An Overview on Calcarea Group: A Differential study 

Abstract : 

The study of materia medica is an ongoing process and one has to be a continuous learner. By the means of group study we learn materia medica in a simplified way. Drugs having similar characteristic structures, family are considered together in certain groups.

The calcarea group is derived from Calcium which is the main constituent of the calcarea group. There are so many medicines in calcarea group which have very similar characteristics and some differentiations. 

Calcium offers protection to humans in the form of bones and it also protects the earliar form of life in the form of shell. Calcium is like a young child who release the instability in the outer world, thus feel the need for the security of a home.( 1) 

History of group study :

The history of the concept of group study is not new. In the history of group study Dr. J. T. KENT studied and wrote for the first time on this subject. 

So many of our stalwarts as Dr. E. A. Farrington in his book CLINICAL MATERIA MEDICA made an attempt to study the remedies by classifying them in various groups. 

The book CLINICAL REPERTORY written by  Dr. J. H. In this book he attempted to give remedy relationships according to various groups.

 OTTO LESSER in his book TEXTBOOK OF HOMOEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA attempts to divide medicines in different groups according to periodic table. 

This work was further continued by JAN SCHOLTEN  in his book  HOMOEOPATHY AND ELEMENTS and HOMOEOPATHY AND MINERALS. Some other stalwarts like M.L. DHAWELE, MORRISON, and RAJAN SANKARAN also gave a new direction to group study of drugs . 

Various stalwarts of homoeopathy attempted to produce various new ideas of group study and its utility to treating the sick individual. 

Introduction : 

As we all know that calcium is the main constituent of calcarea group , so we first know something about calcium and after that its compound from which the medicines are prepared.

Calcium is derived from the Latin word “CALX” which means lime. The symbol is Ca, which occupies II A group and in the 4th series in Mendelieves Periodic Table an atomic number is 40. It is also known as quick lime.

Calcium is a major mineral element of the body. It constitutes 1.5 to 2 % of the body weight of the adult human. The adult body contains 850 to 1400 gm of Calcium. About 99% of the calcium in the body is found in the bones. The amount of calcium  in the blood is usually about 10mg / 100 ml. There is a dynamic equilibrium between the calcium in the blood and that in the skeleton. This equilibrium is maintained by Parathyroid gland and chole- calciferol. (3,4)

Importance of calcium mineral as Homoeopathic medicine: 

Calcium has a role in neuromuscular transmission. Calcium ions are needed for excitability of nerves. It also plays a role in permeability of gap junctions.

It plays the role of secondary or tertiary messanger in hormone action. Calcium plays a major role in blood coagulation by producing substances for thromboplastic activity of blood. The process of bone formation and teeth formation is a continuous process; where it is a chief required mineral for the formation of bone and teeth. Normal excitability of the heart is calcium ion dependent which is an important function of this mineral in the body.

Calcium needed by the body for:

Calcium is an important mineral for the growth and development of the body. The need of calcium in the body are as 

1. The formation and maintenance of bone and teeth,
2. Coagulation of blood,
3. Regulation of neuromuscular irritability and
4. Muscular contractility.

All the salt of lime affects the nutrition of the body; hence they are of great use in infancy and childhood when growth must be accomplished. 

They favor the development of bones, glands and other tissues.
No clear-cut disease due to calcium deficiency has ever been described even under conditions of very low intake. It has been established that if the intake of chole calciferol is adequate, the problems of rickets and osteomalacia do not arise even with low calcium intake. On the other hand no deleterious effects have been observed in man as a result of prolonged intake of large amounts of dietary calcium, neither have any benefits been demonstrated.

Source(2)
Milk and milk products are the main source of calcium. Fish, vegetables, fruits, cereals (ragi rich in calcium) and drinking water are other sources. (Green leafy vegetables are the cheapest natural source of calcium but the bioavailability of calcium is poor. Presence of oxalic acid, which forms an insoluble substance with calcium, namely calcium oxalate, which makes the complete absorption impossible. Availability of calcium from a good source like milk is adversely affected by the simultaneous consumption of green leafy vegetable)

Recommended intake of calcium (adult) – 400 –500 mg / day.

General characters of alkaline earth group medicines:

Calcium is one of the very important earth alkaline minerals. It has some special characteristics. These are as-

• Mental character – Sluggish, Indolent, Anxious
• Aggravation from cold (Chilly patient)
• Predominantly tubercular
• Involvement of nervous system and endocrine system
• Oedema

Homeopathic medicine of calcicum compound : (5.6)

There are so many medicines which are made up of calcium compounds , some of them are as : 

1. Calcarea Acetica
2. Calcarea Arsenicosa 
3. Calcarea Bromata 
4. Calcarea Carbonica
5. Calcarea Caust
6. Calcarea Chlor
7. Calcarea Citrica
8. Calcarea Calcinata
9. Calcarea Flourica
10. Calcarea Formicum
11. Calcarea Glycerophos
12. Calcarea Glutamica
13. Calcarea Gluconica
14. Calcarea Hypophos
15. Calcarea Hydrxidum
16. Calcarea Hyposulfurosa
17. Calcarea Hydroiodica
18. Calcarea Iodata
19. Calcarea Lactica
20. Calcarea Lact. Natronata
21. Calcarea Lact. Phos
22. Calcarea Met
23. Calcarea Mur
24. Calcarea Nitrica
25. Calcarea Oxalica
26. Calcarea Oxydata
27. Calcarea Phos
28. Calcarea Picrica
29. Calcarea Pantothenica
30. Calcarea Pyrophos
31. Calcarea Permanganica
32. Calcarea Renalis
33. Calcarea Sulph
34. Calcarea Silicata
35. Calcarea Silica f Flour
36. Calcarea Stib Sulph
37. Calcarea Sul. Hahn
38. Calcarea Versalis
39. Calcarea Sulphurica – Plaster of paris
40. Calcrea Silicea Fluorica — lapis alba
41. Calcarea Renalis — Urate of limime renal calculi
42. Calcarea Sulphurata Hahnemanni– Hepar sulph

Common features of calcarea group of medicines (1,3,4,9)

Constitution

The calcarea group has a Hydrogenoid constitution. Person is bulky, fleshy and flabby. There is no fitness. Fatness without fitness,  sweat without heat, bones without strength is the characteristic of all calcareas. It is  Suited to lymphatic, scrofulous and tuberculous person
Fat person with lax fiber .

There is no oedema or retention of water underneath the skin. Skin is fair, waxy, and shiny. Everything is slow, sluggish  and late at both mental and physical level.

 All milestones are delayed in children. Fat children who are slow in movement, of irregular growth with enlarged and hard lymphatic glands.

 Characteristic  constitutions of some medicine of calcarea group are as-

1. Calcarea  arsenicosa : Suited to lymphatic, scrofulous and tuberculous people. Fat women approaching climaxis. Fat person (mentally depressed and anxious)
2. Calcarea  bromata: Suited to children who are of lax fiber, lymphatic, nervous and irritable. Fair haired and fat children.
3. Calcarea  carbonica : Leucophlegmatic constitution. Large head and large features with pale  skin and chalky look and in infants – open frontenelles. Scrofulous constitution- enlarged and hard lymphatic glands. Tendency to obesity in youth.
4. Calcarea flourica: Scrofulous- indurated glands of stony hardness
5. Calcarea  phosphorica —is an exception to the common fatty, flabby constitution of calcarea which is scrofulous emaciated children who are slow in learning to walk, with sunken flabby abdomen.

Temperament 

Leucophlegmatic temperament is dominant. 

Miasm —

Psora and syphilitic are predominant but somewhere sycotic and Tubercular are also present in some medicine of Calcarea group. Some  medicine with specific miasms are as –

• Posra — Calc carb, Calc acet, Calc flour, Calc pho and Calc sul
• Syphilitic—Calc flour, Calc iod
• Sycotic – Calc carb.

Sphere of action (1,2,3)

Calcium takes part in the formation of spongy and hard but light alkaline or neutral tissues , organs and their secretions. Calcarea group medicine mostly acts on muscles, tendons, connective tissue, synovial membrane, nerve cells and axon, pleura, peritoneum and endocrine glands.

Direction  of action

Calcium has centripetal action. The cause lies within the body and it is useful in disease developing from within outward i. e. centre to periphery.

Recations 

It is alkaline or neutral in nature. It maintains the alkalinity in the body by excreting the acidic secretions.

Action on Psycho Neuro Endocrine Immunological Level (PNEI LEVEL) –

Sensitive to criticism. What others will say about him.

Insecurity and fears.

Protection and withdrawal.

Patho – physiological action : (1)

The level of Calcium is to be maintained in normal proportion with different ions in plasma like Na, K, Mg and Ca. Free Calcium ions are required for the regulation of neuromuscular activity and hormonal control. It regulates acetylcholine.  Action of Calcium is more parasympathetic than sympathetic.

Calcium and phosphorus ions precipitate in insoluble substances that favor calcification of cartilage into bone formation. Calcium ion stimulate parietal cells of the stomach, which secrete HCL. Therefore though calcium being an alkaline earth metal, it is not used as an antacid in treatment of peptic ulcer. Calcium activates so many enzymes as pancreatic lipase, adenosine triphosphatase and myosin kinase.

If we talk about the role of Ca on heart and blood , on heart  it increases contractility of cardiac muscles during systolic process. It also stimulates activation of clotting factors in the blood. It increases the motility and phagocytic activity of granulocytes. It stimulates lymph glands and thymus glands.

Role of calcium in the uterus we can’t ignore. Calcium increases the activity of the gravid uterus whereas it decreases the activity of the non gravid uterus. During the premenstrual phase Ca is mobilized from the tissue depot and Ca++ level rises relatively, causing vagus stimulation; that results in increased secretion of gastric juice. This causes vagus neurosis ( asthma and urticaria ) before and during menses.

Ca ions get mobilized from calcium depots during acidic condition; which leads to osteoporosis. Calcium lowers the cellular metabolism. It decreases the cell permeability by thickening the cell membrane . 

Characteristic mental symptoms (1,3,4)

Mental symptoms of Calcarea group of medicines are as: 

Mentally they are sad, depressed and melancholic with great anxiety. Depression is the main feature of calcium. 

Calcareas are intelligent but there is lack of implementation due to slow and sluggishness at physical level that may lead to poor performance . In the medicines of this group we see that there is a confused state of mind with inability to take bold decisions. 

 There is dullness of mind, slow and sluggish, imbecile and indolent. Calcareas are both mentally and physically obstinate. There is a strong strong desire for company. 

Calcarea persons are people who don’t go too much; don’t want any adventure in life. Rather they choose for themselves friends and partners who are protective and on whom they can depend.  

Along with all above these mental characteristics some  special mental character of some medicine of calcarea group are as :  

• Calc Ars: Mentally depressed and anxious
• Calc Brom: Nervous and irritable
• Calc Carb: Melancholic sad. Disposition to weep even about trifles
• Calc Flour: Depressed, anxious and indecisive

  Anxiety of calcarea is usually about the future or about health. Indolent sluggish behavior. (Always desire to lie down)

Characteristic Physical symptoms (1,5,6.8)

All most all calcarea group medicines have a general weakness. 

Aggravation from motion or aversion to motion, 

Amelioration from lying down and ailments from either mental or physical exertion. 

All these features contribute to the indolent, sluggish nature of the calcarea.

Calcarea group of individuals are slow and sluggish in their work. Great inertia. Patient has an aversion to physical work.

Calcareas have a tendency to obesity. They are usually fat and flabby with lax musculature.

• Aggravation from mental and physical exertion – Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc caust, Calc fl, Calc iod, Calc pho, Calc sil.
• Aggravation from physical exertion – Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc fl, Calc iod, Calc pho, Calc sil, Calc sulph.
• Lying down amelioration — Calc carb, Calc iod, Calc pho, Calc sul.
• Aggravation from motion — Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc pho, Calc sul and Calc sil.
• Aversion to motion — Calc carb, Calc sul.

Thermal reaction – 

Most of the patients in the calcarea group are chilly patients.

All most all medicines have tendency to take cold easily
Calc carb, Calc iod, Calc phos and Calc sul. . 

Desires and aversion (5.6,8)

Medicine of calcarea group have a desire for indigestible things like chalk, charcoal, pencil, slate, mud etc. special desire for lemonade, eggs, potato and salt.

Desires for Alcoholic drinks: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc iod, Calc sul

 Desires for beer, brandy, whisky and wine : Calcare carb 

Ailments from alcoholic drinks: Calcars

Craving for alcohol Cold drinks: Calc carb, Calc ars ,Calc sul
Cold food aggravates her complaints: Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc phos, Calc sil
Desire for Salt: Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc sul
Desire for Sweets: Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc mur, Calc sul and Calc phos

Aversion to Meat :  Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc sulp, Calc sil

Aversion to milk : Calc carb, Calc sulp, Calc sil
Milk aggravation: Calc carb, Calc sulp, Calc sil

Calc group has a general aggravation from milk and aversion to milk

 Side affinity—

All the medicine of calcarea group are predominantly affect right side such as : Calc carb, Calc iod, Calc pho, Calc ars, 

Calc acet Right sided pain

Calc caust – pain right eye, right cheekbone, right articulation of jaw.

Almost all calcarea have stitching type of pain both internally and externally.

• Pain stitching — Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc iod, and Calc sil.
• Externally– Calc carb, Calc flour, Calc pho.
• Internally– Calc carb, Calc phos, Calc iod, and Calc sil.

Modalities  (5,6)

General aggravation at night and evening

Aggravation at night    Aggravation evening

• Calc carb                   Calc carb
• Calc iod                     Calc iod
• Calc phos                  Calc pho
• Calc sil                      Calc sul
• Calc ars                    Calc sil
• Hepar sul                  Calc ars
• Calc sul

 Aggravation on ascending

Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc pho, Calc sil and Hepar sulp

Aggravation after bathing
Calc carb, Calc sulph, Calc sil and Hepar sulp

Calcarea group of medicine have a special indication in convulsions.  Many of them are anticonvulsant some of them are as 

• Convulsion: Calc carb, Calc iod, Calc phos, Calc sil and Calc ars
• In children: Calc carb and Calc phos
• During dentition: Calc phos
• Convulsion without consciousness: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc phos and Calc sul
• Epileptic convulsion: Calc carb, Calc sulp, Calc phos, Calc sil and Calc ars
• Epileptiform convulsion: Calc carb, Calc sulp, Calc phos, Calc iod
• Convulsion with hydrocephalus : Calc carb.

 Dropsy – both external and internal

• External: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc pho, Calc sil, Calc sulp and Hepar sulph.
• Internal: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc sil, Calc sulp and Hepar sulph.
• Cardiac and renal dropsy: Calc phos
• Hepatic dropsy: Calc carb

Almost all calcarea have emaciation and marasmus

There are merasmus in calcare group of medicines but constitutionally they are faty and flabby. Some characteristics are as 

• Emaciation: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc flour, Calc hp, Calc iod, Calc pho, Calc sil, Calc mur and Calc ox.
• Ravenous appetite with emaciation: Calc carb and Calc flour.
• Emaciation of the affected parts: Calc carb
• Marasmus of the children: Calc carb, Calc phos, Calc sil. 

Perspiration cold and profuse
Profuse: Calc carb, Calc ars, Calc iod, Calc sul and Calc sil.
Cold: Calc carb, Calc iod, Calc phos, Calc sul Calc sil and Hepar sulph.

 Sleeplessness
The Calcarea group has restless and disturbed sleep. Frequent waking from sleep. Sleep disturbed by fright, anxiety, dreams or thoughts

Non-Homoeopathic uses of Calcarea group of Medicine

• Calc iodata– used as a dusting powder and in lotion, in ointment as antiseptic and deodorant.
• Calc sulph – Dried gypsum or plaster of paris used for making plaster splinter and other fixed dressing.
• Calc phos – Used as an antacid.
• Calc hypophos –Has been used for ricket and impaired nutrition.
• Calc chloride – Used to correct increase capillary permeability as in urticaria and dermatitis herpetiformis, also in alkalosis and acidify the urine.
• Calc carb – Antacid – in the management of peptic ulcer and other conditions of gastric hyperacidity.
• Calc acetica – the first of the lime preparations proved by Hahnemann. Identical with those of Calc carb, both being prepared from oyster shells

Conclusion 

Calcium is one of the most ubiquitous materials in life processes, therefore it is no wonder that Calcarea is one of our main polycrests. In fact a very high percentage of the population may require any one medicine from the Calcarea group from birth. Medicine of the Calcarea group has strong vitality, older people who require Calcarea as their constitutional remedy, often indicating that the defense mechanism has held the pathology on basically the same level since birth. 

By means of group study of materia medica we can simplify the study of materia medica and arrive at a general constitutional medicine remedy for the patient.

It is a frequent observation that even in advanced disease, when any medicine of calcarea group is indicated the chance for resolution of the illness is very fevourable.

Group analysis of the medicine has helped to evolve a new dimension to grasp the psychosomatic concept of disease. By the means of studying medicine in groups we can save time and study the “core” of many drugs simultaneously. Once a group is derived then the individualization of a remedy is more easy and reliable. The material is gathered in so many possible sources , this group study of calcarea may surely benefit the homoeopathy and homoeopaths .

References :

1. Patil J. D. , Group study in homoeopathic materia medica, , B Jain  publisher 
2. Dr Satheesh Kumar P K Calcarea Group of Homeopathy Medicines, article on homoeobook e journal
3. Shah Hitesh, cellular biochemistry and homoeopathy, IBPP Publisher,
4. Sembulingam K., Essentials of medical Physiology 9^th edition, jaypee publication
5. Boericke Willium, Homoeopathic materia medica and repertory, B. Jain Publisher
6. Kent J. T. Repertory of homoeopathic materia medica , B. Jain publisher.
7. www.homoeobook.com accessed on 15/12/2023
8. Allen H.C. Keynotes and charecteristics of Homoeopathic materia medica , B Jain publisher
9. Morrison Roger, Desktop Guide to keynotes and confirmatory symptoms , Homoeopathic Medical Publisher Mumbai