Arsenicum Album

What it’s reached for

• food poisoning or travellers' diarrhoea with vomiting and weakness.
• a streaming cold that moves to the chest, with restlessness.
• anxiety about health with a need for company and order.

Fever — Aconite vs. Belladonna vs. Gelsemium vs. Arsenicum: restlessness WITH exhaustion (the opposite pairing from Aconite's restlessness-with-strength), worse after midnight, chilly, better warm drinks/warmth.

Digestive upset — Nux Vomica vs. Arsenicum vs. Carbo Veg vs. Pulsatilla: from spoiled food/food poisoning, burning pains better warm drinks, restless and exhausted.

Common Cold / Catarrh — Aconite vs. Allium Cepa vs. Euphrasia vs. Arsenicum vs. Nux Vomica: thin watery discharge that burns, yet the nose feels stopped up; chilly, restless, worse after midnight, better for warmth.

Nausea & Vomiting — Ipecacuanha vs. Arsenicum vs. Nux Vomica vs. Pulsatilla: from spoiled food or water; burning stomach; vomiting and diarrhoea together; anxious, restless and exhausted; thirsty for small frequent sips; better for warm drinks; worse after midnight.

Loose Motion / Diarrhoea — Arsenicum vs. Podophyllum vs. Nux Vomica vs. China vs. Pulsatilla: from spoiled food; small, dark, offensive, burning stools; prostration and anxiety out of all proportion to the illness; worse after midnight; better for warmth.

Anxiety, Stress & Sleeplessness — Coffea vs. Aconite vs. Nux Vomica vs. Arsenicum vs. Ignatia vs. Gelsemium vs. Argentum Nitricum: anxious about health and about order; restless but physically exhausted; worse after midnight (around 1–2 am), gets up and moves about; wants company and light.

Allergic Rhinitis / Hay Fever — Allium Cepa vs. Euphrasia vs. Sabadilla vs. Arsenicum vs. Natrum Muriaticum: thin, watery, burning discharge with a stuffed-up feeling; sneezing without relief; chilly, restless, anxious; worse in open air, better for warmth.

Asthma / Wheezing — Arsenicum vs. Ipecacuanha vs. Natrum Sulphuricum vs. Spongia: attacks worse between midnight and 2 am, cannot lie down, must sit up or bend forward, anxious and restless, better for warmth and warm drinks.

Recovery After Illness — China vs. Arsenicum vs. Phosphoric Acid vs. Gelsemium vs. Carbo Veg: exhaustion out of all proportion to the effort, with anxiety, chilliness and restlessness, worse after midnight, better for warmth and small warm drinks.

Potency: 30C every 2–4 hours in an acute upset; slow down as strength returns.