ACETICUM ACIDUM

ACETICUM ACIDUM (Glacial Acetic Acid)

Common Name: Glacial Acetic Acid

Abbreviation: Acet-ac.

Keynotes:

• Profound anemia with dropsy, great debility, frequent fainting, dyspnea, weak heart, vomiting, profuse micturition, and sweat.
• Hemorrhage from any part.
• Especially indicated in pale, lean people with lax, flabby muscles.
• Has the power to liquify albuminous and fibrinous deposits.
• Useful in epithelial cancer, internally and locally.
• Softens and causes the formation of pus in the 1x solution.

Mind:

• Irritable, worried about business affairs.

Head:

• Nervous headache from abuse of narcotics.
• Blood rushes to the head with delirium.
• Temporal vessels distended.
• Pain across the root of the tongue.

Face:

• Pale, waxy, emaciated appearance.
• Sunken eyes surrounded by dark rings.
• Bright red face.
• Sweaty.
• Epithelioma of lips.
• Cheeks hot and flushed.
• Aching in the left temporo-mandibular joint.

Stomach:

• Salivation.
• Fermentation in the stomach.
• Intense burning thirst.
• Cold drinks distress.
• Vomiting after every kind of food.
• Epigastric tenderness.
• Burning pain, as of an ulcer.
• Cancer of the stomach.
• Sour belching and vomiting.
• Burning waterbrash and profuse salivation.
• Hyperchlorhydria and gastralgia.
• Violent burning pains in the stomach and chest followed by coldness of the skin and cold sweat on the forehead.
• Stomach feels as if consumed a lot of vinegar.

Abdomen:

• Sensation as if the abdomen was sinking.
• Frequent watery stools, worse in the morning.
• Tympanitic abdomen.
• Ascites.
• Hemorrhage from bowels.

Urinary:

• Large quantities of pale urine.
• Diabetes with great thirst and debility (Ph-ac.).

Female:

• Excessive catamenia.
• Hemorrhages after labor.
• Nausea of pregnancy.
• Painfully enlarged breasts (mastitis), distended with milk.
• Impoverished, bluish, transparent, sour milk.
• Anemia in nursing mothers.

Respiratory:

• Hoarse, hissing respiration; difficulty in breathing; cough when inhaling.
• Membranous croup.
• Irritation of trachea and bronchial tubes.
• False membrane in the throat (diphtheria).
• Profuse bronchorrhea.
• Fibrinous exudation in the throat (gargle).

Back:

• Pain in the back, relieved only by lying on the abdomen.

Extremities:

• Emaciation.
• Edema of feet and legs.

Fever:

• Hectic fever with drenching night sweats.
• Hyperemic spot on the left cheek.
• No thirst during fever.
• Ebullitions.
• Profuse, cold sweat.

Skin:

• Pale, waxy, edematous appearance.
• Burning, dry, hot skin, or bathed in profuse sweat.
• Decreased sensations on the body surface.
• Useful after stings, bites, etc.
• Varicose swellings.
• Scurvy; anasarca.
• Bruises; sprains.

Relationship:

• Acet-ac. is antidotal to all anesthetic vapors.
• Counteracts sausage poisoning.
• Compare with Ammonium aceticum (abundant saccharine in urine, patient is bathed in sweat), Benzoin oderiferum-Spice wood (night sweats), Ars., Chin., Dig., Liat. (general anasarca in heart and kidney disease, dropsy, and chronic diarrhea).

Dose:

• Not to be repeated too often, except in croup.