Radium bromatum
Made from radium bromide — the radioactive salt; the classical remedy of the deep bone ache, the late-appearing ulcer and the burning skin.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of the slow, deep action of radium: severe aching in the bones and joints that eases on moving, an ulcer that appears late and far from where the radium touched, skin that burns as if afire, and a great weariness with it all. Radium's slow, penetrating effect: that is Radium bromatum.
The substance, in plain words
Radium bromide, the radioactive salt, potentised. Boericke records the provings of Diffenbach with a preparation of high radioactivity, and the clinical use in rheumatism, gout, skin disease, nævi and cancers.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Apprehension and depression. Fear of being alone in the dark, with a great desire to be with people.
- Tired and irritable. A weariness of mind as well as body.
The body
- Deep aching in the bones and joints, worst at night and better on continued motion; the legs, arms and neck feel hard and brittle, as if they would break.
- Skin. Erythema and dermatitis with itching, burning, swelling and redness; small pimples; ulcers and necrosis; itching as if the skin were afire.
- Head. Occipital and vertex pain with lumbar aching; pain over the right eye spreading back to the occiput; violent trifacial neuralgia.
- Stomach and abdomen. An empty, sinking feeling; violent cramps and much flatulence; pain over McBurney's point.
- Urinary. Renal irritation, albuminuria and casts; nephritis with rheumatic symptoms.
- Late appearance of symptoms; ulcers from radium burns heal very slowly.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| at night; on getting up. | open air; continued motion; a hot bath; lying down; pressure. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
The bones and joints, the skin, the kidneys, and the blood.
Where the classical picture comes from
The proving of radium bromide by Diffenbach and the early clinical experience of radium burns. Radium's delayed, penetrating injury — the ulcer that appears far from the point of contact and long after it — is the keynote Boericke singles out, comparing it to Anacardium.
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.
Radium is real medicine. Radium-223 (Xofigo) is an approved treatment for bone metastases in prostate cancer, delivering its radiation precisely to the bone; radium was one of the earliest cancer therapies, and radium-226 was used in luminous paint until the 'radium girls' of the 1920s sickened with anaemia, jaw necrosis and bone cancer — the very picture the proving describes. Radium is also, like X-ray, a cause of leukaemia and bone cancer.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| X-Ray | The fellow radiation remedy | X-Ray is drier and more eruptive, acting on the skin and blood; Radium leads with deep bone pain and the very late, deep ulcer. |
| Anacardium | The late, deep ulcer that appears elsewhere | Anacardium is the remedy of two warring wills and a plug sensation; Radium is the radiation picture, with bone ache and the burning skin. |
| Rhus toxicodendron | Aches that are better for continued motion | Rhus is the damp-stiff, poison-ivy type; Radium is the radiation picture, with the deep bone pain and the late ulcer. |
| Sepia | Better for vigorous exercise and pressure | Sepia is the worn-out, indifferent type; Radium is the radiation picture, with the brittle bones and the burning, itching skin. |