antimonium Crudum

Digestive & Skin Symptoms Are Prominent

Most of Antimonium’s physical symptomatology tends to center around the digestion and the skin. One way of conceptualizing this is to say that:

1. The digestion is soft
2. And the skin is hard

The digestion is weak and easily disturbed, and the skin is tough and hard.

Hard, Thick Skin

In terms of skin conditions, Antimonium Crudum is a remedy for hard, thickened, tough skin.

Skin Growths (Warts, Corns, Lumps, Calluses)

It fits a wide variety of skin growths, including warts, calluses, corns, and lumps.

It fits:

• Hard, thick, painful calluses on the soles of the feet that may be tender to walk on.
• The fingernails and toenails, too, can be thick, distorted, yellowed, brittle, cracked, and prone to splitting.
• Growths can form beneath the nails in the nail beds.

Scaraderma (Excessive Collagen Production)

Antimonium Crudum is a remedy to consider in cases of Scaraderma, an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive collagen production, which in turn thickens and hardens the skin and other tissues.

A Case of Giant Callus on Foot Sole

I was once consulted by a young woman for treatment of her so-called plantar warts. She had a soft, round face,e and her temperament was pleasant and sweet. When I examined her foot, I was shocked by what I found. The entire sole was one continuous layer of thick, hard, tough growth. I honestly didn’t know what it was. I couldn’t tell if it was a giant callus or hundreds of warts. I’d never seen anything like it.

She had tried burning it off and freezing it off, all to no avail. To my absolute amazement, it took less than three months and a few rounds of Antimonium Crudum to completely clear the bottom of her foot.

Skin Conditions of the Mouth and Face

Antimonium Crudum also fits a lot of skin conditions of the mouth and face.

• The corners of the eyes, nose, and mouth can be chapped and cracked with yellow or honey-colored crusts.
• Antimonium is one of the main remedies for impetigo.
• It also fits thrush, with mouth sores, along with the keynote symptom of a thick, white, coated tongue that looks like a layer of snow or fur.
• When we see the combination of white-coated tongue along with digestive troubles, we must think of Antimonium Crudum.

Additional Skin Conditions

Additional Antimonium Crudum skin conditions include:

• Eczema [1],
• Blisters,
• Pimples,
• Pustules,
• Chickenpox [2],
• Measles [3].

And most of these skin eruptions tend to be aggravated by warmth, radiant heat, and bathing.

Indigestion Due to Bad Eating Habits

While the skin is hard and tough, the Antimonium Crudum digestion is soft and sensitive. The digestion is weak and easily upset. Antimonium Crudum’s stomach is his weak spot. He often complains of indigestion, especially as a consequence of his poor eating habits. The notorious Antimonium Crudum tendency to overeat makes him susceptible to developing heartburn and/or gastritis.

Belching, Bloating, Flatulence

He’s prone to belching, bloating, a distended abdomen, and flatulence.

Emotions Experienced in the Stomach

Psychological shocks can be felt in the stomach, too. His emotions are often experienced in that region, and he may feel sick to his stomach as a result.

Obesity

The Antimonium type is also prone to obesity. It fits obesity both in children and in older people.

Diarrhea Aggravated By Acidic Foods

Antimonium Crudum is also a remedy for diarrhea, and the diarrhea tends to be aggravated by acidic foods, sour foods, and vinegar. Sometimes the diarrhea alternates with constipation. And the Antimonium Crudum stools tend to be lumpy and are described in literature as being watery with lumps.

Cough & Hoarseness Worse From Entering a Warm Room

A few additional Antimonium Crudum clues and conditions include a cough that is made worse by overheating or by entering a warm room. Likewise, hoarseness can be aggravated by becoming too warm.

Whooping Cough With Vomiting

It’s also a remedy for whooping cough associated with vomiting,

Gout With Stomach Issues & Alternates with Vomiting

It fits gout associated with stomach problems and gout that alternates with vomiting.

Lumpy Discharges (Leucorrhea)

And lastly, just like Antimonium Crudum has lumpy skin and lumpy stools, it’s also generally prone to lumpy discharges, especially lumpy leucorrhea in women.

Remedy Relationships of Antimonium Crudum

Complimentary Remedies

The only two remedies listed in the literature as being complements to Antimonium Crudum are:

• Squilla Maritima
• Sulfur

Chamomilla (Irritable Children Remedy)

Remedies that we want to compare to Antimonium include Chamomilla, which is a children’s remedy, is hot-blooded, very irritable, averse to being touched, cannot bear to be looked at, and is prone to digestive problems like colic and diarrhea.

Natrum Muriaticum

Natrum Mur is warm-blooded, emotionally sensitive and romantic, easily offended, averse to consolation, averse to company, gets cracks on the lips, and likes sour, vinegary foods.

Recall that it can sometimes be helpful to think of Antimonium as a cross between Chamomilla and Natrum Muriaticum.

Cina

Cina is also a children’s remedy. Is similarly angry, irritable, averse to being touched, and cannot bear to be looked at.

Euphrasia

Euphrasia is irritable, warm-blooded, fits children’s coughs, aggravated by a warm room, and has symptoms associated with digestive concomitants.

Graphites

Graphites has similar skin problems, including cracks, calluses, skin thickening, and yellow or honey-colored discharges, thick, distorted nails, digestive troubles, and obesity.

Hepar Sulph

Hepar is highly sensitive, very irritable, can’t stand to be touched, desires sour, vinegary, acidic foods, and fits a variety of skin symptoms.

Sulphur

Lastly, Sulfur is warm-blooded, irritable, cranky, tends toward obesity, has indigestion, heartburn, and diarrhea, and fits many skin conditions.

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Glossary

Calluses

Calluses are thick, hardened skin areas formed by repeated friction or pressure, usually on hands or feet, acting as protection. They appear as rough, yellowish patches and are typically painless.

Impetigo

Impetigo is a highly contagious, mild bacterial skin infection—common in children—caused by Staphylococcus or Streptococcus. It causes itchy red sores with honey-colored crusts, usually around the nose and mouth.

Oral Thrush

Oral thrush is a common fungal infection (Candida) causing creamy white, painful patches in the mouth. It leads to soreness, a cottony feeling, and difficulty eating.

Pustules

Pustules are small, inflamed, pus-filled skin bumps with white or yellow centers. They can result from acne, infections, folliculitis, or conditions like psoriasis.

References

1. Eczema: NHS: Atopic Eczema
2. Chickenpox:CDC: Chickenpox (Varicella)
3. Measles:WHO: Measles Fact Sheet