In olden days, Bismuth was used by allopathic doctors for the treatment of diarrhoea. Although it controls the diarrhoea it does not cure the disease of the intestine causing diarrhoea. The pain stays nonetheless.
In homoeopathy, the mental symptoms of Bismuth are more pronounced. The patient does not like to be alone for even a moment. He must have somebody nearby. In old age, many such patients need somebody by their side at all times. They want to relate their story to them.
Bismuth is useful in toothache. The gums are swollen; the tongue is whitish and swollen. On its margins are darkish ulcers, resembling those of gangrene.
The Bismuth patient has poor digestion, and like Phosphorus and Aethusa, the stomach does not accept water. As soon as the fluid becomes warm, the patient vomits. However, the patient does not vomit after solid food. The patient belches out foul gas. The pain in the abdomen resembles that of dioscorea. The patient bends backwards. The nature of the pain in the abdomen is different from ordinary pain but the patient cannot explain it. During diarrhoea, there is no pain in the abdomen. When, after administration of Bismuth the diarrhoea stops, the pain in the abdomen returns. The stomach feels inflamed.
Bismuth is also useful in the treatment of angina. In the case of Bismuth, the chest pain starts at the left side of the heart and radiates to the shoulder and down to the fingertips, instead of the pain normally starting from the sternum. Many a time, chest pain can be due to ulcers in the stomach or inflammation of the stomach. In both conditions, Bismuth can be used.
In Bismuth, as in Hyoscyamus, there is a tendency of experiencing violent sexual dreams. It seems as if there is some kind of injurious material in the diarrhoea of Bismuth, which after being absorbed from the intestines into the blood affects the mind, as a result of which the person experiences strange dreams.
Adjuvants: Arsenic, Belladonna, Kreosotum
Antidotes: Nux Vomica, Capsicum
Potency: 30 to 200
by MirzaTahir Ahmad