Hi everyone, I’m Homoeopathic Dr. Imran Ali, and welcome back to the homeopathy materia medica series.

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

Today I’ll be talking about the homeopathic remedy ARGENTUM NITRICUM, which is the potentized form of Silver Nitrate. Silver nitrate is the compound formed when we chemically react silver with nitric acid. Its chemical formula is AgNO₃. Argentum Nitricum has a strong affinity for both the nervous system and the gastrointestinal system.

Main Theme of Argentum Nitricum – Lack of Control or Loss of Control

Okay, now so the overall theme that runs throughout our gentum pathology is lack of control or loss of control. And this lack of control applies to all levels, mental, emotional, and physical. Broadly speaking, there’s a lack of control over the nervous system, which coordinates all functions of both mind and body.

In terms of incoming impressions from the external world, Arg Nit lacks control in the sense that there is no filter. In this sense, argentum is a lot like phosphorus. Both remedies are exceedingly open to external influences and are therefore very susceptible to those influences.

• Also Read About: Lachesis – The Snake Remedy

Argentum Nit also lacks control over its outgoing reactions. Again, it’s as if no filter serves to moderate Argentum’s emotional reactions and verbal expressions. And as we shall see, the same loss of control also applies to Argentum Nit’s physical symptomatology.

Argentum Nitricum Mental Symptoms

So with this theme in mind, let’s begin with the Argentum Nit mentals.

Sensitive To External Stimuli:

Okay. So argentum is easily affected by external influences. One could say that, like Phosphoru,s it is unusually open. It’s the opposite of a closed remedy type like Natrum Muraticum. Argentum Nitricum is listed prominently in the repertory under

• impressionable

and under

• sensitive to all external impressions.

Superstitious:

In fact, the extreme openness of Argentum Nitricum is what makes it such a sympathetic remedy type. For the same reason, it is easily influenced and highly suggestible, and suggestability taken to an extreme can sometimes lead to superstitious thinking. It is the strongest remedy listed in the repertory under superstitious.

Fears, Anxieties, and Phobias of Argentum Nitricum

Argentum nitricum is highly susceptible to anxieties, worries, and fears of all kinds, and many of its fears rise to the level of phobias. Thus, creating overwhelming anxiety even when objectively speaking, there’s no actual danger to be concerned about. Of course, Argentum is well known for its anticipation anxiety.

Performance Fear and Stage Fright:

Commonly, this manifests itself as stage fright. It is one of the main remedies for performance anxiety, especially beforehand, leading up to a performance. Argentum person feels most anxious when anticipating an event. Once the performance is underway, the anxiety tends to settle down, but then begins to ramp up all over again prior to the next scheduled performance. And depending on the intensity of the problem and the nature of the performance, the argentum anticipation can become amplified hours, days, or even weeks ahead of time.

Anticipation Anxiety Before Ordinary Events:

Furthermore, our Argentum Nitricum’s anticipation anxiety isn’t just limited to artists, musicians, singers, actors, and public speakers. For most argentum types, anticipation anxiety tends to manifest in comparatively mundane situations (ordinary everyday activities like going to market). It occurs leading up to everyday events that most of us wouldn’t think twice about. For example, a person may begin to feel anxious before a school exam, before an upcoming dinner date, or even before going to church on Sunday.

I’ve had patients describe to me the anxiety and distress that they go through while getting prepared to go on holiday. Some can become anxious just planning for their vacations. Others have told me about how their anxiety surges days before their trip and during their plane flights, after which they settle down once they’ve reached their destination, only to have to experience the whole ordeal all over again, leading up to and during their return trip home.

As you can imagine, that doesn’t leave much time or energy for them to enjoy their time away from home. Knowing this, it’s not hard to see why some Argentum Nitricum types don’t like to commit to future events or engagements because it causes so much anxiety. Many would rather just do things on the spur of the moment in order to avoid the waiting involved with anticipation.

Hurry And Fear of Being Late

Two additional Argentum Nitricum characteristics related to anticipation are hurry and a fear of being late.

Argentum is anxious and apprehensive about the anticipated event and does not want to be late. And there’s a tendency to hurry or to feel hurried even when there’s plenty of time beforehand.

• More Reading: Apis Mellifica – The Honey Bee Remedy Keynotes

Repertory Rubrics That Reflect  Anticipatory Feelings of Argentum Nitricum Include:

• Anticipation
• Ailments from anticipation
• Stage fright
• Anticipation before an exam
• Anxiety when a time is set
• Time passes too quickly
• Hurry
• Constant hurry
• Hurry for the appointed time to arrive
• Punctual
• Always on time

Variety of Fears in Argentum Nitricum Patient

All right. Now, I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s safe to say that our Argentum Nitricum lists under a greater variety of fears than almost any other remedy in the materia medica. Certainly, individuals who need Argentum Nitricum often complain about having multiple fears, and oftentimes one or more of those fears rise to the level of being a phobia.

Health Related Fears:

• anxiety about health,
• fear of disease,
• fear of death,
• fear of heart disease,
• fear of brain disease,
• fear of convulsions,
• fear of the dentist,
• fear of doctors,
• and fear of hospitals.

In The Specially Related Category of Fears, We Have:

• fear of heights,
• fear of bridges,
• fear of flying,
• fear of falling,
• fear that a tall building will fall on him,
• claustrophobia,
• and fear of tunnels.

Fears About Losing Control:

The next category of fears is about control, or more accurately, losing control. Rubrics that express this idea include:

• fear of losing self-control,
• fear of fainting,
• fear of an ordeal,
• fear of being late,
• and fear of being alone.

Fears Related to Performance:

And in the performance category of fears, we have fear of failure. Variations of which we also find listed under:

• fear of undertaking anything,
• undertakes nothing lest he fail
• and the delusion that he cannot succeed.

We also have a fear of public speaking and stage fright. And depending upon the particular repertory, we may find this listed directly under stage fright or under anticipation.

In addition, we have:

• fear of tests or exams
• and fear of public places
• timidity about appearing in public,
• fear of crowds
• and agorophobia.

Talkativeness and Impulsive Speech of Argentum Nitricum:

Okay. Now, in the same way that Argentum Nitricum lacks a filter for incoming stimuli and impressions, it also lacks boundaries in terms of output. Simply put, the argentum type tends to say too much and to share too much. He impulsively blurts out whatever comes to mind.

In fact, this is a clue that often alerts me to the possibility of Argentum even before I’ve taken the case. Argentum is cheerful, extroverted, and friendly, and they express themselves spontaneously to an extreme.

At first glance, Argentum’s lack of control over his thoughts and words can give the impression of a person who is refreshingly honest, forthright, and open. But after spending a little time with him, you soon begin to realize that he just can’t control the words that come out of his mouth.

And although his loquaciousness feels more like quirkiness or eccentricity, I think it’s best understood as a form of nervous, uncontrolled impulsivity. Put more bluntly, it’s a kind of mental, emotional, and/or verbal diarrhea.

Argentum Nitricum lacks boundaries and tends to talk about personal matters even to strangers. He lacks control over his thoughts, feelings, and words. His impulsive talkativeness and tendency to jump from subject to subject give others the impression that he’s kind of kooky or flaky.

Impulsive and Compulsive Tendencies of Argentum Nitricum

Now this brings us to the next topic, which is Argentum’s impulsive and compulsive tendencies to say and do strange and foolish things. Again, it’s as if his mind is too weak and he therefore simply lacks control over the thoughts that he thinks and the things that he says.

He is impulsive in the sense that his actions are spontaneous and without forethought. And he is also compulsive, which is to say that he gets irresistible urges and feels compelled to say or do things even when they go against what his conscience or better judgment tells him. Suitable for OCD patients (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

The best example of this is Argentum Nitricum impulse or compulsion to jump from a height.

Argentum lists under:

• fear of heights,
• fears heights,
• lest he throw himself down,
• and the desire to jump from a height

It also lists under:

• suicidal disposition to jump from a height

But I think that this can be misleading. In the vast majority of cases, there is no suicidal intent. Even though he may feel compelled to jump, especially when he looks down from a height, he has no desire or intention to do so. In fact, he’s afraid of his strange impulses, and he’s afraid of heights, and he wants nothing to do with them. It’s just an odd impulse produced by a weak mind.

Sometimes he gets the same odd feeling when he looks up at a tall building. He becomes convinced that it’s going to fall on top of him. Although it makes no sense whatsoever, he nevertheless can’t stop himself from thinking about it.

A Story of Argentum Nitricum Patient With Compulsive Disorder:

I once had a patient who was tormented by compulsive thoughts while in his car. If he passed a pedestrian while he was driving, he would become convinced that he had hit the person. It required great effort to resist the urge to turn around and retrace his path to make sure that no one was lying dead on the side of the road.

Now, another notorious argentum nit compulsion is the belief that at the appointed time, he is going to die. He may think, for example, that on Thursday, June 17th, he’s going to die. Of course, there’s no rational reason to believe that this is actually going to happen. Nevertheless, Argentum Nitricum can’t stop himself from having these strange, silly, irrational thoughts.

Examples And Caricatures of Argentum Nitricum

I tried to think of some fictional argentum types, and I came up with a few good ones. Of course, there’s Cosmo Kramer from the Seinfeld TV sitcom. And Ellth is another quirky character from a more recent TV crime show that is also titled Ell. But the best example I found was Hank Kimble from the old 1960s TV sitcom Green Acres. I found a two-minute-long clip on YouTube that perfectly illustrates the quirkiness of this remedy. If you search Green Acres Hank Kimble at his dumbest on YouTube, it will bring up the clip. It’s hysterical, educational, and well worth watching.

Of course, these examples are exaggerated caricatures of Argentum. It’s important to understand that those who actually need the remedy can run the entire spectrum. Some have only mild similarities to these characters, and a few may strongly resemble them.

General Symptoms of Argentum Nitricum

All right. Now, in terms of generals, there are a couple of important ones that can point to Argentum Nitricum. One is a desire for sweets, and the other is warm-bloodedness.

Strongest Desire For Sweets:

I think it’s safe to say that Argentum may have the strongest sweet tooth in the materia medica. Argentum loves sweets so much that some will eat pure sugar by the spoonful.

There can also be a desire for salty things, and Argentum Nitricum is the number one remedy when we see a craving for foods that are both sweet and salty, like caramel-covered popcorn or chocolate-covered pretzels.

And despite Argentum’s desire for sweets, sometimes there’s also an aggravation from sweets.

Argentum Nitricum lists under:

• headache from sweets,
• throat pain from sweets,
• joint pain from sweets,
• digestive symptoms from sweets,
• nausea from sweets,
• flatulence from sweets,
• belching from sweets,
• diarrhea from sweets,
• and abdominal pain from sweets

And just to be complete, sometimes Argentum Nitricum desires cheese too.

Argentum Nitricum is Warm Blooded:

Now, as I said, the other important general is that Argentum is usually warm-blooded. It is aggravated by heat and may complain of flushes of heat. Argent is conversely ameliorated by cold. He’s better in cool open air and better from cold applications.

Sharp Pains Like a Splinter:

Another general is that pains tend to be sharp and sticking like lightning or like a splinter, especially in the throat, larynx, chest, rectum, or urethra.

Important Modalities of Argentum Nitricum:

Some noteworthy argentum modalities include an aggravation when alone and an amelioration from company. This applies especially to its fears and anxieties. The anxieties and other symptoms can also be ameliorated by walking quickly in the open air.

Of course, we have its keynote aggravation from anticipation, which can trigger anxiety, diarrhea, frequent urination, and or palpitations.

There tends to be an aggravation from emotions in general, and also an aggravation from mental strain.

And one last modality is an aggravation from lying on the right side. This applies particularly to stomach pains and palpitations.

Important Physical Symptoms of Argentum Nitricum

All right. Now let’s talk about Argentum Nitricum’s physical symptoms.

Recall the Argentum Nitricum theme of lack of control. Well, this theme also applies to Argentum’s physical symptoms and bodily functions.

Examples of this include:

• loss of control of the voice in laryngitis,
• runaway palpitations of the heart,
• loss of digestive control resulting in diarrhea,
• and neurologic conditions with incoordination
• and loss of muscular control.

Argentum Nitricum Symptoms Related To Neurology:

Now, most of Argentum Nitricum’s physical symptomatology tends to express itself either through the nervous system or the digestive system. Argenticum Nitricum fits a wide variety of neurologic conditions, including:

• multiple sclerosis,
• seizure disorders,
• Parkinson’s disease,
• strokes,
• dementia,
• twitching of muscles,
• tremors,
• paristhesas,
• weakness of muscles
• and muscular incoordination.

Argentum Nitricum Is the Main Remedy For Ataxia:

Argentum Nitricum is a main remedy for ataxia with:

• heaviness of the legs,
• weakness of the leg muscles,
• and loss of muscular control
• poor balance
• and awkwardness when walking.

Suitable In More Neurological Conditions, Like:

• Argentum Nit is a remedy for convulsions caused by fright.
• It fits hemiplegia in stroke.
• And of course, a keynote symptom is vertigo with dizziness on looking down from a height or looking up at a tall building.
• Palpitations are aggravated by lying on the right side and are accompanied by a sensation of the heart jumping.
• Although libido tends to be strong, impotence can manifest with a sudden loss of an erection.

Argentum Nitricum’s General Symptoms Related To the Digestive System:

Now, Argentum also tends to have a lot of digestive symptoms, and the primary complaints usually involve some combination of bloating, belching, flatulence, and diarrhea.

Loud Belching:

There’s much stomach bloating or abdominal distension, and there may be frequent loud belching. As noted earlier, all digestive symptoms are made worse from eating sweets or sugar.

Colitis & IBS:

Sometimes the argentum diarrhea carries an allopathic diagnosis of colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. Regardless of the label given, the argentum diarrhea is worse from anxiety, worse from anticipation, and worse from eating sugar or sweets. And the literature describes the diarrhea as looking like chopped green spinach.

Vomiting:

Another Argentum Nitricum digestive clue is vomiting that is worse in the morning and worse due to feeling anxious about the upcoming day.

Laryngitis and Related Repertory Rubrics:

Now another common Argentum Nitricum problem is laryngitis. It fits acute or chronic cases of laryngitis, and it’s especially helpful for hoarseness in speakers, singers, and performers. And when these voice problems are accompanied by symptoms of stage fright, we have to give Argentum Nitricum serious consideration.

Some repertory rubrics that reflect this problem include:

• ailments from anticipation with stage fright in singers and speakers.
• Throat pain in public speakers.
• Throat pain while talking in public speakers.
• Inflammation of the larynx in singers and speakers,
• larynx pain in singers and speakers,
• loss of the voice in singers and speakers,
• and cough in singers and speakers.

Conjunctivitis:

Now, a few additional argentum physical problems and symptoms include conjunctivitis with ulceration and pus production.

Ulceration of Cornea & Mucous Membranes:

Ulceration of the cornea of the eye. Ulceration of mucous membranes in general, including mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, throat, stomach, and urinary and reproductive organs.

Right-Sided Painful Testes and Ovary:

And lastly, we think of Argentum Nitricum for right-sided testicular and ovarian pains.

Remedy Relationships of Argentum Nitricum

Now, it’s time for remedy relationships.

Okay. Now there appears to be little consensus among various sources regarding remedies that are complementary to argentum nitricum, but the most commonly mentioned ones are gelsemium, Lycopodium, and phosphorus.

Lycopodium

It has a strong sweet tooth, is prone to several fears, and has a lot of digestive problems, especially gas, bloating, and flatulence.

China Off

It too has a strong sweet tooth and many digestive problems, especially belching, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea.

Phosphorus

It is similarly open, suggestible, and lacking in boundaries and is prone to neurological problems, hoarseness, and palpitations.

Gelsemium

It is a main remedy for stage fright, fears, or heaviness and weakness of the legs, and fits a variety of neurological conditions.

Alumina

It has irrational, nonsensical impulses, feels hurried, has weakness and heaviness of the legs, ataxia, vertigo, and a variety of other neurological problems.

Pulsatilla Nigra

It is warm-blooded, aggravated by heat, ameliorated by cool open air, and suffers from a variety of digestive problems, including diarrhea.

Lac-Canum

Lac-Can is emotional, extroverted, suggestible, desires salty things, and has many fears and fits vertigo.

Merc Sol:

And lastly, Merc Sol is anxious, impulsive, has compulsive behaviors, can be quirky, and is prone to ulcerations of the mucous membranes.

Final Words:

Ok, that was all about I have to write about Argentum Nitricum. I hope you find these articles to be helpful. If so, please like, comment, and tell all your friends about our website.