No doubt, Calcarea Sulph is well known for the treatment of epilepsy, but Calcarea Arsenica is also an important remedy. It comes next to Calcarea Sulph. About Calcarea Arsenica, Dr. Kent is of the opinion that it can cure epilepsy completely. In my opinion, every kind of epilepsy is not curable. Epilepsy which is secondary to the structural deformity of the head needs to be treated surgically.
In Calcarea Arsenica, there is a tendency towards twitching of the muscles, as well as paralytic weakness. In fact, calcium causes profound weakness even if slightly imbalanced in the body. The blood pressure is also affected and sometimes the patient can suddenly collapse. These kinds of symptoms are very common in cattle. Due to calcium imbalance in their body, they collapse suddenly. Usually the day-to-day weakness of the patient is not related to the imbalance of Calcarea, but the sudden weakening may very well be due to the hyperacidity in the stomach. The condition is scary and frightful but not fatal. Sometimes these patients may become unconscious, but it is not epilepsy per se. The fits of weakness and unconsciousness due to epilepsy are for life. But sudden episodes of unconsciousness are not necessarily due to epilepsy.
The epilepsy secondary to congenital abnormality can adversely affect the rational thinking of a person. The patient’s forehead reflects his mental abnormality i.e. he is mentally not at par. His eyes express an idiotic look or, if the patient happens to be oversensitive, he keeps on pondering over trivial things. He is incapable of thinking wisely and seriously.
Mental overload and acidity of the stomach can sometimes create a state of extreme physical weakness, so much so that the person may not be able to even move his finger. I have gone through this situation myself and felt during the physical exhaustion that I used to have, as if I was about to die. For many days I could not even get out of bed. This condition is temporary. When the acidity of the stomach is properly treated, the condition of this kind of serious weakness will leave forever.
The weakness that is observed in Calcarea Arsenica is not necessarily a sign of epilepsy. Arsenic is a part of the compound of Calcarea Arsenica. It has the tendency to produce an excessive amount of acid in the stomach. However, for the treatment of this kind of weakness, Nux Vomica is a better remedy than Arsenic. Calcarea Arsenica is different from Nux Vomica and other medicines. In Calcarea Arsenica patients, the paralytic tendency is a permanent feature while mere hyperacidity of the stomach does not cause paralysis. In Calcarea Arsenica, the hands start to shake and the entire body trembles before the onset of paralysis.
In medical terms, the word aura is used by doctors to describe the sensation of twinkling or tingling before the onset of epilepsy. In some patients, the aura starts at the stomach, while in others it starts at the heart. For example, the heart has a sinking feeling with a sensation of fright. In Calcarea Arsenica, the aura always starts at the heart. So if the patient notices something strange happening over the heart and the fit is like that of epilepsy, Calcarea Arsenica has the capability to completely cure this condition. Another sign of Calcarea Arsenica is that before the epileptic fit, the voice subsides and the person cannot speak.
Calcarea Arsenica is useful in the treatment of shortness of breath while going up the stairs. Its diseases tend to affect the left side of the body. In Calcarea Arsenica and in Staphysagria, neurological diseases develop as a result of anger, dislike and displeasure. The patient imagines ghosts and suffers from other kinds of hallucinations and delusions. Sometimes its patient sees fire in the dreams. This also happens in Natrum Mur, in which the patient sees fire and snakes in his dreams. If along with these symptoms, permanent insanity seems to be developing, Calcarea Arsenica would prove to be a good remedy for such insanity.
Calcarea Arsenica is also useful for the treatment of vertigo, imbalance and convulsions secondary to the excessive rush of blood towards the head. Calcarea Arsenica can be of use in old and chronic types of headache. It is worth a try if everything else has failed to relieve the headache. The headache in Calcarea Arsenica is just the reverse of the headache in Cimicifuga. In Cimicifuga, the pain becomes intense on lying on the affected side. In fact, local pressure on the affected side may provoke twitching of the muscles. In Calcarea Arsenica, the person will feel pain on the side opposite to the one he lies on. If he lies on the right side, his headache would be on the left side, and vice- versa. This is typical of Calcarea Arsenica. Any chronic headache showing this kind of pattern will be most responsive to Calcarea Arsenica. Other than this, there is no other specific sign of the headache in Calcarea Arsenica.
Eczema develops on the skin of the face and the scalp. The kidneys hurt, the pain being the result of inflammation rather than of a stone in the kidneys. In Calcarea Arsenica, the leucorrhoeal discharge is yellowish and is corrosive like acid. Sometimes, this type of leucorrhoea can also cause psychiatric complications. In the treatment of this kind of leucorrhoea, Kali Phos and Arsenic are also useful remedies. In fact, these are the true antidotes for foul smelling discharge resulting from internal inflammation.
Calcarea Arsenica is very useful in the treatment of the constant oozing of the blood-mixed, acidic, foul-smelling discharge due to cancer of the uterus.