Homoeopathy — Page 567
Plumbum Metallicum 567 PLUMBUM METALLICUM In Latin, the metal lead is called Plumbum. Some paint used to decorate the houses contains lead. Even after the paint dries, the lead particles remain suspended in the air. Those who are allergic to lead will develop an allergy as soon as they enter a room treated with lead- containing paint. They will develop severe abdominal pain as if the abdomen is tightly squeezed. Even if the patient is not allergic to lead, a severe type of abdominal pain will benefit from Plumbum. A special symptom of Plumbum is related to the gums i. e. , a blue line (lead line) appears on the gums below the teeth. It darkens with the passage of time. Plumbum is the best treatment for muscular spasms. Besides this, if the hand becomes paralysed resulting in wrist drop (which may be due to an excessive use of the hand for writing), and the patient has the basic symptoms of Plumbum, then Plumbum acts extraordinarily fast against this condition. A Plumbum patient is often very slow and lazy. He appears somewhat mentally as well as psychologically deficient. When questioned, the patient either responds after a pause or just repeats the question. Plumbum is ideal for the treatment of delayed response. Sometimes while deeply lost in his thoughts, a person may not listen to a lightly uttered question, but will become aware of the question a little later, when his mind receives the message recorded earlier and wakes him up. Then he will ask what the matter was. Although a delayed response should not only be taken as a sign of Plumbum ailment, nevertheless, a Plumbum patient always reacts slowly. In fact, his perception of pain is also very slow and delayed. Therefore, there is always a danger that by the time such a patient comes to realise the pain, he may have already been seriously hurt. Luckily, only full-fledged Plumbum patients exhibit this symptom. A Plumbum patient understands the matter, but it takes time to register in his mind. The nerves carrying the pain sensation become slow in transmitting the pain message. Sometimes, this slowly progressive sensory loss may end in complete loss of sensation. The skin becomes numb. The feet and other parts of the body may gradually become insensitive and lifeless. When the disease progresses further,