Ammonium carbonicum appears in 12 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.
“Smelling Salts. ((NH4O)2CO.) Haemorrhagic diathesis, fluid blood and degeneration of red blood corpuscles; ulcerations tend to gangrene. Stout, fleshy women with various troubles in consequence of leading a sedentary life; delicate women who must have the "smelling-bottle" continually at hand; readily catch cold in…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“The sesquicarbonate of Ammonium (smelling salts), formula 2[(NH4 )2 Preparation , Solution in distilled water, one to ten. Authorities. 1 to 7 , from Hahnemann's collection, Ch. K., vol. 2; Nos. 8 to 19 , are Martins provings. Hom. V. J. Sch, 10, 67.] All day long, lively, excited, 1, 3. Extremely exalted, 1…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Carbonate of Ammonia (AMMONIUM CARB) The diseased conditions met by this remedy are such as we find often in rather stout women who are always tired and weary, take cold easily, suffer from cholera-like symptoms before menses, lead a sedentary life, have a slow reaction generally, and are disposed to frequent use of…”
- Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“HEART: Circulation. Blood. RESPIRATION. Lungs. Bronchiæ. Right side. COLD: CLOUDY DAYS. DAMP. Locally . Raw, open air. Falling asleep. 3-4 A.M. DURING MENSES. Motion. PRESSURE. Eating. Lying on abdomen. Low vitality. Lacks reaction. LIVID, WEAK AND DROWSY. Lies down. Collapse of nerves and heart. Averse to cold. Old…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Sal volatile. Sesqui carbonate of Ammonia. 2 [(NH 4 ) 2 C0 3 CO 2 . Solution in distilled water. Asthma Bronchitis / Cough / Dislocations, pains from / Emphysema / Enuresis / Erysipelas / Gums, sensitive / Hæmorrhoids / Hysteria / Lungs, œdema of / Measles / Miliary eruptions / Nose affections / Parotitis / Rickets /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Smelling Salts. Ammoniæ Sesquicarbonas. 2NH 4 O, 3CO 2 . Much used and abused by the Old School and the people. Introduced by Hahnemann in 1828. Classed among the antipsorics in 1835, in the second edition, with additions from the six later provers. In 1859 were published Professor Martin's provings on himself and…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Generalities: If we were practicing in the old-fashioned way and considered the wonderfully volatile nature of Ammonium carb. in some of its forms we would only look upon it as an agent to relieve fainting and simple affections and use it in the form of hartshorn to comfort old maids and some other women. But Ammonium…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Tearing in the joints, relieved by the heat of the bed. Stinging and tearing pains. Drawing and tension as from the shortening of the muscles. Inclination to stretch the limbs. Pain as of dislocation in the joints. Pain as from sub-cutaneous ulceration. Debility which only permits to lie down. Disinclination to walk…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Anxiety, with inclination to weep. Forgetfulness, mistakes in writing and speaking. Ill humor during wet, stormy weather. Giddiness, especially in the morning, when sitting and reading; better when walking. Pulsations, beating and pressing in the forehead, as if the head would burst; worse after eating and while…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: smelling salts. Long-lasting coryza (A.). NOSE-BLEED: WHEN WASHING THE FACE AND HANDS IN THE MORNING; FROM LEFT NOSTRIL; AFTER EATING (A.). Ozæna: blowing bloody mucus from the nose frequently (A.). Blood rushes to the tip of nose, when stooping (A.). Great sensitiveness to the cold (Hep., Psor., Sil.)…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Nose-bleed when washing the face in the morning. Weak, anæmic, flabby women. Weak, no reaction. Addicted to the smelling bottle. Tendency to gangrenous degeneration of glands, as in scarlatina; the parotids. Guernsey says: This remedy seems particularly useful in constitutionally delicate women who faint easily and…”
