Kreosotum

Beechwood Kreosote

by William Boericke — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory

Kreosotum is a mixture of phenols obtained from this distillation.

Pulsations all over the body, and profuse bleeding from small wounds. Very severe, old neuralgic affections; pains rather aggravated by rest. Excoriating , burning, and offensive discharges. Hæmorrhages, ulcerations, cancerous affections. Rapid decomposition of fluids and secretions, and burning pains. Overgrown, poorly developed children. Post-climacteric diseases. Tumefaction, puffiness, gangrene. Ailings of teething children.

Mental

Music causes weeping and palpitation. Vanishing of thought; stupid, forgetful, peevish, irritable. Child wants everything but throws it away when given.

Head

Dull pain, as from a board pressing against forehead. Menstrual headache. Occipital pain ( Gels; Zinc pic ).

Eyes

Salty lachrymation. Lids red and swollen.

Ears

Eruption around and pimples within. Difficult hearing and buzzing.

Face

Sick, suffering expression; hot, cheeks red.

Mouth

Lips red, bleeding. Very painful dentition ; child will not sleep. Very rapid decay of teeth, with spongy, bleeding gums ; teeth dark and crumbly ( Staph; Ant c ). Putrid odor and bitter taste.

Nose

Offensive smell and discharge. Chronic catarrh of old people. Acrid rawness. Lupus ( Ars ).

Throat

Burning, choking sensation. Putrid odor .

Stomach

Nausea; vomiting of food several hours after eating; of sweetish water in the morning. Feeling of coldness, as of ice water in stomach. Soreness; better eating. Painful hard spot. Hæmatemesis. Bitter taste after a swallow of water.

Abdomen

Distended. Burning hæmorrhoids. Diarrhœa; very offensive; dark brown. Bloody, fetid stools. Cholera infantum in connection with painful dentition, green stools, nausea, dry skin, exhaustion, etc.

Urine

Offensive . Violent itching of vulva and vagina, worse when urinating. Can urinate only when lying; cannot get out of bed quick enough during first sleep. Dreams of urinating. Enuresis in the first part of night. Must hurry when desire comes to urinate .

Female

Corrosive itching within vulva, burning and swelling of labia; violent itching between labia and thighs. During menses, difficult hearing ; buzzing and roaring; eruption after. Burning and soreness in external and internal parts. Leucorrhœa, yellow, acrid; odor of green corn; worse between periods. Hæmorrhage after coition. Menses too early, prolonged. Vomiting of pregnancy, with ptyalism. Menstrual flow intermits ( Puls ); ceases on sitting or walking; reappears on lying down. Pain worse after menses. Lochia offensive; intermits .

Respiratory

Hoarse, with pain in larynx . Cough; worse evening, with efforts to vomit, with pain in chest. Raw burning in chest; pains and oppression. Cough after influenza ( Eriodyction ). Winter coughs of old people, with heavy pressure on sternum . Gangrene of lungs. After every cough, copious, purulent expectoration . Hæmoptysis; periodic attacks. Sternum feels pressed in.

Back

Dragging backache, extending to genitals and down thighs. Great debility.

Extremities

Pain in joints, hip and knee. Boring pain in hip-joints. Scapulæ sore.

Skin

Itching, worse towards evening. Burning in soles. Senile gangrene. Small wounds bleed freely ( Crot; Lach; Phos ). Pustules and herpes. Ecchymosis; dorsal surface of fingers and hands eczematous.

Sleep

Disturbed with tossing. Paralytic sensation in limbs on waking. Anxious dreams of pursuit, fire, erections, etc.

Modalities

Worse , in open air, cold rest, when lying; after menstruation. Better , from warmth, motion, warm diet.

Relationship

Antidote: Nux . Inimical: Carbo .

Complementary in malignant diseases: Ars; Phos; Sulph .

Guaiacol

(is the principal constituent of Kreosote, and similar in action. Used in pulmonary tuberculosis. Dose 1 to 5 m).

Matico

-Artanthe or Piper augustifolia, (Gonorrhœa, hæmorrhage from lungs; catarrhal conditions of genito-urinary organs and gastro-intestinal tract. Topically a hæmostatic. Difficult, dry, deep, winter cough. Use tincture).

Compare also: Fuligo ligni; Carbol ac; Iod; Laches .

Dose

Third to thirtieth potency. The 200th in sensitive patients.

Kreosotum across the other classic books

Kreosotum appears in 11 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.

Allen HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.
“Kreosotum. (A Distillation of Wood Tar.) Dark complexion, slight, lean, ill-developed, poorly nourished, overgrown; very tall for her age (Phos.). Children: old looking, wrinkled (Abrot.); scrofulous or psoric affections; rapid emaciation (Iod.); post climacteric diseases of women (Lach.). Haemorrhagic diathesis…”
Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“A product of distillation of wood tar. Composition doubtful and variable. Preparation , Solutions in alcohol. Authorities. A. Reichenback, "Das Kreosot," second edition, 1835, effects of application to skin. ( 1 to 8, provings by Dr. Syrbius, A. H. Z ., 12, p. 33).”
Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“ACRIDITY, excoriations, etc. BLACK, dark, etc. BLOOD SEPSIS, etc. BLUISH, purple, livid, etc. EATING, long after, Agg. FEMALE ORGANS GNAWING, eating, festering pains ITCHING, tickling, etc., internal LUMPY EFFECTS, discharges, etc. LYING, on side, Agg. MENSES, before, Agg. MENSES, before and after, Agg. MENSES, after…”
Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“MUCOUS MEMBRANES: DIGESTIVE TRACT. Gums. Stomach. Abdomen. Female genitals. Uterus. BLOOD. Teeth. DENTITION. Pregnancy. Rest. Cold. Eating. Lying. Summer. During menses. 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Warmth. Hot food. Motion. Miserable and weak. Profuse, FOUL, HOT, ACRID discharges; sputum, eructations, etc.; redden the part…”
Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Kreasote or Creasote. A product of distillation of Wood Tar. C 8 H 10 O 2 . Solution in Rectified Spirit. [J. Meredith makes dilutions of "the first heavy distillate of hard green wood," which he has named Carbo Pyroligneus .] Acne / Amenorrhœa / Cancer / Carbuncle / Change of life / Cholera infantum / Coccygodynia /…”
Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“A product of distillation of wood tar. Provings by Syrbius, Hartung, Sen. and Jun., Immisch, Lange, Koch, Heinemann, Lunderstadt, Wahle, Eichhorn, Thomas. See Allen's Encyclopædia, vol. 5, p. 408 . Additional verified symptoms from provings by Hering and Kummer, MSS. CLINICAL AUTHORITIES. Difficulty of hearing during…”
Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Characteristics: There are three things that stand out most prominently in Kreosotum, and when they appear together the symptoms in minor degree will be likely to be associated. These three characteristics are: When these three things arc associated in a high degree Kreosote should be examined. A prick of a pin will…”
Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Low-spirited, inclined to weep, longing for death; music and other subduing emotions cause him to weep. Ill-humor (in the morning), with disposition to weep. Weakness of memory. Painful dulness of the head, as; after intoxication. Heaviness in the forehead and sensation as if the brain would fall out. Pulsation in the…”
Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: kreosote. Acrid, fœtid, decomposed, mucous secretions; sometimes ulcerating, bleeding, malignant (N.). Difficulty of hearing, before and during the menses, with buzzing and humming in the head (G.). Intense itching of the margins of the eye-lids, greatly aggravated by rubbing or touching them (Bt.)…”
Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Cholera infantum; profuse vomiting; cadaverous smelling stools. Hæmorrhagic diathesis; small wound bleeds profusely (Phos.). Acrid, fœtid, decomposed, mucous secretions; sometimes ulcerating, bleeding, malignant. Gums painful, dark red or blue; teeth decay as soon as they come. Sudden urging to urinate or during first…”

Kreosotum in Kent's Repertory

Kent's Repertory lists Kreosotum in 1,953 rubrics. These are the ones where it carries the highest grade — the symptoms Kent treated as most characteristic. Most of them sit in EXTREMITIES (233), GENERALITIES (185), FEMALE GENITALIA (170), SKIN (136), HEAD (119).

FEMALE GENITALIA - CANCER of - Vagina
FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - biting - between labia
MIND - RESTLESSNESS,nervousness - evening - 6 p.m. till 6 a.m.
SKIN - ULCERS - reopening of old - when partly healed
BLADDER - URINATION - involuntary - night (incontinence in bed) - difficult to waken the child
FEMALE GENITALIA - ITCHING - between labia
FEMALE GENITALIA - LOCHIA - lumpy
STOMACH - VOMITING - food - eating,while - immediately after - undigested food 2 or 3 hours after 2
COUGH - BED, - changing position
EXTREMITIES - PAIN - Thumb - left
FEMALE GENITALIA - HARDNESS
FEMALE GENITALIA - ITCHING - Vagina - voluptuous
MOUTH - DISCOLORATION - Gums - bluish-red
FEMALE GENITALIA - LEUCORRHOEA - yellow - stains linen
FEMALE GENITALIA - PAIN - burning - urinating, - after
FEMALE GENITALIA - INDURATION
FEMALE GENITALIA - LEUCORRHOEA - pregnancy
SLEEP - YAWNING - coughing - after
FEMALE GENITALIA - LOCHIA - dark
FEMALE GENITALIA - METRORRHAGIA - coition,after

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