Arsenicum bromatum
Made from arsenic tribromide — the halogen salt of the great poison, and the classical remedy of the intensely itchy psoriasis.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of psoriasis that itches beyond bearing: the scaling, peeling skin of the books' arsenic-skin chapter, the intense itching that nothing touches, and the halogen salt of the same great poison. The itching-psoriasis salt: that is Arsenicum bromatum.
The substance, in plain words
Arsenic tribromide is the halogen salt of the great poison — arsenic joined to bromine, the two elements genuinely active on skin and nerve. The proving gave the salt the intensely-itchy psoriasis portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the skin, the itching, the chronicity, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant, unrelieved itching.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronic, itching states.
The body
- Intensely itchy psoriasis. The keynote: the scaling, peeling psoriasis with the unbearable itching — the books' great use of the bromide.
- Arsenic-family skin. The scaling and exfoliation of the family's skin chapter.
- Worse cold damp and night. Wet weather and night drive the itching wild.
- Better for warmth and rest. Warmth and rest ease the bromide state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; night; scratching; warmth of the bed. | warmth; rest; cool air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Skin (psoriasis, intense pruritus), general vitality, nervous system.
Where the classical picture comes from
The halogen salt's proving gave the intensely-itchy psoriasis; Ars brom became the classical remedy of the unbearable itch of the arsenic-skin chapter — the poison's bromide serving the skin the family has served since Arsenicum album.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Arsenic salts were genuinely the dermatology of the pre-steroid era — the family's real chemistry acted on the skin, as the modern leukemia drug ATO continues to prove. The bromide's modern echo is the arsenic-chemistry family itself, whose real career spans poison, pigment and chemotherapy.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenicum album | The arsenic family | Ars alb is the anxious, chilly, sipping whole; Ars brom the intensely itchy psoriasis of the same family. |
| Arsenicum metallicum | The arsenic skin pair | Ars met is the exfoliative scaling; Ars brom the intensely itchy psoriasis. |
| Chrysarobinum | Psoriasis | Chrysarobin is the silvery plaque; Ars brom the unbearably itchy one of the family. |
| Petroleum | Winter skin | Petroleum cracks; Ars brom itches beyond bearing. |