Now we come to the iron group - the Ferrums. Ferrum is a fairly small remedy for chronic use and I don't have anything to tell you really about the personality of Ferrum, but I will give you some of the main keynotes about it, and that is how you will probably have to get at it. They look like Pulsatilla. They tend to be plump, with a red face, red face is sort of a keynote and you almost have to have it. Especially during a chill they will have a red face and with blushing they have a red face. They blush very easily. They flush. They look sort of ruddy and healthy, that is the way they are described, as healthy looking, and that is why all the books say, "doesn't get sympathy when she is sick." Because no one can believe that she is really sick because she or he looks healthy. Looks plethoric. Flushes from very slight exertion sometimes, but generally they need to have light exertion. They are worse when they are sitting still and they are worse when they are exerting heavily. So, it is like the only way that they are really well, is if they are walking slowly or if they are moving just a little bit, just sort of stirring around. They even have palpitations. They have palpitations during exertion. They have palpitations during rest but ameliorated by slow walking. If you hear anemic, there aren't too many remedies that just flash to your mind, you know for chronic anemias. The Chinas, Ferrum are probably the main ones. They tend to be obese and perspiring. They can be warm, but they are mostly chilly, so with that combination, you may also think of what remedy? Calcarea. Chilly, perspiring, obese, and like Calcarea, they crave sweets. But especially if you see the combination of craving sweets and aversion to eggs, that is only two remedies - Sulphur and Ferrum.

Now, there are three sets of pathologies that I have seen Ferrum used in. One is diarrhea, especially painless diarrheas where there is no cramping at all, just comes the diarrhea. The diarrhea is usually provoked while they are eating. Not after they are eating, but while they are still eating they have the diarrhea. There are headaches, and especially long, prolonged headaches. Headaches that last for a solid week sometimes, but generally 2-3 days and generally with the relationship to the menstrual periods there may be headaches that last all through the menstrual periods and longer and there can be periodic headaches, every 14 days headaches. If you can get that from somebody, "every two weeks I get the migraine," that is Ferrum. The other place is rheumatic conditions, especially of the shoulder. The shoulder joint. If it specifically is the right shoulder joint, and there is very little else wrong with the patient, then probably the first remedy to think of is Ferrum Muriaticum. The other remedies for right shoulder pain - Sanguinaria and Chelidonium. Sanguinaria can have just the right shoulder involved and especially it is the shoulder at what time? At night in bed, when they are trying to turn over, that's when the shoulder really gives them problems.

So, if you hear the history of somebody with shoulder pains, mostly the right side, but it can be either side, and you don't get very much of any other real history, but turning over in bed or in bed, they really suffer with their shoulders, especially the right shoulder, that's mostly Sanguinaria. Generally, it involves not just the shoulder, but also the neck, the cervical region.

They have pain from the cervical region into the shoulder down the arm, or from the neck up to the back of the head and over the eye. That is the classic headache for Sanguinaria. It can resemble Belladonna also. Headaches from the back of the head over to the right eye. Sainginaria and Belladonna mostly. Both of those remedies may vomit. But, Sanguinaria is better from vomiting, very much better from vomiting.

Now, there is another strong peculiar symptom for Ferrum. That is that they have sensitivity to noise. Does anyone know the particular sound? The rustling of papers. This sound. They can't stand it. It is like scratching on the blackboard for them. Sensitive to noise will make you think of Theridion and what other remedy? Asarum. And Coffea. Coffea where they hear what? The distant church bells, along with Nux.

Ferrum Arsenicosum is a small remedy and it has a real vindictiveness and a sharp tongue like Sepia. But that is an extremely rare remedy.

It's a remedy you will misprescribe several other remedies first before you can get it probably. They are hot people because of the Iodine element and they are obese at the same time. Like Ferrum, they are tired, they are easily fatigued, and they are perspiring. If you see that, in combination with colitis, colitis where there is a lot of distension, fermentation, also of the stomach with belching and a lot of gas, think of Ferrum lodatum. If on top of that you see an aggravation from smoke, and smoky rooms, that's even better.

It is a remedy mostly used in acutes. In acutes with what characteristic? No symptoms. That's the characteristic that there aren't any characteristics. It is a remedy where you see a fever, and it is not a low grade fever. I'm talking about high fever, 103, 102 with a lot of prostration, or much fever that it is really causing a lot of systemic symptoms. It causes a headache. But you can't really make a Belladonna case out of it. They have a sore throat, but it is not any peculiar symptom. If you look at them, you look at the throat, it's nothing. You palpate the belly, it's fine. It's like there is a fever and you can't even figure out why there is a fever there. Even though they may have the systemic signs of secondary symptoms of fever, with joint pain, muscle aches, headache and all that and prostration, but you really can't find anything else to go with it. Now, if you do find something else to go with it, you will find infections on the right side of the body. Especially right sided pneumonias. Will very frequently be Ferrum Phosphoricum pneumonias, especially if there is hemoptysis with the pneumonia. Coughing up blood.