Arsenicum album was an ancient therapeutic agent used by the Greeks and Romans. It was popular as a poisoning agent up to the first quarter of the twentieth century. Because it is a metallic poison, it cannot be destroyed even by fire. Organic compounds of the arsenic were used in many “quack” remedies such as “cancer pastes” that were supposed to destroy accessible tumors. Allopaths treated pernicious anemia with arsenicals. In Old school Arsenic is used in the form of Fowler’s solution. Animal fanciers and breeders have used arsenic preparations to improve the skin and fur of animals. Arsenic is still used in pesticides and is a cause of accidental poisoning in humans.

     The arsenic effect was obtained by the crew of the ship Zion, which carried arsenic as a portion of its cargo. While arsenic got exposed to sun’s rays, the crew noticed a peculiar smell. Soon they all began to notice themselves growing stout, and on reaching Philadelphia from England they had all gained much, one to the extent of two stones in weight.

     The Stygian mountaineers had the habit of using Arsenic because, it has the power to strengthen the muscles both of the limbs and of the breathing apparatus. The arsenic eaters of Tyrol would take a few grains of white arsenic every two days, because it imparts a sense of invigoration and enables them to carry enormous loads up steep mountains.

Pioneer’s opinion:

     Teste - Arsenic act more powerfully on vegetable eating than on carnivore. It is used by the vegetarians because it strengthens the muscles, and helps to digest the coarse bread and potatoes and allow to breath freely and easily.
Grimmer - Cancer, Epithelioma, Lupus, Pernicious. Anemia have yielded to the power of this potent medicine. This remedy is also used in typhus and pernicious type of Anemia.

     Clarke - Arsenic as horse remedy (Puls as sheep’s, Ant crud the pig’s). The horse is an animal on whose power of endurance and wind enormous demands are made, and Arsenic is the remedy for the effects of feats of prolonged endurance. The horse is an exceedingly nervous animal, constantly moving about, restless to a degree, and very prone to take fright - quite as Arsenic temperament.

     Hering - Arsenic as ‘ the gold headed cane patient’ – if a woman is sick in bed, she is in great distress if every picture on the wall does not hang, perfectly straight.

     Nash - Not withstanding this, Arsenicum is not a panacea. Like every other remedy it must be indicated by its similar symptoms or failure is the outcome.

      Guernsey - It will be observed that Homoeopathy treats disease conditions rather than named diseases. There is no disease, mild or urgent in which Arsenicum may not be curative, provided drug symptoms and disease symptom agree.

      Kent - From the time of Hahnemann to the present day Arsenicum has been one of the polychrests, one of the most frequently indicated medicines, and one of the most extensively used.

     Our Masters quote: “A sensible Homoeopathic Physician will not give this remedy even in such minute doses unless he is convinced that this peculiar symptoms have the greatest possible resemblance to those of disease to be cured. When this is the case it is certain to be efficacious”.

Hahnemann’s Work on Arsenic:

     Hahnemann was the first to introduce Arsenic into Homoeopathy and documented the symptoms in Chronic Diseases (1828). The first proving of Arsenic gives him 294 symptoms and 368 from his disciples Stapf and Horn burg.

Arthur Hill Grimmer

Henry Newell Guernsey

John Henry Clarke

     In 1824,in 2nd edition of Materia Medica 431 by himself and 516 from others. Stapf 23,Hornburg 15, Lang hammer 58, Fredric Hahnemann 13,Bachr 11, Meyer 6,the rest from old school.

     In 1833,in 3rd edition of Materia Medica 1068 symptoms along with the symptoms from Fowler’s solution.

     In 1839 as an appendix to the 2nd edition of his Chronic Disease, Hahnemann included the proving by Nenning, and in all 1231 symptoms.

     In Chronic Disease –the burning of the skin is removed by compression of water mixed with a dilution of highly potentized Arsenicum.

     In Chronic Disease – As a rule the antipsoric medicine in chronic disease continue their action the longer the more tedious the disease are. But vice versa those medicines which in healthy body show a long period of action act only at a short time and quickly in acute diseases which speedily run their course (e.g Arsenic)and their periods of action are shorter, the more acute the diseases. The Physician must therefore in chronic disease allow all antipsoric remedies to act thirty-fourth or every fifty and more days so long as they continue to improve the diseased state.

     In Foot Note of aphorism § 246 ,in acute diseases the time for repeating the chosen medicine is regulated by the course of the disease, so it should be repeated after twenty four, sixteen, twelve, eight four and even fewer hours. In cholera the most speedy fatal disease; at the commencement give camphor every five minutes. In order to procure speedy and certain relief and in more developed cholera, Arsenic (other remedies) is given in every two or three hours.

     In Foot Note of § 205, Hahnemann says, “I cannot therefore advise, for instance the local extirpation the so –called cancer of the lips and face by means of the arsenical remedy of Frere Cosme, not only because, it is excessively painful and often fails, but if this dynamic remedy succeed in freeing the affected parts of the body from the malignant ulcer locally , the basic malady is therefore necessitated to transfer the field of operation of the great internal malady to some more important and the consequence of blindness, deafness, insanity, suffocative asthma, dropsy, apoplexy, etc. But this ambiguous local liberation of the part from the malignant ulcer by the topical arsenical remedy only succeeds, after all in those cases their ulcer has not yet attained any great size, and when the vital forces is still very energetic, in such a state the complete internal cure of the whole original diseases is also still practicable”.