The Homeopathic Carbon Remedies: An Introduction

It is thanks to Roger Morrison, MD, author of Carbon: Organic and Hydrocarbon Remedies in Homeopathy (2006), that we have extensive information on when to prescribe organic compounds for our patients. This book contains a vast amount of information of which I have barely skimmed the surface. However, in this age of epidemic chemical sensitivity, I highly recommend delving into this area for the sake of our environmentally injured patients.

This is far too complex a subject to investigate at length, but I would like to provide an introduction and a case example with the hope that those of you reading this will keep this family of remedies in mind for chemically sensitive and damaged patients. Let me make it clear that I am very much a novice when it comes to understanding and mastering this class of remedies, but it is essential to be aware of them, since they are increasingly needed by our patients. Organic chemistry, a prerequisite to entering naturopathic medical school and not my favorite subject, has clearly come back to haunt me!

Themes

Organic compounds (similarly to viruses) pass all barriers. They can’t be kept out. They are considered the deadliest of all toxins and can cause cancer, immunological diseases, cardiac, and liver disease.

Common themes involved in these cases include greed, cheapness/disposability, protection, time/speed, and denial.

In a nutshell, the four forms of carbon remedies are elemental carbon (Carbo vegetabilis, Carbo animalis, Graphites, Adamas, Carbon, and Fuligo Ligni (made from chimney soot), pure organic compounds (Alcohol, Acetic acid), organic mixtures (Petroleum), and salts of organic compounds (such as Natrum aceticum).

Organic remedies used in homeopathy include pure organic compounds (two of which are Alcohol and Carbolic acid); salts of organic compounds (such as Antimonium tartaricum); organic compound mixtures (fossil-fuel-based, plant-based,or animal-based), and elemental carbon (including such well-known remedies as Carbo animalis, Carbo vegetabilis, and Graphites).

Barely scratching the surface of the themes belonging to this group of remedies include the following:

• Confusion: Feeling lost and disoriented; vacant; unable to recognize self and others.
• Identity: Loss of or weakness of identity; timidity; invisibility.
• Value: Feeling important or unimportant; worth/worthlessness; exploitation of or by others.
• Mental weakness: Poor concentration; weak memory; difficult or slow speech; mistakes in writing or speaking.
• Isolation: Feeling alone, forsaken, separate. Withdrawal. Lack of feelings for loved ones.
• Passivity: Loss of will or ambition; apathy; indifference to others or to hygiene.
• Dwelling on the past: Longing for or dwelling on the past. These remedies are so vital in this day and age, that I will at least present to you the basics, as well as a case from my practice.

These remedies are so vital in this day and age, that I will at least present to you the basics, as well as a case from my practice.

A Woman with CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (Mold Illness)

Alexa, 47 years old, had returned a year earlier to the New England home where she was raised. It had been occupied by a distant relative for the previous ten years, and the family had a suspicion that the house had been neglected. It turned out that the home was not only in a filthy condition but full of mold. They proceeded to evict the tenant but, during the exploratory visit, Alexa was severely contaminated by the mold. Her symptoms included the following:

• Terrible heat: Like 1000 lit matches were shooting out of her hair follicles.
• Exquisite elbow pain
• Constant swelling of her bottom lip
• Night sweats
• Severe hives covering her stomach and torso

She felt “completely demoralized,” heavy… as if she had a different body before and after the exposure to the home. Alexa returned to sort out and removed some of her family’s belongings, such as old photo albums. Wearing a mask, she took the albums out in the sun, and could literally observe the mold coming off the photos. She hired a mold inspector, who insisted that they not stay there, so they went only briefly to sort out what was necessary.

Alexa quickly realized something was drastically wrong.

• Suddenly she was unable to digest food.
• Her menstrual periods literally stopped.
• Immediately following the exposure, she developed a burning, pulling sensation in the urethra and cervix on urinating.
• Her face became red twenty minutes after eating.
• She experienced a heavy chemical smell, similar to that of a Sharpee marker, penetrating her nose.
• It was as if all of the cells of her body were being scorched—as if particles of heat were coming in waves from her abdomen, torso, and lower back, head and face.
• Alexa’s sensitivity to perfume worsened to the point of feeling tortured.
• She could not handle noise, talking, or the sound of a television.
• Noise, even from talking or a television, were intolerable.
• Cluttered spaces were terribly annoying.
• She was completely intolerant of chemicals and petroleum. If her husband got gas on his shoes from filling his tank, she couldn’t stand being in the car.
• Hand lotions would make her feel nauseous.
• She felt a hot, toxic, sharp sensation—as if someone had just dragged her arm across a carpet.

Following the mold exposure, Alexa could simply not think. Brain fog, frightening and gruesome thoughts, even a fixation on death. Alexa simply wanted to retreat, to rest, to not interact with others. Plus, she felt terribly guilty about having neglected the home, which had been in the family for four previous generations.

The Homeopathic Prescription

The remedy I chose for Alexa was Carboneum sulphuratum (Carbn-sul). Carbon bisulfide is a highly volatile, colorless liquid with a very unpleasant odor much like ether. It Is well proven and in use by homeopaths for nearly two centuries. Physically the remedy is known for sudden, violent complaints such as those experienced by Alexa just after the mold exposure. They include, among others, sluggish mentality, a variety of GI complaints, stopping or absence of menses, urethral burning, heat and flushes, noise sensitivity. I remembered, from a case I had heard at a previous conference, the extreme sensitivity to the odor of gas and perfumes. I gave four doses of Carb-s 200C twelve hours apart and a daily LM6.

Thirteen Months of Follow-ups

Six weeks: Alexa had begun a meditation and breathing practice at the same time as the remedy, so it was hard for her to attribute the improvement directly to the homeopathy. She had also been tremendously affected by the murder of George Floyd. The heavy chemical smell was gone as well as the acute chemical sensitivity. She was no longer bothered by her husband pumping gas. The body heat after ingesting fats was diminished and the bloating way down. A gripping heat in the shoulder returned—a symptom she experienced since an injury when she was a small child. I repeated the Carb-s 200C and continued the LM6.

Twelve weeks: Doing better overall. Feeling much less overwhelmed. “I have the heat only once in a while after eating.” Carb-s 200C to hold, and Alexa continued the LM6.

Eighteen weeks: “Every day is better. We put the house on the market, and we found a baby to adopt. I still get night sweats, but I don’t feel hot nor does food make me feel warm. I feel 80-85% better overall.” Rx: Carb-s 200C (4 doses).

Twenty-four weeks: “My left shoulder is getting better every day. My energy has definitely improved. I can sometimes feel as if my skin is burning on the inside. The heat is mostly in my face. I can still get a sensation of fullness in my head. I am fine around gasoline pumps. I have relapsed a bit, but I still feel 60%-70% better than when we began. No remedy was given.

Thirty weeks: “Doing great. The baby is due this week. We’ve planned It all out. I still get a little heat at night, but nothing like before. It is much reduced. I do not feel as hot around electronics. I would say I feel over 90% better.”

Thirty-six weeks: “The birth went great. We’ve been talking to his spirit for months. Only five hours of labor. Still sore heat around eating, but 70% better.”

Forty-two weeks: “The heat has reduced a lot. The baby is sleeping through the night.”

Forty-eight weeks: “The heat is pretty much gone. I am experiencing some tears in the vagina and cervix.)” I raised the potency to Carb-s 1M (4 doses) and LM8 daily.

One year, two weeks: No reaction to petroleum. Able to eat more fats and not have a heat response. In general feeling really good. Vitamin E suppositories are helping the vaginal dryness. She continued the Carb-s LM8.

In Conclusion

Readers may not have considered constitutional homeopathy for cases of chemical sensitivity. Dr. Morrison has opened a whole new world of remedy possibilities. I have only scratched the surface with this article, and in my practice, regarding the use of the carbon remedies. I encourage readers to delve much further into this area in hopes of helping many more suffering patients.