Bismuthum subnitricum
Made from bismuth — the heavy pink-white metal of Pepto-Bismol, the real upset-stomach medicine, and the classical remedy of vomiting with burning pain.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a stomach that vomits and burns: vomiting of the drink as soon as it warms, burning and pressure as of a load, the person pacing in anguish, wanting company and cold water in sips, and — like Arsenicum — feeling better from the cold water lying on the stomach. Burning vomiting, cold-water-better, wants company: that is Bismuth.
The substance, in plain words
Bismuth is the dense, pink-tinged metal behind Pepto-Bismol — a genuine, effective, over-the-counter stomach medicine that also forms part of modern antibiotic combinations that eradicate ulcer-causing bacteria. The homeopathic picture of the burning, vomiting stomach is the metal's real pharmacology, amplified.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anguish wanting company. Like Arsenicum, the sufferer paces, moans, and begs not to be left alone in the vomiting state.
- Anxiety and fear. Fear of death with the violent stomach symptoms.
- Restless misery. Constant motion between the vomitings; cannot keep still for the burning.
The body
- Vomiting of warmed drinks. The keynote: cold water is retained, then vomited the moment it warms in the stomach.
- Burning, load-like pressure. A weight in the stomach with burning pain, better for pressure and for lying on the stomach.
- Better for cold water on the stomach. The cold drink itself, lying there, soothes — the quoted amelioration.
- Anguish of the digestion. Deathly nausea, eructations, the books' gastralgia picture.
- Headaches with the stomach. Frontal pressure and dizziness accompanying the gastric state.
- Worse night. The vomiting and burning climb in the night hours.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| warm drinks and food; night; eating; lying on the back | cold drinks retained cold; lying on the stomach; company; pressure. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach (vomiting, burning), digestion, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The proving of bismuth salts reproduced the irritant-cum-protective chemistry of the metal — burning, vomiting, cold-water relief — and the remedy attached to the gastralgias and vomitings of the pre-antacid era.
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.
Bismuth subsalicylate is Pepto-Bismol — a real, effective medicine for indigestion and diarrhea — and bismuth compounds, combined with antibiotics, are a genuine part of modern Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. The metal on this page is one of the library's clearest modern drugs.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenicum album | Anxiety, restlessness, cold-water desire | Arsenicum is chilly, prostrated and sips; Bismuth burns and vomits the warmed drink, with the load-like pressure. |
| Phosphorus | Vomiting, cold water | Phosphorus vomits water as it warms with bleeding and sympathy; Bismuth vomits it with burning load. |
| Ipecacuanha | Constant nausea | Ipecac is nauseated with a clean tongue; Bismuth burns and vomits with anguish. |
| Nux vomica | Digestive anguish | Nux is irritable and retching; Bismuth is pleading and burning. |