Bismuth

Diarrhœa; stools watery, profuse, painless and offensive or cadaverously smelling.

Vomiting of large quantities and intense thirst; water is vomited the moment it reaches the stomach; food is retained a little longer.

Restlessness, anguish, great prostration; pale with blue rings around the eyes; surface covered with sweat, but it is warm sweat.

---

Bismuth is one of our best remedies for cholera infantum; genuine cholera infantum, where the disease is sudden in its onset, and rapid in its course. Such cases die in a night or even a few hours, unless Bismuth, Veratrum, Kreosote or some remedy of such rapid action saves them. With Bismuth the stools are watery, profuse, painless and very offensive; cadaverous smelling. There is also vomiting of large quantities and the intense thirst is accompanied with vomiting of the water drank the moment it touches the stomach. Water only is so vomited. Food is retained a little longer (with Arsenicum both water and food are vomited). There is prostration equal to that of Arsenicum or Veratrum album, but the surface is warm and often covered with warm sweat. The face is deathly pale, with rings around the eyes. This is a perfect picture of Bismuth, and no other remedy need be confounded with it.

Again, Bismuth is a remedy for purely nervous gastralgia. The pain is of a pressing nature, sometimes pressing between the shoulders and sometimes there is much burning in the stomach (Arsenicum). It is also often of benefit in cancer of the stomach, when there is at times vomiting of enormous quantities of food that seems to have lain in the stomach for days. In such cases there is much burning and pain. It has a restlessness and anguish, similar to Arsenic, wants to move around, can’t stay long in one place. In the neuralgic form of gastralgia the lower triturations have served me best, but in cholera infantum I never use lower than the 200th and have seen remarkable results. Solitude is unbearable, child wants mother to hold its hand for company (Stramonium).