Kali nitricum
Quick Facts
- What it is: A homeopathic remedy made by diluting saltpetre (potassium nitrate) again and again, until none of it is left.
- Main uses: Wheezy, tight breathing, Dry hard cough, Nosebleed
- Best for: People already under a doctor's care who want to try a traditional remedy alongside it
- Active ingredients: Potassium nitrate (saltpetre), present only in very low strengths, Lactose and sucrose in pills, Water and alcohol in drops
- Forms: Sugar pills, Pellets, Liquid drops, Low strengths such as 3X and 6X
- Time to effect: No reliable time; trials show no effect beyond a dummy pill.
- Side effects: Rare at 30C; real risks come from low strengths or raw saltpetre.
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What is Kali nitricum?
Kali nitricum is a homeopathic remedy. It is made from saltpetre, the salt also called potassium nitrate. Its Latin name is Kalii nitras.
It is made by diluting the salt in steps, over and over. This is called serial dilution. At 30C, none of the salt is left in the pill.
Homeopaths give it for tight, wheezy breathing, a dry hard cough, and nosebleeds. Trials do not show that it works better than a dummy pill. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a thing works.
How does Kali nitricum work?
The short answer: there is no known way for it to work in the body.
Homeopathy holds that a tiny dose can treat the signs a large dose would cause. It also holds that water keeps a trace, or "memory", of the salt after the salt is gone. These ideas do not match what we know about matter.
At 30C there is nothing of the salt left to act on you. Any change people notice is best put down to the placebo effect (feeling better from a dummy pill) and to illness easing on its own.
Very low dilutions are a different case. Below about 4X, real saltpetre may still be in the dose. Then plain chemistry applies, and so do the risks listed further down.
What forms does Kali nitricum come in?
It comes as small sugar pills, pellets, or liquid drops. The common strengths are 6C, 12C and 30C. Low strengths such as 3X and 6X are also sold.
Drops often hold alcohol. Pills often hold lactose (milk sugar).
Check the label if you avoid either one. Raw garden or meat-curing saltpetre is not a medicine and must never be swallowed.
Where it comes from:
Saltpetre has a long past outside the pharmacy. People used it to cure meat and to make gunpowder. Old "asthma papers" were soaked in it and burned to be breathed in.
Kali nitricum came into homeopathy in the 1800s. Its picture comes from provings, which are tests on healthy people, written up by Hering and Allen.
It has stayed a minor remedy. Homeopaths reach for Kali carbonicum far more often.
Who should avoid Kali nitricum?
- Do not use if you are having an asthma attack or cannot catch your breath; call emergency services and use your reliever inhaler
- Do not use if you are thinking of cutting back or stopping your asthma medicine
- Do not use if you are treating a baby under one year old, as nitrate can stop young blood carrying oxygen well
- Do not use if you have kidney disease and the product is a low strength (below 4X) that may still hold real saltpetre
- Do not use if you take a potassium-sparing water pill such as spironolactone or amiloride, unless the strength is 6C or higher
- Do not use if you take an ACE inhibitor or ARB (blood pressure drugs such as ramipril or losartan) and the strength is below 4X
- Do not use if you take a nitrate heart drug such as glyceryl trinitrate, or an erection drug such as sildenafil, together with raw or low-strength saltpetre
- Do not use if you have a high potassium level (hyperkalaemia) or have been told to limit potassium
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding and the strength is below 4X; ask a doctor first
- Do not use if you cannot have lactose (milk sugar) and the pills are made with it
- Do not use if you avoid alcohol for health, religious or recovery reasons and the product is alcohol-based drops
- Do not use if you only have raw saltpetre from a garden or meat-curing supply; never swallow it, as it can poison you
- Do not use if you are putting off care for a serious or worsening illness
When should you see a doctor?
Call emergency services if your breathing is hard and fast, your lips or fingers turn blue, or a reliever inhaler does not help.
Get urgent care if a nosebleed will not stop after ten minutes of firm pinching, or if you feel faint with it.
See your doctor within a few days if a cough lasts more than three weeks, you bring up blood, you get chest pain, or your back ache comes with fever or burning when you pass water.
Also see your doctor if you have swallowed raw saltpetre, or if you feel sick, weak or dizzy after using a low-strength product.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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